5 Ways To Invest Money And Begin Saving In 2021

We work hard to achieve our life and financial goals and ensure our loved ones get to live out their dreams. However, our hard work may not pan out the way we wanted it to if we don’t take the appropriate steps. Our funds may not help us beat inflation or taxation if they’re held in our savings account.

Therefore, if you wish to ensure your hard work does not go to waste, it will be wise to invest the funds in different money investments like savings insurance plans, stocks, equities etc.

Investing is a crucial aspect of wealth building. It will help you beat inflation, achieve your financial goals and secure your financial future. Therefore, if you’re looking to invest your funds in profitable investments, you can look through the list given below.

Five ways to invest money and begin saving:

Mutual fund investments: Mutual fund investments are quite famous among investors. Mutual funds consist of stocks, bonds, etc., in different proportions. They allow individuals to build wealth gradually and systematically.

In a mutual fund, the funds from different investors with a similar objective are pooled together. The pooled funds are used to purchase mutual fund units, and the investor is allotted the units based on their investment amount.

There are different variants of mutual fund investments designed to meet the different investment requirements of individuals. The different types available make it an optimal choice for individuals looking for investments based on their risk profile. Moreover, you can begin mutual fund investments with a minimal amount.

Real estate: Real estate is a decent investment option for individuals who have a lump sum amount handy for investments. They are exceptional choices for long-term investments.

The real estate industry is well-regulated with different safety measures for buyers and sellers. With a growing rate of development, the demand for real estate has seen a massive rise. Along with this, low-interest home loans have made purchasing homes easy.

In addition, you can get monthly payouts through real estate investments by renting out the place with monthly rental agreements.

Public Provident Fund: The Public Provident Fund (PPF) is an optimal long-term investment that offers a decent interest rate and returns on the amount invested. The returns and interest earned through the PPF are not taxable under Income Tax.

You can open a PPF account in a bank or at a post office. Public Provident Funds come with a lock-in period of 15 years. You get the option of extending your account for five years. PPF plans also allow you to take out a loan against the scheme.

Stocks: Through stock investments, you get to participate in a company’s success. When you own the stock of a company, you acquire a percentage of ownership in the company. Therefore, they are excellent options for beating inflation.

In addition, certain companies in the market offer you the benefit of dividend payments through stock ownership. With dividends, your investment in the company can help you earn additional funds.

However, it is important to conduct a decent amount of research into the different companies available and select a company after careful research.

Life Insurance Savings plan: A savings policy is an insurance plan that offers you the dual benefit of assured returns on investment and life cover. With this money-saving plan, you get to protect your loved ones and build wealth for your future simultaneously.

Various insurers offer different features through the insurance policy. For instance, if you select the Tata AIA life insurance savings plan, you can get the returns as regular income. With a regular income insurance plan, you can secure your golden years and enjoy your retirement without worrying about money.

Conclusion

Thus, if you wish to achieve your financial goals, it would be better to opt for certain money-saving tips like stock investments, mutual fund investments, etc. These investment options will help you protect your funds, beat inflation and taxation, and simultaneously secure your financial future.

Controlling Student Loan Payments

Student loan debt has become an epidemic of sorts. These loans can be hefty and ultimately stressful. Many young people in America are scared to even make a monthly payment on their student loans. It could seem impossible to deal with due to the enormous balance that doesn’t seem to go anywhere.

When you are young you are impressionable. Today’s millennials are no exception. Accruing student loan debt is seen as a necessary burden essential to achieving their careers. Many find themselves employed following college. However, according to CareerBuilder.com about half of college graduates in 2014 were employed in jobs that do not require a college degree.

To make things worse the student loan lenders begin hounding their “clients” immediately after graduating. If you are one of these clients you probably know by now that nothing in this world comes easier than debt. The chances of you having money to pay your student loan debts so soon is quite slim.

Before leaving high school these young, impressionable people are lead to believe a college education will lead to a guaranteed career. Turns out, it is not that simple. The Washington Post reported in 2013, according to data from Jaison Abel and Richard Dietz of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, only 27% of college graduates had jobs related to their major. If this comes as a rude awakening to you I apologize. There is no one simple way to make your dream job come true and your student loan debts disappear. However, it takes action, commitment and it is possible.

Student loans. If reading those two words infuriates you don’t worry. It should. Paying off student loans may seem impossible but there are ways you can help yourself out. The first thing you need to do is understand what type of loan you have. Some loans are eligible for certain benefits which may assist your situation.

Check out the National Student Loan Data System (NSLD). This website is home to the U.S Department of Education’s database for student aid. Only federal student loans are eligible for this aid. In my experience I’ve talked to more individuals with federal loans than those with private ones.

