A Story About Signature Loans for People with Bad Credit

By Mark Richardson

There are hundreds reasons you might need to take out a short term loan in your life. For example, you might wake up one morning to find it's April 13th, and you only have two days until your taxes are due. You had a particularly prosperous year last year, and you owe the government some serious cash.

You face one big challenge: in spite of the fact that you put in reserve the necessary funds for the government's bill, your tax account no longer has any money in it due to the fact that you and some associates took an unplanned vacation to Las Vegas. If only the government had sympathy toward your spontaneous lifestyle, you wouldn't have any stress right now. Unfortunately, they don't, and now you're going to have to get someone to lend you enough money to pay your taxes - or you'll be paying the penalty.

You have another obstacle between you and your on-time payment to the government - you have terrible credit. See, that all goes back to the time you bought a brand new Dodge truck because the dealer made you an offer you couldn't refuse, so you financed the whole thing in spite of the fact that there was no way your meager income would cover the payments. You were soon several months behind, and before you knew it the repo man was taking your shiny rig away to be sold at auction.

And now you face quite the dilemma - the government wants its money, your cash reserves are empty, and tax day isn't getting any further away. But it doesn't have to be a total loss - you can borrow the money you need, but it's going to take some creativity. You can find signature loans for people with horrible credit.

Let's establish the definition of a signature loan, but I suppose it's not too hard to understand. A person can go to a lender, put your name on an application, along with your address and some other personal information, and end up carrying out the money to get you through the week. Although it seems easy, it's not really going to be so simple.

The first requirement your prospective lender will be looking for is a steady income. They won't mind your terrible credit as much if you can show them your earnings will easily cover the repayment of their funds. There are a number of ways to verify your income, including canceled paychecks, check stubs, or last year's tax forms.

Another prerequisite to loan approval may be your demonstration to the bank that you can provide them with some valuable, sellable collateral to secure the loan. Nothing could make the bank feel more secure than knowing they can sell your car or your jewelry if you decide not to make payments. Of course the best advice is not to give something you'll actually miss if the lender ends up selling it.

Make a strong case to your prospective bank. Let them know you're a person of integrity, and you will repay the debt if they take a chance on lending you the money. And for future reference - don't spend your tax money in Vegas.

About the Author:

Mark provides great information about signature loans online as well as reviewing some of the most prominent signature loan lenders.

How is this economy treating your small business?

By JR Rooney

You would have to be living under a rock if you don't know that we're in the worst financial crisis in our lifetimes in the USA. If you find yourself worried about your business and what can happen next, you're certainly not alone.

As I write this, the next few days bring great uncertainty about what the government is going to do to try and help bail out the failed banking system in the US. While it's not clear what form the assistance will take, it appears almost certain that the US government will have to do something to fix the mess created in the financial system by rampant greed. What is going to happen? Who knows! What is obvious is that the vast majority of Americans are very unhappy with the situation and quite angry about spending billions of dollars to bail out an industry known for greed.

The fact of the matter is, a bailout is not the end of the troubles for those of us who run small businesses. The United States economy is in deep, deep trouble and this will not be fixed very quickly. All the major news outlets have commentaries about what's happening and what to expect. It seems the consensus is that it's unlikely we're going to experience a level of unemployment seen during the Great Depression. That's the good news. The bad news is that things are ugly and their likely get much worse before they get better. And if that wasn't enough, things are probably not to get better in the near future.

Small business owners are highly unlikely to land the line of credit they need in order to expand their business in the near future. So what can you do? No one can tell you what you need to do in your particular business, but I've always been a big supporter of the low-cost direct marketing style in my businesses. I suggest you start rethinking all the creative ways you can seek out more revenue at a minimum cost. This means not only getting new customers at minimum cost, but equally important, you need to try to sell more services to the customers you already have.

The situation is a lot more complicated than simply not being able to obtain credit, but it is also going to be difficult for many business owners to even make it through the next several years. There has already been a big drop in consumer spending in the US, and getting new customers as well as maintaining the ones you already have is going to get more difficult. That is why this is the time to get yourself back to the basic and most important task which is to get your business well marketed. There is nothing more important for your business in difficult times such as these than your marketing efforts.

