Monday, April 20, 2009

How Long Will Recession Last?

The US economic recession started in December 2007 and plunge the economy to an all time low. With George Bush out and with President Barack Obama in charge, the Congress and Senate wasted no time and immediately approved the massive $787 billion stimulus package which was designed to jump start the economy's recovery.

The stimulus package plus the combination of smart government moves resulted to the economy getting a wild ride. Since the assumption of President Barack Obama the economy has been swinging up and down unpredictably. Last March, we saw the gradual rise of the economic indicators such as stock index which rose above the 8,000 level and housing industry's increasing construction activity and sales.

It seems everything is on track and government's effort paying off.However this month April we were greeted by mixed news of good and bad. The housing industry seems to be regaining its lost glory as it is the only economic indicator still on the rise while the stock market which was fed on negative information continue its wild fluctuation.The housing industry continue its gain as the National Association of Home Builders announced that its housing market index had risen by five points to fourteen in the month of April. According to them it's the highest point since October last year, though it is still very low as an index below fifty points indicates a negative sentiment about the market.The index is a rough estimate of people's perception of the housing market based on the current trends.

This is further prop up by the performance of Homebuilders Stocks Index which continues to outperform other stock indexes. It is now up by 6.3 percent. Good news such as the buyout of Centex by giant homebuilder Pulte Homes for $1.3 billion helped support the index's rise.Big corporations such as Meritage Homes are now up by more than eight percent. Comparatively, the Dow Jones Index recently has been on a roller coaster ride going up and down on the slightest news update. It is now at 7,983 points.This is despite the negative data reported by the Mortgage Bankers Association where the weekly mortgage applications dropped by eleven percent, on the back drop of one of the lowest mortgage rates of below five percent. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that a 30 year fixed mortgage is currently 4.73 percent while Freddie Mac reported that it is at 4.87 percent.With people opting to save than spend, last February have seen one the highest savings rate in the US history.

This resulted to consumer prices going down by 0.1 percent last month March as reported by the Labor Department. The Federal Reserve announced that the factory, mining and utilities production went down by 1.5 percent last month. This is another sign of the population's diminishing consumption.The labor market also continue to decline as the unemployment rate is now hovering at 8.5 percent as of last March with around 663,000 people jobless.And it will get worst as big companies such as UBS AG, Switzerland's largest bank will layoff 8,700 people in its global operation, while Yahoo is rumored to be planning kick out thousands of employees. By the end of the year, the unemployment rate is expected to rise up to 10 percent.These developments just prove that the economy is still far stable and the slightest negative economic data will have a heavy impact on the people's sentiment.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