A good idea for those who are unemployed or “between jobs” is deferment or forbearance. A deferment or forbearance allows you to temporarily stop making your federal student loan payments or to temporarily reduce the amount you pay. This could be helpful if you are in danger of defaulting on your loan. A default occurs when you have not made your monthly payments for an extended period of time. In the case of a default, the lender make execute legal action in order to get their money back.

If you are eligible for deferment, the federal government may pay the interest on your loans during the deferment period. The opposite goes for a forbearance. In a forbearance you may be able to lower your payments or stop payments completely for up to 12 months.

These options can give you room to breathe and pursue the career you studied so long to achieve.

There are other options available to help get your monthly payments decreased to a manageable level. There are income-based repayment plans for people with direct loans or Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans. In an income-based repayment program your monthly payments can be reduced to 10% of your monthly income. In most cases the loan is forgiven after 25 years in these programs.

Depending on your situation, there may be a repayment plan out there that best suits you. Head over to the Federal Student Aid website and browse their listings of payment plans.

Student loan consolidation is a viable option for people with more than one student loan. If your student loans have varying interest rates and minimum monthly payments you should look into a Direct Consolidation Loan. Just like traditional consolidation, a direct consolidation loan combines multiple federal student loans into one loan with one payment and interest rate. These loans can stretch the amount of time you have to pay the loan, thus lowering your monthly payment. You will also get a fixed rate on your interest instead of dealing with variable rates.

Consolidation does have its down sides. You may be more comfortable with the monthly payments but, you will end up paying more in the long run due to the interest rate. If your individual loans had attached benefits you will lose those as well.

You may not have planned on dealing with student debt when you were leaving high school. With most people it seems to sneak up on them as soon as the leave college. No matter what your student debt situation is there are programs available to help you manage it. You deserve to focus on the future and work towards your career goals instead of worrying about monthly payments.

Choosing the Best Money Transfer Provider

If you need to send money online, then you will discover that there are so many ways in which you can be able to do all this. There are so many exchange services that can be applied to make the transfers. However, it is usually very hard to choose the correct provider for the services. You need a reliable and well-priced provider. This can be hard but in the end, you can enjoy great savings if you do take your time to make the choice. Some of the factors worth consideration include:

The fees and rates

Before choosing one, it is important that you compare the different rates of exchange. You need to know that they do fluctuate from time to time and so the quotes only work for only some minutes. This gives you a good idea about the companies that are overcharging and the ones that are very competitive. Yet others have rates that are guaranteed for a period. There are also available resources that can be used to make price comparisons.

The costs of transactions

Sometimes the exchange rate could be favorable but then, the costs per transaction may be high. This is not an ideal scenario for many. You need to consider just how much you will be charged as the commission or the transfer fees before a transfer can be effected. One way to make it less hectic is to consolidate the smaller payments into only one. This lowers costs. There are providers that have better rates and yet others waive the fees altogether when a large payment is made.

Convenience

Some of the companies offer a very easy way to signup, others take so much time. There are online providers that offer their services 24 hours a day, and seven days a week. You, however, need to see the delivery and payment methods that are offered so as to ensure that all your needs are satisfied. Check for features like mobile wallet options.

Currencies needed

Not all the companies will operate in all countries and even offer all currencies. When you have to send money to areas that are remote where currencies are not popular, you may have to deal with delays. It is important you check that the currencies that you need are actually offered before you settle for a specific provider.

How reliable and safe is the foreign exchange provider?

You need to assess the reliability of the company. Consider how long they have been in business. Consider the amount that has already been transferred and what others think about the services that they have provided so far. Security of the platform also has to be considered. This allows you to think more clearly and make the most informed decision.

Tracking the transactions

There are providers that allow you to track your transactions and create some alerts through emails. In this way, you can easily get the status of any order that has been placed. You can have some email updates sent and this helps in businesses. You lower risk of fraud this way.

Test Your Credit Score Knowledge

All credit active people have a profile. This is a summary of your history with every credit provider you’ve ever dealt with, and serves as a record of how well you’ve managed your accounts like loan repayments, overdue debts, how often you’ve asked for credit and the kinds of loans or credit you’ve applied for, and the frequency of your applications.

How it works?

Credit reporting providers summarise your profile into something called a credit score. The score is between 0 and 1200, where the higher the number, the more likely you are to be able to repay a loan. Lenders look at your credit profile and score to find out about your credit history and behavior, and assess if you are able to take on a new loan. This information reassures lenders that you’re good at paying money back to those you’ve borrowed from – i.e. you are a ‘low risk’ client.

