If you are like most people chances are you shop around for some common products like groceries, vehicles, and electronics.  What you probably don’t do is shop around for financial products, do you?  If you don’t, you should take a read about why you should be shopping around.

You see, not all financial products are created equal.  You can get different interest rates, different rewards, and terms.  For example, if you are looking for the lowest rate home loans, you will need to look around since most places will not tell you the rates offered by their competitors. 

This is where you need to use the Internet to do some comparison shopping.  There are plenty of websites that allow you to compare financing rates side by side, and let you see at a glance which loan would be best for you.

So don’t forget, that financial products are not much different than other products you buy - shop around to get the best value for you.

These past few years my business has been doing very well.  Unlike some of my friends, I do not have to work a real job, and I don’t have to live in a specific place to get my work done - my business is portable.

With that in mind, I have been considering moving.  Specifically I am considering Georgia because they have both mountains and beaches - two of my favorite things. 

For the past little while I have been looking at homes in Georgia and I have found a few I like.  In fact, just today, I checked the Georgia mortgage rates so that I could calculate what I can afford.  The number I came up with will get me a pretty nice house there.  Now that I know that number there is only one thing left to figure out:

Live in the mountains or at the beach? … or maybe both??

As some of you know I run a business.  But I am also a real estate investor.  Especially once you get bigger than a lemonade stand, most businesses depend on financing to operate and expand.  In fact, financing is part of the day to day operations of a business.

Now if you are not in a rush, usually unsecured business loans are the way to go.  Sometime the approval time of these loans are not quite quick enough for some types of transactions such as the investment in auction goods.  Also, in most cases there is a lot of paperwork to fill out - and you need to provide accurate financial statements.  Quite often the credit of the company comes into play - and if it has some bad credit, that is a whole different situation all together.

Business loans for bad credit are a little harder to get.  They make you jump through a few more hoops.  In this case (as in all others) honesty is especially important - if you are being honest with your loan officer, you will have a powerful ally on your side.  Time wise, this is not the best type of loan to get and you can expect approval times to be longer than a regular unsecured loan.  In some cases you will have to pledge some assets as security against the loan to ensure the interests of the lender are protected.

If speed is of great interest (for example in the purchase of a business at an auction) a business cash advance is a great alternative to a traditional loan.  Most of the institutions providing these cash advances do not require the amount of time, paperwork, or financial documentation a traditional loan requires.  Approval (provided you meet the conditions of the advance) is typically less than twenty four hours, with advances typically up to $250,000.  Also, they are less concerned with your credit rating, so this is also suitable for companies with bad credit.

A final word of advice: as with any other financial decision, I would recommend consultation with a financial professional - though the information is accurate, it may not be accurate for your situation, and a financial professional can give advice that is tailored to you and your organization.

Well, my husband and I decided that we needed to renovate the house and get a new vehicle.  We have decided to get a loan to pay for both of our purchases.  This way we wouldn’t tie up too much of our cash.

So, we walked into the bank expecting to get a loan for both.  Sitting down with our banker, she told us that there were two different types of loans we should consider before making our choice.

She explained that there were two major types of loans: unsecured loans and secured homeowner loans.  The thing is we would need one for each.  She proceeded to explain the difference using technical jargon and I started daydreaming….

After we left I had the biggest headache.  Who knew that getting a loan would be so complicated… I sure didn’t.  I hope my husband was paying attention….

Now, how many of you ladies out there would like to get paid to shop?  Probably most of you.  If you are like me, I spend quite a lot of time shopping (not necessarily spending a lot of money though) and it would be nice if I got paid to do it.  Specifically what if I told you that you could get cash back from every purchase you made by using credit cards.  How?  Just keep reading

I was sitting at my computer the other day checking out our banking website.  I noticed an offer for a cashback credit card with no fees that paid 1% cash back - and I was intrigued.  It seemed kind of cool that someone would pay me to shop.

I decided to look and see what other banks offered - I liked to shop around after all.  I used the Internet to compare credit cards and found a couple that gave more cash back than the one issued by my bank - a whopping 4% !  I made a quick call to my banker to see if they match the rate, but they couldn’t.

