Ohh the "B" word. When people think about the idea of bankruptcy they think about having their credit ruined for the next seven years.
Well I have news for you. If you have defaulted on payments to your creditors, those defaults will remain on your credit report for the same length of time as a bankruptcy would.
A bankruptcy will remain on your credit report for 6 years from the date that the bankruptcy is discharged.
Defaulted payments will remain your credit report for 6 years from the date that you settle defaulted debts or pay off defaulted debts in full.
Once discharged from bankruptcy you can qualify for a low interest mortgage to buy a home with two years of strong, positive re-established credit and a strong overall financial profile.
If you are becoming discharged from bankruptcy here is what you can do to start rebuilding your credit and finances.
1. Open a bank account with a bank that was not included in your bankruptcy. Make an appointment to discuss:
a. A savings plan
b. RRSP loan options. RRSP loans report to your Trans Union and Equifax credit bureaus and are a great way to re-establish credit, reduce income taxes and build retirement savings
2. Get A Financial Report Card. This will tell you how a bank would grade the current state of your financial profile, reveal strengths and weaknesses and give you strong direction to work towards your financial goals.
3. Obtain a secured credit card and only use what you can afford to repay in full each and every month. Never have a balance on any credit card that exceeds 50% of your credit limit.
4. Prepare a budget and follow it.
Following these steps will start you on a path to excellent credit and strong borrowing power!
Article by Courtney Jewell-McElroy
CEO, Assure Assess Corp.
http://www.assureassess.com
http://www.trueassess.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Courtney_Jewell-McElroy
Sabtu, 04 Desember 2010
Investors and Speculators - 5 Key Differences By Aaron Leow Platinum Quality Author
What constitutes towards an investor and what does it mean to be a speculator? In this article, I delve into 5 key differences between the investor and speculator.
1. Long term versus Short term
There are many differences in how each and every individual sees what is defined as "long term" or "short term". Some define 1 month as short, while others, long. As a general rule of thumb, investors generally invest in the long term while speculators focus on the short term.
Investors love things that provide them logical and sensible investments that bring in reliable and stable profits. Speculators on the other hand, love anything that is new and on the hype as of the moment.
2. Differences in emotions
A logical investor is not swayed by his emotions in terms of investing. He understands that emotions are what generally move the market, but it does not mean that it has any LASTING value in the long run.
Speculators on the other hand, event he logical ones, predict and through understanding of human emotions, use their emotions to trade in the market. They buy based on their gut feelings to "follow the crowd or trend". They are sure that by following the trend, there is no way they can lose as in both up, down or stable markets, they are able to make money. Either way, human emotions are the main driving force in the decision of speculators, even if the emotion does not come from them.
3. Technical versus Fundamental Analysis
Speculators are guided by charts, Japanese candle sticks, brand new news bulletins, newspapers and shocking headlines by corporations to decide when to buy and sell. They rarely if ever, delve into the history of the business itself. They do rarely, if ever, understand the underlying concept of the economic conditions and how it will affect the business as a whole. As their goals are merely usually confined towards a year, things like these do not generally rouse interest towards them.
Investors, on the other hand, browse through and understand the business that they are buying into. They understand that in order for them to go for a long term, the company itself must be able to sustain for the long term. For that to happen, the company must possess a stable and predictable future based on excellent economics in their favor. In order to do that, they are guided by the company's annual reports and they look and talk towards the company's management directly to learn and understand the business.
4. Voting machine versus Weighing Machine
The investor views the market as a weighing machine rather than a voting machine. They understand that the market, in the long run, will experience high and low cycles. However, the core value of the business itself, given the underlying economics of proper management, will in due time, revert and show its value based on the price of the business. They understand that if a company is consistently selling below its true worth, something is already generally wrong within the management or the economics of the business. The price in the long run is reflected as a weighing machine rather than a voting machine.
The speculator on the other hand, views the market as a voting machine. The more people vote against or with a certain hyped up issue, the more opportunities and emotions will sway to. They target and run towards the crowds and the most popular issues. Driven by emotions and greed, they love issues which provide the wild excitement in the price. The price is reflected on how popular the issue is at the given time, rather than how the business is actually worth.