About the Author:

J.R. Rooney works with a full service debt Collection Agency. When your customers won't pay, hire his Collection Company

How to snowball your debt

By JR Rooney

Debt elimination involves three steps:

1. Stop acquiring new debt.

2. Establish an emergency fund.

3. Implement a debt snowball.

Here's how to approach each step.

Stop acquiring new debt (This step can be accomplished in an afternoon.)

This may seem obvious, but the reason your debt is out of control is because you keep adding to it. Stop using credit. Don't finance anything. Cut up your credit cards.

That last one can be tough. Don't make excuses. I don't care that other personal finance sites say that you shouldn't cut them up. Destroy them. Stop rationalizing that you need them.

* You don't need credit cards for a just in case. * You don't need credit cards for convenience. * You don't need credit cards for cash-back bonuses.

You really don't need credit cards at all. If you're in debt, credit cards are a trap. They only put you deeper in debt. Later, when your debts are gone and your finances are under control, maybe then you can get a credit card. (I don't carry a personal credit card. I don't miss having one.)

After you destroy your cards, halt any recurring payments. If you have a gym membership, cancel it. If you automatically renew your World of Warcraft account, cancel it. Cancel anything that automatically charges your credit card. Stop using credit.

Once you've done this, call every credit card company that you just killed. Do not cancel your credit cards (except for those with a zero balance). Instead, ask for a better deal. Find an offer online and use it as a bargaining wedge. Your bank may not agree to match competing offers, but it probably will. It never hurts to ask.

Establish an emergency fund (This step will probably take several months.)

For many, this is counter-intuitive. Why save before paying off debt? Because if you don't save first, you're not going to be able to cope with unexpected expenses. Do not tell yourself that you can keep a credit card for emergencies. Destroy your credit cards; save cash for emergencies.

How much should you save? Ideally, you'd like to save $1,000 to start. (College students may be able to get by with $500.) This money is for emergencies only. It is not for alcohol. It is not for sneakers. It is not for the new Rock Band. It is to be used when your car dies, or when you break your leg using roller blading.

Keep this money liquid, but not immediately accessible. Don't tie your emergency fund to a debit card. Don't sabotage your efforts by making it easy to spend the money on non-essentials. Consider opening a savings account at an online bank like ING or e-trade. When an emergency arises, you can easily transfer the money to your regular checking account. It'll be there when you need it, but you won't be able to spend it spontaneously.

Implement a debt snowball (This step may require several years.)

After you've finally stopped using credit, and after you've saved an emergency fund, then attack your existing debt. Attack it hard. Throw whatever you can at it.

Most people say to pay your highest interest debts first. There's no question that this makes the most sense mathematically. But if money were all about math, you wouldn't have debt in the first place. Money is as much about emotion and psychology as it is about math.

There are at least two approaches to debt elimination. Psychologically, using a debt snowball offers big payoffs, payoffs that can spur you to further debt reduction. Here's the short version:

1. Order your debts from lowest balance to highest balance. 2. Designate a certain amount of money to pay toward debts each month. 3. Pay the minimum payment on all debts except for the one with the lowest balance. 4. Throw every other nickel at the debt with the lowest balance. 5. When that debt is gone, do not alter the monthly amount used to pay debts, but throw all you can at the debt with the next-lowest balance.

I'm a huge fan of the debt snowball. It still takes time to pay off your debts, but you can see results almost immediately.

Supplementary solutions

You can do other things to improve your money situation while you're working on these three steps.

First, focus on the fundamental personal finance equation: to pay off debt, or to save money, or to accumulate wealth, you must spend less than you earn.

Curb your spending. Re-learn frugal habits. (Frugality is something with which most college students are all too familiar.) You can find some great ideas on the internet. Also check Frugal for Life.

While you work to spend less, do what you can to increase your income. If possible, sell some of the stuff you bought when you got into debt. Get an extra job. (But don't neglect your studies for the sake of earning more. Your studies are most important.)

Finally, go to your local public library and borrow Dave Ramsey's The Total Money Makeover. Don't be put off by the title - this is a fantastic guide to getting out of debt and developing good money habits. I rave about it often, but that's because it has done so much to help my own personal finances. After you've finished, return it and borrow another book about money.

The most important thing is to start now. Don't start tomorrow. Don't start next week. Start tackling your debt now. Your older self will thank you.

About the Author:

JR Rooney is an expert on debt andCollection Company. JR works for this Collection Agency