Bad credit loans are the only avenues available for people with bad credit. The best way to avoid having to take them is to not have bad credit in the first place, but sometimes there is no other choice. Before you do take one of these credit loans, you need to learn some hard truths.

Expect High Interest

The better your credit record the better interest rates you can get. Those with negative credit records will have to pay higher interest rates. Look at payday loans and you will see that the interest rates can sometimes enter triple figures. Other financiers will not give you anything below double figures if you have bad credit.

This means you can end up paying far more for a loan than is necessary. 

Secured Only

To lenders, a bad credit record means you are untrustworthy when it comes to money. Nobody in his or her right mind is going to take a risk on you. Instead, they will ask you to provide some collateral. This is known a secured loan.

The most common type of collateral you will be asked to put forward is your home. Fail to pay the loan and you could find yourself on the streets.

Lower Limits

Need $5,000 to buy that new car? Forget about it if you have bad credit. It can be extremely difficult to find a reputable lender for bad credit loans let alone for higher limits. It is why credit cards designed for people with a negative credit score only have limits of a few hundred dollars. These loans are not as useful because you are heavily limited on how much you can apply for.

Higher Risk

Due to higher interest rates, you will have to make greater monthly repayments. This brings a higher risk on your part. Monthly repayments are less manageable, so you are going to have to put up with the fact you may find yourself in a situation where you are further damaging your credit record because of missed payments. We recommend carefully thinking about your finances prior to taking out a bad credit loan. Sometimes it’s better to not take out the loan at all. You don’t want your credit record driven further into the ground.

Scammers Galore

Many debtors take out bad credit loans because it is the last place they can turn. They are desperate for funding. This has led the industry to becoming a haven for people who are prepared to take advantage of people.

If you are searching for one of these loans, you have to examine the lender to ensure they are genuine. There are no guarantees because these are private companies and moneylenders. When checking out a lender, here are some of the points you should keep in mind:

• Do you have to send out an upfront payment before you can obtain the loan?
• Does the company have a history of unhappy customers and/or fraud?
• Watch out for companies that claim to not care about your bad credit. No responsible lender takes such an approach to loaning money to people.
• Is the company a copycat company?
• Does the company have a physical office you can visit?

Handing Over Responsibility

Many bad credit loans require you to have a co-signer. The person who co-signs the loan must take on the responsibility of you paying back the loan. This is a lot of pressure and it’s an unfortunate hassle you’ll have to go through if you want to obtain the funds you want.

Conclusion

A bad credit loan may seem like an easy way to negate the problems associated with a bad credit record. It’s not all it seems, though. There are many harsh truths you are going to have to face if you want to go down this route. When in need of a loan, one can always leverage the equity of their home. It is important to become familiarized with Home Equity Loan Rates.

If you do decide to take out a bad credit loan, crunch the numbers and think carefully about whether this is the right option for you. Getting this wrong could make a bad credit record even worse, thus further ruining your ability to obtain loans.

On average when a loved one passes away the family can expect to need about $10,000. This number does vary based on the specific situation, however regardless of the number you do not want to leave your loved ones with financial burdens. You probably have considered investing in burial insurance yet you do not know how much burial insurance costs on average. Today, we will be discussing the average cost of burial insurance.

If you have been injured in an accident or you have won a worker’s compensation claim or you have won a settlement for the wrongful death of a person you depended upon, then in all probability you will get the compensation you are to receive in the form of an annuity. This annuity pays out awards from any form or type of legal settlement or lottery winnings or as has been mentioned earlier, any award from worker’s compensation claim or personal injury case in the manner of a periodic inflow of cash which has a number of tax advantages added with it. This sort of annuity scheme is called a structured settlement which is the most beneficial and most advantageous way to avail money to be received in the form of settlements.

The many advantages of structured settlements

There are many benefits of structured settlements, the most noteworthy among which is the exemption from all form of taxes, be it state taxes or federal taxes or local income taxes. This means that the savings of the investor in structured settlements is much higher than the investor in any other securities. In addition to this the fact that this form of annuities does not depend at all on any economic condition and the payment can be scheduled upon your wish and desire and can be deferred or may begin immediately makes up for the icing on the cake.

What is a cash annuity and what are its variables?

