The world stock markets are going through quite a turbulent period at present and on average around ten percent has been wiped off some of the leading markets over the last month. In this article I write about how on a personal note I try to save in a series of different financial products which helps me to spread the risk, including when we have these stock market falls.
I started saving money on a regular basis about five years ago. At this stage the stock market in the UK had just had some dramatic falls after the terrorist attacks in New York. I wanted to build up a kind of rainy day fund and decided to invest monthly premiums into a unit trust. I started saving 50 a month and over time I increased this figure.
I have to say that I have been very lucky as my investment has done very well, I have even over the last couple of years cashed in some of the units to pay for our family holidays. At the start of this year the stock market in the UK was showing its highest levels in five and a half years.
In the five years that I have been investing, I have bought and now own a large number of units in this unit trust fund. What it now means however, is that if the stock markets have a period just like the one it has had, it costs me financially on paper quite a lot of money.
I now believe that my exposure to the stock markets is high enough and have decided that I will leave the units that I have invested in the fund as they are, but that I will not be adding to them. Instead I am going to put my regular savings into one of the high interest regular savings online bank accounts. This of course is a way of spreading the risk.
I have no idea which way the world stock markets are going to go over the next few months. Many people are saying that the United States interest rates may rise and that this could have a damaging affect on world markets. There could well be another major terrorist attack which could of course result in dramatic stock market falls.
I am hoping that the stock markets will continue to rise in the same way that they have over the last five years and that the falls over the last few weeks are just a blip. I just think that I have enough money invested and would like to start building some form of other savings in a safer type of environment.
The world stock markets are going through quite a turbulent period at present and on average around ten percent has been wiped off some of the leading markets over the last month. In this article I write about how on a personal note I try to save in a series of different financial products which helps me to spread the risk, including when we have these stock market falls.
I started saving money on a regular basis about five years ago. At this stage the stock market in the UK had just had some dramatic falls after the terrorist attacks in New York. I wanted to build up a kind of rainy day fund and decided to invest monthly premiums into a unit trust. I started saving 50 a month and over time I increased this figure.
I have to say that I have been very lucky as my investment has done very well, I have even over the last couple of years cashed in some of the units to pay for our family holidays. At the start of this year the stock market in the UK was showing its highest levels in five and a half years.
In the five years that I have been investing, I have bought and now own a large number of units in this unit trust fund. What it now means however, is that if the stock markets have a period just like the one it has had, it costs me financially on paper quite a lot of money.
I now believe that my exposure to the stock markets is high enough and have decided that I will leave the units that I have invested in the fund as they are, but that I will not be adding to them. Instead I am going to put my regular savings into one of the high interest regular savings online bank accounts. This of course is a way of spreading the risk.
I have no idea which way the world stock markets are going to go over the next few months. Many people are saying that the United States interest rates may rise and that this could have a damaging affect on world markets. There could well be another major terrorist attack which could of course result in dramatic stock market falls.
I am hoping that the stock markets will continue to rise in the same way that they have over the last five years and that the falls over the last few weeks are just a blip. I just think that I have enough money invested and would like to start building some form of other savings in a safer type of environment.
If youve spent more than your budget can cope with, then maybe youre thinking about credit to help you through January. Many people fear the long, broke month of January. After a lovely Christmas full of joyous smiles January can see a mood swing in the wrong direction. Many of us turn to credit cards to help get through this terrible month. But without knowledge of the financial industry a person without a great income can fall victim to the evil grip of unscrupulous credit companies.
In his newspaper article, Simon Bain of the Herald tells of how one particular bank has been sending credit card applications to people with offers of a credit card with APR of up to 69% (http://www.theherald.co.uk/business/52784.html). This astounding rate applies with a credit limit of 150, while an APR of 41% applies to a credit limit of 1500.
