Beating The Rica

Archive for October, 2011

If you have a history of bad credit and are unable to obtain a mainstream credit card, then prepaid credit cards may be just the answer you are looking for.

First of all, although prepaid credit cards are accepted at any retail outlet where the credit card logo is displayed, strictly speaking they are not a ‘credit’ card, as the issuer provides no credit facility to you. Rather, your spending limit is determined by how much money you have on the credit card at any given time.

Once the amount on the card has been spent, the cardholder can either buy a new prepaid credit card or elect to transfer money on to the existing card, depending on the card program.

Although prepaid credit cards sound very like debit credit cards, the two should not be confused. In the case of debit cards, any purchase for goods or services you make will automatically be charged to you bank account – for which the debit credit card has been issued. However, purchases for goods or services made on prepaid cards goes off the balance already on the card.

Because of the prepaid nature of these cards, they have several benefits, such as:

no interest is charged
they give people with a bad credit history the option to
use a credit card
the ‘credit’ line is variable depending on the amount on the balance of the card

That said, you still need to review the terms and conditions of the application form carefully as prepaid credit cards can have


a monthly membership fee

an application fee

a purchase fee

a monthly transaction limit fee, i.e. if you spend over a fixed amount each month you are charged a fee for any additional transactions

a fee if you use the card to make ATM withdrawals

Nonetheless, the card is a superb option if you either cannot obtain a regular credit card or are tired of all the fees and interest charges that are normally associated with standard credit card.

If you’re a recent graduate or on the verge of completing college or university, then start searching for at a fixed rate private student loan. It will definitely help you save you some cash whilst simplifying your college loan repayments. Fixed rate loan consolidation interest levels have been reduced and opting for a fixed interest rate loan will assist you to reduce your long-term repayments. You can now benefit from what will probably be the best interest rates for the following 10 years due to the slow upswing in the economy.

Advantages of a fixed rate private student Loan consolidation:
• Reduced Repayments: By consolidating your current private loans you’ll lower your monthly repayments.
• A single Payment: Rather than needing to manage numerous loans along with a variety of payments, you’ll have just one to be concerned about, together with a single monthly instalment.
• Reduced Fixed Interest Rate: Whenever you combine your loans you’ll enjoy a reduced fixed rate, designed to decrease your total long-term repayments to your loan provider.
• Credit standing: It is possible to improve your credit score by consolidating your loans into a single loan which you pay out to a single loan provider. The greater outstanding debts you’ve got against your credit profile the less favourable it’ll reflect to creditors. Through making only one loan out of 2 or more outstanding loans you can improve your credit score.

An abundance of information is available online to which offers you a variety of choices for student loan consolidation. Firstly you need to search for competitive costs. The majority of loan providers will provide an instant quote, or you can make a decision online in a few seconds.

Lastly, there’s still hope even though the loan has gone into default. Loan companies will normally work together with applicants who are seriously attempting to take care of the default.

Have you heard or read of the debit card? I am quite sure you know that there are two basic ways by which you can make payment these days. Of these two, the most popular and most old fashioned is the conventional payment. However, a more common method which is rapidly becoming popular is the form of payment through debit cards. I would like to introduce you to the whole new concept of the use of cards, and why they might be the kind of payment solution you are looking for. You see, the use of the debit cards ensure that you make the rudimentary payment, and also come with the added advantage of helping you manage your expenditure so you do not fall into unnecessary debts.

You might be wondering how this can be done, seeing that more and more people are falling prey to the wonderful credit cards. Well, first things first: the debit card works just like the credit cards. This means that you can make payment with them, without the inconvenience of having to carry the actual cash along and around. Instead, the cost of the item is charged to the card directly.

If it works like the normal credit card, how then is it different, you might be wondering still. Well, the card works thus. You can pout in a pre planned amount of money into the debit card, which stops your expenditure when this limit is reached, so you do not have to fall prey to the temptation of compulsive buying, and winding up in virtual debts. This means that it is what no less is in the card that is spent, no more,. When the limit is reached, your card stops being able to pay for items you charge to it. This is a very effective way to save you the stress of going over the top.

Well, when you have gone through this, I am sure you would agree with me that these cads are quite nice, but like credit cards, they also have some flaws too. Since your debit cards have a certain amount of cash in them which can be spent until the limit is reached, in the case of theft, the money in the cards can be spent without drawing too much attention. Once you make a purchase, the amount is immediately removed from your own personal account.

Therefore you have to be very careful with the way you handle the card, taking care to guard against theft of the card. You can also monitor the history of your debit card online daily to catch any anomaly in the expenditure curve. This can help you ensure that any amount being deducted was done explicitly by you and by no one else, without your permission.

If there happens to be some problems you can report the case to the appropriate office. In over all, the use of the debit card can be really good, even better than the credit cards.

Is factoring a type of loan?

No. Even though invoice factoring is commonly referred to as ” factoring loans”,
it is a financial practice involving a B2B transaction, but no bank.
To further explain, account factoring, it is when a company, like Peacock Capital,
purchases your accounts receivable invoices at a discount and provides you with
immediate cash. A traditional bank loan uses your company’s accounts receivable as
collateral, where account receivables factoring looks primarily at the financial
soundness of your customers, not your company. Banks are regulated heavily; large
finance companies generally are public and driven by pressures in the financial
markets. When times are tough, banks and finance companies limit lending. A small
business, too new to have a track record, with a weak balance sheet, with a history
of financial problems, in turnaround mode or undergoing big changes, often cannot
find a willing lender at any price. That is why factoring is best for small to mid-sized
businesses.

Does a bank loan make more sense for my small business than invoice factoring?

