Cash advances undoubtedly are a short-term way to obtain credit which should be used for unanticipated emergencies along with other immediate needs. Loans which are made for people that have especially poor credit are known as bad credit Cash advances. Cash advances are occasionally less difficult and much more inexpensive than a credit card cash advance. Payday loan is also known as a cash advance, paycheck loan, or payday advance.

Cash advance is meant as a stopgap solution, not an ongoing cure for financial difficulties.

Loans are typically obtained up until customer’s up coming pay day, hence its name, cash advance loan. Cash advances certainly are a quick and dependable way of getting a money advance until your following pay day. Cash advances are extremely beneficial indeed. You will get them although you may have bad credit scores. Cash advances are absolutely hassle-free, given that they require no credit assessment. Cash advances are generally created for poor credit borrowers who may have difficulty obtaining money quickly in order to meet urgent costs.

Cash advance is generally accepted within hours, so you have cash in your bank account the very next day. Cash advance has come forth with the lone function of filling in a hole within the conventional lending solutions. Cash advance is a reasonably new idea within the customized financial services for today’s hectic society. Cash advances are amongst the fastest and most effective ways you can get a loan today. Cash advances can even be found online today.

Cash advances aren’t too costly or too difficult to settle on the next payday. Cash advances are providing you with some top notch benefits. Cash advances can assist in paying bills until you reach your next payday. Cash advances aren’t a long term solution for any real problems. Cash advances are a great way to get out of a tight situation, and they are much better than bank loans.

Guest Post by David

ShareThis

Before you get in touch with a debt management company, you must set out any bones of contention such as unfair bank charges, debt management plans, desires to claim back on wrongly-sold payment protection insurance, or anything like mortgage exit fees. Before you call the organisation you hope will deal with your finances, look through other information to help get a better handle of your debt problems.

Firstly, don’t ignore mounting credit card debts by avoiding mail sent by such companies. You need to seize the initiative and work out a monthly budget, deducting all outgoings and debts from your income. If there is any money spare, increase debt payments on higher interest debts or any secured loans such as mortgages; often you may only be paying off the interest.

From here, cut back on non-essentials to avoid more serious problems in the future. Small changes can have a major impact on finances. If you eat out during a lunch break, take a packed lunch instead; this in itself could save over £100 each month. Reduce the number of times you go out, too; consider not even bringing a credit card to work! Check your credit rating every six months or so to ensure there are no errors on your credit report, as this can hurt applications to credit cards in future.

Finally, reconsider the mobile phone companies, utility suppliers, banks, and broadband providers to get the best deal. Plenty of organisations will be able to assist you on this, such as price comparison websites. After all of this? Call a proper service for debt management and consolidation advice – you won’t regret it!

ShareThis

Taxes

You might be mostly concerned about getting your money back in full from the borrower but you need to be mindful about making sure that the IRS doesn’t classify your loan as a gift if the amount exceeds $12,000. That’s the limit on non-taxable gift giving to one person and lenders must pay taxes on gifts in excess of that amount. The proper documentation of your loan agreement is as much about proving to the government you loaned the money as it is about ensuring proper repayment agreement.

The Paperwork

In order to protect yourself from owing unnecessary taxes, you have to make sure you create a proper loan agreement. This means determining the interest rate, loan amount, payment period, interest, and collateral if applicable, and putting it to paper. Once both parties have signed, it can be considered valid proof of a loan in the eyes of the IRS. But you have to make sure you follow federal guidelines for interest on loans between related parties. These rates are determined based on the payback period, and can be found by visiting the IRS’s website for rates rulings.

The Paperwork Part II

Make sure you list the income, if any, earned from your loan on your Form 1040 Schedule B. That way you avoid accidentally committing tax evasion on unlisted income. They take loans between related parties as serious as they take loans between anyone else. It’s important to remember that when it comes to the IRS they simply don’t have a sense of humor about anything.

Lend money to family members at your own risk. But even if it’s shady Uncle Harry you lend your hard earned money to, it’ll be Uncle Sam who will be coming to collect his due if you don’t take the necessary precautions. Being good family isn’t always easy, but preventing the government from getting its hands in on the deal is if you know the right things to do.

