If you are a homeowner, you may want to reduce your monthly mortgage payment. Yes, you can do it. In this recession, your home value has plummeted, and you may have a huge personal debt, such as credit cards. You don’t want to lose your home to foreclosure. But every month, you have many bills to pay, and your mortgage payment may be taking a financial toll on you and your family, taking a big chunk out of your hard-earned monthly income. What can you do? Foreclosure may be a way out, but it is not an option for you , if you could help it.
How to save your home and reduce your mortgage payment?
You can kill two birds with one stone by negotiating with your lender. Can you do that? Yes, you can do it, and you can do it on your own. Does it sound too good to be true?
Don’t default your loan—don’t even think of it! I tell you what: there is a way out of your financial woes, if your mortgage loan is based on one the following:
(1) 1st, 2nd, or even 3rd mortgage
(2) Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM)
(3) Fixed Rate Loan
(4) Negative Amortization Loan (i.e. paying only interest without paying the principal)
(4) Investment, vacation, or rental properties
Simply negotiate with your lender to modify your loan, thereby reducing your monthly mortgage payment. That is how you can fix your mortgage problems by getting yourself the cheapest loan the fastest way. You owe it to yourself. You don’t even need a lawyer to submit your loan modification, and you can save yourself hundreds of dollars on legal fees. Simply do it yourself! Yes, do it yourself.
But how?
All you need is to have the know-how to write an application to your lender, negotiating a reduction on your monthly mortgage payment. Don’t even seek the help of the so-called professionals: they just rip you off because they may charge you a few hundred, if not thousand, dollars just for the service. America is a free country, and as such, there are many things you can do-it-yourself. Uncle Sam always sees to it that there is always another option—a D-I-Y—available to the public.
Due to the bailout to the tune of $2 trillion dollars, banks are more than willing to lower your mortgage rates to bail you out of foreclosure. Yes, you can modify your mortgage loan, and you can do it on your own.
Of course, to qualify for loan modification, you need to meet one of the criteria of loss of income, death in the family, or a debt ratio of 31 to 50 percent. On top of that, your loan must be more than one year old, and you must have the means to pay the modified mortgage.
Is it difficult to write the loan modification request?
Not really. What you need is the details of the process, and what to say and what not to say. For more information, go to Loan Modification.
Stephen Lau
Copyright © 2010 by Stephen Lau
Monday, September 27, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
How to Save a Lot on Vacation
In these stressful economic times, you probably need a vacation more than anything else. Financial stress is not good for your long-term health. But going on a vacation may become yet another financial stress to your current tight budget.
Money being scarce as it is right now, you’ve probably scratched those plans for a Disney family vacation, or that trip to the Turkish baths and dazzling bazaars in Istanbul. Don't worry! You can save a lot on vacation if you have the know-how. You can make your vacation affordable and within your budget if you plan ahead. Yes, you can still make fun and affordable travel plans in the coming summer.
Start at the Internet. Go straight to Kaya. Pass Travelocity, Expedia and all those other travel sites. At Kayak, one search will compare prices from all those sites, including airfare, hotels and cruises as well as package deals. Or, if you like gambling, go to Las Vegas and try Priceline, where you can “negotiate” the price you pay for airfare, car rentals and hotels.
Last-minute deals may be good deals. If you’re the daring type and you’re not set on a particular destination, you can find some great bargains if you book last minute and pick up surplus hotel rooms or canceled cabins on cruises. See what you can find at SkyAuction, Moments-Notice or LastMinute. You may also find some real bargains at cheapcaribbean.com.
Booking a package is the way to travel these days. By bundling air and hotel and even car rental you can really save a lot, especially on last-minute bookings.
Eating is one of the major expenses on vacation. Try bed and breakfast. Unlike the bed and breakfast in the bygone days with a basic bedroom where you shared a bathroom with other people, nowadays bed and breakfast lodging is not only affordable but more pleasant. In fact, bed and breakfast lodging can run the gamut of quality, location and price. Very often, bed and breakfaqst affords a cheaper alternative to standard hotels and can be found where no hotel chain would dare to go. So take a look at the options on bedandbreakfast.com.
If you are the take-risk type, you can go to hostels, where you may meet the young and the restless. Yes, why not go hostel! Hostels.com gives you a world of choices, which can indeed be very cheap. Normal lodging is dormer-style, though some properties now offer private rooms for families. Bathrooms, kitchens and laundries may still be communal, but the price is unbeatable.
The above are just suggestions that may have slipped your mind when you are thinking of the possibility of going on a vacation this summer, and worrying about the cost involved. Go ahead and plan your vacation! You deserve it!
Stephen Lau
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
An Economic Recession May Become An Opportunity
There is a Chinese saying that you cannot assess a person's achievement until the coffin is nailed. Adversity may shape a man's character and bring out his very best. Likewise, an economic recession may become an opportunity for some who know how to ride the storm. Having problems in life is not a problem! Turn your problems into your opportunities!