How to Save Thousands on Mortgage

Before we read about saving on the mortgage, lets first understand some of the terminology used for one of the biggest gambles you will ever make in your lifetime.
Capital and Interest mortgages
This type of payment facility will leave you with nothing to pay at the end of the term. Capital and interest are paid together. In the early stages of the repayment, only small amounts of capital are being paid. However, you are slowly chipping away at the capital, thus as the term comes to an end more capital is paid and less interest is being charged on the amount outstanding. This is the safest but most expensive payment facility.
Interest only mortgages.
With this payment facility you will only pay the interest back to the lender every month. You will not be paying any capital. At the end of the term you will have the original amount of capital borrowed to pay back. This is the least expensive way to pay your mortgage, but is the most dangerous. You will need to have some type of payment vehicle in place in order to make up the capital amount borrowed. This can be a savings plan, endowment policy or you can take a gamble on the house price rising and downsizing in property at the end of the term on the mortgage. The equity in the house could pay off your outstanding capital. This is a good facility for house developers, or a short-term release for existing borrowers on capital and interests mortgages, to make adjustments to their personal finances.
Part endowment and part capital and interest.
These are known to most of the older generation as the famous ‘miss sold mortgages’. Customers parted with investments into endowment policies that had massive short falls on them, so customer where left with thousands of pounds to pay at the end of the mortgage term. This facility allows you to put a percentage of the capital on repayment and the additional amount on interest only.
This in turn allows the borrower to have a lower monthly payment. This gives them the opportunity to invest the rest of the expected monthly payment in the stock market. A promising idea in principle but there is the possibility and proof, that the shares don’t do so well and the customers projected profit will be less than originally desired. This idea was designed to leave the customer with a profit at the end of the mortgage. This was not the case for thousands of customers.
Products
Products work with the payment facility and make the mortgage more affordable for customers willing to purchase homes. The three main types you will be aware of are:
Fixed rate. This is the most desired product as it lets the customer know exactly how much the have to pay on the mortgage every month. The rate offered by the lender will depend on the central bank base rate. Lenders will normally charge a few percent above this. This is so they make more profit and you pay the hidden tax costs.
Tracker rate.
This is very simply to understand, but most customers seem put off because it seems confusing at first. This product fluctuates with the Central bank base rate. The lender will book you a rate slightly bellow or above the Base rate. This in turn can make your payments cheaper one month but slightly more expensive in another. Again, it is a risk but can save you a great deal in interest charged to the capital outstanding on the mortgage.
Variable rate.
This is like the tracker rate but is normally slightly more expensive than the tracker. This rate will always be above the Central bank base rate by a few percent. This is popular with customers who don’t like being tied in for a certain amount of time. This product offers more flexibility with over payments, no booking fees or suits customers who like to move around to different lenders depending how the finance market is performing. Terminology
Porting – used when keeping your product but moving to a new home.
Redemption – final figure owed on the mortgage. Used when moving to a different lender.
Loyalty scheme – used when staying with the same lender when your product is coming to an end.
Capital – amount of money originally borrowed from lender.
Interest – what the lender charges on the capital.
1. The early repayment charge
If you decide to go with a fixed rate or a tracker product the lender will normally charge you a booking fee. Based on the product and the term you decide to go with. If you can afford to pay this up front then do so, as this will only be added to amount outstanding on the capital, to which you will pay interest on for the rest of the term. If you decide to come out of the product early this can cost you hundreds to thousands of pounds. This figure is based on the amount of term you have remaining on the product. The earlier you come out of the product, the more it will cost you to do so. This in effect stops you the customer from shopping around and looking for the best’s deals at any desired time. In retrospect the lenders charge you to take it out and charge you to change your mind. This is so they don’t loose your money made on interest every month and make the most amount of profit attainable from that facility. If you take out a tracker or a fixed rate, stay with it until it’s up for renewal.
2. The overpayment.
Due to the competitive finance market, lenders have been offering customers the opportunity to overpay on the mortgage. With trackers and fixed rates this is a limited percentage every month. The reason for this, again - is because it’s a booked rate, which offers the customer more certainty on monthly payments. If you overpay every month on your mortgage, you can save between 2 and 3 years on your term and interest charged to the account. The simple reason for this is because the overpayment comes straight off the capital remaining on the facility. The overpayment allowed amount depends on the lender and contract signed.
3. The direct debit or standing order change.
This only works if you pay your mortgage at the beginning of the month. Your monthly payment covers you for the whole month. It doesn’t matter if you pay it at the beginning or the end, you’re covered for that month. If you move your payment from the 1st of the month to the 28th of the month, you have in effect given yourself an extra month to make the payment. This can be used if money is tight in one month, and can only be done once throughout the lifetime of the mortgage.
4. The loyalty scheme.
Most lenders will offer a good loyalty scheme for existing customers. When your product comes to an end, check out the lenders web sites or simply give them a call on their free number. Ask them what offers they have for existing customers. This should be very competitive and save you money on interest compared to the rest of the market.
5. Porting.
Don’t worry if you have been house hunting and found the house of your dreams. If you’re tied in with a 5year product for example, and have 3 years left to go, don’t go to another lender and go through the whole process again. Port the product with you. This will save you a hefty amount in early repayment charges. If you need extra borrowing a good lender will offer you the extra, at the rate of your existing product.
6. Daily interest charge.
Lenders normally charge your account on a daily rate of interest. This means interest is charged to the mortgage account on a daily basis, in connection with the total amount borrowed. The way to make a saving on this relates to the timing of when you’re actually swapping lenders. When you make your monthly payment it will come off the capital straight away. This will make the redemption figure less. The longer you wait to complete on a mortgage after making this payment, the more interest is being charged to the account again for that month. If worked out properly this can actually save you a few hundred pound depending on the new rate change and amount borrowed.
7. Offset.
Some lenders will let you offset all our income and savings against the mortgage. This is like having one banking account, but with everything attached to it. This in effect reduces your amount borrowed thus reduces the amount of interest being charged on a daily basis. So when you get paid from your employment this automatically reduces the capital, which means less interest charged.
8. Underpayments.
This works in conjunction with overpayments. When you make your overpayments to your mortgage account, you actually go into credit. This credit builds up and makes your interest cheaper. If you’re personal circumstances change or you need to pay off revolving debt, such as credit cards and store cards, you can miss your mortgage payments because your overpayments will account for it. The credited amount will go back onto the capital but you are paying it back at a lower rate of interest. This lets you pay off any outstanding debt, which is at a higher lending rate.