A good score not only makes you more likely to get approval on your home loan application – but it also means you’ll qualify for a better interest rate. Of course, the other side of the coin is that if you have a poor score, you will be less likely to qualify for any new loans. This protects the lender and those with low scores from taking out additional loans and overextending themselves and getting into more debt. In short, you’ll need to have a good credit score rating for your home loan application to be approved.

It’s therefore a good idea to first find out what your credit score is before applying for a loan, and to give yourself time to improve it before approaching a lender.

How to check your score?

A great place to start your research is ASICs MoneySmart site. You can get a free credit score assessment from a number of online providers, which are listed on the MoneySmart site.

How to improve your score?

Improving your credit score starts with looking at your current financial situation and ways to improve it. Getting into a good credit position before you apply for a loan can help increase the likelihood of you getting approved.

You can improve your score by:

  • lowering your credit card limits
  • consolidating multiple personal loans and/or credit cards
  • limiting your credit enquiries
  • paying your rent and bills on time
  • paying your mortgage and other loans on time
  • paying your credit card off in full each month

To avoid any surprises, be prepared and know your credit score.

The Cost of Working Overseas

P66,400. That is the total estimate of Rappler on how much it costs to deploy a construction worker to his new job site in Qatar from the Philippines. But this estimate should not be shouldered fully by the worker alone. This must be a combined resource of the worker, his future employer, and the responsible recruitment agency.

Venturing out for possible opportunities to work abroad isn’t free. Apart from deciding the life beyond your comfort zone, considering the cost of flying outside the country is an important concern too. Admiring for a higher salary overseas might also cost you a substantial amount. Is it costly to work overseas? How much does a candidate have to shell out from his pocket to reach his dream job abroad?

As a slice of the government’s mandate to protect the rights of overseas workers, the financial aspect of landing a job abroad was regulated by Republic Act 9042 (RA 8042) or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipino Act through the Philippine Overseas Employment Program (POEA).

Apparently, there are three major types of fees workers should settle before they could be sent abroad namely; Documentary, Medical and Insurance, and Placement.

Documentary. Basically, documentary requirements such as passport (P950 if regular; P1,200 if express); NBI clearance (P115); and PSA-issued birth certificate (P140) should be settled by the worker personally. If only applicable, certificates from the Office of Muslim Affairs, TESDA-issued Certificate of Competency, PRC-issued professional license; and transcript of records from CHED or DepEd should also be processed by the applicant candidate.

Medical and Insurance. As required, the medical examination should be shouldered by the worker depending on the fees provided by DOH-accredited clinic. It is only in a case when the deployment is delayed, and the medical certificate expires (3 months) that a retake should be shouldered by the recruitment agency. The worker is also obligated to pay for his own contribution to PhilHealth (P2,400 per year), Social Security System (depending on monthly salary), and Pag-IBIG (P100 per month).

Placement. Lastly, the placement fee that is usually equivalent to the worker’s one-month basic salary. While any POEA-licensed agency is permitted legally to collect this fee but not all recruitment agencies ask for their workers to pay for this. This can only be paid once the worker already has his plane ticket and travel documents.

Seafarers, household workers and caregivers and those who will be deployed to USA, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands, and some parts of Canada are barred from paying for placement fees.

A bigger portion of the cost will be shared by the employer and recruitment agency which includes; POEA processing fee, OWWA membership contribution, mandatory insurance, visa fees, roundtrip airfare, Pre- Departure Orientation Seminar, and accommodation, as well.

Aspiring OFWs need not suffer debt bondage just to go abroad. By choosing a reliable and ethical recruitment agency, especially those who are compliant with recruitment policies and those who don’t charge unjustifiable placement fees, working overseas is never an impossible dream.

How to Choose the Best Pawn Broker

Everyone can be found in a situation not to have extra money for paying some bills or for any other reason. A pawn broker is known as a trusted and reliable partner if you need instant cash.

Before you get a loan from any pawn broker, it’s wise to do some research. First, you need to look for a licensed professional broker. Usually, they exist long years on the market, with a long tradition and pawnbroking experience. New pawn shops are opened each day and you can be uncertain about which one to choose. Maybe this is not so important to you, but you don’t want to leave your valuable item to some unproven guy, right?!

The rate of interest that the pawn broker is charging is also important when choosing. Different brokers will offer you different interest rates. Normally, you will choose the one that best suits your needs. The rate also depends on the total loan amount. The pawned item is an important factor too. Its value will depend on:

– its original price;

– its age and condition;

– it’s demand on the market.

You will get a greater loan if the item is more valuable. People pawn a variety of valuable items, such as gold jewellery, rings and watches, electronic devices and gaming equipment.

