Interest Rates Are Increasing, Don’t Let Your Debt

April 17, 2018 by

Anyone with poor credit knows the burden of high interest rates. Just a few percentage points difference in a credit card or loan rate can make the difference between an affordable payment, and one that breaks the bank. With interest rates on the rise, every person who owes money to a creditor is focusing on the economy and how better to manage their personal obligations. Keeping debt in check during an interest-rate spike can have long-term benefits.

As interest rates creep high in 2018, large debt loads will become more costly for every consumer — even those with ideal credit ratings. Planning for rate increases and finding ways to consolidate and manage debt can save money and help maintain personal assets and value. At Chande.ca, our financial professionals monitor interest rates and are poised to help every consumer prepare for increases that may affect everything from monthly payments to debt-to-income ratios.

Managing Debt as a Best Personal Practice

Whether interest rates are high or low, keeping debt in check is a good personal habit. Using debt wisely can lead to greater financial freedom and rewards, but it takes effort and planning. During an interest rate spike, consumers have no control over the increases, but they can regulate their own spending and personal habits.

Taking small steps to manage personal debt during an interest rate hike can mitigate overall total debt. Some key moves that proactive consumers can pursue include:

  • Transferring Balances: when interest rates go up, it is a good time to take advantage of no-interest credit cards that offer zero interest for balance transfers. If rates increase during the period of the offer, borrowers will still save money, while maintaining a lower debt ceiling.

 

  • Improving Credit Scores: as interest rates creep up, consumers with low credit scores should put off purchases like a new or used auto until they can increase their credit rating. Waiting to make purchases during a rate hike can save money with a lower overall rate.

 

  • Consolidating Debt: before rates go too high, consumers with many small credit accounts may be able to save money and keep debt payments more manageable by consolidating their debt load. One payment with a moderate rate, as opposed to several payments at higher rates can be advantageous in anescalating market.

In addition, during rate increases, smart consumers can adjust their spending practices. Making more cash purchases and relying less on credit cards, loans, and other interest bearing accounts will keep debt at a minimum through a rate increase.

Finding Creative Debt Solutions

When saving money is a priority along with avoiding increased personal debt with high interest rates, consumers turn to professionals who know the markets and know how to find creative solutions. They visit Chande.ca for a variety of debt related answers and advice.

With professional debt services, personalized evaluations, and answers for every type of debt crisis and question, our experts will help every debt or face rising interest rates with confidence and savings.

Filed Under: Money Talk

What You Need To Know About Huge Silver Price Predictions

April 12, 2018 by

When it comes to your portfolio, it pays to be careful. You can’t risk your savings on a “hunch” or on unfounded advice. At the same time, there’s no shortage of prominent advocates for gold and silver with some huge claims about the future price of silver. There are some who believe that silver could skyrocket to $130 an ounce in only a couple of years, others who believe more modestly that silver will hit $50 an ounce by the end of 2018, and there are extremely bullish investors like Robert Kiyosaki who say silver could reach $6,000 an ounce in the long run.

There is no crystal ball for predicting silver prices, but there is history and silver price charts. There are strong arguments behind a bullish stance on silver. How high it can take silver prices is anyone’s guess, but the fundamentals of silver price growth are present. Whether it’s $50 an ounce or $6,000, when you get silver prices today you see that there’s huge potential in silver. When someone predicts silver prices of $130 an ounce in the near future, here’s what’s driving their predictions.

Silver Prices Are Undervalued

Silver is not worth as much as it should be. There are many different indicators that this is the case, from the silver-gold ratio to the silver-S&P ratio. There’s also the alarming new fact that silver has recently become rarer above ground than gold. While there is still probably more silver unmined, silver is being used by industry faster than it can be mined. The rarity of silver has quickly made silver coins and silver bars popular sellers from bullion dealers like Silver Gold Bull.

Silver Prices in the Gold-Silver Ratio

One of the biggest indicators that silver is undervalued is the gold-silver ratio. At present silver prices, the ratio is around 75 to 90. Historically, this stood around 15, meaning gold was worth 15 times what silver was worth. As far back as the Roman Empire, the ratio seems to have been around 10 to 1 (comparing silver denarii with the gold aureus), while 15 was fixed into law in the U.S. and France around the 19th century. In modern history, the ratio has been more like 65, which means even by modern standards silver is undervalued. Investors who believe a correction is imminent see silver prices rising to meet gold, rather than gold falling.