I filled out the application online and I am now waiting for the card to show up in the mail… I can’t wait.  Wait till I tell my husband that I am getting paid to shop.  I am sure he will be so excited

If any of you have gone through a bankruptcy at some point in your life, you know your whole financial situation changed.  On one hand, all your debt was gone and a huge weight was lifted off your shoulders.  On the other, it is though you have been branded with a sign that says you are no longer trustworthy.

For a lot of people that go bankrupt, perhaps that isn’t fair.  If the reason you went bankrupt was because of something you couldn’t predict or prepare adequately for such as illness or extended hospital stay, you may wonder why people treat you this way.  In this case, it is not like you went out of your way to overextend yourself - rather, life threw you a curve ball.

A good example is mortgages.  For example, if you had a mortgage before going bankrupt and you didn’t lose your house, then you will eventually have to renew your mortgage.  Now, unlike any other time you were there to renew it, you will have to jump through a few more hoops and do a bad credit remortgage.  Usually this takes a little longer than a simple handshake, and you may find yourself paying a little more for interest.

You will find even your friends treat you differently after they find out.  If you want to see it in action, tell them you went bankrupt and then ask if you can borrow money - see how many of them say yes.

The road of recovery from bankruptcy is a long one.  If you are experiencing it, I wish you luck - don’t worry, things get better.  It is only a matter of time.

Even though most people go to a bank or to a car dealer to get a car loan, I like to shop around.  With so many finance companies competing for your business, it is almost in your favor to shop around - you would be surprised on what kind of deals you will find.

Now that you can compare loans online, it has never been easier to find the best rates for loans.  I have taken a look at personal loan rates online from many lenders when I have looked at getting a car loan.

I have also shopped online for a secured personal loan to pay for some home renovations to our kitchen.  By checking online, we found a better rate than what our bank paid, also we had the convenience of applying for the loan at 11:00 PM. 

You can also find the Internet to be useful if you don’t work at a traditional 9-5 job.  If you are uncomfortable applying online, you can at least find out the information and setup appointments during business hours.  It is also a great way to find out if you even qualify for a loan, or how much your would get should you apply for one.  Bear in mind too, if you would rather talk to a live person, most of these sites also have a telephone number where you can talk to or you can go to a real office and talk to someone.

Don’t be afraid to print off some of the offers and take them into your bank and show your banker.  You might luck out that they would be able to match your offer.  So, don’t be afraid to shop around - the Internet can help you do it.

One of the best uses for the Internet today is for comparison purposes.  For instance, if you are looking for a car insurance comparison, you can find hundreds of companies that will give you instant quotes online.  You can also compare credit cards and the best savings accounts.

It is such an informative tool because you can instantly come up with results, 24 hours a day, seven days a week - and the best part - you are never put on hold.  When I need to compare quotes or prices on anything, the internet is always my first resource.  Once you choose a few of the best options, you can contact the company, either through the website, through email, or by phone.

All in all, I find this to be very time and cost effective for me - using the internet as a comparison tool.

I currently have 13 mortgages that I am paying down.  Now, it may seem that my personal finances are in a sad state, but to be completely honest, I am not using my own money to pay for any of them.

The house I currently live in is paid for .  The 13 mortgages I have are all for rental properties, which I will one day own.  Although I am not making much in-pocket money at the moment on these rentals, the mortgages are being paid by the tenants: with the profits also paying for my car insurance.

Some people think I am angry because it is an awful lot of work, but they don’t look at the big picture.  In ten or fifteen years when all 13 mortgages are paid off, I will have a lot of in-pocket money.  I will also have a lot of free time on my hands to enjoy the money.

So, it may seem like it is not the smartest financial situation to be in, but in the end I will be having the last laugh.

We recently had the opportunity in my finance class to do something different.  It was our job to create a marketing campaign advertising the Internet as a financial tool.  Specifically, it was to advertise that you can get financial services online and how to go about getting them.

We were split up into groups of five and sent out to work on this task.  Our group ended up in a conference room and began to brainstorm.  We came up with a couple of tasks that you could do online such as look for the best credit cards, and compare bank accounts.  We were gearing our presentation towards these topics when Michael brought up a good point: what about cheap car insurance? 

We realized he had stumbled on gold.  With the amount of advertising on television about going online to get car insurance, it was a no brainer.  Since this was the first meeting we all decided that we would get together once a week and use email to communicate with each other.  Seems like our group will work well together.  Till next week…