Why Refinance?

The 2% Rule Many CPA's across America advise their clients to refinance their present mortgage when they can reduce their interest rate by at least 2%, and/or shorten the term remaining to pay off the mortgage.

Reasons to Finance

There are many good reasons to refinance your current mortgage, or get a second mortgage and pull equity out of your home. Here are just a few.

1. Adding structural additions or improvements to your home.

2. Get a lower mortgage rate and reduce interest costs.

3. Obtaining funds for investment

4. College tuition for your children. 5. Paying off other debt, such as credit cards, in order to reduce your total monthly outlay.

Consider The Following

When selecting a Home Improvement Loan consider all of the following:

1. Minimum & Maximum loan limits.

2. Terms (The shorter the term the lower the overall finance charge/higher monthly payment, longer the term the less the monthly payment/the greater the overall finance charge).

3. Loan type's: Home Equity, HELOC's, FHA 203K, Cash Out Refinance, Secured Consumer loans such as Retail Installment Obligation (RIO's), and Unsecured RIO (loan terms from 12 months).

4. Interest Rate and loan costs. For example: A no closing cost HELOC at prime or prime plus 1/2 may be tax deductible, and may be used to draw upon for FUTURE Home improvement projects with no "out of pocket" loan charges.

Improving your home can increase its value. Investing wisely can help create a larger net worth. Both could pay off in retirement benefits for you. Be careful. Don't risk the security of your home on frivolous spending.

Fundamentals on Personal Finance

Do you ever wonder where your money goes every month? Does it sometimes seem as though you cannot afford to do things because your financial obligations are holding you back? If you find that you are asking yourself these sorts of questions, perhaps you should take a look at your financial situation and assess whether you are practicing good personal finance management or not. Good personal finance management spends within their income, plan for the future and solve financial problems as they arise. Poor personal finance management pay more, do without and fall behind. If you find yourself in the second category, you can do something about it. You can learn to take charge of your finances by planning your personal finances.

Planning your personal finances doesn't always come naturally, and even if you're just beginning to take your financial matters seriously, then you likely need a few personal finance tips.

Evaluate your current financial situation. One of the most important goals for most people is financial independence. Collect accurate information about your personal financial situation. Calculate your net worth which includes the real estate, saving and retirement accounts, and all other assets. This will help you decide how much money you can set aside for meeting future needs and goals.

A basic personal finance tip is to make a budget. A personal finance budget is information made up of your income and expenses and the more accurate this information is, the more likely you are be able to meet your goals and realize your dreams. A personal finance budget should be made for at most one year at a time and include a list of your monthly expenses.

All expenses must be included. To be sure of that go through all your paid bills, check register and credit card receipts to find expenditures that recur every month and expenditures that happen less frequently. Personal finance budgeting requires some small sacrifices. To be able to make good personal financial decisions and set priorities, you must know where your money is actually going. Start your budget and accomplish your goals.

Get an electronic bill pay. This is a very convenient way to pay your bills. You pay them electronically, by direct withdrawal from your bank account. The transaction is processed immediately. You can even link your bill pay service to your personal finance budget, so that your expenditures are automatically entered in the appropriate category. Personal financial management can be really easy.

Make an investment and finance plan. Now that the fundamental state of your personal financial security has been established, the time has come for the more prosperous part of your personal financial life. You need to make a personal finance plan of what you really want in life that money can buy. Your personal financial plan can be as simple or as detailed as you want it to be. Find out how to finally start to implement this plan and get the money to finance it. This is the long term part of your financial. This journey is the most interesting and exciting part of personal financing you can have toward financial freedom.

You can prepare for a secure personal financial future by following these simple tips. When you take control with your money, you don't have to worry about debt taking control of you.

Basic Finance Guide

Every one or rather almost every one in this world would definitely want to have his or her future secured. Thus, every person who earns even a bit would like to save some of the money and this is where the topic of personal financial management comes into picture. Whatever be your purpose of saving money, it needs to be regulated and updated.

Investment in stock markets is one option for the same. With the advancement in technology and thereby, in means of communication (for instance, the internet), the behavioural pattern of the stock markets can be known within an instant of time. Moreover, as the presence of the stock markets being in every country, one can see the maximum numbers of investments all over the world are made here.

Another option where you can regulate your finances is by buying stocks. It is argued that although they are the diciest and most fickle instruments for investments, they can bring tremendous returns in the long run and can even leave you resistant to the rate of inflation. By owning a particular amount of stock, one is deemed to be the owner of a certain value of a company i.e. the more stock is owned by you the more faction of the company is in your hands. The prices of the stock ca change in accordance with all the factors affecting the stock markets for instance, economic, cultural and business trends.

