When you’re searching for the best credit card deals, make sure you do the appropriate research so you have all the information you need to choose a credit card which suits your personal financial situation.

If you’re struggling with a credit card balance which is accruing high interest, I recommend you search for a company that provides a long term low interest rates on balance transfers. Advanta Bank Business Platinum Rewards Mastercard® offers 0% APR on Balance Transfer for 15 months.

Maybe you’re someone who is good at managing their finances and wants to get some extra benefits from your credit card. If you’re able to utilize your credit card for most of your purchases throughout the month and have the discipline to pay the total balance outstanding on time, you can start accruing some serious reward points. Blue Sky from American Express offers reward points without restrictions and it has no annual fee and a 0% introductory APR for 6 months.

If you need immediate credit card help, get online and search for the right credit card that meets you financial needs.

As an emerging entrepreneur, it is very easy to quickly accumulate debts that are substantial enough to kill your burgeoning business before it even gets off the ground. But it does not have to be that way. Take the time to examine your business workflow and you will likely discover a number of extraneous costs that can be eliminated to improve the health of your bottom line.

Here are eight common practices that lead to common results; learn to avoid them and you will be uncommonly successful.

1. Not sticking to the necessities.

As good a place to start as any, this is an all-encompassing, catch-all principle. Be a good bootstrapper by spending money only on what is absolutely necessary to operate your business. Come up with less expensive alternatives for accomplishing your core objectives and only increase expenditures as your revenue allows you to do so. If you survive the all-important start-up period and find your bootstrapping techniques to be too restrictive to your growing business, then you are welcome to loosen the purse strings a bit and enjoy the freedom that comes with larger cash reserves.

2. Trying to do too much too soon.

If you jump the gun and attempt to launch too many projects at the same time, your limited capital will severely limit the time and budget that can be devoted to each distinct venture. New endeavors require individual attention and need to be slowly nurtured if you want them to be successful. If you try to commence too many undertakings simultaneously, all that you will end up with is a bunch of projects that are all failing to earn and are instead costing you money.

3. Not designing for scalability.

There is little worse than achieving initial success only to be undermined by your initial lack of vision and poor preparation. If your business design cannot be scaled up when you hit it big then you may be forced to absorb all sorts of unexpected expenses as you are attempting to redesign from scratch.

4. Failing to delegate.

Always remember, you’re the big idea man; don’t spend your time performing tasks that could be done just as well by a cheap hired hand. Though you might be tempted to micromanage and keep a close eye on every aspect of your enterprise, you will not only drive yourself crazy, but also drive your business into trouble.

5. Buying in bulk.

If you are starting a small business, don’t worry about having a year’s supply of copy paper on hand the first day that you hang up your shingle. You will have all sorts of expenses in the early stages of your start-up and you will need all of the ready cash you can keep your hands on. Clip coupons to buy only what you need and you’ll have a better chance of weathering the early storm of unanticipated costs.

6. Paying your bills late.

Whenever possible, meet your expenses with the cash that you have one hand. Rack up big bills on that shiny new business credit card and you could end up putting as much money towards accumulated interest and late fees as you are towards growing your business.

7. Throwing away your receipts.

It is difficult for many entrepreneurs to learn to separate their business expenses from their personal expenses, and this can end up costing a new business owner thousands of dollars in lost tax deductions. Be fastidious about saving your receipts and you will be in much better shape come tax time.

8. Failing to collect accounts receivable.

Sure you want to be the nice guy as you are starting your new business, but you need to make sure that you get paid as well. With the available tools for notifying clients of payments that are due, there is no excuse for not being on top of your accounts. A good place to start is Paypal invoicing, which is easy to use and easy on the budget. In addition, there are a number of other web-based invoicing applications that will send clients automatic balance reminders and even route payments directly into your bank account.

1. Find out what’s cheap in your area. Visit a bunch of local grocery stores, bakeries and specialty stores to find out what items are typically the cheapest. Unprocessed vegetables are often cheap and will be cheaper if they grow well in your area. For instance, if squash in season and it’s grown in your region it’s going to be cheaper than the avocado imported from across the country.