If at any moment you find yourself trapped in any financial difficulties and are in dire need of cash then you may sell your annuity and upon the determination, receive a lump sum amount in lieu of your future annuity incomes. In determination of the amount one will have a number of factors need to be taken into consideration, these are as follows:

• Interest rate – The interest rate plays a crucial factor in determining the amount one receives on sale of annuity.

• Inflation – The ongoing rate of inflation in the economy will also affect the amount receivable on the sale of the annuity.

• Payments- The amount of annuity that one wants to sell will also be a factor in determining the cash amount which will be received by the investor wanting to sell the annuity.

• Demand- At last, the demand for the payments will also affect the scales when it comes to determining the amount that you are likely to receive upon sale of the annuity.

The benefits of selling structured settlement annuities

When one decides to sell off structured settlement annuities, he or she is subjected to a number of benefits. These advantages are enumerated as below:

• Liquidity – Probably the most important factor of selling structured settlement annuities, liquidity assures you that you will not be cash strapped. This liquidity backs individuals not only financially but also mentally to go ahead with their dreams, plans and ideas. Whenever facing a financial crisis, you can encash your structured settlements and get lump sum cash.

• Time value of money – When one sells structured settlement annuities, one can also take advantage of time value of money. Generally, it is seen that the rate of earning in case of the money in hand is much more than the amount which may be received on a future date. Inflation reduces the future value of money and hence the earning capacity is much more if the amount is given a chance to earn interest.

Slow annuities – what are they and what are their benefits

Slow annuities generally refer to normal annuities which cannot be cashed when one desires i.e. in the contract of the annuity with the company there is no clause as to sell the annuity before its maturity. These annuities are suitable for those who are assured that they will not be subjected to any financial problems. There are a number of benefits of these annuities as well such as:

• Tax Free: Most of such annuities are freed from the burden of tax by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This implies that your savings will be more.

• Not affected by the economic condition: These annuities are not at all affected by the economic situation and are hence risk free.

Why opt for selling them off rather than clinging on?

When one has to make a choice between encashing now and letting the annuities continue, one must weigh in pros and cons of both and after careful analysis it will be evident that it is far better to go for the former:

• An investor is assured of availability of cash in his hour of need.

• Money which is in hand at the moment, if invested will fetch a lot much more than the amount which one will receive after a decade or any time period.

• In case of slow annuities, IRS applies penalties and a huge surrender charge also has to be paid if one withdraws fund before the completion of age of 59 and half years.

• With the rise in inflation the actual value of money that one receives in a slow annuity is less.

So, now that you are aware of all the factors as to why encashing now scores over slow annuities, invest wisely and efficiently!

Getting out of debt is only a matter of a few steps, but that doesn’t make it easy. While those who are debt free may claim that it’s easy, you got into debt for a reason. Whether it is a justified reason or not, there is a cause for you being in debt. You may have had to take out student loans to get through college, or you may have collected consumer debt as a result of a few bad decisions.

Regardless of the reason, in order to get yourself out of debt, you need to not only make smart choices, but understand how and why you got yourself into this reason in the first place. Below are a few steps that you can follow when trying to get out of debt.

Step 1 – Evaluate Why You are In Debt (Be Honest)

The first and most important step is to be honest with yourself. Many people try to get out of debt by simply earning more money or finding a cheaper interest rate. The problem is that debt often comes from not being able to control your spending. If this applies to you, admit it and move on. Acknowledge that you made some crappy choices and that you want to do better. Similar to getting over any other addiction, you have to admit your struggle in order to get over it.

Step 2 – Control Your Spending

The next thing you need to do, before you even think about paying down your debt is to limit the damage. In other words, don’t keep digging a deeper hole. You need to limit your spending. Interest rates will make your debt bad enough – don’t compound the badness.

Step 3 – Come Up with a Plan

The next thing you need to do is to come up with a strategy and concrete plan to get out of debt. This means looking at calculators or you may even want to use a car loan repayment calculator if you have a car loan. Each plan is going to be unique to each person. You have to figure out what works for you and write down the steps that you are going to take.

Step 4 – Stick to Your Plan

The second to last step is to carry out the plan. If you plan consists of earning $50 more dollars from babysitting, and not eating out, then do that. It’s easy enough to create a plan, but it’s even harder to carry it out. It’s going to take a test of will and hard work to get through it, but if you focus on the benefit, you can do it.

