Sunday, July 1, 2018

How Payday Loans Work: Getting a Payday Loan

money for urgent needs
If you’ve ever found yourself in an unexpected financial trouble, you will appreciate how valuable it is to have someone you can turn to for immediate financial help.

Sometimes that someone is not an actual person but an institution. Often, it is a short-term lender such as a payday loan lender.

Payday loans can be a lifesaver. They are small short-term loans that people with a verifiable regular income can take with the commitment that they will repay the amount due on their next payday.

Payday Loan Terms

Depending on your income level, the payday loan amount you can qualify for will generally range from $50 to $1,000.

While the term of the loan is very short, the interest charged on the loan can be very high. If you are in a financial fix, however, the high interest rates may not register as a negative. It will be the price you will be paying to get the loan as soon as you want.

You will be required to make the repayment once and in full. Usually, payday loan lenders get all the information they need to facilitate a repayment such as your bank account details or a post-dated check from you before they disburse the loan.

In some states, it is legal to roll over payday loans. If that is the case in your state, you have the option of extending the loan. I would advise against doing this, though, as it may result in a never-ending cycle of debt.

How to Get Approved for a Payday Loan

Most payday loan providers now offer services online. You can get a payday loan from the comfort of your own living room by just filling in a form on the net.

Before you take a loan from a given lender, search online for reviews of the lender. If there aren’t any reviews, you will probably find web articles comparing the terms of that lender to other lenders.

Your search should lead you to the best payday loan lender for your situation. Whether or not that lender chooses to give you a loan will depend on their eligibility criteria.

It is pretty easy to qualify for a payday loan. If you have a verifiable regular income, you will probably qualify for a loan. The details you need to pay attention to include:

i. Age: you have to be at least 18 years old.

ii. Income: you should be able to prove that you had income in the past 3 months.

iii. Employment: most lenders lend only to those who are employed. If you are a casual worker, you should do some research and find local offline payday loan providers that lend to people like you.

iv. Credit: you can get a payday loan with a bad credit score. Nonetheless, some lenders might limit how much they give out to people with bad credit scores.

To increase your chances of being approved, you should consider obtaining your credit report and submitting it when applying for a payday loan. If you have a good credit history and are employed, almost all payday loan providers will consider you a good customer.

It is important that you limit the number of applications you submit. Do not be tempted to submit several applications with different lenders at the same time.

Every application will probably be incorporated in your credit report as a loan inquiry. If there are several inquiries, you may lower your credit score.

Developing a Healthy Relationship with Payday Loans

When used responsibly, payday loans can be a useful tool to get over unexpected financial hurdles.

In the wrong hands, payday loans can lead to the formation of very bad financial habits. Since some states allow lenders to roll over their loans, some lenders find themselves in a habitual cycle of debt.

Such a habit is not healthy if you have goals of attaining financial independence. The habit may also lead to a poorer credit score which can affect your ability to land long-term loans.

You should strive to repay your loan as soon as it is due. Below are some of the steps you can take to ensure that you have the cash to pay off the loan when it is due:

i. Suspending unnecessary monthly subscriptions: if you have monthly subscriptions that aren’t a necessity such as Netflix, magazines, online courses, and cable, you should consider suspending them until you have your payday loan repaid.

ii. Generate more cash: you can increase your cash flow by working more hours (overtime) at your job or by looking for a side-hustle to generate more cash.

iii. Sell things you don’t need: if there are things in the house you don’t use but which could be sold on sites such as eBay, you should consider selling them. This is one of the quickest ways to generate cash to help you avoid the cycle of payday loan debt.

iv. Cut costs: you can make a few lifestyle choices that can save you some money over the course of a month. Something as simple as carrying packed lunch to work instead of eating at restaurants can save you more than a hundred bucks in a month. Three or four similar lifestyle changes can get you all the money you need to pay back the payday loan.

Saturday, June 23, 2018

How Fintechs are enabling a larger section of the working-class populace to get easy access to credit

access to credit
The access to credit has undergone significant transformation in recent times, thanks to the emergence of Fintech lenders in the market today. While traditional lenders such as private and state-run banks also offer online personal loans, it is Fintechs that are making their presence more palpable by offering a larger section of the populace with personal loans through their easy-to-meet eligibility parameters.