Supply Impact on Silver Prices

Many believe that silver prices are in for a big correction due to the basics of supply and demand. Mining companies have by and large fallen behind on silver production to the point where demand for silver outstrips supply. Despite silver recycling, stocks are shrinking because of it. Silver prices have yet to catch up to rising silver demand, which means mining companies aren’t searching for silver or investing in silver mines. When silver prices take off, it could take years for mining companies to catch up.

Buying silver bullion online from a bullion dealer like Silver Gold Bull is the most convenient way to buy silver right now. When you’re holding real silver bullion, you can sleep soundly knowing your money is safe. Invest in silver today and take advantage of rising silver prices, wherever they go. Just remember, making money from silver isn’t about where you sell, it’s about where you buy – and silver prices today are highly undervalued.

Filed Under: Money Talk

Three Things To Remember When Making A Budget

March 29, 2018 by

Between work, chores, your kids, and everything else, you don’t enjoy a lot of downtime in your day-to-day life. Chances are when you do finally get an hour alone, you don’t want to waste it by going over your finances. You’d much rather spend it catching it up on Altered Carbon, taking a bath, or playing Settlers of Catan with your family. While any of those would be more fun than pouring over your finances, none of them holds the same financial importance. Though you may hate to do it, making a budget is one of the most important things you can do with your money. Once you’re ready to bite the bullet and spend the time you need to make a budget, keep these three tips in mind.

Don’t shelve your budget.

There’s a lot of hard work that goes into your budget. You have to tally your expenses, categorize your purchases, and figure how much you spend in comparison to what you earn. After all that number crunching, you probably don’t want to do it anytime soon. So you shelve your budget, hoping to forget about your terrible experience behind the calculator.

This defeats the purpose of your budget. It’s supposed to help guide your spending as you tackle challenges in your life. If you keep the same budget you made in your 30s — a time when you were single, renting, and just starting your career — it won’t have the same impact when your 50 — a time when you have a family, own a home, and are thinking about retirement.

A successful budget is one that’s reworked regularly. If nothing big changes in your life, you don’t have to check in with this document every week; every year should be good enough. But if something big does happen, you need to revisit your budget sooner. Serious things like buying a home, losing a job, or the need to travel the world are reason enough to redo your budget, but so are less significant things, like buying an Galaxy Note 8 or updating an inefficient furnace.

Prepare for the emergencies.

Often people realize they need a budget when two things happen. One, they’re facing a mountain of debt and they aren’t sure how to fix it. Two, they have big goals for the future and want to make sure they have the money to achieve them. While these are two important reasons to start budgeting, they aren’t the only ones.

A budget’s there so you can be prepared for the unexpected. Make sure there’s enough room for an emergency fund in your budget on top of your goals. This emergency fund can help you should financial disaster hit, giving you the ability to cover surprise household bills and repairs without worry.

Until you can build a considerable emergency fund, you may not be able to handle unexpected bills or repairs on your own. A personal loan is a great financial tool to help you make up the difference between your budding fund and your next emergency.

Use your budget to find the best rates

Whether you’re looking for a line of credit or a payday loan, you need to know your financial abilities before you lock into any personal loan. No two products are the same, and each will have different terms, conditions, and rates. You can use your budget to help you figure out what kind of conditions and rates you can afford, so you don’t sink further into debt by getting assistance.

Figure out the sort of cash you have on hand, so you know the size and frequency of payments you can realistically match without overextending yourself. Once you have those numbers in mind, you can search for the best assistance for your situation. Whether that’s a payday loan or something else entirely, your budget can help you find the best one.

Finding what works for your situation is why you created a budget in the first place. If you’re ready to start saving better than ever before, devote some of your precious spare time towards making a budget. Though it may not feel like it at first, it’s time well spent.