Step 5 – Celebrate

The last and equally important step is to celebrate once you are out of debt. It’s doesn’t have to be anything that special, but you should do something. This is a way to positively reinforce the good behavior. Without this, you could easily slip back into debt.

Getting out of debt may seem easy on paper, but it’s much harder in real life. Find people who can hold your accountable and support you through this process. And lastly, don’t give up! You can do it!

Getting a new pet for your family can be expensive, and if you don’t fully plan adding this new family member, then you may be in for some surprises. Many pets can probably be had for cheaply, but if you’re thinking a dog, then make sure you fully think about this decision.

I currently have 2 dogs, one is a mutt (they say she might be a Pointer/Pit Bull mutt) and the other is a French Bulldog runt. The mutt is super healthy, but my French Bulldog – not even close. He is about 12 pounds and has already had numerous things wrong with him. And the vet has said that many more things will most like start happening as he gets older, so we do know that we need to start saving just in case something does happen.

We used to have a third dog. We sort of got her on a whim, but fell in love with her immediately. We didn’t really think about much her medication would cost and her had many medical problems. It cost around $100 per month for her medications. She ended up passing away 2 months later which was very sad.

1. Buying or “homing” the pet

There is of course the initial cost of obtaining the pet. I am 100% for pet adoption. There are so many animals out there (both puppies and adults) that need homes, and most pet shops support puppy mills. Adopting a pet may cost anywhere from free to something like $300. Usually this adoption costs includes all shots and possibly the pet being spayed or neutered.

2. Food

Food for your new pet can add up quickly also. I usually like to buy the higher quality bags of dog food. Saving a couple of bucks on dog food is most likely not worth it when it comes to your pet’s health. Dog food can range anywhere from $10 to $100 per month. We spend around $50 to $75 a month on dog food.

Food costs also depends on what type of animal and/or breed you have. Obviously my 12 pound dog eats no where near the amount of food as my 80 pound dog.

3. Medical

Medical for your pet can add up quickly. It will need all of its shots and you will want to keep them current on these shots. You might also want to get them spayed/neutered as well. The Humane Society near my house will spay/neuter your dog for around $40, whereas if you go to your local vet, it is usually around $200 to $300, but I have heard of higher cost of living places with it being around $800.

Also, if anything happens to your pet, will you be able to take them to the doctor? What if your dog gets a really bad rash, a tumor, breaks a leg, has a bad reaction to something or anything else? The cost can be as small as $75, and maybe up to a couple of thousand dollars.

4. Treats, Toys and a Bed

I really like to spoil my dogs, so I tend to spend a lot of treats and toys. Bones can be expensive, and my dog can eat a $20 4 foot long bone in a couple of hours. I don’t give her one of those often, but it does add up!

Beds can also be quite expensive as well. A crate (depending on the size) can be $100, and the bedding can be an extra $25 – $50 to go inside of it. I don’t keep my dogs in their crates ever, but it is said that dogs usually like a place with walls that makes them feel safe. My dogs willingly go in their crates and sleep in there (with the crate door open).

5. Groomers

Taking your pet to the groomers can also add up very quickly as well. My bigger dog cost around $50 each time, and my smaller dog i still expensive at $40. Usually I clean and wash them myself, but every now and then they do need to go.

Did you think about the costs before you added a pet to your family?

Anyone who doubts that local authorities are still wasting ratepayers’ money on incompetents in pointless jobs need look no further than Kent’s police. A week ago, to much media fanfare, they hired a 13-year-old crime commissioner on a £15k salary. Unfortunately they failed to point out that her job was not actually to commission crime. Grasping entirely the wrong end of the stick the lass not only indulged in underage drinking and alleged drug use but wrote up her exploits on Twitter to encourage other youngsters to follow her example. Following complaints about her posts which included, for good measure, homophobic and racist comments, she has taken early retirement. The details of her payoff and pension have not yet been made public.