Guest post by Jess

ShareThis

Do you know what freedom feels like? It’s an amazing feeling! There’s nothing holding you back. Nothing following behind you. Complete freedom. Liberty. Independence. Dependence on God alone and not on credit cards, auto loans or payday loans.

I just sent my final two credit card payments today and I am now completely debt free! There are no words to describe this feeling. Now my income can go to investing, saving, and giving without just funneling it to the banks. Be debt free! Live debt free! There’s nothing like it.

ShareThis

I know what you’re thinking. What are snakes doing on a Christian Finance blog? Well, there’s a saying that says that if you play with snakes, you’ll get bit. Dave Ramsey even uses it to describe credit cards.

Well, I’ve got a great “bit by snakes” story for you. As many of you know, I’m on schedule to be completely debt free by next month. I’m still on schedule, but I hit a setback a couple days ago.

As many of you also know, I’ve been doing “credit card arbitrage” where I use 0% balance transfers and earn interest on the cash while using the cash to make payments. I don’t do this anymore, but I used a 0% balance transfer to pay off a student loan about a year ago and I made payments to a savings account to have the amount in a year so by the time the 0% was due, I would have the cash to pay it off.

Before last week, I never had a late payment in my life. But I played with snakes and got bit! When I set my online bill payment for the credit card, I looked at the next statement date instead of the payment due date and so the payment was late. When I realized what I’d done, it was too late.

I checked my credit card account online today and almost passed out! My account “went into default” with one late payment and my interest rate shot up to 25.99% even though it was still under the one year 0% special. They also charged me a $39.00 late fee and a finance charge of $89.25!

This really wasn’t a surprise to me since credit card companies can do practically anything they want because their agreements (that you signed when you got the credit card) allow them to. So I decided to give them a call. Sometimes you can get a lot accomplished with one phone call.

To make a long story short, I got the CSR (customer service rep) to waive the finance charges and late fee and also reduce the interest rate from 25.99%! I actually was amazed at how easy it was. All I had to do was ask a few questions about the charges and then simply ask if they could be waived. It took maybe five minutes!

I’m glad I got those fees waived, but I’m still going to pay off the credit card tomorrow. This was too close for comfort and I don’t feel comfortable carrying a balance when I have the cash to pay it off. I will never use credit cards again. Lesson learned. I hope you will learn from my experience. God bless!

ShareThis

This really makes me mad! I have lost respect for most car sales people (yes, there are woman car sales people). I get a phone call on Friday from a younger coworker of mine asking if she could use me as a reference. I asked her “for what” and she said that she needed five references to buy a car.

Now this is a young single mother of two who doesn’t have a car. She took off work and a friend of hers dropped her off with her kids at a car dealership. She had never bought a car before. Bad idea from the start. The salesman could smell the desperation a mile away.

So I asked her a few questions since I knew she was going to get taken. She had no clue. She didn’t know how much the car was, the interest rate of the loan, length of the loan, etc. All she knew was the payment. $289 a month. Oh sure, I can afford that! Classic sales tactic. Focus on the payment rather than the total cost.

She must have asked the salesman these same questions since she didn’t have a clue. I could hear the salesman in the background giving her the answers. The car was $5900. Ok, that’s not too bad. 48 months. Ok, still not too bad. But get this: 23% interest rate! I thought the salesman was kidding at first. Nope. Serious as a heart attack. I could hear him telling her that it would build her credit, that she could trade it in for something else in a year, etc. Well, she just got ripped off. $289 for 48 months comes out to a whopping $13,872. That’s more than two times the original price of the car.

I told her not to sign anything and that I’d pick her up. Despite telling her that she was getting ripped off and that it was a horrible deal, she would not listen. She hung up on me and proceeded to buy the car. I have absolutely no respect for anyone who would take advantage of a young single mother who was so desperate like this coworker of mine. It should be illegal to prey on people like this. But stupid isn’t illegal. And some people learn the hard way.

