Cash Flow: How to Select the Best Personal Loan for Your Circumstances

There comes a time in everyone's life when they need a large sum of money for a specified purpose. This purpose could range from paying down a mountain of debt to purchasing an expensive item. 

When it comes to obtaining the funds for handling such situations, many people turn to lending institutions in hopes that someone will offer them a personal loan that is right for their particular need. 

Since finding the right personal loan for their circumstances can sometimes seem like a daunting task, here are some suggestions to help with this endeavor.

Unsecured Personal Loans

An unsecured personal loan is a loan that does not require any collateral in order to obtain the money desired. 

Unsecured personal loans are considered high risk from the lender's perspective and generally have higher interest rates than secured loans. 

An unsecured loan would be best suited for those scenarios where the borrower does not have the assets required to put up for collateral.

Secured Personal Loans

Unlike the unsecured personal loans, secure personal loans require collateral to be put up as a means to secure the loan against default. 

This situation is more favorable to the lender and will often come with a low, competitive interest rate. 

Circumstances where this personal loan option appears best suited is with people who have assets to use for collateral and who are looking for lower interest rates to sweeten the deal.

Borrowing from a Credit Union

While there exist many lending institutions that specialize in personal loans, borrowing money from a credit union can be one of the best places to turn when you need a sizable personal loan amount. 

A credit union will likely be able to offer its clients a variety of secured and unsecured personal loan options. 

A credit union personal loan is best for people who are working on establishing better credit.

Family-Based Personal Loans

Just because someone needs money fast, this does not mean that a lending institution is in a position to accommodate any random person with the personal loan they need. 

According to Debt.org, a family-based personal loan may be the best option for some borrowers. Since this is a loan worked out between family members, it is possible to be far less strict about observing all the provisions of the personal loan in question. 

This type of personal loan option may, therefore, work best with people who have no functional credit to their name.

When attempting to acquire a large sum of money for personal reasons, a personal loan may provide a borrower with the monetary solution they seek. 

From lending institutions to family-based lending, the options for finding a decent personal loan are numerous. 

The type of personal loan that works best in a borrower’s circumstances will depend on a lot of factors ranging from credit history to a borrower's ability to make regular monthly payments.

How to Save Money and Live Better with a Monthly Budget

In today’s society, many people are really short on cash. It seems like you are living paycheck to paycheck, and there is no money to save. 

In this case, you need to be a savvy spender in order to have some cash. Therefore, here are some tips to save money and live better on a monthly budget.

Use Coupons

The cost of shopping for groceries can really add up. You would be surprised at how much money you can make by using coupons. You can always find coupons in your local paper, or you can get coupons on certain websites. 

There are also certain apps designed specifically for coupons. Most coupons last for six months, so cut out any ones you think you will use. Do not use a coupon just because you have it. Only buy what you need.

Bundle Insurance

If you bundle home insurance, car insurance, life insurance, and health insurance with the same company, you can save money. 

Companies are very competitive, so they want your business, so they will give you incentives. Use one company for all of your insurance needs. You could save thousands each year.

Buy Used Car Parts

Some people do not think of this, but many used car parts are completely safe to buy. Some companies, like U Pull & Pay, know that new car parts are very expensive, so buying them used can save you money. Some of the popular used car parts in include mirrors, spare tires, windows, rims, etc.

Eat at Home

People do not realize how much money they spend by eating out. Get a cookbook, and find some quick, cheap, and delicious recipes that you can cook. It also could be a great family bonding time.

Save on Utilities

Unplug your electronics when you are not using them. Use a programmable thermostat. You can also seal off your windows during the winter months. These are just a few ways to save on your utility bills, so you will have more money.

Low Cost Activities

Go to the park or to the beach. These are completely free. Check the paper for events in your area that are little or no cost. Watch a movie on Netflix.

You can always find great ways to save money while you are on a budget. It is not hard to overspend each month, so if you will just start getting smart with your spending habits, you will save money each month. Then you can watch the savings pile up.

Will It Last?

Did you know that millions of people believed that the internet would just be a fad? That it would disappear as fast as it began, and everyone who had invested in the online behemoths we see today, like Facebook and Google, would be broke and bashful?

Over and over again, our society is confronted with new things that we have to evaluate carefully. Will it be a fad, or a trend? 

For example, I believe that Pokemon Go is a new development that could go either way. While some signs may make us able to guess which it will be right now, only time will truly tell. 

What’s the Difference between a Fad and a Trend?

A fad is “an intense and widely shared enthusiasm for something, especially one that is short-lived and without basis in the object's qualities; a craze.” 

Contrast that with a trend, which is “a general direction in which something is developing or changing.”

Why does being able to distinguish between a fad and a trend matter? Well, for one thing, it can make or break business careers. 

But what about those of us who don’t make a living determining the value of a new company? It’s still good to understand, for the sake of investments, and personal purchases. 

It can even be nice to know whether something is worth getting for your child or not, or whether a new fashion is worth investing in, or whether you’ll regret that haircut in 10 years.

This is by no means a comprehensive list, but here are three signs that I’ve noticed that indicate that something is a trend instead of a fad. 