Budget your Finance


Budgeting your finances can be hard and stressful. I’ve found a way to increase my budget without making too many cutbacks and, most importantly almost all the way stress free. I’m going to show you how to get a hold of your finances, increase your budget, decrease your energy bills and make some extra cash.
It’s simple easy stuff that you can do on your own. First, to understand what your budget is, get a hold of your finances and save money, you need to make a chart. To do this your going to need you bank statements, your average monthly income and your average bills. Then your going to either need Microsoft Excel (if your good with computers) or a piece of paper, pencil and ruler. Here’s how to set up your columns:
Your first column should be titled "Weekly Income." Go ahead and fill out the four lines of the totals below the title.
Directly below, not beside, the "Weekly Income," put "Monthly income." replace the monthly Income with the actually amount your bring in each month.
Your next column should read "Rent/Mortgage." Enter the total monthly avg. on the line that says your monthly income. Don’t worry about the weekly inputs yet, we’ll get to that in a minute.
Next column should be "Utilities." The utilities bill tends to fluctuate so just input the avg. (To find the average, find the last 5 months separate totals, add them all together and then divide by 5 and you have your average.)
The next columns should be any other monthly bills you have. If there are too many add all their averages together and make a note of what you did and each bill it involved directly below the chart.
Now that you’ve gotten all the bills out of the way, your next columns should be the averages on what you spend on different things each month. For example, food, clothes, smokes, etc.
Your next column should say "Incidentals." This is money that you can put aside for in case of emergencies so you don’t have to tap into your savings.
Your last column should be "Savings."
To get the totals for your last two columns, add up all the totals for each column and subtract it from the monthly total. Now you can divide the amount up between the incidentals and savings. (if your not happy with the amount, figure out what you can cut back on.)
To get the weekly input, divide the monthly totals for each column by 4 and you have your weekly totals. This can help you see how much you need to set aside and how much you should limit yourself each week. If you don’t trust banks, try separating the amounts in labeled envelopes or folders.
Make sure that the amounts you put are accurate and your overall chart is practical for you, it wont work if it’s not. You now have your finances under control and have a budget worked out.
As a bonus, here are a couple of ways to save some extra money on your energy bill:
Replace your thermostat with a programmable thermostat.
Replace your windowpanes. Overtime windowpanes can get loose or crack, this causes airflow to go in and out. Replace your threshold gaskets. They tend to get loose and worn, replacing them on a regular yearly basis can definitely help you out.
Install a sealing fan.
Buy some inexpensive heaters and some heating blankets.
Seal your windows with v-strip weatherstrips.
Seal your outlets and switches, whether you realized it or not air can leak in and out of them.
Insulate your attic.
Install new door sweeps.
Plug holes with foam. There you have it, 10 simple ways to reduce your energy bill with do it yourself projects that are not too costly and can save.
These are simple, time efficient ways to make some extra cash. If you follow these simple steps, tips and advice, then you should definitely be able to get a hold of your finances, have a practical budget, save money on your energy bills and increase that budget.