So here are some tips so you don’t get ripped off:

1. Don’t get car fever or fall in love with a car.
2. Bring someone with you who can be your advocate (at least someone who has experience buying a car).
3. Do some research. A little homework goes a long way.
4. Don’t focus on the payment. Focus on the total cost.
5. Know what you’re signing. The terms, price, payment, interest rate, etc.
6. Bring your own financing. Having options empowers you. If you already have a pre-approved car loan, you can use it or have the dealer try to beat it. Or better yet, just pay cash.
7. Know your rights and maintain your walk-away power. Remember, that if it starts getting high pressure or if you get uncomfortable, walk away. You’ll always have another chance to buy a car. Don’t get sucked into the sales and marketing pitches.

ShareThis

I’ve also always said that annualcreditreport.com is the only government-established website for getting your credit reports from all three of the credit bureaus for free annually. I guess because of all the complaints about Free Credit Report, the Federal Trade Commission decided to make an ad of their own. It’s actually kind of funny and is definitely a spoof of the other ads you’ve seen on TV. Check it out below or go here for more info.

Don’t forget to enter the TurboTax giveaway! Last day to enter it is tonight!

ShareThis

I’ve actually been using this great service for over a year and I’ve finally got around to writing a review of it. First off, it’s not a true FICO score. It’s based on your Transunion credit report and is the same score that TrueCredit, Privacy Matters, and others use. However, I don’t think that’s the purpose of it. What Credit Karma excels at is that you can see the changes of your credit score over time. Plus it’s free!

It’s an approximation of your FICO score and I’ve found that it’s actually usually higher than my real Tranunion FICO score. But the changes in my FICO score and the Credit Karma score are close, percentage-wise.

Signing up for the service is easy and free. You never have to give up your credit card number. However, you do need to give up some personal information including your Social Security number (that’s a given since they have to access your credit report).

Where Credit Karma shines is in the comparison tools. It gives you visual comparison nationally, within your state, age, and even your email domain! And because it’s a comparison of the same Credit Karma score, it really shows how you rank against others.

The site is supported by advertising and “Karma Offers” where you can vote yay or nay on a certain offer from a company and choose to take advantage of an offer. Some of the offers are good, but a lot of them are bad. It’s fine with me if it helps them pay the bills. After all, they are offering a valuable service (in my opinion) for free.

Obviously, this is not your real FICO score. However, it’s the closest thing to it and Credit Karma offers some great tools to help you see your score in perspective and track your score over time. I’m going to continue to use it. It’s worth a try. Stay tuned for an interview with the founder and CEO of Credit Karma, Ken Lin.

Credit Karma currently has over 275,000 registered users and has delivered more than 850,000 free credit scores.

Don’t forget to enter the TurboTax giveaway!

ShareThis

I ran across this today. I thought it was funny and it gets the point across. The beggar’s net worth is higher than everyone else because he doesn’t have any debt! That’s really sad, isn’t it? I was in that same situation, too. Had a negative net worth because of all my debt. Now I’m on my way to being completely debt free by this year! Woo hoo!

Don’t forget to enter the free TurboTax giveaway!

ShareThis

Happy Valentine’s Day! In honor of Valentine’s Day, I am going to talk about love and money. Did you know that the number one reason for divorce in the U.S. is over money and money fights? In some studies, it says “financial stress”. So how can you eliminate financial stress in your marriage?

How about being on the same page as your spouse on your money? On your financial goals? On your budget? How about getting out of debt? Don’t you think that if you were completely out of debt that most of the financial stress in your household would disappear?

This all stems from communication problems. Many couples never discuss money because their parents never did. Many couples today have separate checking accounts and manage their finances like a business partnership rather than a marriage. But God sees marriage differently than how our culture sees it. God sees it as two shall become one. For richer or poorer, in sickness and health. Vows are forever. That’s how God sees it.

The saying goes, “it’s cheaper to keep her”. That’s true to a degree. Divorce is the number one cause of bankruptcy in this country. Avoid divorce and bankruptcy by talking about money and setting goals together. Work together towards a common goal. Make it into a game. Make it fun. Each spouse needs to have a say. God bless!

