Banking is just a part of life. Unless you keep all your cash locked up in a safe at home, you probably use a bank to hold on to most of your money. But not only do banks hold our money, but they provide a lot of useful services such as writing checks, offering ATM and debit cards, savings accounts, and even online bill payments. But these services aren't always free. And with the new financial reform taking shape it means banks are finding new ways to hit you with fees. Even when a bank does offer free services, there are still many little events that can trigger small bank fees. Using an out of network ATM can cost you a few dollars. Having your balance in your account drop below a certain limit may trigger a monthly service fee. And obviously, overdrawing your account or writing a bad check can be costly. While the fees may not always be large, if they happen frequently it can really start to add up. A few dollars here and there could end up costing you $20 each month or more. Learn how to reduce your bank fees and save money. Eliminate Bank Fees originally appeared on About.com Financial Planning on Sunday, August 1st, 2010 at 10:16:33. Permalink | Comment | Email this
Credit card debt is one of the biggest problems most people face when trying to get a handle on their finances. Credit cards make it easy to spend more money than you have, and then the crippling interest rates and fees make it seem impossible to get out from under. While there isn't an instant cure for credit card debt, there are steps you can take to put yourself on a path to becoming debt free. It takes a little planning, a little budgeting, and some time, but if you keep at it you'll find that you're getting out of debt faster than you had imagined. Here's the process to help you eliminate your credit card debt. Get Out of Credit Card Debt Once and for All originally appeared on About.com Financial Planning on Sunday, August 15th, 2010 at 20:24:47. Permalink | Comment | Email this
Have you ever filed your tax return and hoped you could get your hands on your refund early? You're not alone. In fact, this has been a common practice in recent years. Most large tax preparers would offer what's called a tax refund anticipation loan. How it works is they determine how much of a refund you'll be receiving when filing your taxes and then lend you the money immediately so that you don't have to wait a few weeks for the IRS to send you a check. Then when your refund actually does come in it goes towards paying off the loan, less any fees. Sounds good, right? Well, the problem that this is an expensive proposition. Sometimes they will charge you fees in excess of a few hundred dollars just to get your hands on your tax refund a week or two early. This often translates into an APR well over one-hundred percent. Would you willingly get a loan with a 200% APR? Of course not, but that's exactly what these short-term tax refund loans give you. Thankfully, the IRS recently issued a statement that says they plan on eliminating the information they used to send to tax preparation services that would allow them to underwrite these tax refund loans. That doesn't mean companies will need stop offering them, but it may curb their wide availability in the coming tax season. That's good news because it's a form of predatory lending not much different than payday loans. Learn more about these loans and what the IRS has to say about them. Tax Refund Anticipation Loans originally appeared on About.com Financial Planning on Friday, August 13th, 2010 at 15:51:21. Permalink | Comment | Email this
When it comes to borrowing money, it is common to focus on the interest rate. It makes sense, because the interest rate plays the largest role in determining how much the loan will actually cost, plus the interest rate is the easiest way for lenders to market their products. While interest rates are certainly important, every loan has four common factors that will ultimately determine whether or not the loan is a good deal. - Loan Fees - Most loans come with some type of fee. This fee is usually used to pay for processing or originating the loan, and the fee isn't always transparent. Sometimes the fees can be worked into the overall cost of the loan, or they may be completely separate. You will probably have to ask in order to find out what the fees are.
- Interest Rate - Again, interest rates are used to advertise most loans, and obviously, the lower the rate, the better. One thing you do have to consider is whether the rate is fixed or adjustable, and if there are any special conditions that need to be met in order to qualify for the advertised rate.
- Length of the Loan - A longer term on a loan means lower monthly payments, but this isn't always a good thing. The longer the loan, the more interest you'll pay. This is where interest rate can come into play again and lenders will offer a very attractive rate, but require the term of the loan to be quite long. This can actually make the loan more costly than a shorter term loan with a higher rate. Make sure you do the math before signing any papers.
- The Fine Print - Most people simply ignore the fine print, but this can be a costly mistake. Buried deep inside the terms and conditions you may find things like prepayment penalties, late fees, rate adjustments, refinancing restrictions, and much more. What could be an otherwise very attractive loan, may be so cluttered with potential fees and restrictions that you're almost trapped into the loan. Take a few minutes to read and understand all of the fine print.
For more information, please visit the Credit & Debt Basics Guide. There's More to a Loan Than Just the Interest Rate originally appeared on About.com Financial Planning on Friday, August 6th, 2010 at 09:58:11. Permalink | Comment | Email this
Most people save for retirement in their employer-sponsored plan such as a 401(k) or 403(b) plan, but these plans provide up-front tax deductions and tax-deferred growth. While this can be a great feature, the problem is that the money will still be taxed as ordinary income upon withdrawal in retirement. If tax rates are lower, or you're in a lower tax bracket when this happens, that is ideal, but what happens when you find that taxes are higher upon retirement? This is where a Roth IRA can come in handy. Unlike the employer-sponsored plans and its cousin, the Traditional IRA, qualified withdrawals from a Roth IRA are tax-free. You don't get the benefit of a tax deduction on the contributions since they are made with after-tax dollars, but the money still grows tax-deferred, and in most cases, can be withdrawn in retirement completely free from taxes. This is great for situations where tax rates may increase in the future as you'll avoid being heavily taxed on those withdrawals. Now, this isn't to say that one type of retirement plan is better than another, but both pre-tax and tax-free accounts have their advantages. It is typically a good idea to have retirement money in both types of accounts so that you're diversifying your tax liabilities and can structure your withdrawals in a way that minimizes your tax burden both now, and in the future. Take a moment to learn more about the Roth IRA. Roth IRAs and Your Retirement originally appeared on About.com Financial Planning on Wednesday, August 11th, 2010 at 21:00:55. Permalink | Comment | Email this
The first step in personal financial planning is controlling your day-to-day financial affairs so that you can do the things that bring you satisfaction and help you reach your goals. This is achieved by planning and following a budget. Controlling spending, saving money, and investing for the future are all important aspects of financial planning, but those things mean nothing if you don't have specific goals that you're trying to reach. In order to gauge your financial success, you need to have goals so that you can measure your success. The second step in personal financial planning is choosing and following a course toward long-term financial goals. The four steps to setting financial goals: - Identify and write down your goals.
- Break goals down into short-term and long-term goals.
- Educate yourself.
- Evaluate your progress.
More information on setting financial goals. How to Set Financial Goals originally appeared on About.com Financial Planning on Saturday, August 28th, 2010 at 21:39:04. Permalink | Comment | Email this
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