Often it is seen that we tend to leave the saving for college and retirement till the last minute and then certain unwilling consequences have to be borne. College planning resembles retirement planning. There are bound to be questions in one's mind like how much one should save for such kind of expenses etc. it is recommended that where the planning for retirement should start in one's early twenties, the planning for college should start right from the birth of the child. It is agreed by many that early planning and savings can be of huge benefits in the long run. Planning for the college will include looking for various colleges for alternatives, tuition fees and any extra expenditure that might occur at the time for sending a child to the college. Starting all this early enough will provide adequate time to the parents to look for availing loan facilities and decide their strategy accordingly. Retirement, which is inevitable, has to be planned on the similar lines as that of the college planning. Starting early and being realistic are the keys for such kind of planning. Starting early means to start soon after one has completed his or her graduation. By being realistic it is intended to convey that one has to save according to one's requirement of the kind of life proposed to be lived after the retirement. This is to say that one has to focus on the facts basically, for instance, if one plans to live like a king with housemaids serving all the time and a castle like house then one has to save much more than a person who chooses to live a modest life with a simple house and an off-hand vacation.

Hence, you should manage your finances cautiously with investing in the right thing at the right time and saving money for the right time, because surely, time is money!!

Organize Your Business Finances In Easy Ways

Whether you are a new entrepreneur or a more experienced business owner, taking control of your finances can feel like a part-time job. Some simple tips can help you streamline your time, organize your finances and reduce the stress of business money matters.

1. Keep Your Bills in One Place

When the mail comes, make sure it goes in one place. Misplaced bills can be the cause of unwanted late fees and can damage your credit rating. Whether it's a drawer, a box, or a file, be consistent. Size is also important. If you get a lot of mail, use an area that won't get filled up too quickly.

2. Pay Your Bills on Schedule

Bill paying can be simplified if it's done at scheduled times during the month. Depending on how many bills you receive, you can establish set times each month when none of your bills will be late. If you're paying bills as you receive them, chances are you're spending too much time in front of the checkbook. Although bills may state "Payable Upon Receipt", there's always a grace period. Call the creditor to find out when they need to receive payment before the bill is considered late.

3. Read Your Credit Card Statements

Most people take advantage of low interest credit card offers but never read their statements when paying the bill. Credit cards are notorious for using low interest as bait for new customers then switching to higher rates after a few months. Make a habit of looking at your statement carefully to see what interest rate you are paying each month and if any transaction fees have been applied. If the rate increases or a transaction fee appears on your statement, a simple call to the credit card company can oftentimes be beneficial in resolving the matter. If not, try to switch your money to a more favorable rate.

4. Take Advantage of Automatic Payments

Most banks offer a way to automatically deduct money from your account to pay creditors. In addition, the creditors usually offer a lower interest rate when you sign up for this payment option because they get their money faster and on-time. Consider it as one fewer check to write, envelope to lick and stamp to buy. Just make sure you record the deduction when the automatic payment is scheduled or you run the risk of bouncing other checks.

5. Computerize Your Checkbook

Using a software program is a handy way to organize your finances. Whether it's Quicken(r), Microsoft Money(r) or another package, these easy-to-use programs make bill paying and bank reconciliation a cinch. Computer checks can be ordered almost anywhere and fit right into most printers. Once the checks are printed, all of the information is automatically recorded in your electronic checkbook. Furthermore, many banks have direct downloads into these software packages so when money is deposited or withdrawn, the transaction is entered immediately onto your computer. And, when it comes time to do taxes, it couldn't be easier.

6. Get Overdraft Protection

Most banks have a service where, if you run the risk of bouncing a check, the money will come from another source. For a nominal fee, the bank will link your checking account to either a savings, money market, or credit card so the embarrassment of bouncing a check will be avoided. Call or visit your bank to learn about this convenient feature.

7. Cancel Unused Accounts

Whether it's a credit card or bank account, write a letter requesting that the account is formally closed. Not only will this improve your credit score, it is a useful way to avoid money from being scattered all over the place. Don't let department stores and credit card companies lure you into opening new accounts by offering favorable interest rates and purchase discounts. It's easy for credit to get out of hand by taking advantage of every credit offer that comes your way.

8. Consolidate Your Accounts

If you have several credit card accounts with outstanding balances, try to consolidate them into one. Be careful and check the balance transfer interest rates and one-time fees. Also, make a list of all your open Money Markets, Savings, CDs, IRAs, Mutual Funds, and other accounts to see if any consolidation can be done. Keeping your money in fewer places eliminates all of the guesswork involved and reduces errors.

9. Establish Automatic Savings

Create a link from your checking account into a savings account that will not be touched. This can usually be done through the banks and automatic amounts will be transferred over each month. Most people will not put money into a savings account on a regular basis. They may wait until a large tax refund check arrives or some other event to actually deposit money into savings, retirement or other accounts. If you establish an automatic savings deposit every month, your accounts will begin accumulating money faster than you think.

10. Clean up Your Files

Make sure your paid bills are organized in a filing cabinet. Keep individual files for paid bills. Go through your files at the end of each year and throw out bills and receipts no longer needed for auditing purposes. Contact your local IRS office to see how long records need to be kept for audits. Usually federal tax return audits can be done three years back but cancelled checks may need to be kept for seven. Consult the Internet for auditing and records-keeping procedures for your state or region.