If you are in the trucking industry, keeping your business successful will be one of your most pressing concerns. You might have a steady stream of clients, and you never run out of projects. Again, most of your clients pay within 30 to 60 days after delivery of your service. It is fine if you never run out of money to finance your bookings. But what happens to those who are just starting or those who need steady cash flow to get the business going?

Do not worry. Many reputable trucking factoring companies offer quick cash for your unpaid invoices.

What is factoring and what does it deal with?

Factoring is also known as accounts receivables or freight factoring. It is a financial transaction wherein a trucking business sells its accounts receivables to a specific factoring firm. The rationale behind it is to get immediate cash.

Invoice financing is also interchangeably used with invoice factoring, but these terms are not the same. The latter means the sale of a company’s asset, while the former is a loan guaranteed by an invoice.

There are four main components involved in the invoice factoring procedure. These components are the following:

• The business
• The clients/debtors of the business
• Invoices or accounts receivables of the business
• Factoring firm

If you are a trucking company and you are interested in trying trucking factoring, you need to go through these steps:

1. A business requests your trucking services, and you issue them an invoice payable within 30 to 60 days (or more).
2. You, on behalf of your business, sign up with your chosen factoring firm.
3. You assign/sell all or part of your invoices to the factoring company.
4. The factor approves the sale, and once done, you are provided with a cash advance according to the agreed cash advance rate.
5. Your client pays your invoice.
6. Your client’s payment is then deposited into a temporary reserve account.
7. The factoring company then sends you the funds, deducting a certain percentage of the factoring fee.

How to Compute Your Net Cash Advance

For example, XYZ Company engaged your trucking services. You then issue a 1,000 USD invoice, payable within 60 days. You seek the help of a factoring company, and you agreed to an 80% cash advance rate, with a 2% discount fee for every 30 days.

It means you agreed to sell your accounts receivables to the factor and will receive an 800 USD cash advance. On the 29th day after the application of the factoring agreement, your client paid the invoice. The factoring firm reserves the payment and deposits the same into a temporary reserve account.

The factoring company then takes a 20 USD factoring fee, along with the 800 USD advance you already received. They will then wire you the remaining 180 USD. The transaction is as smooth as that. The fee is also minimal, considering the benefit you enjoyed.

The Final Takeaway

The business can significantly benefit from a steady flow of cash that supports its operations. With a little fee, you get up to 80% of your unpaid invoice from an earlier period. With the advantages it offers and the easy application process, there is no reason why trucking businesses will not engage the services of these factoring firms.

Blocking out sound in your car doors is a way to level-up any ride. By soundproofing your vehicle, you immediately increase the quality of your car. Not only will it guarantee a better music and vocal quality inside your car, it will also block out any noise from the road and traffic.

Even though car doors are tricky to apply sound deadening materials to, if you go through the effort you will get rid of a wide variety of unwanted noises. Car doors have loads of different parts that rattles and moves. By using a variety of sound blocking techniques and materials, you will be able to block out these unwanted noises.

There’s a list of materials you need and then you can DIY soundproof your own car. To help you soundproof your car doors we’ve created The Ultimate Guide to Sound Deadening Car Doors | Step-by-Step.

WHAT MATERIALS DO I NEED?

First, you need to figure out how you are going to pull your car doors apart without using a crowbar. Go through the manual or do some research online about your specific car model. Then acquire the tools you need to remove the doors from the body, and remove the panels from the car.

There’s a variety of soundproof materials for cars available on the market. Here are a few that we recommend:

• Tools such as utility knife, a roller, gloves, small pick, screwdrivers, and drills, that will help you that the door apart
• Cloth or washing cloth
• Rust remover and an alcohol cleaner
• A thick sound deadening mat with insulation
• Insulation tape
• Glue
• Other sound deadening materials like a liquid coat, rubber insulation, or vibration blocking foams

Make sure you buy high-quality materials. Materials that are cheaper, usually don’t have a high-quality. Cheaper, means thinner and the results won’t be as effective.

Buying cheap will cost you more in the future. If you are deciding to take the doors of your vehicle apart, then you might as well invest in higher quality and more expensive sound deadening materials.

STEP-BY-STEP

1. Remove Car Door Parts

When you have all your materials and tools ready, you can start. Don’t be too rushed during this process. Be calm and take your time. Focus on not damaging door parts. You might have to wear old clothes and other protective gear like gloves and eye goggles.

Use a flat screwdriver or a small picker to remove parts from the door. You don’t have to take the whole door off of the body of the car, if your car model doesn’t allow it. Only remove the parts that aren’t screwed to the body. Most car model doors don’t need any brute force to be removed. So, if you read the manual, you’ll be able to do this part quite easily.

Continue on to remove screws. Don’t forget where you take each screw from, to make the re-application process easier. Also, be aware of screws falling back into the panel of the door. 

After you’ve removed all the screws you will be able to pry open the top panel of the door. Use a flat screw or a pick to help you with this process. Also remove speaker wires and speakers that might get in the way.

Underneath the panel, you will find another protective layer, usually made from fiber or foam. Typically, this layer is glued on, so make sure that you remove it carefully in order not to rip or tear it. You want to attach this back later.

For a visual guideline on how to remove car panels, watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X9WXBAUx8I

2. Clean It Up

Use rubbing alcohol the clean the inside of the car door. It’s important that this area gets a proper rub down, before you start applying anything else. Dust and dirt will prevent sound blocking materials to stay in place.

Use smaller cleaning tools, even a toothbrush or bottle cleaner, to clean hard-to-reach areas.