Qbera is leading Fintech lender that operates in several of India’s top cities including Bangalore, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Jaipur and Ahmedabad. Qbera offers instant personal loans to salaried individuals, subject to them meeting some basic credit eligibility parameters.

Let’s look at some points which substantiate how Fintechs are reaching a larger section of the working-class population and enabling them to get easy access to credit (mostly unsecured personal loans).

Easy eligibility parameters

Fintechs have a much more easy-to-meet eligibility framework in comparison to traditional lenders such as private banks. The eligibility parameters in the credit score and income segments are comparatively easier to meet for Fintechs as against popular private banks. For instance, Fintechs offer loans to individuals with net monthly salaries starting from Rs.20,000, and with credit scores as low as 575. Private Banks on the other hand require applicants to have a minimum income of at least Rs. 30,000 (popular banks require incomes of at least Rs. 40,000 per month to become eligible). As for the credit score, most traditional lenders necessitate individuals to have a minimum CIBIL score of 700.

Quick and paperless application processes

Fintechs have adopted a super-quick, and completely digital application process in recent times, and a prominent reason why they’ve become immensely popular in Tier-1 Indian cities is this. The application process can be initiated online, and completed online too. This includes the submissions of documents as well. Verification of documents is done digitally, thereby speeding up the process to a great extent, infusing greater interest among the working class population due to the quick application process.

By these very impressive ways, Fintechs have allowed a larger section of the populace to get access to instant personal loans.

Friday, June 22, 2018

Tips on How to Secure a Microloan for your Small Business in Singapore

small business loans
Microloans are helpful for any entrepreneur aspiring to set up their small business in Singapore. Small companies are useful in boosting Singapore’s economy and great for new entrepreneurs to grow in the market. Thankfully you can approach licensed money lender in Singapore to help you with your microloan. Here are some tips to help you jump start your small business,

Always Approach a Licensed Money Lender

The stakes are high for this one, and as much as possible, you want to make sure you approach a licensed moneylender in Singapore. There are many risks involved if you do not contact an accredited moneylender such as fraud. Your endeavor to start your small business may fail, and you may incur some losses if you do not choose the right money lenders.

There are various licensed money lenders you can approach such as financial institutions and accredited private individuals. These lenders will offer you a lot of options, and you want to make sure that the possibilities are tailored fit to the needs of your business, which leads us to the next tip.

Identify The Needs for Your Small Business

A common mistake some borrowers encounter is failing to identify where they will allocate the loan they borrowed, which creates a lot of problems. One of the issues that occur is a misappropriation of the money, which leads to them acquiring a new amount. Before you even apply for the loan, you should already start identifying where to allocate the credit.

If you haven’t identified where to use the loan yet, here are some examples which can help you determine your needs:
  • Working capital of your business;
  • Purchase of initial inventory supplies;
  • Purchase of furniture and fixtures;
  • Purchase of machinery and equipment; 
  • Purchase of property or office space.

Determine The Criteria for Small Businesses

Many loan requirements for Small Businesses depend on what comprises a small business. Check with your local government whether you fall under this category. Many start-ups fail to identify appropriately their type, which often leads to their loan being denied. Here are some steps you should observe to check if you qualify as a small business:
  • Check what the definition of small business is in your industry;
  • Determine the number of employees and sales requirements;

Another critical reason why you should be sure with your qualification is the type of loan you can apply for. There are different kinds of flexibility and loan types which money lenders can offer, depending on the nature of your business. As a small business owner, you want to make sure you get the most flexible option which is tailor-made for you.

Prepare Your Personal and Business Documents

Most money lender in Singapore looks at similar requirements when applying for a Small Business loan. It is crucial that you already have some of the critical documents when you apply, or your application may be delayed. Here are some of the typically required documentation you should be prepared for:
  • A government ID such as your passport, driver’s license, and tax identification number;
  • Proof of income or any document which shows cash flow in your business. If you do not have this yet, you may also present a projected sales report.
  • Recent financial statements of your business, including all your gains and losses. If you do not have this, you may present your financial report.
  • Tax returns which show compliance with the government-mandated expense.
  • A Collateral such as property.
Another crucial requirement you should never forget is your company’s business plan. You want to present your money lenders with a detailed description of where you will use the money, and how the business will be able to pay it off. This serves as a guarantee for them that you have created a direction for your company.

