Archive for November, 2011
Are you trying to find the perfect low interest credit card for you? If you really want to find the best one, you need to be patient and diligent enough to do your homework. You can’t just make a choice based on what the advertisements tell you. All you see in the credit card ads are the best of what the card has to offer. The true costs are not there.
Be A Smart Credit Card Shopper
The real costs of a low interest rate card are disclosed in the agreement. Sadly, most people overlook this important document when signing their credit application. Yes, your credit card agreement may be lengthy and difficult to read as they are written in very small prints, but it is definitely worth your time and effort to read it.
To find the right card for you, you need to compare more than the interest rates alone. Let’s say you have to make a choice between a 10% interest offer and one with 12% interest rate, which one would you choose?
Would you go with the offer 10% interest rate right away? You can’t really say you made the right choice without considering the other fees. Read on and hopefully by the end of this article, you will be more equipped to decide which particular low interest credit card is right for you.
The rate after the introductory period. Okay, so you will enjoy zero interest for let’s say six months or even 12 months. But what happens after that? How much will the interest rate be when that 6-month or 12-month period ends? A good low interest card should maintain a reasonable rate of interest all throughout out and not just for a given period.
Balance transfer fee. Yes, you will not be charged with interest rate with the balances you’ve transferred but how much will it cost you to transfer those balances? Some zero interest will charge you up to 3% of the amount you are transferring. If you’re going to transfer a big amount, you may also have to pay a considerably large balance transfer fee.
Annual fee. The best low interest card should waive the annual fee altogether. Some credit cards even impose as much as $50 to $100 annual which can offset the savings you made for the year. If you have a good credit history you should be more diligent in finding a low interest card that will not charge you with annual fees or other extra charges.
Late fees and exceeding credit fees. What about the penalty costs of the card? Although it is your obligation to submit your payments on time and to stay within your credit card limits, unexpected circumstances can force you to be submitted to these penalty charges. It’s best to seek a low interest credit card that keeps its penalty costs within a reasonable limit.
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We all want the best credit deal we can get and usually this means paying the lowest interest rates possible when we select a credit card. But how do you compare and choose a low rate credit card that is right for you and how do you make the most of it?
Understanding interest rates
Whenever you see an advertisement for a credit card, you will always see a percentage next to it. It may say something like 10%, 16.9%, 18% or even higher. This is the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) and tells you how much interest you will be expected to repay on the amount borrowed annually. If you carry an average monthly debt of around $50. With an APR of 11% you will be paying back an extra $5.50 on your initial loan over the course of a year. The benefit of a low interest rate is that you will pay back less. With an interest rate of 8% you would only pay back $4 on the same loan. There are usually two types of credit card loans: fixed-rate and variable. The first refers to a fixed interest rate which shouldn’t fluctuate during the course of the loan although, with 15 days advanced notice banks are entitled to change the rate. A variable (or standard variable) interest rate may fluctuate in line with the Federal Reserve’s rates, resulting in higher or, rarely, lower rates than originally advertised.
What is a good low interest rate?
All cards and offers are different so it is worth shopping around and comparing interest rate deals. Generally it is a good idea to go for a fixed low rate credit card. You can compare rates by searching for ‘low interest credit cards’ online or you may find that you get deals regularly through the mail. It is worth comparing any offers that land on your doormat thoroughly. Low interest rates can be as competitive as 6.5% (Pulaski Bank), sometimes even lower, but whether or not you are eligible for that rate often depends on your credit rating. You may find that you apply for this rate but, due to a poor credit rating, you end up being offered a higher interest rate. So if you are looking for a steady low interest credit card it is worth getting your credit rating into shape first. It is also worth reading the fine print on the credit card contract as there may be additional fees that will push up the rate of APR. For example Pulaski Bank offer a low rate of 6.5% APR but also charges a $35 annual fee. The actual APR on a credit card offer may be higher than you might at first think. The low rate may only be an introductory offer. Beware of very low interest rate cards such as 4.9% and make sure that this isn’t about to rise to 16% after six months. In addition, if you have a very high credit score than you should expect to not only pay the lowest interest rates but also to receive a credit card with excellent rewards programs such as free air miles, or cash back on purchases.
Comparing 0% Interest rates, the lowest you can go
The smart borrower doesn’t pay interest at all. Almost all credit card companies now offer 0% introductory rates on credit cards, usually for between six to twelve months. 0% interest is of course the lowest interest rate you can ever pay on a credit card and it is perfectly possible to manage your debt so that it is always covered on an introductory offer and therefore never accrues interest. It is a very effective way to pay off debt without building up more debt. The disadvantages to the game are that you always have to stay on top of the deadline for the introductory offer and apply for a new credit card in time, before the real APR comes into effect. If you forget about it, you may find you’re suddenly charged a whopping 18.9% APR. Also, a person who sticks with a low interest rate credit card as opposed to changing between 0% offers may increase their credit score in the long term. Banks approve of customers who make them money and although no one wants to willingly give the bank money, doing so can lead to a better rating which, in turn, leads to lower interest rates and better credit deals. For more information: 0% interest rate credit cards.
