Personal Finance Basics – A Bad Credit Credit Card

Date March 10, 2010

A bad credit credit card (aka secured credit cards) looks like a bad joke doesn't it? It is not, but, it is an important aspect of your personal finance basics to know about such things.

Original Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?cat=Finance:Personal-Finance

Personal Financial Planning and Life Goal-Setting

Date March 10, 2010

Financial planning is an activity that should be taught at an early age to enable habits that last a lifetime. It can, however, be learned no matter at what stage you are in life, and assimilated into every day living to prepare you to succeed for the remainder of your life.

Original Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?cat=Finance:Personal-Finance

Prepaid MasterCards As a Financial Management Tool

Date March 10, 2010

Prepaid Mastercards are not just another way to pay for purchases. They are also a great way to manage one's personal finances.

Original Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?cat=Finance:Personal-Finance

Debt Bailouts – How to Best Handle Massive Credit Card Debts

Date March 10, 2010

Are you of the opinion that debt settlement services are very expensive? Well, for fifteen to twenty percent of the total amount that you save, you will not only get a fantastic waiver but also a counselor and financial adviser who will give you clear advice on how you should proceed to overcome your financial problems.

Original Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?cat=Finance:Personal-Finance

LIC Wealth Plus Guarantees NAVs, Mis-sold

Date March 10, 2010

Read Manish Chauhan’s excellent post on Agents misselling LIC Wealth Plus. The product promises the highest NAV in the next seven years, and some agents are trying to sell this by using the NAV of a different policy (that does not have such a guarantee) and thus offering ridiculous rates like 40%!

 

This is hardly surprising for ULIPs – a substantial amount of misselling happens there. But is the highest NAV product not worth it anyhow? Deepti Bhaskaran in Mint says that you may get the highest NAV, but not the best returns.

The way it’s done is straightforward. Let’s say you have Rs. 100, which you have to guarantee highest NAV for seven years. I can put Rs. 63 in a seven year bond yielding 7%, and the remaining 37 can go into equity. (The Rs. 63, in seven years will grow to Rs. 100, so even if the equity portion goes to zero, you’re ok). After a year, assume the equity portion increases to Rs. 67. The New NAV will now become Rs. 135 or so (some returns will happen on the debt portion as well). Now you must guarantee 135 – so you move more money into debt – perhaps now it’s Rs. 100 debt, rest equity.

What happens if the market goes down? The allocation to equity does not increase, because that will introduce risk to the guarantee. Yet, the right thing to do for a product that is supposed to yield high returns is to keep a healthy equity portion.

With guaranteed products, that is simply not going to happen. So you might get a stroke of luck and a decent return, but in a market that goes down a lot and then revives, chances are you will seriously underperform. LIC’s wealth plus and other insurance company ULIPs won’t tell you this; unfortunately most buyers will find out only the hard way. It could be a useful product, though, for someone who understands the risk and still wants the guarantee; but the costs are fairly high.




Original Source: http://blog.investraction.com/

Wealth Management Services and Benefits

Date March 10, 2010

Wealth management is the process of managing an individual's financial, investment, tax, legal and estate planning. A comprehensive process manages more than just investments.

Original Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?cat=Finance:Personal-Finance

Top Hedge Funds Collapsing the Euro?

Date March 10, 2010

It is interesting to see that even though mysteriously the jobs number in the US remains that same and the market is buoyant, the Greek debt crisis is topping headlines this week and is bringing down the value of the Euro. But is that the only reason Euro is destabilizing?

Original Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?cat=Finance:Personal-Finance

How to Save Money – Money Saving Tips

Date March 10, 2010

These are easy ways to start saving money today. If you need to save money to buy a large product like a car or an apartment, or if you need to set aside an emergency fund, or if you need to pay off some credit card debt, follow these simple steps and you can start saving money.

Original Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?cat=Finance:Personal-Finance

Improve Your Chances and Repair Your Bad Credit

Date March 10, 2010

It is possible to use credit repair to improve bad credit and low credit scores. One should never sell themselves short and neglect to even try because there are credit repair strategies that can significantly improve your credit report and credit score.

Original Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?cat=Finance:Credit

Prepaid MasterCard – Not Just For Spending

Date March 10, 2010

Prepaid MasterCard products aren't just a spending tool. The convenience these prepaid debit cards give can also help cardholders save money.

Original Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?cat=Finance:Personal-Finance