5. The Doctor versus the Pianist
If you were to study real hard and put in dedicated effort and considerable amount of time into becoming a doctor, you would generally be able to become one through enough effort. You would be able to live of well enough to depend on your income generated from being a doctor with proper spending habits.
Pianists, on the other hand, are what you would call performing artists. In order to become and excel in one, you need more than what one would call just pure dedication and effort. You would need to have a very special set of characteristics in you that people will be able to take notice and make yourself stand out. You would only be able to succeed if you have this special quality.
It is the same for both speculators and investors. Investors are generally doctors. With enough effort, dedication and practice, you would be able to pass out generally well. You will be able to get rich quick, but with proper discipline, you would be able to get rich slowly. Unexciting, but steadily.
Being a speculator however, you are trying to win against many people who aspire to win money from you. People who have dedicated 20-30 years of their lives trying to perfect their "art". In order to stand out and win over them, you would need a special quality that stands out way beyond the over speculative market. You are a pianist.
Summary
All in all, be it a speculator or investor, in most cases, one must understand that they need both mindsets and frames to succeed in both long and short terms. Opportunities are always there in both passageways. It is only up to you to spot and use them
| To Your Success, Aaron Leow Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Aaron_Leow | |
Act Now or Forget Your Pension By Dan G Chamberlain
Forgive my skepticism, I can only talk from past experience, you see I've got a share portfolio which I'm looking to for a pension, I've had this for 7 years and rather than make me any money, it's actually fallen 3% in value.
The news is full of programmes investigating the current financial crisis; no avenue of investment seems to be safe.
Panorama recently investigated the vast fees and commissions some pension companies take from their clients, in one case a lady's net return over 21 years was just 3%...it would have been 4% if she had not been paying various charges!
Now I'm sure that there are other pensions that would return her a larger sum but as she pointed out, how do you know which are any good?
Well the answer is, you really don't...
Why Property?
For years I have tried to educate clients as to the benefits of using property investment as a pension. Not only do you benefit from any rental returns after mortgage payments but you will also over a number of years, benefit from capital growth.
It has been widely documented that property prices have taken a tumble in many locations, however if you buy smart and at a good price you massively reduce your risk.
The average pension pot in the UK is around £33,000; now for many of you it may not be too late to do something about this.
Below I will show you a simple way to make your money work for you using property investment.
Let's take a 35 year old male that wants to retire at 55.
- Purchase a 1 bed apartment for £150,000. (Multiple locations across the south coast)
- Deposit needed £30,000 (20%)
- Repayment Mortgage over 20 years = £735 pcm (4% interest rate)
- Rent PCM = £750 pcm (average for this price and location)
- Management Cost £75 pcm (10%)
- Additional payments = £60 pcm.
*Remember this is a repayment mortgage, not interest only, the long term goal is to pay this mortgage off over 20 years.
If you look at the £60 as your pension payments, in 20 years time you will have a pension pot worth £150,000, not taking into account any growth; giving you a return of £750 pcm.
Now the chances are that there will be capital growth during this period, if we take it at just 5% per year, your property will be worth £397,995 in 20 years time.
Rental also historically increases over time, if we take 5% here as well, your £750 would be worth £1,990 pcm in 20 years.
In Conclusion:
When investing in stocks and shares, it is extremely hard to get an idea of what they will be worth come retirement time. Brokers and IFA's will bombard you with figures, but for the most part it's a shot in the dark.
One thing that not is historical data on property and rental growth, this can be proved, as can the UK's desperate need for more property and the demand for rental property in certain areas.
Many of you probably own a house and have done for a number of years, cast your mind back 20 years and recall the re-sale and rental values then. See what I mean?
In short:
- £30,000 investment now
- £60 pcm top up
Should provide you with...
- An asset worth £397,995 in 20 years time
- Income of £1,990 per month
The Alternative:
Keep ploughing money into a product you're not in control of and you probably don't understand.
| Dan Chamberlain is a director of http://www.freshinvest.co.uk, Fresh Invest brings a new approach to investing. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dan_G_Chamberlain |  |
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