No. Banks often have restrictive lending requirements relating to cash flow,
profitability, equity, and years in business, which prohibit them from making
loans to small to mid-sized businesses. Since factoring companies are not
in the lending business and there is really no such thing as ” factoring loans”,
the decision to purchase invoices is influenced primarily by the quality of your
customer base and their financial stability, and not the financial fundamentals
of your company.

Do I have to jump through the same hoops for account receivables Factoring as with
bank financing?

No. All Peacock Capital needs to produce a proposal is a completed pre-approval
form, summary of accounts receivable aging, summary accounts payable
aging and some other basic financial information.

Do I have to be an established business operating a minimum number of years to
start an account factoring relationship with Peacock Capital?

No. Peacock Capital prides itself on working with companies in all stages of
business, including recently developed small to mid-size businesses. Even pure
start-ups are usually not a problem for Peacock Capital. If your company has
verifiable invoices and creditworthy customers, Peacock Capital will happily speak
with you about an account receivables factoring relationship.

Are my receivables held as collateral while my company is factoring?

Yes. Peacock Capital requires a first position on all accounts receivable while you
are factoring with us.

Does Peacock Capital require additional collateral when my company is factoring?

No. Within our traditional account factoring programs, a first position on accounts
receivable is all that Peacock Capital requires while you are factoring. In some
situations, Peacock Capital may take an available security interest in other
company’s assets.

When you come right down to basics, insurance is a very simple bet. You pay a premium and, if you manage to drive safely, you’re a winner. But, if you’re involved in an accident, you can claim on the policy and you’re not a loser. Well, perhaps that should be you don’t lose as much as you might have done without insurance. From the insurance company’s point of view, it guesses how much it’s likely to have to pay out and adds a profit margin. If its guess is right, this is a profitable business. As you may have noticed, insurance is a profitable business so these companies are very good at guessing how much money all us drivers are likely to claim in any given year. For a long time, it’s been obvious people who only drive a few miles a week have a much lower risk profile. They don’t get into accidents as often as the folk who drive long commuting distances on busy roads. The low-mileage drivers should pay less. That’s only fair. Why should the stay-home drivers subsidize the more wide-ranging? But the problem for the insurance companies has always been our habit of dishonesty. Let’s say an insurer offers lower rates to those saying they drive less than 100 miles a week. Suddenly, we all say we never take the vehicle out of the garage except on a Tuesday to go visit Grandma. Now the insurers have an answer. It’s the appliance of science.

The first point is this has nothing to do with the event data recorders all manufacturers are now fitting to our vehicles. That’s an entirely separate use of technology to put the equivalent of an airplane black box in everyone’s vehicle. This allows the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and other interested parties to investigate the causes of accidents and, for the most part, decide how to design vehicles to be more safe. Now the larger insurers like Allstate and State Farm are providing their own black boxes or relying on the onboard computer systems to monitor when and how far we drive. Interestingly, State Farm also includes a GPS transmitter to show where its policyholders drive. Many people are suggesting this is a modern version of Big Brother, a spy in the vehicle with us.

When asked why it was fitting a GPS transponder, State Farm explained it was intended to track a stolen vehicle and to send a tow truck should its drivers break down or get involved in an accident. That said, it also acknowledged the package might not be for everyone. Manufacturers did not fit the right type of ports before 1996 so black boxes cannot be fitted to older vehicles. Those who feel the monitoring systems infringe their privacy will also refuse this cover. But, with those who are prepared to allow detailed monitoring of their driving, the discounts can be significant. So it’s a trade-off between privacy concerns and cheap auto insurance. In some of the more sophisticated packages, the system records whether you make sudden stops. This increases the risk another vehicle will hit your rear-end. This evidence can show an increased risk and end your hopes of cheap auto insurance. Always find out what the black box records before signing up.

I am often asked a seemingly simple question: what is the best balance transfer credit card? Unfortunately, the answer can be quite complicated. However, the short answer to this question is simple: apply for a 0% APR balance transfer credit card that charges no balance transfer fees.

Over the past three years, the number of credit cards offering no fee 0% interest balance transfers has declined substantially. Today, there are rarely more than two or three of these offers on the market at one time. Additionally, there used to be credit cards that offered no fee balance transfers with a 0% interest rate on purchases and balance transfers. Today, all such offers have disappeared.

Consequently, I have developed a few quick rules to help people determine if a 0% no fees balance transfer is better than a credit card that offers 0% on both purchases and balance transfers.

Rule #1:

If you will be carrying a credit card balance from month to month on any credit card, a no fee balance transfer may not be the best option. Why? The standard fee for most 0% balance transfer offers is 3% with a $75 maximum. If, for example, you carry a balance of only $1000 on a credit card with a 14% interest rate during the year, you will rack up more than $150 in interest on your new purchases. Thus, if you know you will use your credit card for more than balance transfers, avoid the no fee offers and stick with a credit card that offers a 0% APR on everything.

Rule #2:

Read the fine print. While I can’t name names here, a number of companies have raised the maximum balance transfer fees to $250. While this only effects those of you transferring more than $2500, these absurd fees can be easily avoided.

Rule #3:

Plan ahead. 0% APR balance transfers don’t last forever, so it is always wise to choose a balance transfer credit card that offers a low long term APR as well as a 0% intro rate. Of course, you could theoretically transfer your balance from card to card when the 0% APR expires. However, just in case you can’t, a low APR acts as an insurance policy.

The choice between a no fee balance transfer and a 0% APR credit card for purchases and balance transfers is clearly not as simple as it seems. However, if you take your spending habits into consideration, finding balance transfer deal that will save you the most money does not have to be a daunting task.