Ways of improving your Credit

June 18, 2018 Layla Gregory Default, Financial Advice

If you suffer from bad credit, you should start thinking of ways and strategies that can help you improve your credit. First and foremost, you should be prepared for a long and perhaps confusing process. Improving your credit score is not something that will happen overnight; it takes a lot of time to fix a bad credit score and worse still, there is no easy way to do it. If you are thinking of trying some of the quick fix solutions online, you should do it with caution because some can backfire and even make your situation direr than it was before.

Generally, the best way to improve your credit is to do it responsibly and over time so that you can find a way to manage your debt while still thriving or surviving. Before you can start improving your credit, you must first get a clear picture of what your credit history is so that you can find the best strategies to improve it.

For those that have a limited number of credit accounts, it could be difficult to even start building a good credit profile. A few loans that are easy to get started with would be a secured credit card or even a car title loan. These loans have easy approval guidelines that most people will qualify for even if they have no credit or bad credit.

Here are some tips to help you improve your credit:

Financial Advice That Could Change Your Life

June 15, 2018 Layla Gregory Default, Financial Advice

You can search for financial advice across any search engine and get endless amounts of advice. However, when it comes to applicable, real-world advice, you’ll find that there are some things that could very well change your life. Whether you’re young, older, or somewhere in between, there are some tried and true solutions regarding finance that you can learn from and take with you. The following, for example, are some of the best pieces of financial advice that you can take with you today, and they will be true now as they will be 10 years from now, and even 40 years from now. These could be the foundation to your financial future.

Avoid Buying Too Much of Anything

The fancy car you dream of, the big house that you’ve always wanted, and the entertainment that you consume could drown your finances with relative ease. People are guilty of purchasing too much of anything, and honestly, they don’t even know it. When’s the last time you took time to map out all of the money that you’re spending, and where it is going? Break things down into housing, car, entertainment, and necessities, and see where your money truly is going. Done right, you’ll see that you may be spending too much on things you don’t “need”, but rather “want” and that’s detrimental for your financial future. Read More

Projects That You Shouldn’t Do Yourself

June 6, 2018 Layla Gregory Default, Home Improvement

There are very few things that are as rewarding as a successfully completed home renovation project. Today, thanks to technology that is readily available and easily accessible, as well as the endless home improvement resources available online, it is easier than ever to DIY anything. Whether or not you fancy yourself a home improvement expert, there are certain home improvement projects that should never be tried particularly by novices or individuals without prior experience.

There are plenty of home improvement projects that require one to have a certain amount of skill, expertise, specialized equipment and certifications, as well as permits. When some of these projects are done incorrectly, they can cost more to repair than they would have if a professional had been involved from the beginning. To make it worse, some projects can even be deadly so individuals should always play it safe before commencing a home improvement project. Here are home improvement projects that you should never DIY: Read More

Planning For Your Child’s College

May 17, 2018 Layla Gregory College College Savings

Starting a savings account in your child’s name can seem like a great idea when they are young. However, it could be a decision that you regret.

Choosing the wrong savings plan now could end up causing them to miss out on thousands of dollars in avoidable taxes and missed financial aid when it comes time to pay for college.

When it comes to determining financial aid, there is an asset protection allowance, or APA, that protects a portion of the parents’ assets. The students’ personal income and savings actually have a bigger and possibly more negative, impact on how much financial aid is available than parental assets and income.

Since the amount of financial aid is established based on the income and assets from the year just before applying for aid, a student with a large amount of savings in their name could end up forfeiting a sizeable sum of free college money.

Fortunately, quite a few ways exist for parents to save that will not put their children’s future financial aid at risk. Here are a couple of places to safely stockpile cash: Read More

Should I Buy an Investment Home?

May 15, 2018 Layla Gregory Investment Homes Investment Homes

Are you considering purchasing an investment home? This could be a good idea if you want to diversify your portfolio to hold more than simply stocks and bonds. There’s plenty of stories about quick flips—buying a property, doing some renovating, and then reselling at a much higher price—dominating TV reality shows, however, renting has always been the core of real estate investing. This is mainly because in the past homes and properties have appreciated at a much slower pace. Renting can generate steady monthly cashflow much like classic dividend-paying utility stocks. If you see any price appreciation it’s a nice bonus.

Investing in a rental property is much different than buying a low-cost index fund. It takes a lot of work to choose the right property, maintain it, plus deal with tenants. You should think long and hard and be comfortable that you are prepared to put in the time that is required. Are you able to handle after-hours phone calls? What if the tenant doesn’t pay rent? Read More