You are wondering what the procedure is for getting a pawn loan? The procedure starts from the moment when the customer brings a valuable item in the pawn shop. The pawn broker is checking the object and determines its value. The item must be in good working order or the broker may not accept it. As a customer, you can accept the loan price or you can go to another broker. After signing the contract, you need to leave your item in the shop. In the end, the broker is obligated to give you the money loan.

When you will be able to repay the loan, the pawned item is returning back to your possession. In case you cannot repay the debt, the item becomes fully owned by the pawn broker. Consequently, he has the right to sell that item to cover your debt.

Conditions that need to be met for taking such a loan are simple: you should be over 18 years old, and have the appropriate ID and ownership documents for the item. You no longer have to be ashamed of your friends and family if you need money.

In The Hall Of The Credit King

Credit has a love-hate relationship with the general populace. On one hand it allows us to buy stuff we want without having to pay on the spot, on the other hand it can spiral out of control, and leave us having to pay more than we bargained for. The latter isn’t really anyone’s fault except the person responsible for their card – it just takes advantage of human nature, we are easily tempted to buy stuff which seems alluring. And credit cards allow us to do that, whether we have the cash on hand or not. Regardless of what anyone thinks about credit cards and their advantages or disadvantages, one fact is clear – they are here to stay. ‘Plastic Money’ has spread everywhere, people use their cards to pay for everything, and many do not even carry cash, and who can blame them?

Cash can get stolen, while carrying a card the only risk you have is over-shopping. If a card gets stolen, you simply deactivate it at the touch of a button and incur no loss – even if you do, you are reimbursed more often than not. It’s highly convenient than carrying paper cash, and people prefer it. That’s why each shop or store is equipped with the ability to allow credit payment. Another widely known advantage is that each time you use your card – depending on which card you have – you acquire credit card points. These are reward points which accumulate and they can be used to buy more stuff – it’s free since you’re using points. Thus shopping with credit cards enable you to shop further. Different reward/loyalty programs exist and the more exclusive ones can offer some great deals on hotels, shops and all kinds of stuff. You are rewarded for spending your money. Sounds nice right? That’s because it is – especially if a person uses their credit card wisely.

Credit card points bear a semblance to frequent flyer miles. In fact technically they are the same thing – the only difference is that one gets you miles, the other gets you points. You can virtually use the two for the same things. In fact often when you book a ticket with a credit card – depending on the airline you can get a sweet discount. And you can earn miles from the ensuing flight to add to your miles tally. Using them is an art which many have mastered. Another rather obscure way to take advantage of both miles and points is to sell them online. Sell credit card points or air miles at a variety of websites. There may be several reasons for you to do this – you do not fly that often to acquire that many points and instead of wasting them for no reason, you might as well make some cash out of them.

Here Is Why Credit Is Like a Catch 22

Credit helping or hurting can be determined by what side of the fence your on. If you’re financial sound individual credit helps being approved for large purchases like homes, cars and boats. Maybe you have the liquid cash, but you make more with investments than the interest paid on your accusations. What’s the deal for those on the other side of the fence?

There is only a small percentage of our population stated above, the rest are the working poor struggling to make ends meet. Credit is like a catch 22 for those folks because without it they’re doomed, but it is a temporary fix. At the end of the day these people are getting financially raped by their underwhelming wages, extremely high inflation, and unreasonable taxation. To survive they need to use their credit cards and lines to buy basics like food. After awhile the interest and minimum payments become too much for them to handle. I imagine the interest’s rates on credit cards are so high to subsidize when customers can’t pay anymore. Meanwhile the merchants are paid upfront the whole amount, the financial institutes have made their money through the interest. Unfortunately, the working poor are collateral damage going bankrupt, taking one for the team right!

I believe the government is putting a band-aid on anther already great depression. They’re using the working poor to support themselves, and the small percentage of those wealthy already. That is the reason they’re allowing financial institutes to provide those working poor with credit. It keeps the rich getting richer, and the poor becoming even poorer. The real situation here is people have lost hope, never believing they are ever going to save enough money for things they want. They work hard want a better life, and if credit is the only way to achieve so be it. The cost of items is no longer the major factor, it is about monthly credit payments. These individuals also know that if they do end-up bankrupt the government can’t take away certain items purchased on credit.

My concept of credit is not to live on but build with. It just seems that people don’t own a lot outright anymore, instead they owe on everything. I can guarantee if the working poor made more they wouldn’t be so motivated to purchase on credit. Credit is good for those with money, but in the long run it really hurts those trying to get by. Maybe it is time for elected officials to make an economic plan that works for all. Their greed is affecting the well-being of most of their citizens.