Tips for cleaning bad credit
By financen | February 23, 2009 - 6:08 pm - Posted in Bad Credit, Credit

If you are having a bad credit, then you need to do a lot of hard work in order to fix it. It is important that you stay on top of your bad credit because it plays a significant role on your financial future. You will face a lot of troubles in obtaining any new credit from the future lenders. Here are some tips on how you can fix your bad credit over the period of time.

The first step that you need to take is to order a free copy of your credit report from the credit reporting agencies. You are eligible to receive one free copy of your credit report in a year. If you pull your credit report multiple times in a year, it will hurt your credit scores.

 


Next step is to review your credit report thoroughly. You want to make sure that there are no incorrect items reported on your credit report that are hurting your scores. If you find any errors, contact the credit reporting agency and dispute the incorrect item. Get it fixed immediately. Make sure that you are doing the disputing the error in writing in order to back your case. The credit bureau will review your dispute and correct it within thirty days.

Take a look at the loans and the credit card debts showing on your credit report. Close those accounts that you won’t need in the future because too many open accounts will hurt your credit scores. Transfer the credit card balance having a high interest rate to another card with a lower interest rate as this will save you some money in the long run. If there are any open accounts with small balances on your credit report, contact the creditor and get it paid off before you start working on the accounts with larger balances.

Contact the creditors with whom you have high balances and try to work out payment arrangements with them. They will be willing to work on your payment terms because they will understand your intentions of paying off your debts in order to fix your credit. Make sure that you get everything in writing before you agree to make any payments.

Repairing your bad credit will take some time, but this is something that you will want to do in order to get a good deal from the potential lenders when you are looking for any new credit in the future.

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Chapter 7 bankruptcy attorney
By financen | February 19, 2009 - 4:56 pm - Posted in Bankruptcy

Your personal finance will be in good shape if you have the right knowledge and skills to manage it. Not having the proper management on your financial decisions can go to the extent when you will consider filing for bankruptcy. And if you have already decided for it, you need a good attorney who specializes in filing chapter 7 bankruptcy cases.

Filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy is an important step and it must be done correctly. There were major changes made by the congress in the bankruptcy laws few years ago. Due to the changes, the filing process has got more complex and requires a good lawyer. Some lawyers pointed that the bankruptcy laws have got so complex that they need to work very hard to understand it. Judges may still struggle to interpret it years from now.


An attorney is required in the process of filing chapter 7 bankruptcies. Few years back, it was possible to do it on your own, but nowadays, this is not feasible anymore because of the changes in the laws.

While you are dealing with an attorney, make sure that you explain your financial situation very thoroughly so that he can build the best case possible. Browse through the internet and read various articles to stay updated about the bankruptcy process so that you have a better understanding with your attorney when he is preparing your case. Get all your financial records together so that you know exactly where you stand and help the attorney to prepare your case.

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Advantages of prepaid card
By financen | February 13, 2009 - 4:38 pm - Posted in Credit Card

It’s always a good idea to have some kind of cards that will have a direct tie up with your bank account without falling into any kind of debts. Nowadays, most of the banks are willing to offer a debit card that is directly connected to your savings or checking account. There are some other cards that can be used in a different way. These are known as prepaid cards where you deposit a certain amount of money on your bank account and then use the prepaid card to make purchases on yourself or control the spending. Let’s look at some of the salient features of having a debit prepaid card.

Control your spending: The best thing of a prepaid card is that you will have the maximum control on your spending habits. Using these cards, you will know exactly how much balance is available on your bank account and when there is no balance on your account, the transaction that you did by your prepaid card will automatically get declined. That’s why it’s important to budget.

Prepaid cards works like a credit card: Many people have the misconception that a debit prepaid card works only with their bank and hence there are certain limitations on the transactions. The fact is that you will be able to use the debit prepaid card anywhere as long as it has the MasterCard or the Visa logo.

Prepaid cards are safe and secure. You are only liable to pay the first $50 courtesy of a government law. You don’t need to feel afraid of using this card online or in person, no matter where you swipe it.

There are many other reasons of using a debit prepaid card along with the other regular cards. You should look into using these cards because it will keep a control on your spending habits.

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Business Due Diligence
By financen | February 5, 2009 - 4:30 pm - Posted in Business Due Diligence

Due diligence is a term traditionally used to reflect the analysis activities that happens during merger and acquisition activities. Nowadays, this process has been extended to include the evaluation of business affiliation and partnership agreements.

Business due diligence includes legal due diligence and financial due diligence. During this time, financial assets of a business, articles of incorporation, market share, technology, hardware and business competencies are thoroughly examined. Unfortunately, there are certain times when everything does not remain the same in a business, especially when it comes to cultural and integrating “human systems”.

Statistics show that only 15% to 25% of the businesses were able to live up to their expectations. 25% to 30% of the businesses are reported to be outright failures, with the acquired entity being liquidated at a loss within 3 to 5 years of acquisition. Rest of the portion result in little or no apparent benefit to the buyer’s shareholders.

In the recent times, there are a number of companies paying too much for the organizations they are acquiring. Due to the declining equity prices, there has been a disconnect between the owners who don’t know what they want for their business and what operating companies are willing to pay, whether in rapidly declining stock or cash they borrow at escalating interest rates. This kind of disconnect last happened in 2001 when the economy went into hibernation. Over-valuations may have gone up to millions but potential losses that may have incurred due to lack of cultural integration could be even costlier.

The Cultural Due Diligence process covers key cultural and organizational effectiveness domains including:

 

  • Leadership: vision, mission, values, business strategy development, leadership effectiveness and ethics
  • Relationships: trust, collaboration, inter/intra group relationships, community and customers
  • Communication: feedback, information sharing, employee trust in information
  • Infrastructure: formal procedures, processes, systems, policies, structure and teams
  • Involvement & Decision Making: authority levels, accountability, expectations and the decision making process
  • Change Management: creativity, innovation, recognition, continuous learning and diversity
  • Finance: perception of financial health and the role of the employee and the level of financial comprehension and impact on the business
  • Cultural Descriptors: a list of predetermined values which can be customized to reflect the organization’s values.
  • General Climate: open-ended questions that capture the stories and suggestions from employees.
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Using gold coin collections as a long term investment
By financen | February 4, 2009 - 5:10 pm - Posted in Investment

If you are fond of collecting gold coins, then you must know the ins and outs while you nurture this hobby. It can be a very rewarding and lucrative hobby if you are doing it properly otherwise it can end being a very costly affair. Half of the battle lies in knowing which coins to buy. Gold coins can be separated into various types. These are standard gold bullion coins and the other types of coins are rare collectible coins. Most gold bullion coins go for less then their weight value in gold. On the other hand collectible coins go for much more depending on their value in the present market.


When you are purchasing a gold coin, make sure that you get a certificate of guarantee of the value from the dealer. It is of no harm if you are getting yourself educated. You must know the difference in the grading and evaluation process. It will become easier if you have thorough knowledge and are able to spot a good deal. This will also help you to spot a deal if you are selling it for less than worth. Study the gold market very thoroughly and be prepared to sell when the market changes. Your main intention is to earn money by selling gold, so study the market fluctuations very keenly.

Gold industry is a very lucrative market. You should also be wary of this kind of market. The prices of gold can rise and fall in a fraction of a second. This has often pushed many collectors and entrepreneurs and change their mind at the drop of a dime. Due to the fluctuating gold market, many people have either gained a lot or lost a lot of money when the market prices changes. So it is suggested that you must be aware about the market changes and make a good deal of investment.

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