Whether you are new in business and regardless of the loan size you want to apply for, you want to make sure that you are ready for all the requirements. Small business loans are significant to help boost your business, and using the credit wisely can get you to where you want.

Friday, June 8, 2018

ULIPs Yield Great Tax Saving Investment Options – Find Out

tax saving investments
Several investment options in India have been affected by demonetization and our own spending habits. On the other hand, most of the fixed deposit rates have been lowered by banks post this demonetization drive. Chances are here that the FD rates might drop even further. This is a situation where in all investors are preferring life insurance over other investment options.

ULIPs (Unit-linked Life Insurance Policies) have gained much presence in the investment market as they’re considered to be a much safer means of creating wealth in the long run. Reasons behind the increasing popularity of these ULIPs comprise of their lucrative returns besides their tax saving and protective nature. Out of all the features of a unit-linked insurance plan or ULIP, the most important one seems to be its capacity to invest an individual’s premiums into equity funds as well as mixed debts in different proportions. It doesn’t even yield any tax liability for enacting transfers between separate funds.Besides yielding extra tax-saving advantages for the investors, ULIPs act as a financial tool that links multiple investment options.

Few of the ULIP advantages have been mentioned below:

Deductible premiums

The premiums that are paid for a coverage plan like ULIP get invested with certain financial instruments, debt, and equity. The premium that goes out towards this policy is shown as a deduction under section 80C of IT Act. ULIP premiums may be considered as a deduction from the taxable income up to a certain limit under section 80C. In addition, a ULIP enables the policyholder to pick an asset class and contribute towards his investment planning accordingly. The risk-tolerance of a young investor is much higher and it enables him to follow the more-risk more-return equity investment strategy. To lower your market risks and fetch quality returns, you may pick a mix of financial market instruments, debt, and equity.

Flexibility to change asset classes

A ULIP investor can switch over to a new asset class from the existing one or may even get the funding proportion modified for his current investment in financial instruments, debt or equity.

Non-taxable withdrawals

Apart from the benefits mentioned before, ULIPs may come with great tax saving opportunities against withdrawals. These benefits aren’t meant for the mutual fund investors. Withdrawals may occur when the policyholder needs to withdraw a portion of his investment, when the policy gets maturity or when the policyholder passes away. Death benefit offered by your ULIP isn’t taxable at all. ULIPs show a close similarity to any traditional insurance plan that yields guaranteed financial protection for the dependents of the insured.

Extended coverage

Periodic top-ups offered under ULIPs are a good investment option for individuals possessing excess cash. In a favorable situation, an investor is likely to gain certain tax saving advantages, guaranteed protection, and great returns through different modes of investment like that of mutual funds and life insurance policies. However, it’s quite tough and challenging to strike the right balance between various investment options.

That’s one reason why so many of the modern investors are opting for ULIP and similar combination products. This is certainly an effective option to get your life coverage benefits trebled. Without experiencing any complication and risk of suffering losses, you’ll now be able to enjoy these tax saving options and high ROIs.

Wednesday, June 6, 2018

A look at the human psyche when creating formulas for successful Financial Market Trading

trading path
Any financial market trader knows how vital a trading formula is. According to one of Wilkins Finance’s top financial advisor, every trader should have guidelines on how to go about placing trades and closing them. After, all that is what a trading formula is all about. It is also referred to as a trading strategy.

As a trader, you will have to have a way of knowing when the time to place a particular trade is ripe and also know when it is time to close the trade. This what trading entails. It is not just clicking buy and sell buttons haphazardly. No! There has to be a reason for placing and closing of every order.

Most traders dwell too much on when to place an order and forget that they should also concentrate on when to close the order. Closing an order at the wrong time will result in reduced profits and, at times, even losses.