Quick additional sums of money may seem very tempting to people at this time of year, and without consideration a lot of people will be more than tempted. But its not until later that the repercussions of such a high interest hit home. This can lead to difficulties in February, which spill over into March and so on, until before you know it its Christmas again and you have serious problems.
So before you go looking for short-term solutions that could lead to long-term problems, take some time to consider your options so that you can decide what kind of year youre going to have.
There are many cheap and easy ways to get credit card advice this New Year. The best way is just to log on to the web. There are many sites out there dedicated to offering financial advice. One of these sites is http://Moneynet.co.uk. Here you can check out all of your options. There is a great page dedicated solely to providing credit card advice ( http://www.moneynet.co.uk/credit-card-guide/index.shtml ) as well as many pages advising the card with best introductory rate, the best standard rate etc.
So, before you go down the wrong road, check out what your options are this January, and make sure you truly do have a happy New Year.
As easy as it is to get into debt, there are a number of strategies for consolidating your bills and lowering your monthly payments while still paying more to principal and becoming debt-free faster than you thought possible.
If youre ready to eliminate your credit card debt, you need to assess your situation and then look at the best alternative for your financial needs. Do you own a home? If you own, do you have equity in your home to tap? Can you afford more than your monthly payments, or are you struggling to get by? Is your number one goal getting out of debt, or is it to meet your monthly payments?
If you own a home, and have equity available, you can look at a debt consolidation loan, or a related solution a home equity line of credit. In this scenario, you are shifting your credit card debt from unsecured to secured debt, which allows you to lower your monthly payment and also lets you deduct the interest payments from your taxes. You may determine that this debt consolidation loan, or second mortgage, can put you on a much faster track to eliminating your debt. Thats because the interest rate on a second mortgage can be much lower than what youre paying toward credit cards or other high interest debt. Trading higher interest debts such as these for a lower interest payment can save you hundreds each month which you can, in turn, put back toward paying off the debt. Last, but certainly not least, the interest you pay on a second mortgage is tax deductible and that savings too can be put toward your bills.
Or perhaps you already have a second mortgage youve been paying on for a while. Especially if you got your first and second mortgages at the same time, it might be time to consolidate them into one loan. Many second mortgages in the last decade carried adjustable interest rates which have increased causing payments to rise. Consolidating your first mortgage and your adjustable rate second mortgage into one low fixed rate loan can also save you a great deal each month which you can use to make payments to higher interest debts.
Two other advantages you may gain through refinancing are the elimination of personal mortgage insurance and the chance to get cash out at closing. When you took out your original mortgage, did your lender require you to carry personal mortgage insurance due to a high loan to value? If so, refinancing may eliminate that requirement. If you have since built up some equity and your new loan to value is low enough to drop the mortgage insurance, your payment amount will be much lower. You may also find that you can take some cash out of your home at closing without significantly increasing your monthly payments. That cash can go toward you guessed it your higher interest debts.
If you dont own a home, or if you own and have no available equity, you can look at debt relief options including debt settlement and credit counseling. If your monthly payment is your number one concern, its worth a try to call your credit card companies and see if a payment plan at a reduced interest rate can be agreed upon. This will allow you to pay more toward your balances each month and eliminate your credit card debt sooner. While your creditors are under no obligation to change the terms of your agreement, they may very well be willing to do so, especially as it is to their advantage to receive payment, and negotiating a payment plan shows that you are taking the initiative to do just that.
If calling your creditors doesnt work, or if you just want a quick fix, you can contact a debt settlement or credit counseling company. Debt settlement is a service for consumers who want out of debt at the lowest cost, in the shortest time frame, with the lowest payment while avoiding bankruptcy. Credit counseling, on the other hand, is a solution that lowers your interest rates slightly and can get you a lower monthly payment.
The path to becoming debt free is as different as the ways you can get into debt in the first place. The first step toward eliminating your debt is educating yourself with all the options available to you. Once youve identified your needs, you can get started taking the right steps for yourself.