Why logbook loans should be taken out for a few months

With the economic recession seeing more people getting into financial difficulty, looking for options for financial aid has become an alarming trend. The steady rise in short term loan companies offering loan options such as payday loans and logbook loans has shown a rapid growth in recent years. With high street banks borrowing less frequently, more people have looked at short term loans as an alternative. Having a bad credit history can mean that banks are an option that are off limits to most people. As a result short term loan options can then be an easier choice. 

Explaining a logbook loan 

A logbook loan is a secured loan. Unlike payday loans, to take out a logbook loan you must be a vehicle owner. The car should also be free of finance and be registered to the person taking out the loan. The person’s vehicle is used as collateral to secure the loan with the logbook being transferred to the loan provider whilst the loan is then paid off. Once the loan is paid back in full, the logbook is returned to the owner. In the unlikely event that the loan is not repaid back in full, the vehicle can be repossessed and sold to recover the losses. 

Benefits of logbook loans 

Because a logbook loan uses a person’s vehicle as collateral, there is in most cases no need to carry out credit checks. This is what makes logbook loans attractive because for those with bad a bad credit history, there may be no other way to secure financial assistance. Interest rates can be higher but still much lower than payday loans. A typical APR on a logbook loan is 380% compared to 4000% for a payday loan. 

Why logbook loans are a short loan 

Most people who take out short term loans such as payday loans and logbook loans must be aware that both types of loans are for short term use. There are many stories in the press of people getting into huge amounts of debt with loans such as payday loans. Typically the APR with short term loans is very high and as a bad credit loan this is where price for quick cash and no credit checks comes in. It is worth noting that with a logbook loan, paying it back within a few months can see interest rates be much lower. 

Reputable providers will advertise logbook loans with repayment plans of 1 to 6 months. Any longer than that and the interest rates will not be much higher. Some companies offer interest rates of around 30% for loans paid back within 3 months. Compare this to annual APR on logbook loans of around 380%; it is easy to see why logbook loans should only be considered as a short term loan option. 

3 New Strategies for Retirement Income

Much like your life now is nothing like the life of your parents, the same will probably hold true of your retirement as well. It is no longer as easy as applying for your Social Security checks and sitting back and collecting your pension. You are probably a great deal more active and will work and live longer and therefore will have to rely on income that you have saved along the way. This means you need to ensure that this income you will be saving will have the potential to last you for your entire life and be able to weather inflation, health care expenses and the ups and downs of the market. 

Although this might sound a bit overwhelming, it does not need to be. There are services out there such as Dinuzzo Investment Advisors that can help you cover all the bases. With that said, below are 3 strategies to help you secure your retirement income. 

1. Fixed-income Annuities 

This type of income is you contracting with a particular insurance company which asks for an investment up-front but guarantees to pay you a specific income amount for the remainder of your life or for a specific time period. It starts either immediately or on a selected future date that you choose. This type of retirement income is straightforward and along with Social Security, your pension plan and fixed annuities can provide you with a guaranteed income that will assist you with your expenses. Your insurance company will be obligated to provide you with payments for that specific time period that you chose or again, you can go with the lifetime option and you will receive payments for as long as you live. Regardless if you choose the lifetime option or the defined period, you will get those payments no matter what happens in the financial market.
 

2. Variable annuities 

Variable Annuities, unlike fixed-income annuities, come with underlying options for investment which offer potential growth for helping to offset inflation. This type of annuity will guarantee payments for your entire life. However, depending on the particular specifics of the annuity, the payments can go up or down depending on the underlying investment performance. You are able to pay a little extra to get a deferred variable annuity which will guarantee you with a GMWB or guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefit so that your payments will not go any lower than the set amount but can rise in the event of market performance. 

3. Investment Portfolio Withdrawals 

Investment portfolios usually consist of a mix of short-term investments, bonds and stocks. They provide you with flexibility allowing you to typically access your money when needed, and they have huge growth potential. There is always a market risk however that is associated with investment portfolios and is why it is typically suggested that you use it for covering discretionary expenses that are necessary in retirement. If there is poor performance in the market, you can always compensate by holding back on some of the discretionary expenses. 

Author Bio: 
Ashley Parker has been a freelance writer for over 3 years and has experience writing in the retirement income niche.

Why a Onesie Will Help You To Relax

There’s nothing better than that feeling you get when you finish work for the day. You throw down your pen or let go of the mouse, switch the computer off and make a dash for the door as quickly as possible. 

Braving the cold and the rain, you head for the train or your car and endure mind-numbing boredom for the next half an hour whilst you battle rush hour to get home. By this point you’re probably starving and tired! Upon reaching home, you feel like you have completed some mighty quest, triumphantly returning to your castle.