2. Store up. When you’re buying food in bulk to save money down the road, make sure you have proper storage for it. A large freezer will be great for fruits and vegetables or a cool, dark cellar for potatoes. If the farmer’s market has a ton of corn, buy enough for the year and store it for meals around the calendar.
3. Don’t dine out. Avoid going to restaurants as much as possible because they jack up the prices. If you do go out then order the cheapest thing on the menu because that’s usually the healthiest as well. When the meal comes, eat only about half of it because usually restaurants will serve huge helpings.

4. Cook a meal from scratch. Never throw anything out – use it as leftovers. Old lettuce can be thrown in a soup. Meatloaf last night? Meatloaf sandwiches today. This will also help you manage your refrigerator as you won’t have anything going bad in there. It’s all going in tomorrow’s meals!

5. As the seasons come and go so do your meals. Learn to eat what is seasonally available. By buying groceries and eating this you’re going to save money and also be eating the freshest food available. Go to a farm stand or a farmer’s market and see what they have an abundance of and strike a deal to buy in bulk. Local sellers love to unload their products and are often eager to strike a deal to do so.

By-line:

Heather Johnson is an industry critic, as well as a regular contributor on the subject of airline mile cards. She invites your questions, comments and freelancing job inquiries at her email address: heatherjohnson2323@gmail.com.

The rigid home loan with standard mortgage interest rates has slowly been joined by a range of loan options that recognise the increasingly diverse way we live and earn our daily stipend. Home loans can take on almost any shape and size, and the majority of borrowers are turning to the Internet to shop around to find tailored home mortgage loans.

But what to search for to meet your unique needs?

Home loan mortgages can cover a multitude of individual circumstances and needs –

 Construction loans for the owner builder – There can often be numerous circumstances surrounding this loan such as if the borrower is paying off an existing home at the same time. Because of the potential intricacies you should obtain sound expert advice.

 Low documentation loans for the self-employed – For years the self-employed have battled with the ‘standard’ paper work required to take out a home mortgage loan. This loan allows those with inconsistent earning patterns to secure a loan with minimal paper work. Borrowers need to be sure their business is sound enough to take on this on-going home loan mortgage where interest rates are slightly above average.

 100% home loans for first home buyers – This loan can use the Government funded First Home Buyers Grant as the deposit and can be a boon for those struggling to get into the market but it can come with a higher interest rate so do your homework first.

 Bridging loans – These tide buyers over between purchase and sale of the existing property. This loan can save your bacon or become tricky and expensive if the existing property is not sold quickly and interest rates start adding up, so do your homework on this one too.

 Reverse mortgage loans – A loan designed for the over 60s allowing access to the equity in the home if funds are short. The mortgage, interest rate included, is paid back when the home is eventually sold. Independent legal advice may be advisable.

These are just some of the flexible options that are available to borrowers, with others including split home loans, family equity and consolidation loans and more.

Another recent boon to those taking out home mortgage loans is the ‘Accessible Line of Credit’ option that enables borrowers to deposit their income into the home mortgage loan account and still draw on the funds at need. Naturally there are various ‘ins and outs’ to this loan also and all aspects need to be discussed with a professional.

Click on the following link to read the post:

Ten Traits of Underearners

Cheers

Visit EasyBudgeting to download your own personal budget planner and start the New Year by creating a budget for the next 12 months.

The author, Dr Timothy Sharp states that happiness is not that elusive. It’s all about the choices we make. He breaks down the word CHOOSE into six key happiness strategies.

C – Clarity of goals, direction and life purpose. Happy people tend to have a clearer sense of purpose and are able to define and reach their goals. I really believe in goal setting and I mean sitting down regularly (6 – 12 months) and writing down your goals. When you write down your goals, they become real. Review them regularly so you don’t lose track of where you want to go.
H – Healthy living, including regularly physical activity, eating well, getting enough sleep, mental health etc. A healthy body definitely helps your mental health and well being. You won’t be happy if you’re regularly feeling sick and or tired. Get fit, eat well, get enough sleep and the energy levels will return and you’ll feel better about yourself.
O – Optimistic thinking. Be positive but also realistic. I believe being optimistic is a key to addressing and overcoming challenges effectively. Optimist can be learnt, so if you’re not naturally optimistic, get on the web and find the tools to help your improve.
O – Others. Happiness is not always about satisfying your own needs. Making other people happy definitely bring you happiness and fosters stronger and more fulfilling relationships. Happy people tend to make other people happy.
S – Strengths, your core talents, qualities and attributes. Happy people tend to know their strengths and obtain maximum benefits from these qualities. Don’t get down on yourself about what you can do, concentrate on what you’re good at and do it as much as possible.
E – Enjoy the moment. Happy people learn from the past and plan for the future but they’re much better living in, and appreciate, the present. Don’t get hung up on what happened yesterday or stress out about things that may happen, focus on the here and now and what you can control.

