Archive for the 'Interest Rates' Category

Sometimes finding good advice on money and savings is hard, especially on the internet. Everyone and their mother (literally) seems to have advice as to how you can get rich quick, or save a bundle and retire early. Which advice do you take?

I was recently put in touch with a website called Thrifty Scot to check it over and see what I think. All in all, a good site that provides useful knowledge and services for those of you looking to save a little money and increase your wealth.

First off, as we’ve mentioned before, you can stand to save a lot of money in the long run by purchasing a house rather than renting which means taking on a mortgage. Thrifty Scot has some useful information on mortgages that may just help you out of a jam and get the right rate and deal when buying that first home.

Another killer for some peoples wallets is how much they pay in car insurance. You need to pay attention to what the “sales people” are trying to sell you and knowing what you need and don’t need is half the battle. Let this site help you out.

Lastly, once you have your finances in order you may need to get a boost in cashflow and take on some loans. We suggest heading over and learning about a sucured loan before you do anything. It could save you a lot of money in the long run by allowing you to watch out for some of the pitfalls that so often come with taking out a loan for many things.

Most of all, just read, read, read. The more you know about saving money the better chances you have of making more of it and creating wealth for yourself.

If you are considering a loan and you are unsure as to the differences between fixed interest rates and adjustable interest rates, read on.

Fixed Rate
Installment loans typically have fixed rate interest, meaning that the interest rate and the monthly payments will remain the same for the entire length of the loan.

Advantages

• Installments are constant
• Payments are easy to budget
• Loan cost won’t increase
• No unpleasant surprises

Disadvantages

• If interest rate drops, yours remains high
• Initially more than adjustable rate

Adjustable Rate
With an adjustable rate, the interest on your loan will vary. When the interest rates change, your monthly payment changes as well. This generally happens once or twice yearly.

Advantages

• Annual increases are usually controlled
• Initial rate is lower than fixed rate
• If rates drop, your overall costs are lower

Disadvantages

• Not always an option
• Tough to budget for increase in rate
• Vulnerability to rate hikes

Credit Card debt can be a pain in the neck and with the holidays now behind us, I know I’m not the only one with a little holiday related debt. Sometimes it can be just too easy to swipe the credit cards and not worry about how you’re going to pay for that sweater for Mom or socks of the brother.

However, now that you’re in a little, or a lot, of debt doesn’t mean you have to be penalized for it. You could keep your debt on high interest credit cards or you could switch them over to a 0% APR credit card that allows you to transfer your balances free of charge. It’s a way for credit cards to get you to bring your debt to them and hopefully not pay it off, or at least use their card instead of a competitors.

So use that to your advantage. I recently happened across a website, quite randomly, at www.BalanceTransfer.cc. They’ve organized all the most current 0% APR credit card offers into a great, easily navigable page(s). They’ve even got a 0% credit card offer blog that can help explain some of the issues with gimmicks and help you save a lot of money in interest.

I’ve noticed also, and had some friends sign up for, discover card 0% intro APR deals that not only save them the pain of paying interest on high debt but also give a little back if they ever decide to manage their debt well and use the card to pay for common purchases (more on that to come).

I’ve used a chase credit card 0% intro APR card that seems to be a great deal but I’m also thinking about going with an American Express credit card because I’ve never had one before and have wanted to have an AE card on hand just in case I’m ever somewhere that I need to use one. Plus they’ve got that cool “blue” card that’s almost see through.

Anyway, the point is, you can save a lot of money if you transfer your credit card debt to a 0% APR credit card. Make sure you don’t have to pay any balance transfer fees (some will sock you $75 or more to just bring your money over), and you’ll be on your way to living debt free in no time.

The Federal Reserve raised the interest rate to 5.25 %, the highest it’s been in 5 years on Thursday after the end of a two day meeting in Washington.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and other policymakers talked about the need to raise interests rates this time around to fend off the continued inflation that is occurring in the US economy. They also hinted the more interest rates hikes might be needed to fend off still more inflation over the next year.

This news came and gave the DOW a sizeable boost in early morning trading and ended the day up over 215 points, with the NASDAQ following suit at up 62 points. Gold and silver were both up as well on news of interest rates increases from the fed, trading on these commodities continues worldwide throughout the day and night.