 
When you get to the end of your working day, how do you unwind? Do you religiously don your sportswear and head to the gym? Is it a case of supervising the dinner, bath and bed routine for your children? Or, do you kick back with a cup of tea and watch your favourite dramas on TV? However you spend your evening, it’s important to make the most of those precious segments of leisure time we enjoy in the week. 

The question is, what do you wear around the house? Some people favour shorts and t-shirt or tracksuit bottoms in the winter. Others prefer to keep things a little more formal, donning jeans and shirts even for just chilling at home. Then there’s people who save all their old, torn, tattered, paint-stained clothes for home, this generally being the case for those with young children. 

All of these clothes come with their advantages and disadvantages. Shorts and tracksuits can tend to look a little scruffy, even though they are comfy. Jeans, chinos and shirts look smart but are hard to relax in, because the materials are not designed to stretch. Wearing old and damaged clothes is practical, but what kind of impression do you make on anyone who just happens to pop round? 

Another option of course is to wear a one piece bodysuit. Having become fashionable in late 2012, these garments are called ‘onesies’ and entirely cover the body. Cute and cosy, onesies also keep out the cold. There are loads of different types to choose from. 

Since this type of clothing became popular, my boyfriend made an idle threat that if I ever wore one around the house he would cancel our wedding. This of course spurred me on to buy several of the things, and to wear them whenever he’s not home. I just love how warm they are and how soft they feel – much nicer than wearing normal clothes for when I’m watching a film or reading a book in the evening by lamplight, my cats cuddled up around me. 

So, when the other half dons his football pads for a night of sport in the freezing rain or snow, I rush upstairs to throw on my favourite onesie. What he doesn’t know can’t hurt him, after all! 

Author Bio: 
Roberta Cassidy is a bride-to-be currently plotting how to keep her onesie collection hidden from her boyfriend until after the wedding.

How to Talk with Your Company about Subsidizing Your Education

With the frequent changes taking place in the corporate sector, employers are continuously seeking individuals with a higher education qualification, so that they can be certain to have tasks handled by knowledgeable professionals, in an up-to-date manner. This definitely gives the company an edge over competitors; it’s all about being in control of a larger market. While some individuals may be content with a high school education, it’s evident that a good job will require much more than that, unless one opts for self-employment. Thus, if you feel that your lack of a higher education is acting as a hindrance to your advancement in the workplace, it’s time to do something about it. 

Some companies subsidize advanced training.

Quite a number of companies provide education subsidies and if yours does, there is really no point in not making use of it to get your master’s degree, considering the soaring cost of higher education. Before talking to the relevant authorities, you should first have a solid reason on why you need to take a master’s program. When you make it clear in your mind beforehand, it will be easier to get it across to your company, and thus give you better chances of being successful .In addition, the motivation behind your action will ensure that your plan is clearly laid out, and this will enable you to develop an effective course of action.

You need to convince your employers that you will be more resourceful to the firm if you advance in your training. Show them that by offering a subsidy for your education, they will be making a worthy investment. It is true that when they subsidize your training, they will expect the benefits to surpass the costs otherwise it wouldn’t make sense to provide it at all. Therefore, it’s up to you to prove that it’s a worthwhile venture. 

How will your advanced training benefit the company

The kind of training you settle for should be dependent on the skills you intend to acquire. For instance, if you are dealing with IT at the workplace, it would make sense to go for a master’s program along the same lines; how you make your course selection is really important. Here are the advantages you are bound to obtain once you go through the higher education:

• It helps you obtain specialized knowledge in the field, thus enhancing your performance in the same industry. 
• It enables you acquire advanced skills in your area of interest 
• It gives you an edge over other employees hence makes you valuable to the company. 
• it’s an effective way to evade the lower paying jobs 

Remember, obtaining a master’s degree while you study can be quite a daunting task, thus you need to have a good reason for doing it; you must know how the education is going to help you once you are done. For instance, a master of management will help you deal better with business management, whether employed or otherwise. Always do a research prior to signing up so that you only go for something beneficial.

Reverse Mortgages 101- When To Use One

In America they are called reverse mortgages, in the UK they are called lifetime mortgages, and while the names may be different, what they are and how they are structured are basically the same. 

In essence a reverse mortgage is a equity release scheme allowing the homeowner to gain access to the equity in their property and use this equity as a monthly income to live on, or it can be taken in one lump sum. 

The majority of property owners that would make use of a reverse mortgage would be older, senior citizen/OAP, possibly already retired, and naturally having substantial equity in their homes. 

Basically an example would be this: 

A homeowner who meets the minimum age requirement, usually in their 50’s, and has an outstanding mortgage on their home with a small balance, or may own their home outright, wants to gain access to the equity or value they have in their property without having to sell the property and find new accommodations. 