How to overcome Doom n Gloom

OVERCOME DOOM N GLOOM
Do you wake up in the morning wondering what new bad piece of information you're going to be bombarded with that day related to the economic downturn?
Many people have watched their investments and life savings wither away to nothing. Is there a glimmer of hope to be found amongst all of this doom and gloom?
The only way for you or me to have an impact on our own financial futures is for us to take matters into our own hands. No matter what you hear on the news or read in the papers, the government is not going to solve all of your problems or be able to pay your mortgage, car payment, or light bill for you. You are the only one that can do these things. So what options do you have?
1.) Trade Hours For Dollars
This is the traditional method of "making a living." You go to work for 40-50 hours per week and get paid an hourly wage. Now for most people who have accumulated any debt through the years, this method will unlikely get you out of your bleak financial situation.
2.) Start Your Own Traditional Business
You can devise a plan to start a traditional brick and mortar business. Sadly, if you don't have the initial capital investment on hand, you'll have a hard time finding a bank that will lend you the money. Additionally, if you are going to have to employ others, you will have to take on that responsibility as well. Another problem, is that 95% of new businesses fail within the first 5 years. That's a pretty risky gamble to take. However, with this option you're getting closer to the end result of being your own boss, having more control over your income, and creating a financial future for you and your family.
3.) Start Your Own Home Based Business
For those of you who are looking to significantly change your life, this is by far the best option. When we started our own home based business about 5 years ago, our financial future was looking just as doubtful as many of yours are today. We were strapped with thousands of dollars in credit card debt. While we did have good paying jobs with no fear of losing our jobs, we would have been working for years to fulfill all of our financial debts.
Now thanks to online marketing, we have been able to pay off all of our debts, we don't wake up to an alarm clock every day, and we travel when we want to.
There truly is no better business model.
The question was once posed to Donald Trump as to what avenue he would pursue to earn back his fortune if it were all to be lost. His response was that he would join a network marketing company or some other type of home based business. That statement speaks volumes to the income that can be derived by the "average Joe" working from home.

Money management

MONEY MANAGEMENT STARTS AT HOME

Imparting the money management knowledge to children right from the early age will be rewarding in the long run. Since children spend most of the time at home, parents should make them realize the importance of money management.
Managing money, as we all know is crucial in every aspect of life. From raising a ‘kid’ to ’retirement’, money is needed. Income generation, investment and savings all requires effective money management on your part.Here are some valuable money management tips which parents may use in realizing the essence of money management to their little ones:
As the kid start exploring new things, money comes into existence. For e.g. If your child demands $1 for buying a toy. At this time you should neither be so lenient nor too rigid. You should make them realize how the value of the cost related to the toy and what all it takes to built that toy.
Encourage your kid to play money management games such as game of life, payday, moneywise kids, easy money etc. All these interactive games will help your kid to learn the importance of money management more quickly.
Do not pamper your child by fulfilling all their financial demands. This way they might not respect money in the long run. Give them a small activity such as cleaning their bed sheet daily. Upon completing the task give them what they want. This will help the kids in implementing money management more effectively.
Try to involve kids into regular financial meetings and making them aware about the financial condition of the family. This will help them to learn money management in a more realistic manner.
Make sure that your kids do not waste things. For e.g. not properly eating the food, breaking the toys quite often, damaging the walls with pencil marks etc. All these things come with money and the parents should make their children realize this fact.
Make your child financially independent so that they can manage their money at their own. Just keep an eye on them what they are doing with the money and also assist them if they are unable to handle the finances properly. This will help your kid to take financial decisions on their own.
Parents play a crucial role in the upbringing of their children. Therefore they should be actively involved in realizing their kids, the importance of money management.