Nor is there any official word yet on Britain’s economic performance in the first quarter of 2013 but the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR) offered its own provisional estimate yesterday. It reckons gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by an inflation-adjusted 0.1% in Q1. The news would have provoked celebration among the Conservatives, had they not been in sombre mood following the demise of Baroness Thatcher, and gloom on the Labour benches, save for the above. Today’s media are full of stories about how Britain has avoided a triple-dip recession but, in reality, three months of 0.1% growth after three of -0.3% contraction is not exactly an achievement to be trumped from the ramparts. For more information money transfer abroad services please click here.

That was the cautious view of investors yesterday afternoon. A few of them, perhaps out of a sense of moral obligation, bought sterling following the news but the majority felt no need to join in. That is not to say sterling had a bad day. It lost half a cent to the Australian dollar but otherwise is unchanged or firmer. Not a lot firmer though; the pound’s best performance was its gain of half a US cent. The main factor in sterling’s favour was the figures for industrial and manufacturing production, which were better – or at least not as bad – as expected. Manufacturing production grew by 0.8% in February while broader industrial production, which includes mining and energy, was up by 1.0% on the month. Year-on-year declines slowed to -1.4% and -2.2% respectively.

There were no data of any consequence from Euroland or the States but it is worth noting that consumer price inflation in Greece was a negative -0.2% while industrial production there fell more slowly, down by 3.9% on the year. There were surprises overnight from Australia, where an unexpected -5.1% fall in consumer confidence had only a momentarily dampening effect on the AUD, and China, which reported a trade deficit as exports slowed and imports shot up.

This morning France recorded a 0.7% monthly rebound for industrial output but the figures for Spain and Italy are likely to be less impressive. The only other European ecostats this morning relate to Portuguese inflation. Nothing is due from the United States or Canada except for the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). The most important data tonight are those for Australian employment. For more information on Foreign Exchange please click here.

My wife and I went to see Spiderman on Broadway last night. It was a great production and to be honest, it was one of the first times I had been so close to so many people in a long time. I really noticed how long it had been when I became aggravated that the people sitting next to us, came back 5 minutes after intermission ended, forcing us to miss a few crucial seconds of the play.

Not only did I notice our tendency to hang out with people in small groups, but I also noticed how individualistic our society is. As I looked around the theater at intermission while chatting with my wife, I couldn’t help but notice the many lights that flickered in the crowd. The mixture of cell phone screen lights could be compared to lightning bugs on a summer night. While somewhat amusing, it’s also interesting to connect the isolation to this visual display. In the middle of the quite social event, most people were in their own individual world. This is how our society is.

While I believe we are typically social creatures, we have created a world where we spend a lot of time alone. Driving in cars, watching TV, playing games on our cell phones, and the list could go on. Unfortunately this has huge repercussions. One of the most obvious is how we treat those closest to us. Western culture has often held a unusual value when it comes to living with relatives, let alone caring for them. As my grandparents get older, I can’t help but think what it will be like taking care of my parents.

We Need to Care for Those Closest To Us

Christianity has often emphasized the need to help others. Selflessly giving oneself for others is a dominant theme with its message(s). Yet, for some reason, we seem to have difficulty caring for those closest to us. In many ways, I don’t know what to expect when it comes to caring for my parents – if I will ever have to. They were the ones who took care of me – it just seems strange to have the roles reversed.

Yet, I know it’s an important thing to do. I would hate to think of my parents alone in a retirement home. When I was growing up, when my grandmother was getting ready to marry for the second time, she lived with us for about a year. I was too young at the time to think through the full implications, but to this day, my father’s sacrifice for his mom still amazes me.

Caring for Others is Difficult

Even though I know it is important for me to take care of those I love, I know it’s not easy. Reading about caregiver burnout is one thing, and the other is the financial burden. There are many days where I feel like I hardly have enough energy to clean my own dishes… how would I take care of someone else?

While I don’t have an answer to some of these questions, I do know that I need to prepare for these unlikely scenarios. In addition to doing some research from authority sites like Genworth, I plan to save a little extra money to both help with care of my parents and for me and my wife. Since we don’t plan to have kids, it’s only likely that there won’t be anyone there to take care of us, especially if we outlive our siblings. While that may be depressing for many people, I know it’s a part of life and you can only do one of two things: prepare for it so that it is significantly more manageable OR ignore it and face the consequences of your action. I choose to do the former. If you have yet to think what life will be like for you or your loved ones in 10 or 20 years from now, take time to think of the worst case scenario so that you can be a little better prepared.