They may want to access the equity they have either as a lump sum, or in the form of an income, receiving payments each month to supplement what income they may have, or as their sole source of income. 

They would make an application for the reverse mortgage with a mortgage lender or broker and this person would then qualify them for the loan based on a few factors. 

These factors would be the amount of equity they may have in their property, their age, interest rates that are available at the time, etc. 

The mortgage lender is only going to lend a certain percentage of the equity or value of the property. The older the person is who applies for the reverse mortgage, the higher the percentage may be that is allowed to be lent. This is due to the fact that with a reverse mortgage there are no payments to the mortgage lender, they are making payments to the borrower out of the equity in the home. The older a person is who is looking to do this type of loan, the less years they have to live, so they can receive a higher monthly payment. It is a sad fact of life, and also how payments can be determined. 

The person applying for the mortgage once approved will begin to receive the set monthly payments and are allowed to continue to live in their homes. Upon their death, the mortgage company will then take back the property and sell it to recover their costs, expenses and pay back the mortgage. 

Who are reverse mortgage for and when should they be used? 

Obviously the person will be older with sufficient equity in their home, and they may be in need of the additional cash each month to live off of. 

It also will be someone who is not looking to leaving their property to a family member upon their death. 

I have a close friend who has no children, he is single and owns his property outright. he has a few more working years left and then when he retires we have discussed him looking into a reverse mortgage as a way to gain some extra money each month so he can continue to live the lifestyle he currently has. For him the reverse mortgage is ideal. 

So just an overview of what reverse mortgages are and some ideas of who and when to make use of one. 

Author Bio: 
The author Jon Emge is the Web Content Manager and Senior Advisor for My Money LTD and also writes articles and blogs for www.lifequoes4u.co.uk. 

He has over 25 years experience in the field of personal finance in both the USA and UK, of which 17 years has been providing debt and bankruptcy advice. 

Paid Internships During Studies and How to Get Them

Taking on an internship during your studies may sound like a lot of hard work, especially if you're already studying for exams or writing essays.

However, in competitive job markets like finance, media and politics, having a good internship on your CV can give you a huge advantage when it comes time to apply for your first real job. 

There’s no doubt that some internships are more worthwhile than others, so how do you go about selecting the right one, and once you've found it, how do you make sure you get it? 

How will an internship help you’re career?

Completing an internship during your studies will help your future career in a lot of ways. Firstly, it shows that you’re serious enough about your intended profession to seek out extra work during your time off, and secondly it shows you’re hard working and dedicated. 
The next most important thing that you’ll get out of an internship is experience. Any prospective employer will tell you that you can have all the qualifications in the world, but there’s simply no substitute for real, hands-on experience. 

You’ll get to see what working in your chosen industry is really like, meet the people who are already doing it and hopefully make some great contacts for the future. All of which will give you a big leg-up on the career ladder. 

If you’re looking for a career in top financial institutions, an internship is invaluable 

How to choose an employer 

There are plenty of different companies and institutions that offer internships, and it may be tempting to take the first one that you’re offered, however the quality of the internship will have a big impact on its value and on the amount that you get out of it. If you’re looking for an internship in the financial sector, make a list of the companies that you’d really like to work for in the future. Remember, this could be a real foot in the door for you, so select wisely. 
Most financial institutions will have established internship programs, and it might be possible to contact people who have already completed it. Ask them for information on what you can expect and whether they found it beneficial in the long run. 

When to do an internship 

When you do your internship will depend on your college or University timetable and the requirements of the company you'll be working for. A lot of internships run during the summer break, but it might also be possible to do one day a week or even weekends. 

How to get an internship 

Finding an internship that you want to do and then securing it are two different things.

There’s always going to be a lot of competition for the top companies, so be prepared to work hard even before you've got an interview.Many institutions have an online application form to fill out rather than a number to call. So start by filling this in and submitting it to them. 
If you can, try to find out the name of the person at the company that is responsible for recruiting interns and send them a personal email, this will help them to remember your name and give you a better shot at getting the job. 
Doing an internship will help you to make contacts and meet influential people 

How much can you expect to get paid? 

The amount that you’ll get paid for an internship will vary widely between companies, with some only covering the cost of your travel and lunch money and others paying enough to live on and even to save.

Don’t be afraid to ask about payment in the interview or initial recruitment stages. After all, if you’re applying to a financial institution or related business, money is an important subject.

If you’re hoping to enter a career in finance or any other competitive industry, undertaking an internship during your studies will prove invaluable.

It may not seem like much fun at the time, especially when you’re friends are out enjoying the summer, but when it comes time for your first job application, you’ll be head and shoulders above the rest.

This article was brought to you by Arnold Hill the UK experts in inheritance tax planning