Filed Under: Money Talk

Best Investments to Grow Your Money:

March 21, 2018 by

The Classic Way – Earn it Slowly
Investors who have been around for a while will remember the classic Smith Barney commercial from the 1980s, where British actor John Houseman informs viewers in his unmistakable accent that they “make money the old fashioned way – they earn it.” When it comes to the most traditional way of doubling your money, that commercial’s not too far from reality. Perhaps the most tested way to double your money over a reasonable amount of time is to invest in a solid, non-speculative portfolio that’s diversified between blue-chip stocks and investment grade bonds. While that portfolio won’t double in a year, it almost surely will eventually, thanks to the old rule of 72 – The rule of 72 is a famous shortcut for calculating how long it will take for an investment to double if its growth compounds on itself. According to the rule of 72, you divide your expected annual rate of return into 72, and that tells you how many years it will take to double your money.

The Contrarian Way
Even straight-laced, even-keeled investors know that there comes a time when you must buy – not because everyone is getting in on a good thing, but because everyone is getting out. Just like great athletes go through slumps when many fans turn their backs, the stock prices of otherwise great companies occasionally go through slumps because fickle investors head for the hills.

The Safe Way
Just like how the fast lane and the slow lane on the freeway eventually lead to the same place, there are both quick and slow ways to double your money. So for those investors who are afraid of wrapping their portfolio around a telephone pole, bonds may provide a significantly less precarious journey to the same destination. But investors taking less risk by using bonds don’t have to give up their dreams of one day proudly bragging about doubling their money.

The Bottom Line
There’s an old saying that if “something is too good to be true, then it probably is.” That’s sage advice when it comes to doubling your money, considering that there are probably far more investment scams out there than sure things. While there certainly are other ways to approach doubling your money than the ones mentioned so far, always be suspicious when you’re promised results. Whether it’s your broker, your brother-in-law or a late-night infomercial, take the time to make sure that someone is not using you to double their money.

Filed Under: Money Talk, Talk Blog

5 Lifestyle Budgeting Tips

March 21, 2018 by

5. Make Your Own Morning Coffee & Tea – It may seem like a couple bucks here and there but do the math. Say for example you buy 1 coffee or tea a day at Starbucks (and depending on what you buy of course!), you could be spending anywhere from $2-$4 per day. For a full month you would be looking at anywhere between $50-$130. Consider buying a tin of coffee, box of tea, whatever you love to drink in the morning. As an example, I buy my name-brand coffee in a large tin for $15, and it’s a HUGE tin that lasts me about 2 months having a full pot per day. That is $7.50 per month vs. what would likely cost me $200 for the 2-3 coffees I have per day!

4. DIY – Need the house cleaned? Need a fresh coat of paint on the walls? Need the car cleaned? DO IT YOURSELF! All of the money you pay someone else to do things for you … consider learning how to do it, or just take it on and get it done. The costs will be a fraction of what it would be to have someone else do it for you and it could add up to hundreds of dollars a month!

3. Travel Local – Guaranteed you can find some of the best travel hotspots within a couple hours drive from your house. Whether you’re looking for adventure, relaxation, beach sun or the care-free nightlife, to save your dollars look local. Obviously weather permitting, if you live in a wintery place & want to hit the beach, THAT may not be possible at this particular moment, but consider something different. Maybe there’s a hot-spring spa, or a cleansing sauna experience you haven’t even thought of. There are always getaways, you just need to look for them & save the thousands of dollars needed to fly away somewhere else.

2. Date Night In – Whether its date night with your best friends, or the love of your life, fact is … having a good night out on the town can break the bank! Consider this… Dinner, drinks, entertainment can all be relatively inexpensive at home. Even splurging on take out or delivery can drastically decrease the overall cost for your evening. Invite your people to your house, cards or board-games, grab a few bottles of vino, a little Netflix w/ homemade popcorn, take out & that’s the recipe for a $40 night vs. the $150+ dollar night at a restaurant + movie theatre/snacks & then drinks at the bar! How much do you go out? That could be a serious savings.

1. Don’t Eat Out – Sometimes the easiest thing to do when you’re busy, on the go, etc is to just grab food out, order in lunch/dinner or even take your hubby for regular meals at your favourite restaurant. If the funds are low this month, consider doing a little research, what are your favourite foods, look up some recipes and do some at-home prep! Not only will it be MUCH more nutritious, but it will also save you dough! Make more than you need to eat at one meal time & enjoy leftovers as well for those extra busy days.

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Money Talk, Talk Blog
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