Like I said, not a finance related post but it may be a few helpful tips towards improving your happiness levels. I really enjoyed this article and I hope you can also get something from these tips as well.

Dr Sharp (www.drhappy.com.au) is the author of The Happiness Handbook.

- budget regulary and stick to it
- review your budget to assess under & overs and make adjustments accordingly
- use shop-a-docket vouchers when buying petrol
- monitor petrol prices and buy on the cheapest day, even if your tank is not empty (Tuesdays and Wednesdays are usually best)
- shop-a-dockets are great sources for deals, two for one meals, free muffin with coffee, discounted carpet cleaning are just a few examples
- review your mobile phone plan to ensure you’re getting the best deal and rates
- buy alcohol that is on special or buy from places like Dan Murphy’s
- quit or cut down on the cigarettes (a pack a day at $10 a pack, that’s $3,640 for a very unhealthy habit)
- exercise outside instead of paying gym membership, training in the fresh air is better for your muscles
- cook a bit extra each night and take the left overs for lunch the next day ( a $6.50 sandwich and $2 soft drink each day will add up to about $2,000 a year)
- make a shopping list before heading out and try to stick to it
- if possible, don’t go shopping when you’re hungry as you end up buying more because everything looks great when you’re hungry
- at the end of the day, put the coins in your pocket in a coin jar. At the end of the year, the money can be used to help Christmas presents ($2 a day is a approximately $500 at the end of the year)
- check out the internet for deals on holidays, flights (www.wotif.com, www.needitnow.com), cosmetics (www.strawberrynet.com), clothes shopping
- buy flights and accomodation early and get the best deals
- factory outlets, cheaper and you can get some good stuff if you look hard enough
- cinema on a Tuesday is half price….dvds are even cheaper

These are just a few short and sharp savings tips that I though of in 10 minutes. I’m sure if you sit down and think about it, there are many areas of your life you could change to cut back on unnecessary spending.

Individually you may think it’s not worth the bother but added up together, applying a few of these tips could save you quite a lot of the period of 12 months.

Visit EasyBudgeting to download your own personal budget planner and start the New Year by creating a budget for the next 12 months.

Good luck.

Cheers

People often do not budget because they find it to be an easy process. Where do you start? What tools do I use? What do I budget for? These are very common questions and when you sit down and don’t know the answers to these questions, the easiest thing to do is nothing. Then come the usual excuses, budgeting, it’s too hard or budgeting, I’ll get around to that another time. Let me tell you, if you get past the initial hurdles and understand how to budget, your finance fortunes will be better off.

It would far to say, that people do not fully understand how much they spend until they understand how much they spend. That may sound a little strange but if you read it again and think about it, it does make sense.

If you don’t sit down and complete a budget, how do you really know where your money is going every pay period? Do you really know how much you’re saving or more importantly whether you’re spending more than you earn? Nowadays, it is common place for people to live beyond their means because they have credit cards which allows it…..then the banks charge big interest rates for the privilege of letting you get deeper and deeper into debt.

How many people get to the end of their pay period, “hanging out” for their next pay day – this is not a good way to live your life and will mean you will continue to be controlled by your finances instead of controlling your finances.

People who are financially successful in life usually have strong control over their finances and understand how they spend their well earned money. People who are able to save are usually able to reduce their mortgages quicker, don’t have high credit cards debts and enjoy a higher level of disposable income and definitely less stress.