3. Measure

Use a utility knife to cut foam and insulation mats to fit inside the frame. You will notice that insulation foam and mats usually have a double-sided self-adhesive glue. This glue is very sticky, wear gloves to avoid the strong layer to get onto your fingers.

Rather cut smaller pieces from the mat, than cutting it too small and having to glue them back together. Measuring is an important part of the process. Your pieces can be in different shaped cuts, no need to cut out perfect rectangles.

4. Applying the Pieces

After measuring and cutting your foam and areas that you’d like to cover. It’s time to apply the pieces. Start with the most accessible part in the frame. Peel the sticky layer off of the mats and stick it onto the surface.

Use a roller or your hand to apply pressure onto the mat, to make sure it sticks in place. Try to cover most open areas. Add extra layers of foam, vinyl, and insulation tape. Remove air bubbles from underneath the mats.

For more tips on how to sound deafen your car doors – cheap, click here.

5. Re-attach the Doors

Sit inside your car and ask someone to knock on the door from the outside. When you are happy with the effect the sound deadening materials are having, then it’s time to put everything back.

Make sure to use the right screws and do everything backwards, step-by-step. Apply the panels and all other unscrew-able bits.

After repeating this process on all four your doors, you’ll have a sound proof and higher quality ride for life.

If a visitor were to tell you that you could be your own bank, what do you picture? Perhaps you envision building a new bank in your yard. Or, maybe you imagine pulling money from a newly acquired money tree in your garden.

When it comes to increasing your savings and investing in your future, high amounts of debt, or the need to purchase something substantial, like a new roof, can stand in the way. And turning to the bank for assistance is not always a viable option.

That’s where bank on yourself insurance companies come in. They offer a different solution to financial security. But what is it? Does it work? Find the answers below.

What exactly does the term bank on yourself mean?

Bank on yourself is a financial strategy that has recently been re-popularized by Pamela Yellen. Though her book is becoming a widely contested published work, she is not the first person to pitch it. This idea has a goal to use your assets to finance purchases, rather than a loan from a bank while growing your wealth in the process.

When you use a bank on yourself strategy, you use the cash value of your whole life insurance policy to make your large purchase. It is important to note, and something Pamela and her successors say as well, that the policy must be a participating whole life insurance policy. Not all companies and policies work in this scenario.

Your unusual whole life insurance policy will need to have a rider added that allows you to borrow the cash value, essentially becoming your own bank.

Why would people consider this?

This method for saving and growing wealth is appealing to many people because:

1. You avoid finance charges that a bank would charge
2. The loan is usually private between you and your insurance carrier, meaning it won’t appear on your credit report
3. You typically have flexible options to paying back the amount, instead of a set payback schedule that banks require

Is it a good idea?

Though bank on yourself insurance companies pitch this method as a great option for everyone, it has its own caveats. It is built on the premise that insurance carriers pay out more dividends than they collect, which usually is not the case.

Another downside to this type of financing is that it can only be made with certain carriers, limiting your options.

So, what should I do to take control of my finances?

Working to take control of your financial future is an important goal. When you have no savings and high amounts of debt, it may seem like something like a bank on yourself loan is your best option.

However, there may be more options out there than you think.

Meeting with a financial planner or a financial consulting firm can help. They’ll meet with you and discuss your future goals. Then, they create a plan to help you achieve them, setting you up for financial security and increased wealth in the future. This alternative gives you the power to make the best choice for you.

Once you reach adulthood, you start to realize there are loans for just about everything. Whether through commercials, walking down the street, or even talking to others, you’ve seen that there are loans for everything you can imagine.

Personal loans seem to encompass just about everything. Are personal loans for everything out there? Are they that easy to get?

Well, the easy answer is “it depends.” There is no specific answer when it comes to personal loans.

Whether it be credit card consolidation, needing cash immediately, or just about any project you can think of. Below are the basics and a little crash course with personal loans.

What are personal loans?

Personal loans are precisely what they sound like: they are loans for personal reasons. Many times, you don’t even need to provide an exact reason as to why you’re requesting a loan. It could be because you’re remodeling the bathroom or need to fix your car.

Generally speaking, there are two kinds of personal loans: unsecured and secured. Unsecured loans aren’t going to require any collateral and are typically seen as being a bit riskier. Secured loans are just the opposite as they do need some collateral.

What about the terms?

While the exact terms will vary from institution to institution, the following rules stay the same:

• A fixed interest rate
• Fixed monthly payment
• A fixed amount of money borrowed upfront

The interest rates on personal loans are much lower than your credit card, which averages around 17%. Personal loans average about 4%. Much easier on your wallet and financial life.

Why would I need one?

As mentioned above, you don’t need a specific reason to take one out. Many people use them for home remodeling or other big projects, but there is no blanket reason. Well, the blanket reason is that you need cash for X thing. Another popular area where personal loans are needed is credit card consolidation or debt consolidation.

If you’re someone who is drowning in credit card debt and being hit with those high-interest rates, it’s much easier to consolidate your debts with a personal loan and lower interest rates. Also, you’re doing to benefit from having a fixed monthly payment so you can easily plan your future budget from here on out.

It’s a path many people take to get their debt under control and have a better overall feel for their finances.

Where do I go?

Now that you know a little bit about personal loans, you have to decide where you’re going to go looking for them.

While you could head to a bank for a personal loan, these often take a lot of time, paperwork, and bureaucracy. Banks may give you a reasonable rate, but you might have to wait for months to do so.

One of the most famous avenues for many people is to head to online vendors. Online vendors typically have fewer requirements than your average bank and can get back to you on a quicker basis. You’ll want to make sure you’re shopping around for those with the best interest rates, which will vary depending on your financial history and credit score.