Home equity loans are a way of using the money that you’ve invested in your mortgage by borrowing against it. Essentially, a home equity loan is a ‘second mortgage’ – a loan secured by your property. If you don’t make good on your payments, the lending company or bank can force the sale of your house to recover their money.
There are two major types of home equity loans – home equity loans and home equity lines of credit, also called HELOCs. Most lenders that offer home equity loans offer both kinds. A home equity loan for $10,000 and a home equity line of credit for $10,000 are two completely different animals though they have a lot of similar features.
Home Equity Loan
If you apply for and are granted a home equity loan for $10,000 at 7% APR for 15 years, you will receive a check or a deposit to your bank account of $10,000. That is the full amount of the loan that you can ever draw on that particular application. Depending on the terms agreed upon, you may have one to several months before you have to begin repaying the loan. You’ll pay a fixed amount every month until the full amount of the loan and the interest charge is paid off. You’ll know from the very start how much you’ll be repaying.
Home Equity Line of Credit
A home equity line of credit – a HELOC – is much more like a credit card. When you apply for and are granted a home equity line of credit, the bank establishes a ‘line of credit’ – which functions just the way that a ‘credit limit’ does on your credit card. You may receive special checks or a plastic card with which to access your line of credit – but you don’t receive the full amount at one time.
In fact, you don’t have to take any of it immediately. You can draw on the line of credit at any time, up to the full amount of the line of credit throughout the agreed-upon life of the loan. Suppose that you’re doing some home repairs. You can use your home equity line of credit to pay for $2,000 worth of roofing tiles. That leaves you $8,000 in your line of credit. Three weeks later, you can use your line of credit to pay for $4,500 worth of windows – and still have $3,500 left that you can borrow against.
If you then start paying back on your home equity line of credit, that money becomes available to you again. If you pay back $1,000 of what you’ve borrowed, you now have $4,500 on your line of credit.
A home equity line of credit has two ‘phases’ – there is the draw period, during which time you can draw against the credit limit as long as you stay below the limit. During that time, you can elect to only pay the interest that accrues – or you can make payments on the principal to free it up. Once the draw period is over, you go into the repayment period. During the repayment period, you can’t draw against the line of credit any longer, and must make full repayment.
Many people rarely consider the need for professional group fitness instructor liability insurance. It makes sense, however, that in our litigious society precautions should be taken to ensure that those who choose to earn their living as a fitness instructor are protected against legal damages, whether the charges are warranted or not. Most insurance companies will cover actual fitness facilities as well as their employees up to a certain limit and under certain conditions; however it may be only the lowest coverage possible with certain exclusions and conditions. If you are an independent fitness instructor, or even working full time for a fitness facility, it is vital that you consider protecting yourself with a group fitness instructor liability insurance policy.
What is Group Fitness Instructor Liability Insurance?
Group fitness instructor liability insurance protects physical fitness instructors against damages incurred or legal actions brought about by claimants as a result of the instructor’s training duties.
Common reasons for litigation against instructors include:
o Muscle injuries
o Joint injuries
o Back injuries
o Broken bones
o Bruised bones
Most group fitness instructor liability insurance policies will cover the common causes or hazards that can occur during training and result in the losses mentioned above. Common claims include:
o Injury as a result of poor supervision
o Injury as a result of poor training technique and education
o Injury as a result of overtraining
o Injury as a result of lack of adequate stretching or cool down periods
People can also claim mental damages, stress, or humiliation. For this reason it is extremely important that your group fitness instructor liability insurance policy gives you the most specific and comprehensive coverage possible. Although certain endorsements (additional coverage) may add to the total premium that you pay each year, in the end it will be well worth it. Too many frivolous lawsuits are settled in favor of the plaintiff to warrant gambling with your coverage amounts and limits.
Limits of Coverage
As for the limits of coverage, most insurance companies will offer a basic policy with an aggregate limit of $500,000, $1,000,000 or $2,000,000. They may also have a per occurrence limit that is significantly less than the total policy limit. It is important to understand this distinction because if your policy limit is $1,000,000 but your per occurrence limit is only $100,000, this means you are responsible for paying any monies owed to the other party that exceed the $100,000 limit. For example, if the judgment against you is $150,000 and the per occurrence limit is $100,000, you will be responsible for paying the remaining $50,000 out of pocket. If you do not have the $50,000 in cash or savings immediately available for payment, wage garnishment and even asset liquidation can occur.