Imagine reducing the time in takes to pay off your mortgage by 5 years – what would that mean to you? Here are a couple of examples to illustrate how you can reduce the term of your mortgage by 5 years and the amount of interest you’ll save in the process:

Example 1
Loan amount $300,000
Interest rate 7.99%
Term of loan 25 years
Weekly repayment $533
Total interest payable $393,482

Additional weekly payment to reduce loan by 5 years $45
Interest payable on 20 year loan $301,165
Interest saved $92,317
Example 2
Loan amount $400,000
Interest rate 7.99%
Term of loan 25 years
Weekly repayment $711
Total interest payable $524,642

Additional weekly payment to reduce loan by 5 years $60
Interest payable on 20 year loan $401,554
Interest saved $123,088

Example 3
Loan amount $500,000
Interest rate 7.99%
Term of loan 25 years
Weekly repayment $889
Total interest payable $655,803

Additional weekly payment to reduce loan by 5 years $74
Interest payable on 20 year loan $501,942
Interest saved $153,861

If you sat down a made a budget, I’m sure you could find a way to reduce your spending on certain items by $45 or $60 or $74 to ensure you reduce your loan term by 5 years and save $92,317 or $123,088 or $153,861 in interest.

Savings money each week doesn’t happen by itself and until you understand exactly what you spend your money on, you won’t have the opportunity to cut back. Listing all your income and expenses can actually be a scary process and something you may not entirely enjoy (it may indicate you are currently living outside your means!) but as you can see from the interest savings listed above, it is definitely worth it.

If you’re struggling with budgeting and need some assistance, www.easy-budgeting.com has an easy to use budget planner available for downloading and provides tips, guidance on budgeting to assist with the budget process.

Cheers,

Remember to help with saving, use Easy Budgeting’s Budget Planner, www.easy-budgeting.com

Remember, budgeting is the first step towards taking control of your finances.

Given the RBA interest rate rise on Tuesday, I thought I’d publish an old post again as it may be useful/relevant for some people out there:

Managing mortgage repayments during time of increasing interest can be very difficult, especially considering your salary doesn’t increase at the same level as the repayments do. Here’s a couple of suggestions that may help you better manage the situation:

Negotiate a better rate

The published variable interest rate is not necessarily the best interest rate available. When I was shopping around for a loan for an investment property early in the year, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank all started by offering their standard published variable rate. Once we discussed the options further and I advised that we were talking to a number of banks, they all started offering their discounts. It started off at 0.5% off the standard variable rate and eventually got to 0.7% off the standard variable rate.

The point is, if you don’t ask, you won’t get. Check your rate and see what discount you’re getting, if any. If your not happy, it doesn’t hurt to see your bank manager and see what can be done.

Fixed Interest Rate

Have a chat with your bank manager and review the fixed interest rate options available. Usually, the fixed interest rate is less than the standard variable rates available and will result in reduced monthly repayments, depending on the fixed term.

Keep in mind, fixed interest rate loans are less flexible and usually don’t have redraw or offset facilities available. Nevertheless, if you think rates are going to continue to increase and you lock in now for 3 – 5 years, you could save a considerable amount over that period. There are break fees if you decide the refinance the loan before the term is complete.

Most lenders will offer the option to split your loan fixed and variable. For instance, if you have a loan of $400,000, you can have $200,000 at the fixed rate and $200,000 at the variable rate. This means you lock in half to cover exposure against a rate rise and keep half open to market movement in case the interest rates fall.

Refinance with another bank

The lending market is a very competitive space. If you don’t get any joy negotiating a discount with your current lender, why not shop around and see what other institutions have to offer. It doesn’t have to be one of the mainstream banks….some of the lesser known lending institutions are bound to offer competitive rates and lower fees to acquire a new customer.

I bank with a Credit Union and they offer very competitive rates, no set-up fees and no transaction fees for any of my accounts. They also provide a personal service better than the service any of the larger banks offered me in the past.

Most of the major banks, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank have dedicated loan consultants who will actually come to your home after hours and spend time to discuss all the options available.

Remember, you’re in the box seat and they want your business, so do your homework, research the product you want, get knowledgeable about rates and discounts and ask as many questions as you need to be 100% comfortable with your decision. We’re talking about a lot of money here and you don’t want to sign up to terms and conditions you don’t fully understand only to regret it later.

