Manage spend, debt and increase your savings

There’s only one way to discover the “health” of your credit. You need to examine your credit report. Your credit report is your “consumer identity” that potential lenders will use to judge your credit worthiness.

Use these tips to give your credit profile the “tune-up” it needs:

Tip #1- Check for Errors
Your credit report or profile is more than just a collection of who your creditors are and how much you owe them or have paid them.

The first thing you need to do is carefully check that your credit report is accurate. Nearly 70% of credit reports contain errors.

These errors may be as simple as an incorrect middle initial or address. Or it could be as serious as a creditor reporting that you were late with a payment when in fact you were not late at all.

This error might not seem like a big deal to you. However,to a future lender like a mortgage company it makes a big difference !

Carefully examine your credit report and if you find an error contact your creditor and the credit bureaus. Catchand correct these errors now before it hurts your chances of securing credit in the future.

Tip #2 – Correcting Errors
The two most common errors contained in credit reports are:

1) wrong account information
2) incorrect recording of late payments.

If you find an account reported that does not belong you, you need to contact the credit grantor or issuer immediately. Remember, finding accounts that you have not personally opened is a sign of possible identity theft.

Hopefully you’ll discover that this error is nothing more than an oversight and not an identity theft problem. Most often this occurs when they report an account belonging to a family member or someone with a similar name on your credit report.

If your problem is an error in reporting a late payment you will need proof to back up your case before this error can be corrected or removed. The most common error occurs when a payment is reported as “late” when it was actually a current or “on time” payment.

In either case, the problem can and should be corrected. You will need to correct the error in writing. Keep a journal or log of all calls and correspondence.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires the credit bureaus and the agency reporting the information to the credit bureau to correct inaccurate information in your credit report. Therefore, it is important that you contact both the credit bureau and the creditor whose information is in dispute.

A sample letter is included here to help you in correcting your credit profile. Make sure that you clearly identify the information that you dispute, include copies of receipts or documents that support your position. Then request that the information be corrected or deleted from your file.

Send your letter by certified mail and request a return receipt from the recipient. Keep all correspondence that you mail out. Give the agencies involved 30 days to begin their investigation. You can call them but be aware that phoning them does not protect your consumer rights! You must notify them in writing to protect your rights.

They must notify you of the results of their investigation. Although the process will take time, it’s important to do it. This is your credit profile, your “consumer identity” that is at stake. Don’t expect an error to correct itself.

At your request, the credit bureaus must send notices of corrections
to your credit profile to anyone who has requested your report in the last six months. If you applied for a job and were turned down because of inaccurate information in your credit report, you can have the corrected report mailed to anyone who received a copy in the past two years.

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Sample Dispute Letter
Date

Your Name
Your Address
Your City, State, Zip Code

Complaint Department
Name of Credit Reporting Agency
Address
City, State, Zip Code

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am writing to dispute the following information in my file. The items I dispute are also encircled on the attached copy of the report I received. (Identify item(s) disputed by name of source, such as creditors or tax court, and identify type of item, such as credit account, judgment, etc.)

This item is (inaccurate or incomplete) because (describe what is inaccurate or incomplete and why). I am requesting that the item be deleted (or request another specific change) to correct the information.

Enclosed are copies of (use this sentence if applicable and describe any enclosed documentation, such as payment records, court documents) supporting my position. Please reinvestigate this (these) matter(s) and (delete or correct) the disputed item(s) as soon as possible.

Sincerely,
Your name

Enclosures: (List what you are enclosing)

Originally Posted at http://www.ftc.gov/

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Tip #3 – Budget Planning
You can also use your credit report to help you plan and implement a personal budget. Your credit report will show you where you are spending your hard earned dollars. While the credit card balances may not be completely current, you’ll still see which of your cards has the highest balance outstanding.

If you have more than one major credit card you should compare the annual percentage rate (APR) you are paying on each account. If you are working on a budget to “pay
down” your credit cards, start by paying down the one with the highest APR or interest.

Once that credit account is paid off, move toward paying off the account with the second highest APR. Using this method you will be able to concentrate your efforts toward paying down your outstanding credit obligations.

You should also check with your credit card company to see what’s the best annual percentage rate (APR) they can offer you. If you are a good customer, you can often qualify for a lower rate than what you are currently being offered.