Thomas Edison's teachers once said he was “too stupid to learn anything.” and he was fired from his first two jobs for being “non-productive.” Thomas Edison’s 1000 inventions came during the Panic of 1873 — 6 years — and the Long Depression — 23 years.
Albert Einstein did not speak until he was four years-old and did not read until he was seven. His parents thought he was “sub-normal,” and a teacher described him as “mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in foolish dreams.” Yet Albert Einstein survived one Long Depression, three panics and Post World War I Recession.
The moral of the lesson is that a problem only becomes a "real" problem when you don't tackle it; an economic recession may become an opportunity if you see it as nobody else does. Of course, when an opportunity knocks, you have to work at it — just as Thomas Edison said: "One percent is inspiration, and ninety nine percent is perspiration."
To survive this recession, you need resources and imagination not only to survive but also to succeed.
Learn how to turn from Debt to Wealth.
Stephen Lau
Thomas Edison's teachers once said he was “too stupid to learn anything.” and he was fired from his first two jobs for being “non-productive.” Thomas Edison’s 1000 inventions came during the Panic of 1873 — 6 years — and the Long Depression — 23 years.
Albert Einstein did not speak until he was four years-old and did not read until he was seven. His parents thought he was “sub-normal,” and a teacher described him as “mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in foolish dreams.” Yet Albert Einstein survived one Long Depression, three panics and Post World War I Recession.
The moral of the lesson is that a problem only becomes a "real" problem when you don't tackle it; an economic recession may become an opportunity if you see it as nobody else does. Of course, when an opportunity knocks, you have to work at it — just as Thomas Edison said: "One percent is inspiration, and ninety nine percent is perspiration."
To survive this recession, you need resources and imagination not only to survive but also to succeed.
Learn how to turn from Debt to Wealth.
Stephen Lau
Monday, April 19, 2010
Making Money By Blogging
Blogging is becoming the fastest way to market a business on the internet, and it is huge. Unlike advertising, blogs create instant credibility because readers know that a blog usually has quality content that is newsworthy, so they trust the content.
With all the hard work you put into a blog to insure the content is high quality, you should be financially rewarded for your efforts. But according to David Risley, a six-figure income blogger, most bloggers make barely enough to buy a cup of coffee. David decided to change that situation by sharing his Six-Figure Blogger Blueprint Manual with selected people. . . . .Get a FREE copy of this !
View the Original article
With all the hard work you put into a blog to insure the content is high quality, you should be financially rewarded for your efforts. But according to David Risley, a six-figure income blogger, most bloggers make barely enough to buy a cup of coffee. David decided to change that situation by sharing his Six-Figure Blogger Blueprint Manual with selected people. . . . .Get a FREE copy of this !
View the Original article
Sunday, April 18, 2010
7 Smart Money Management Tips for Safe Shopping
Use these 7 smart money management tips for safe shopping.
1 Try to use cash or a debit card instead of a credit card to keep from increasing your debt. If you use a credit card, pay off the balance as soon as your statement arrives.
2 When you do use a credit card, check your statement to see if it is a daily or monthly interest rate card. If it is a daily interest card, pay it off online as soon as the charge hits your card to stop the interest compounding every day until you do pay.
3 Never allow the cashier to leave your card lying on the counter where someone can read, or snap a photo of, the card information.
(I have a client who had someone use a cell phone to photograph their card when the cashier placed in face up on the counter rather than handing it back to my client, and then use my client’s card to wire money from Western Union to their brother in another state. I caught it when I saw the $600 charge and asked my client about the charge.)
4 If you are shopping online, use a Credit Card because it offers more protection for online shopping than debit cards.
If fraudulent charges are made with a debit card and you don’t report the activity within two days, you can be held liable for up to $500. On the other hand, if unauthorized purchases are made on your credit card, U.S. Federal law limits your liability to just $50, and in most cases the credit card issuer will waive that fee.
5 Check your card statement for fraudulent charges online or as soon as you receive it in the mail. You may face unlimited liability if you fail to report the fraudulent charge within 60 days of receiving of the statement that lists the fraudulent purchases.
6 When shopping online, make sure your computer has the latest virus and spy protection software.
7 When shopping online be sure to shop only on trusted and secure sites with https:// as the URL in the web address bar at the top of the screen. The “s” is the signal that the website is secure. You can also look for a closed padlock icon on the bottom of the screen in the shopping cart areas.
View the Original article
1 Try to use cash or a debit card instead of a credit card to keep from increasing your debt. If you use a credit card, pay off the balance as soon as your statement arrives.