Conclusion
When considering a group fitness instructor liability insurance policy, remember that it is always best to be over insured and not need it than to be underinsured and end up with a large debt that you will have to end paying for the rest of your life.
The stock market is a much more complex and confusing entity that many consumers realize. Many different types of securities are traded every day by small investors as well as huge corporations and even countries. Securities commonly traded on exchanges around the world are known as exchange-traded funds or ETFs that are often exchanged using simple market timing.
What is an exchange-traded fund?
An ETF is an investment much like a share of stock and is traded in much the same way on a centralized exchange. Unlike a share of stock that is a piece of ownership in a company, an Exchange Fund is comprised of assets that can include stocks, bonds, and commodities. They are traded by average consumer investors using retail brokers on a secondary market and by large corporations that purchase funds in huge blocks of thousands of shares.
The ETF definition does not shed much light on how investors use these funds to generate a profit on the market. Just like with regular shares of stock, individual and corporate investors use a strategy known as market timing when buying and selling ETFs. Investors use an ETF funds list, ETF news, and a calculation known as an ETF expense ratio among other tools to determine whether a particular fund it a good investment. Factors influencing the value of a fund and numbers related to its value fluctuate from day to day. Timing the market using information is how investors buy and sell ETFs to generate a profit. Investors may also look for opportunities to generate large profits by trading an emerging market ETF or financial services ETF. A high yield ETF such as these can be bought for relatively small amounts of money and pay off big if the fund’s net assets should rapidly increase in value. Investors on the primary market also participate in overseas exchanges through the purchase of an international ETF.
The securities market is filled with many different types of investments. An exchange-traded fund is just one of those many that both individual as well as corporate investors use to generate profits. Buyers and sellers use market timing and information from a variety of different sources in order to predict future prices of ETFs. Exchange funds are traded all over the world on different centralized exchanges and offer a more robust and secure portfolio than traditional securities.
If there was ever a life saving drug in the loan industry to people with bad credit – it is personal loans. Bad credit usually is not very keen to part with your credit history and stays for 7-10 years depending on the severity of the credit problem. Those who have bad credit are rarely comfortable with loan borrowing. For them there is a silver lining in a rather new improved form – no credit check personal loans.
Interestingly, there are still lenders who are not ready to take the risk with bad credit borrowers. Borrowers are turned down due to any credit problem No credit check personal loans, for the first time, give the bad borrowers a chance to share the platform with those who have good credit. With no credit check personal loans these borrowers have equal set of opportunities to choose from. No credit check personal loans also are great way to borrow when time is less, especially with no need to browse through credit reports.
No credit check personal loans though achievable but will require patience and perseverance on the part of the borrower. Finding no credit check personal loans will require an extensive research. Online you can locate many options for personal loans without credit checks. But a borrower must be careful for online there are as many chances of getting duped as of getting success.
Don’t rush and carefully think about which no credit check personal loans to sign for. First look around and apply for free quotes. Free quotes will enable you to evaluate the cost of no credit check personal loans. Quotes are personalized so they will exclusively deal with the cost of for your particular situation. Then comes comparing loans. Comparison of no credit check personal loans quote will open your eyes to the loan that maximizes benefits for you. While you apply for personal loans without credit checks, make sure you understand terms and conditions. And the fine print! Did you read it? Ensure that, in your enthusiasm, you did check it holds no surprises for you.
While looking for no credit check personal loans look carefully for interest rates. You might come across the term APR. This is annual percentage rate and gives the real cost of the personal loan. It takes into account the sum of the interest and other fees, such as discount points, compared to the amount of the loan. With no credit check personal loans look for loans with lower APR. “No credit check personal loans” may not be categorized exactly as “low interest rate loan”. But the loan lenders will charge reasonable fee for personal loans with no credit check. Try to differentiate between reasonable and outrageous fee and skip those lenders who charge high fee or outstanding benefits.
No credit check personal loans should be restricted to small amounts and small terms in the beginning. Take personal loans that you can easily repay. If you make no mistakes, you build your reputation with the lender. Thereby loan lender will consider you as reliable borrower and later you can qualify for larger amounts with better interest rates. No credit check personal loans can be a new start for your credit situation.
In case you want to borrow large amount with no credit personal loans, collateral will ensure its approval. If you are applying for personal loans with no credit check, purpose will not be an impediment. Debt consolidation, boat, wedding, home improvement, car……. – take no credit check personal loans for whatever reason. But do coordinate purpose with loan term. Loan term that extends beyond 3-5 years for automobile or wedding personal loans means you are faltering with your calculations.
There is no better way to compliment the power of loan borrowing by using the loan sensibly. A personal loan with no credit check is a means like any other loan, to satisfy your financial anxiety. Entrust it to provide that while you make no mistakes. Think of the freedom of not being turned down for bad credit while looking for personal loans! At the end of the day no credit check personal loans are still an exceptional way of money borrowing.