Caution: Ask if the new rate you are getting is a “promotional” rate or a “contract” rate. A promotional rate will expire at the end of the promotional term, for example 6 months. A contract rate does not have an “expiration” as long as you continue to meet the terms outlined by your creditor for that rate.

Tip #4 – Making a major purchase
If you are considering a major purchase such as a car or a home, checking your credit report gives you the chance to see what a potential lender sees and uses to judge your credit worthiness.

You want to make sure that your credit report is accurate before you apply for that sports car or new home. Errors or problems can be corrected before your lender can use
those against you and deny your credit request. You’ll also have a better idea of what type or rate of credit you should expect from a potential lender.

Tip #5 – Check your credit report regularly
Check your credit report regularly. Guard your “consumer identity” as you would anything else you treasure. Use your credit wisely, along with these tips, and you will enjoy the benefits that your good credit and your good name deserve now – and for years to come.

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."

If you are asked to arrange finances within a short period of time, it is not at all possible. What about some urgent needs that may crop up at any point of time?
Some time or other you might face similar problems wherein you are needed to have instant cash ready in your hands. If you do face trouble at that time, simply opt for fast cash payday loans.

Fast Cash Payday Loans offer quick cash to the loan applicants at a very short time. These are short term loans and offer amount in the range of

You just can’t get that memo right, can you? You print out the first draft and find a misspelling. You print out the second draft and discover you missed some commas. You print out the third draft and later decide on a new title. Now the final draft is ready for printing. Before you throw away those wasted sheets of paper, stop and realize that you could be costing your business as well as the environment.

You probably know that by recycling you can save landfill space. But did you know that recycling also can produce a profit for your company? Follow these recycling tips and your workplace will be ready to save the world.

* Create a recycling program. Almost all types of office papers are recyclable. So is most plastic, aluminum and cardboard. If your office doesn’t already have a recycling program, contact your local recycling company to see how to start one.

* Use recycled products. If you recycle but don’t buy recycled products, you’re defeating the purpose, in a sense, by discouraging manufacturers of recycled products.

* Conserve paper. Find paperless ways to communicate, such as by e-mail. Also, save used paper for scrap, make double-sided copies and only print pages you actually need. By cutting back on paper consumption, your office will save money and natural resources.

* Recycle office equipment. Did you know that computers can be recycled, as well as cell phones, PDAs, pagers, chargers and rechargeable batteries? Many local recycling companies and retailers, including Staples, offer easy ways to recycle your equipment.

* Recycle empty inkjet and toner cartridges. The fewer drafts you print, the more money you’ll save on cartridge replacements. But when that inkjet or toner cartridge is empty, recycle it through mail-back programs or local retailers like Staples.

In fact, Staples offers a Recycle for Education program that gives $1 to local education charities for every empty inkjet or toner cartridge you recycle in their stores.

Curious about how much money you’ll accumulate in your Roth retirement account?

If you’ve got Microsoft Excel (or just about any other popular spreadsheet program) running on your computer, you can use its FV function to forecast the future value of your Roth IRA or Roth 401(k).

The FV function calculates the future value of an investment given its interest rate, the number of payments, the payment, the present value of the investment, and, optionally, the type-of-annuity switch. (More about the type-of-annuity switch a little later.)

The function uses the following syntax:

=FV(rate,nper,pmt,pv,type)

This little pretty complicated, I grant you. But suppose you want to calculate the future value of an individual retirement account that’s already got $20,000 in it and to which you are contributing $400-a-month. Further suppose that you want to know the account balance—its future value—in 25 years and that you expect to earn 10% annual interest.

To calculate the future value of the individual retirement account in this case using the FV function, you enter the following into a worksheet cell:

=FV(10%/12,25*12,-400,-20000,0)

The function returns the value 771872.26—roughly $772,000 dollars.

A handful of things to note: To convert the 10% annual interest to a monthly interest rate, the formula divides the annual interest rate by 12. Similarly, to convert the 25-year term to a term in months, the formula multiplies 25 by 12.

Also, notice that the monthly payment and initial present values show as negative amounts because they represent cash outflows. And the function returns the future value amount as a positive value because it reflects a cash inflow you ultimately receive.

That 0 at the end of the function is the type-of-annuity switch. If you set the type-of-annuity switch to 1, Excel assumes payments occur at the beginning of the period (month in this case), following the annuity due convention. If you set the annuity switch to 0 or you omit the argument, Excel assumes payments occur at the end of the period following the ordinary annuity convention.