Tuesday, October 20, 2009

How To Use Obama's Debt Relief Program to Alleviate Your Personal Debt and Apply for Grant Money

Have you been searching for information on the internet about government grants for debt relief and not finding anything substantial? That's getting more common as these grants are becoming more popular. There are ways to find this information that you need amongst all of those weeds.

If you go to some databases, mass article and information sites, there will be articles written there for the sole purpose of informing readers. They also have links to various sites with loads of information for you. Government sites have all the details as well. They have long lists of the grants plus any and all information pertaining to them. You will need to spend some time at this sorting through the information and the grants because there is a lot out there and if you want to apply the correct way, then it takes time. Plus there could be more than one appropriate for you so you really need to try going through as many as possible.

When you are searching be on the lookout for people trying to convince you to buy information and insider secrets from them. If it's insider then it's probably not true because all of the relevant information you can find on websites that don't take your money. For any that offer you services to help you out, such as consulting services, be very wary if you are planning on going that route. You can do it yourself and there are many scam agencies coming around. Otherwise keep your normal common sense about you and happy hunting.

Car Loans After Bankruptcy - 3 Tips On Financing Your Car With Bad Credit By Carrie Reeder

Carrie Reeder

If you have recently filed bankruptcy, you may wonder if its possible to get auto financing again. There are more and more loan companies all the time that have new programs to help finance people with bad credit. An auto loan is easier to get financing for than a personal loan or an unsecured loan because the lender can use the car as collateral against the loan, in case the borrower ever defaults or doesn't make the loan payments.


Here are some tips to help you when getting financing to purchase or refinance a vehicle after a recent bankruptcy.


1. Get Financed To Re-establish Your Credit - Getting a new car loan can help you re-establish your credit when you make your payments on time. Once you have made payments on time for about 6 months or longer, you should be able to refinance your car at a much lower rate. As you make your payments on time, your credit score will increase.


2. Buy The Lowest Priced Car You Can - When financing a car after a recent bankruptcy, you can expect to see interest rates as high as 14-19% or more. It is not wise to buy a car that is more expensive than you need because, initially, you will be paying such a high interest rate on the amount you are borrowing on. If you do want a more expensive car, wait until you have made payments on time for a year or two, after your credit rating has increased. Then, you should be able to get an interest rate of around 9-10% or less.


3. Get Multiple Offers - There are many lenders online that will offer you up to 4 offers from one application. Most of these loan companies will not even pull your credit with the initial application, they will just ask you to describe your credit. This way, your credit score will not drop from being pulled too often.


Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=23401&ca=Finances

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Finance - General Overview

Finance is a generally applied term for more than a couple of things. The term finance applies to the commercial activity of providing funds and capital; also it is that branch of economics that studies the management of money and other assets. If one were to round up the different definitions into one, finance can be defined as the management of funds and capitals required by a business activity.
Management of Finance Management of finance has developed into a specialized branch within management since long ago. Managing finance involves dealing with optimizing allocation of funds to various activities either by borrowing or by mobilizing from internal resources. The word optimizing in finance may strike an odd note but it means taking intelligently structured steps at minimizing the cost of financing while simultaneously attempting to maximize the profits out of the employed finance.
Finance Governs Most of the Activities A poor finance management will immediately show as deteriorating conditions in the procurement, production and sales as it touches all spheres of business activities. For this reason, a finance manager is expected to be very judicious in either mobilizing funds or allocating for expenses. Lee Iacocca, the most revered management guru, calls finance managers as ‘bean counters' who look at the expense part with rather pessimistic view. Unlike the sales managers, who would like to invest in future by product development, finance managers are rather skeptic of financing a project whose benefits lie in the future. Finance management governs the future outcome too.
Finance in Small Business For most small business owners there is not a clear distinction between personal finance and business finance often leading to cross utility of funds. Lenders, either future or present, don't look at this with a soft corner. But resisting the tendency for such utilities may dampen ones zeal temporarily but sure brings the much needed discipline which is the foundation of all future progresses.
Financing a business can often be perilous if not approached with caution. Although bad management is commonly given as the reason businesses fail, inadequate or ill-timed financing comes a very close second. Whether you're starting a business or expanding one, sufficient ready capital is essential. But it is not enough to simply have sufficient financing; knowledge and planning are required to manage it well. These qualities ensure that you will avoid common mistakes like securing the wrong type of financing, miscalculating the amount required, or underestimating the cost of borrowing money.
Financing Small businesses can finance their needs from either internal resources, friends or from banks and private lenders. The less you finance from outside lenders the more it ignites the profitability. This is why, perhaps, Bob Hope famously said, "A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don't need it."

Purchase Order & Letter of Credit Financing

Many business opportunities come with an associated challenge. For most entrepreneurial businesses, the greatest challenge is financing the business opportunities created by your sales efforts. What are your options if you have a sales opportunity that is clearly too large for your normal scale of operations? Will your bank provide the necessary financing? Is your business a startup, or too new to meet the bank’s requirements? Can you tap into a commercial real estate loan or a home equity loan in sufficient time to conclude the transaction? Do you decline the order? Fortunately there is an alternative way to meet this challenge: You can use Purchase Order Financing & Letter of Credit financing to deliver the product and close the sale.What is purchase order financing?Purchase order financing is a specialized method of providing structured working capital and loans that are secured by accounts receivables, inventory, machinery, equipment and/or real estate. This type of funding is excellent for startup companies, refinancing existing loans, financing growth, mergers and acquisitions, management buy-outs and management buy-ins. Purchase order financing is based upon bona fide purchase orders from reputable, creditworthy companies, or government entities. Verification of the validity of the purchase orders is required. The financing is not based on your company’s financial strength. It is based on the creditworthiness of your customers, the strength of the commercial finance company funding the transaction, and in most cases a letter of credit.What is a letter of credit?A letter of credit is a letter from a bank guaranteeing that a buyer’s payment to a seller will be received on time and for the correct amount. If the buyer is unable to make payment for the purchase, the bank is required to cover the full amount of the purchase. In a purchase order financing transaction, the bank relies on the creditworthiness of the commercial finance company in order to issue the letter of credit. The letter of credit “backs up” the purchase order financing to the supplier, or manufacturer.Is purchase order financing appropriate for your sales program?The perfect paradigm is a distributor buying products from a supplier and shipping directly to the purchaser. Importers of finished goods, exporters of finished goods, out-source manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors can effectively use purchase order financing to grow their businesses. Is purchase order financing appropriate for growing your sales orders?Purchase order financing requires you to have management expertise- a proven track record in your particular business. You must have bona fine purchase orders from reputable firms that can be verified. And you must have a repayment plan; often this is from a commercial finance company in the form of accounts receivable or asset-based financing.You should have a gross margin of at least 25% to benefit from purchase order financing. Sellers of services or commodities with low margins, such as lumber or grain, will not qualify.The bottom line decision for purchase order financing:It can take two or more years to develop a profitable business. Banks generally base their lending limits on a business’ performance for the past two or three years. Purchase order financing, combined with letters of credit and/or accounts receivable or asset-based financing can give you sufficient funds to cover your operating costs, financing costs and still realize significant profits. If you qualify for purchase order financing, you can grow your business by taking advantage of large purchase orders and eventually qualify for bank financing.