Archives for June 2012

How to Shop for a Mortgage Loan?

June 30, 2012 6 Comments

Continuing from yesterday’s rental property investment post, this is second of the two post series on real estate investment/ownership. If you are shopping for a home loan, it is only natural that you want to find a low interest rate mortgage loan. The surest ways to find the best deal are to:

Be a prepared borrower
Shop around

How to Be a Prepared Borrower

It takes time and effort to find and qualify for a low interest rate mortgage loan. Being prepared is important whether you are looking to buy a home or refinance your current mortgage, but it is even more important when you are buying a home. If you aren’t prepared in advance, you may see the home you want to buy disappears, because you couldn’t secure financing in time.

Investing in Real Estate to Create Wealth

June 29, 2012 20 Comments

Many of you must have read my post on home buying vs. renting calculation. We are renting and I always have this aspiration to become a rental property owner. This post is a part of that preparation. Nothing is firm yet, just about to start tasting waters aka looking around.

We rent with an aim to reduce loan amount when we eventually buy. Perhaps we can buy with full down payment if we wait for a few more years. But, owning a rental property is a different ball game, where an investor looks for covering mortgage and other costs with rental income. A positive or break even cash flow is what we look for.

How Personal Financial Health is Related to Country’s Economy

June 27, 2012 12 Comments

A country is an organization of individuals—when something affects the country, it also affects the individuals, and vice versa. Thus, it would be untrue to say that if recession or boom hits a country, individuals are not affected by it.

What is personal finance?

Personal finance deals with a person or a family unit, and the main facets for personal finance are the amount, taxation, security and origin of the money needed for individuals and their families for survival. We can see how personal financial health is affected by country’s economy throughout the world today, especially in United States.

Improving the Bottom-Line by Decreasing Waste in the Office

June 26, 2012 Leave a Comment

The following is a guest contribution which is geared towards the businesses in general. There are values to be had for you as an individual as well. Enjoy the post.

Competition is one of the bedrock foundations of a free economy, forcing both consumers and producers to eliminate waste in any way they can. Every business owner is aware of the ever-present competition, and challenging economic periods only make competition more aggressive.

If you expect your business to survive, you have to be looking for ways to improve the bottom line. Since raising prices is only rarely an option, that usually means removing waste.

Massive Increase in the Number of Women Traders – A Good Sign

June 26, 2012 1 Comment

The issue of gender equality is under scrutiny in every business sector. It’s widely believed that the opportunities afforded to women to become successes in their chosen industry aren’t as great at those given to men, but the tide is beginning to turn. One such area is trading on the stock market, an activity seen as being almost overwhelmingly male. With accessibility to trading increased through various outlets such as the internet, more people are getting involved in trading.

As the below infographic from City Index shows, there has been a massive increase in the number of women traders, many of whom starting because of the massive potential gains involved in certain types of trading such as spread betting. Many new female traders are at or near the top of the hierarchy with their current employers, with many making annual profits from trading activity totalling thousands of pounds. It could be said that new female traders are trailblazers, especially if the figures displayed are anything to go by.

Female Trading Infographic

Reader question – Personal Loan or Home Equity Loan for Emergency Medical Expenses?

June 22, 2012 6 Comments

It’s not always possible to reply to readers’ questions individually, I apologize to them whom I could not respond to. This post revolves around a reader question – Pravin asked, whether he should go for a personal loan or home equity loan, to fund medical expenses for his visiting mother. His mother is not adequately insured through traveler’s insurance she got from her home country.

For immigrants, it’s common practice, parents come from their country on a temporary health insurance. Often these insurance have fine prints and exclusion clauses that no one cares to read. Pravin is unfortunate to face this situation, as 99% of the time, medical attention is not required during parents’ stay in United States, which only lasts a couple of months or so due to visa restrictions. (SEE ALSO – Best personal loan option)

Claiming Personal Injury Protection When you Need it

June 21, 2012 5 Comments

Although only really started in the 1940’s as post war victims were awarded funds, the idea of compensation has grown within our society and now seems to have a deep root within our national ethics. The idea of justice is universal and has been philosophically discussed as perhaps even innate. Everyone strives towards an idea of fairness; and justice for all is a massive part of that.

As times have changed throughout the last hundred years, so has society and we have seen and rejoiced in an increased equality between all walks of life.

In the old days, claiming compensation was an arduous, bureaucratic and particularly expensive scenario, where the injured party would wait months and even years to receive any compensation. This practice was put to use to deter those with less money and les social standing from taking on their employers or local councils.

Being Frugal & Handling Social Taboo at Home or Outside

June 18, 2012 24 Comments

We do not have cell phone text messaging plan. We try to limit sending text messages. This is not looked down upon greatly by our friends. Over the weekend we were travelling along with another couple in our car. We switched off the cell phone GPS system while on highway. When we told them the reason being we were very close to our monthly data plan limit, they made faces. I could see through rare-view mirror.

This might be happening on this blog too. I know there have been readers who came, read a few posts and then left. I may have been too frugal in their eyes. Even at the time of recession, frugality is considered to be poor man’s choice. If some one makes points like below.

Should I Invest in a Index Fund or Target Date Funds in 401(k) ?

June 15, 2012 9 Comments

I generally don’t pick stocks on my own, except a few I buy for dividend investment. To me direct stock investing is too risky to my limited knowledge about it. I rely on expert fund managers and thus buy mutual funds instead. In my employer 401(k) I have options to buy index funds as well as target date funds.

My 401 (k) portfolio is invested in three different target date funds (2030 retirement fund, 2035 retirement fund and 2040 retirement fund) and a couple of index funds, International and large cap index funds.

Archives for June 2012

How to Shop for a Mortgage Loan?

Investing in Real Estate to Create Wealth

How Personal Financial Health is Related to Country’s Economy

Improving the Bottom-Line by Decreasing Waste in the Office

Massive Increase in the Number of Women Traders – A Good Sign

Reader question – Personal Loan or Home Equity Loan for Emergency Medical Expenses?

Claiming Personal Injury Protection When you Need it

Being Frugal & Handling Social Taboo at Home or Outside

Should I Invest in a Index Fund or Target Date Funds in 401(k) ?

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