Couple of things to consider before going down the road of refinancing your mortgage:

1. there will most probably be break fees attached to your existing mortgage;
2. when you refinance you want to make sure you’re getting a better deal, so make sure you do the sums or get some independent to help you – don’t rely on the word of the lender;
3. understand the impact of choosing the term of the loan – if you refinance your mortgage (which is already one quarter paid off) over 25 or 30 years, the repayments bound to be less than the current repayments, even if the interest rate is the same…..but remember you’ll be paying more interest the longer the term;
4. it can be a tedious process which will require paperwork etc – it doesn’t happen overnight.

There’s a few options to consider with regarding to trying to better manage your mortgage repayments.

Interest rate rise or no interest rate rise, you should review your mortgage to ensure you’re getting the best deal possible. Banks and other lending institutions make very big profits don’t be afraid to ask for your share.

Good luck.

Cheers,

Visit www.easy-budgeting.com to download the EasyBudgeting Personal Budget Planner.

Increasing interest rates, higher petrol prices and a fall in housing prices has lead to a doubling of households struggling to meet mortgage payments. This further indicates the importance of completing a budget. If you are struggling to make mortgage repayments in a time of increasing costs, you ready need to manage how you spend your disposal income to ensure you stay in control of your finances and make your mortgage repayments on time in full.

People do not know how much they are spending until they really know how much they are spending.

What do I mean by this? Well people think they know where their money goes each pay period but when pay day comes around and they’re regularly struggling, then it’s obvious that they don’t know where they are spending their money. The only way to truly stay in control of your finances is to ensure you regularly budget.

Understanding how much you are spending and where you are spending your money is the first step to being able to save money. By regularly completing a budget you regularly understand where and how you plan to spend your money over the coming period. That way you can determine which areas of your spending can be better managed i.e. where you can save money.

If you can save money by budgeting, it means you can reduce your debt quicker and stay on top of mortgage repayments. Here’s an example of what I mean:

Loan amount $300,000
Interest rate 7.99%
Loan term 25 years
Weekly minimum repayment $533
Total interest payable over 25 years $394,038

The table below indicates the time and interest saved by increasing the weekly mortgage repayments by $20, $50 and $100.

Increase weekly repayments by $20, Time saved 2 years, 6 months, Interest saved $48,565 Increase weekly repayments by $50, Time saved 5 years, 5 months, Interest saved $100,307 Increase weekly repayments by $100, Time saved 8 years, 8 months, Interest saved $156,782

The table above proves that small savings per week applied against your mortgage can make a big difference to your ability to do what all Australians want to do, pay off their mortgage as quickly as possible.

This is all well and good, speaking about understanding your spending, increasing your savings, paying off your mortgage sooner etc but what if you have never prepared a budget before and don’t know where to start? www.easy-budgeting.com can help.

EasyBudgeting has made the process of budgeting easy and possible for everyone. The web site offers a simple and easy to use 12 month budget model created in Microsoft Excel. You don’t need to be a computer wizard or an Excel expert, you just need to have the desire to control your finances.

The main feature of the 12 month budget model provided by EasyBudgeting is the ability of the user to budget an income or expense item by completing just 3 easy steps. The user simply selects the start month, the frequency and the amount of the income and/or expense and the data for the 12 months is automatically generated based on the parameters selected.

Once you complete the 12 month budget, you may be surprised to see how much you spend each month and where you are spending you money and possibly how little you are saving.

Also include are:

- 12 month budget summary which allows the user to highlight areas for improvement but looking at their expenses at a category summary level i.e. shopping, utilities, entertainment etc
- budget tracker to help compare actual versus budget
- loan reduction calculator which allows the user to see how their savings can help reduce the life of the mortgage and therefore the interest paid
- savings and expenses graphs which help highlight spending and savings trends

Budgeting is a process which helps you control your finances so remember it is very important to make sure you are honest with yourself when you complete the budget process. Really think about how you spend your money and make sure you include all regular expenditure, no matter how small you think it is.

Here’s another example:

Daily lunch spend $10 Days per week 5 Work weeks per year 48 Annual spend on lunch at work $2,400

You buy a sandwich and a drink for lunch every day you go to work and next thing you know, you’ve spent $2,400 per year on eating lunch. You wouldn’t know about this spending unless you completed the budget process honestly and accurately.

Cheers,

Visit EasyBudgeting to download your own personal budget planner and start the New Year by creating a budget for the next 12 months.