Wealth Creation Strategies | OnMoneyMaking

For anyone looking for the funny angle to the current recession, I recommend reading Jeff Kreisler’s book “GET RICH CHEATING: The Crooked Path To Easy Street.”. The book covers numerous ways to cheat in various industries, which most people will find quite humorous. In his review, Terry Jones, an original member of Monty Python called it “a very funny book with a timely message”.

This book promises to impart you with such “practical” knowledge as how to:

* Take advantage of society’s apathy, ignorance, and celebrity bling worship
* Exploit friends, family, employees, the weak, the desperate, and the dumb
* Fake your own death and spend your windfall profits sipping Mai-Tais on the sandy beach

To get a glimpse into this fun with fraud book, check out this video:

With the growing unemployment numbers, a deflated stock market and an ongoing foreclosure-driven realestate market, many consumers are struggling to pay their credit card balance. As a result, major credit card providers, are reporting a growing number of defaults. A new congressional legislation addressing this issue will not take effect for a few months, leaving consumers to struggle with even higher interest rates and tighter credit terms. This is why it is important for consumers to change credit card lenders to those which can provider a 0% interest rate and better repayment terms.

A common statistic is that the average consumer spends about $100 in interest per year for every $1000 of credit card debt they owe. The amount of savings from switching to a credit provider that offers 0% interest will depend on the current debt that the card holder has. For instance, the average household, which carries close to $8400 in debt, can see interest savings of over $1000 by transferring the balance from credit cards with a 12% interest rate. In these tough economic times, this is a deal worth paying attention to.

Due to the recession, the number of credit cards having such favorable terms is down. The website www.smartbalancetransfers.com provides information on a variety of such credit card offers, including, 0% APR balance transfers, 0% APR on purchases, no fee balance transfers, and more. There is also a handy balance transfer calculator to give consumers an idea of how much money they can save. If you wish to read informative articles on such topics as how to avoid credit card scams, frequent flyer credit cards, balance transfer catch 22′s, and others, check out the blog section.

A good way to save money on interest and pay down current debt is to get a balance transfer to a lower interest credit card. By taking a few minutes to apply for a 0 balance transfer offers, a person can refinance their debt at low rates and gain significant savings. For additional information, take a look at the SmartBalanceTransfers.com website.

Most people do not fully understand how to improve their credit score, although it probably best represents their current financial health. A credit score can correspond to such data as who qualifies for a loan, at what interest rate, and at what credit limits. From lenders to landlords, insurers to potential employers, many entities can have access to your credit score. Consequently, it is essential for you to go over your credit score record regularly. This record can highlight such factors as whether your identity was stolen, are there any credit history errors present, and is your credit score improving over time.

Notably, the key to having a good credit score is paying your bills when they are due in addition to maintaining your available outstanding loan debt at a low level. The following are common credit score myths that you should be aware of:

Myth 1. Only a single credit score exists. There are 3 credit agencies, namely: Experian, Transunion and Equifax. Each credit agency has a formula for creating an individual score, so you will have 3 different credit scores, but those shouldn’t vary by more than 20 points from each other. You are entitled to one free report per year from each of these agencies. Other credit scores also exist for insurance companies and additional businesses.

Myth 2. Checking your own credit report will result in a lower score. There is no limit to how many times a credit score can be checked and a person requesting their own report will not affect their own score. However, when a financial institution inquires about your score, this is typically considered a “hard” inquiry, which results in the credit reporting agency addressing this as if you are applying for a new credit card or asking for a loan.

Myth 3. Shopping for the top credit rate will lower your credit score. This is typically explained to non-suspecting consumers in order to prevent them from comparison shopping for the best credit rates. The credit bureaus know that people will try to get multiple quotes and, therefore, consider these type inquiries made within a 14 day period to be a single inquiry. It is, however, important not to apply for multiple loans at once, such as for a new car loan or a credit card just prior to applying for a new mortgage, since that raises red flags for the credit agencies.

Myth 4. Age, gender, income, and race will impact your score. A simple and a big NO is the answer.

Myth 5. A dispute letter will take away a lower credit decision. Only errors on your credit report ought to be disputed. The credit agencies have 30 days to reply and are efficient at removing inaccurate data. If however, an agency rules against your claim, it is better to pay the bill, so it doesn’t affect your credit score, and file your grievance against the merchant in a small claims court. Otherwise, you will have to explain to future creditors why you have a lower score and hope for their understanding.

Myth 6 . Marriage will combine both partners’ reports. Credit accounts are either opened on an individual basis or collectively but marrying someone with a solid credit score isn’t going to improve your credit score.

Myth 7. Paying off your credit card balance every month will guarantee you a high score. It’s a good idea to, once in a while, pay a card over time. This indicates to the credit agencies that you know how to use credit responsibly. The optimal method is to utilize 10% – 20% of your available credit and pay all bills without delay. To see the best improvement in your credit score, you should pay a majority of your credit card debt a few days before the billing cycle ends and keep the 10-20% owed for a few days after your credit card invoice arrives.

There are numerous websites that provide services related to free credit scores. For instance, the website creditscorecowboy.com is intended to educate consumers with useful free credit report information to help them become creditworthy. The site offers credit news and an aggregate of free credit score services, as well as an identity theft service. It is a good idea to check your credit report on a quarterly basis by using this site. You will surely benefit from reading the posted information and learning from the aforementioned myths to reach and maintain a good credit score.

In the last few months, I’ve debated with numerous personal finance gurus who believe that owning a home is overrated and that renting works out to be more cost effective. However, when asked, these individuals confess to not being renters, but home owners. Their main reasoning being that, when retirement nears, they rather minimize the ongoing expenses associated with renting. Even if property taxes or strata fees rise for the home they own, this will still only represent a small amount compared to the ongoing expenses of renting.

In addition, the monetary advantages of owning a home do not cover some intangible aspects. These include such attributes as the inherent human desire for having control of a given piece of territory and the pride of ownership. There are other advantages, such as being able to use your property as a collateral or utilize a reverse mortgage in cases of a looming financial crisis. A home can also be a tax shelter, since no capital gains tax on a main residence is imposed. Additionally, a home is a major and cherished asset to be passed on to family members.

Let’s look at the counter argument. A home owner is likely to require at least a 5% downpayment on a house. If you’re 30 and buying a $400,000 home with a 5.5% interest, you’ll pay $470,367 in mortgage interest alone, which works out to $870,000 total. Compare that to renting a three-bedroom apartment for $1,252 per month. This works out to approximately $800 less than the $2,025 it would cost to for the aforementioned mortgage. Without property taxes, maintenance and utilities you can easily save $1,250 a month by renting. Moreover, investing this saved cash, at a conservative rate of 4%, will grow to $1.1 million when you reach 65.

Essentially, both sides of the argument have their merit, except that owning a house does impart you with a stronger financial security, assuming you can afford the mortgage. If you choose the renting option, you better be committed to a fairly thrifty life and hope you will not need a financial boost for most of your adult life.

A contrarian view, favouring renting, can be found in this Australian blog article. The interesting post looks at how we accept certain age-old notions and socially accepted practices regarding home ownership, and may cause you to rethink where you stand on this issue.