It Adds Real Value to People’s Lives

One of the reasons that certain things become so big is that they truly answer a need that people have, and add value to their lives that they wouldn’t have had otherwise. 

For example, I would argue that Pokemon Go is more trend than fad because certain people are seeing true value come out of it. I know of people who have lost up to 10 pounds just because they take long nightly walks in order to “catch ‘em all.” 

I know others who are finding that the game gives them a much-needed opportunity to connect and spend time with their kids. When people see true value being added to their lives because of a novelty, it becomes more than a fad. They stick with it even when the hype has worn off because they see positive results in their life. 

It Ends Up Going Mainstream

Another great way to gauge whether something will be a trend or a fad is seeing whether it goes mainstream. 

This is an especially good indicator for fashion, because while early adopters may be adventurous enough to try something new just for the sake of novelty, the mainstream crowd is much more leery of new developments. 

If they can become sold on the idea or the product, then it has mass appeal.

One example of this is the Marvel movement in movies and entertainment. Prior to the late 90’s, Marvel was only honored among a select subculture of comic book reader aficionados. 

In fact, although it created such quintessential characters as Iron Man and the X-Men, Marvel was on the edge of bankruptcy in 1997. 

When a merger rescued the company, the plan was to diversify the industry, and as movies like Blade, X-Men and Spiderman started rolling out to higher and higher appeal, Marvel became the mega-million dollar industry that it is today. 

It Inspires the Next Generation

One of the surest signs that something is a trend rather than a fad is that it’s not an isolated phenomenon. Rather, it has clear predecessors and successors. It’s not a dead branch like the Neanderthal. 

This occurrence is best seen in artistic movements. Some artists rise from obscurity all by themselves, but most revolutionary developments come in packs and collaborations, like the Renaissance school of artists in Italy, who all learned from each other, or the Lost Generation of expat authors and artists who congregated around Gertrude Stein.

A noticeable trend that we can see illustrated in recent history is the John Hughes movies of the 80’s. 

Movies like Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club could have been a here-and-gone development in the film industry, but instead, they became the first generation of a completely new genre of teen-oriented films. 

In fact, they even spurred a new movie rating, PG-13, that validated and elevated this new genre. 

It’s Obviously Not an Exact Science

There are some ways that we can never predict whether or not something will endure. Most noticeably, I think, is the way that certain things can be supplanted by new technology that renders the old development instantly useless. 

For example, the Davy safety lamp developed in order to protect miners from underground explosions was an extraordinary development. However, it was quickly replaced when electric lights came into being. 

It was instantly more reliable and practical to use electric lights instead of dangerous flames, even those enclosed in safety lamps.

Guide To Getting Your Debt In Order Before Retirement

Picture yourself back in your high school chemistry class for a moment. You have three beakers. 

One is full of a solution called debt, one is full of a solution called retirement, and the third one is empty. You pour the debt and retirement solutions into the third beaker, and you know what happens? It blows up in your face. 

Why? Because retirement and debt are a toxic combination. Do what you can to get your debt in order before you retire and you will enjoy the retirement that much more.

1. Prioritize Your Debt

Depending on how much debt you have, you are never going to be able to tackle all of the debt at once. The first step is to prioritize the debt you are in. 

You will do this by focusing on interest rate and tackle the debt that is costing you the most money first. Getting rid of the more expensive debts first will speed up how fast you get all of your debt paid off. 

Just create a list of your credit cards, installment loans, student loan debt, and unpaid bills.

2. Consider Getting an Installment Loan

If you have a handful of smaller debts or bills from different places and live paycheck to paycheck, you could consider getting an installment loan and using the money to pay off some of the smaller loans or debts. 

You can apply for installment loans online and pay them back gradually instead of having to come up with a lot of money all at once the way you’d have to with a payday loan.

3. Understand Your Options

The opportunity to settle a credit card bill by paying 50-70 percent of the total bill may sound appealing when a debt settlement company sends you a letter or calls you on the phone. 

However, it is important to slow down and understand more about debt settlement companies before doing business with them. The unfortunate truth is debt settlement companies rarely have your best interest in mind. 

If you work with a debt settlement company, you may end up paying more than you would have if you just paid the debt in full on your own.

4. Create a Budget

In order to prepare yourself, financially, to have the best retirement possible, you should spend time making a budget as well. 

This is to compare how much money you spend every month to how much money you make. If your lifestyle and spending habits do not match your retirement income, you will need to cut back on spending and find ways to save some money.

5. Stick to the Plan You’ve Created

Once you create a plan, a budget, and prioritize your debt, it is important for you to stick to the plan you’ve created. 

It is not uncommon for this to be more challenging than crafting a plan in the first place. If you take a detour from your plan and spend money on things that were not part of your budget, you run the risk of not having enough money to pay your living expenses. 

You can avoid this budget by trying to set a little money aside for random spending or just to save for a future larger spending. The key is to try to avoid spending money you never planned to spend.

As you can see, preparing your finances and dealing with your debt before you retire isn’t complicated if you develop a plan. The earlier you start dealing with your debt and preparing your finances for retirement, the easier it is going to be.