Let us look at an example. Assume that you place a buy on the EUR/USD at 1.34567 and the market moves up to 1.34723. You decide to close the order at that level only to realise that the markets are still moving up and the bullish trend seems to be strong. You will have lost the opportunity to make more profits. If you would have made your market analysis well, then you would have waited for the trend to give signals of changing to bearish. Only then you would have exited the market, thus maximising your profits.

However, you should also not ignore any signal indicating a change in the market conditions. Assuming that you ignore such a signal, the market trend will change and your profits will end up being losses.

When coming up with your trading formula, you will have to put all this into consideration plus many other factors. We are going to discuss the process of creating a formula for successful financial market trading and the psychology behind it.

Steps of creating a formula for successful financial trading

First, you will have to choose the markets that you want to trade. It will help you to come up with a formula that is best suited to the market. Remember that all markets do not behave in the same manner. Forex markets are different from stock markets, derivative markets or cryptocurrency markets. Some markets are more liquid than others. Also, some markets are more volatile than others. For the volatile markets, they have larger daily ranges compare to those which are not very volatile. Therefore, volatile markets would be better for short-term to intraday trading while the less volatile markets would suit those traders who want to do long-term trading.

With, the market, you should go ahead and choose the specific assets you aspire to trade. For example, if you decided to trade the stock markets, you should choose the particular stocks that you want to trade. If it is the Forex markets, you should choose select currency pairs and mostly the most traded currency pairs. Whichever market you decided to trade, pick a few assets that you want to trade.

Next, find a way of getting the trading signals. If you want to automate your trading process, then the trading robot will be responsible for creating and executing the trading signals. But if you are trading manually, you will have to choose the specific indicators to use or enrol with a Trading Signal service provider to provide you with the signals.

You should ensure that the indicators that you choose will give you both entry points and exit points. The same applies to the signals that you receive from your signal service provider. Since you might not be in front of the computer all through, you should place stop levels at the exit point given.

With all the above, you will be good to go. But remember to test the strategy on a demo account for a period of time to analyse its results (whether it is making losses or profits). On the demo account, you will be able to see if the strategy is profitable or not. If not, do not tire of changing it until you come up with a profitable trading strategy.

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Tips for Hiring the Right Insurance Agent

insurance agent
If you are in the market for insurance of any kind, it’s important that you know how to find the right agent to help you out. A good insurance agent will be able to find you the best coverage for a reasonable price. Since there are so many different agents to choose from, you will need to do some research before deciding on one in particular.

In this article, you will learn about some of the more helpful tips that will allow you to narrow down your options when it comes to choosing the right insurance agent to meet your needs.

Utilize the Internet

You will find that many banks, such as BB&T, have pages on their websites that are dedicated to helping people find a trustworthy insurance agent in their area. It is important that you look into some of these websites so that you can make finding the perfect agent as easy as possible. With BB&T bank, all you have to do is simply enter your location and the type of insurance you are interested in getting.

Which Insurance Products Are You Looking For?

The type of insurance products you are interested in will play a crucial role in determining which agent you should hire. If you are looking for home insurance, you will need to look for an agent that has access to this particular product. Make sure that you find out what each agent can offer you before making a final decision.

Knowledge and Credentials

It’s crucial that you find an insurance agent that is very knowledgeable with all the right credentials, so you can trust them to provide you with the help you need. You should take the time to ask each agent some questions that will provide you with a better idea as to how experienced they really are. It’s also a good idea to ask these agents for their credentials, so you can make sure they are legitimate professionals.

Reviewing Your Quotes

The insurance agent you hire will provide you with a number of quotes for the type of insurance you need. You will need to spend as much time as necessary looking over these quotes and comparing them, so you can get the best possible deal. One of the biggest mistakes people make when buying insurance is to neglect the quotes they are given by their insurance agent.

Know How Much Coverage You Need

It’s always a good idea for you to know exactly how much coverage you require when going about hiring someone to find the right insurance policy for you. You will need to convey this information to the agent before they start researching policies on your behalf.

When you need to get insurance of any kind, it is important that you think about hiring an agent to help with this process. A good insurance agent will be able to save you a lot of time and effort as well as money, so it’s something that’s worth considering.