ShareThis

Woo hoo!!! I just paid off all my student loans!!! Piece by piece. Bit by bit. Day by day. Step by step. That’s how you get out of debt! Today I’m one step closer to being completely debt free!!! I’m on schedule to be debt free by September of this year!!! I can’t wait! All I have left now is credit card debt (all at 0%). Time to knock that out, too!

ShareThis

Earlier this month, I blogged about getting your free FICO score from MyFICO through their Score Watch trial. Well, now you don’t have to sign up for anything to get your free Equifax FICO score! Just visit this website and register. No credit card required and the website is run by MyFICO and Equifax. But hurry, this is only open to the first 10,000 people! Here’s my FICO score:

I’m happy with my 738 credit score. Obviously, there’s always room for improvement. And it still beats Warren Buffet’s! My goal is to get to at least 760 by this year by paying off all of my debt (which will improve my debt-to-credit ratio) as well as continuing to pay my bills on time. I’m still on schedule to pay off everything and be completely debt-free by September! I’m excited!

ShareThis

MyFICO is offering a free 30-day trial of their FICO Score Watch which offers 2 free Equifax FICO scores and credit reports! Each FICO score is worth $15.95! This is the real FICO score that most banks and lenders use today.

Your score will be pulled on the day you sign up and you get another one that can be used later on. I would pull the second one towards the end of the trial because it would be more helpful to see the differences further down the road.

Just make sure you cancel before the 30-days ends or you will automatically be charged $89.95 (yikes!). You will get a reminder email from them a week before the trial ends but I would still put it on my Google calendar, sticky notes, bulletin boards, etc. to make sure I don’t forget. In fact, you can cancel immediately after getting your FICO score if you want so you don’t have to worry about canceling later on.

Also, here’s a post about how to pull your free credit report, not your credit score. You get three free credit reports each year from each credit bureau so stagger them every four months and you’ll have them all year-round!

And here’s another post with some basic info on FICO scores.

ShareThis

I wrote about the purchase and acquisition of ShareBuilder by ING Direct last year in December. I wondered back then how they would integrate together. Well, ING finally took a step in the right direction.

You can now access your ShareBuilder account from your ING account. All you have to do is login your ING Direct account and click on “Access your ShareBuilder account(s)”. Then you will login with your ShareBuilder account and you can now see your account value in your ING Direct account.

And on a side note, yes it does say “Kill Student Loan” on there as a nickname for one of my savings accounts. I know it sounds a little violent but it’s only because I’m passionate, intense, and vehement about getting out of debt! The only debt I have left is credit card debt (all at 0%) and my student loans at 6.8%. A month ago I transferred a large portion of my student loan debt to a 0% balance transfer on a credit card.

So what I’m doing is paying the minimum on the 0% credit card and then transferring every month the amount it would take to pay off the card in 12 months into ING Direct to maximize the interest I can get. I’m also making extra payments to my student loan every month. I plan on being completely debt free by September 2009! I can’t wait!

If you’re interested in getting $25 for opening an ING Direct savings account or Electric Orange checking account, shoot me an email and I’ll send you a referral. Help a brother out!

Like the post? Subscribe to this feed!

ShareThis

freedom: the power to determine action without restraint.

As we celebrate America’s birthday and independence, let this be a personal financial freedom day for you! We are so blessed in this country to be able to worship freely, have access to free education, and have the freedom to be as hard-working or as lazy as we want to be. We truly have “the power to determine action without restraint” in this country. All this because of the sacrifices of our military men and women past and present. Always remember to throw up a prayer for them today and every day.

In the same way the United States declared their independence from England, let this be your personal independence day from debt! Let this be the day that you decide to take a stand and get out of the dependence on debt. How do you do this?

Let’s take a look at the people of the British colonies. They were being taxed and levied by the English government and they didn’t like it. They got mad enough to declare their independence from Great Britain. Your situation is no different. The credit card companies are “taxing” you like crazy and ripping you off with high interest rates. It’s time to get mad. It’s time to start your own revolutionary war against debt!

So mark this day on your calendar as your own declaration of independence from debt and within a year or two you’ll look back and see how much progress you’ve made! I’ll be along for the ride to help as much as I can. I’m fighting the same battles you are. Keep reading and God bless! That’s enough history lessons for today!

ShareThis