2 When you do use a credit card, check your statement to see if it is a daily or monthly interest rate card. If it is a daily interest card, pay it off online as soon as the charge hits your card to stop the interest compounding every day until you do pay.
3 Never allow the cashier to leave your card lying on the counter where someone can read, or snap a photo of, the card information.
(I have a client who had someone use a cell phone to photograph their card when the cashier placed in face up on the counter rather than handing it back to my client, and then use my client’s card to wire money from Western Union to their brother in another state. I caught it when I saw the $600 charge and asked my client about the charge.)
4 If you are shopping online, use a Credit Card because it offers more protection for online shopping than debit cards.
If fraudulent charges are made with a debit card and you don’t report the activity within two days, you can be held liable for up to $500. On the other hand, if unauthorized purchases are made on your credit card, U.S. Federal law limits your liability to just $50, and in most cases the credit card issuer will waive that fee.
5 Check your card statement for fraudulent charges online or as soon as you receive it in the mail. You may face unlimited liability if you fail to report the fraudulent charge within 60 days of receiving of the statement that lists the fraudulent purchases.
6 When shopping online, make sure your computer has the latest virus and spy protection software.
7 When shopping online be sure to shop only on trusted and secure sites with https:// as the URL in the web address bar at the top of the screen. The “s” is the signal that the website is secure. You can also look for a closed padlock icon on the bottom of the screen in the shopping cart areas.
View the Original article
Monday, March 1, 2010
Why We Need to Change Our Mindset on Spending
We, Americans, have forgotten how to be thrifty, and about what the real core value of money is. Many of us, especially the younger generation, have grown accustomed to only the good times: for decades, we have enjoyed unprecedented economic prosperity that we have forgotten the financial woes of the Great Depression.
In spite of the recent busts and downturns, we are still spending like there is no tomorrow (especially our government), and we have forgotten how to be frugal. It is time we changed our mindset of reckless spending -- buying the things we don't need with the money we don't have, or bailing out corporations and banks that are "too big to fail."
The problem is that the little busts and downturns will not change our spending behavior. We may or may not have a big meltdown, but the little busts and downturns may go on indefinitely for decades until we change our spending pattern.
Japan is a case in point. In the 1980s, Japan's economy boomed, and bought up many American companies. The boom, very much like ours in the past decades, turned into a bubble, and, like all bubbles, it busted with a meltdown that was on a much smaller scale than ours. The Japanese government, like what the US government has been doing since our meltdown, tried to prevent banks and companies from failing with bailouts and economic stimulus plans. History is repeating itself: we are doing exactly what the Japanese were doing two decades ago -- preventing the bubble from busting. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to have worked for the Japanese; for the past two decades, Japan has not had any major economic catastrophe, but its economy stagnated, and everything deflated gradually and slowly, instead of the one-time catastrophic blow-up.
If a catastrophic meltdown in the US is not imminent, then it will be a protracted recession lasting for years, if not decades, just like Japan's decade-long recession. In 2009, the US national debt rose to more than $12.trillion. In the next ten years, the US debt is forecast to reach $25 trillion. And this debt does not include any funds needed to continue propping up a practically bankrupt financial system. The forecast also assumes optimistic growth in GDP, which is extremely unlikely, given the current spending habits of the Congress, and the two wars the country is involved in. Currently, US Federal debt is six times what it collects in tax revenue every year. No matter what, the debt can ever be repaid with normal money. In addition, with debt out of control, interest rates will rise steeply as a result of inflation. It is a wishful thinking that the US economy will improve anytime soon. If you think you will see the light at the end of the tunnel, think again! The worst is yet to come. The US will continue to print trillions of dollars worth of new government securities. But the buyers of these government securities might start to become scarce. The rest of the world may dump their holdings of US debt, which would result in the dollar dropping precipitously and interest rates rising substantially. The future does not bode well. What you can do is to change your mindset of spending: Save, save, and save for the future!
The first priority is debt elimination: Ultimate Debt Guide.
Next, you need to fix your bad credit, so as to save a lot: Debt Credit Repair.
Then, you need to supplement your regular income with an online business. For example, you can make money simply by tagging car license plates. It is an innovative data collection business: you collect, they sell, and it is FREE to join. Or you can also make money in shared advertising, in which the advertisers pay you, the viewers, and again it is FREE to join; for more information, go to my blog post "Profit from Shared Advertising."
Spend your time gainfully to make money, instead of spending money. Change your mindset of spending for a better future.
Stephen Lau
In spite of the recent busts and downturns, we are still spending like there is no tomorrow (especially our government), and we have forgotten how to be frugal. It is time we changed our mindset of reckless spending -- buying the things we don't need with the money we don't have, or bailing out corporations and banks that are "too big to fail."
The problem is that the little busts and downturns will not change our spending behavior. We may or may not have a big meltdown, but the little busts and downturns may go on indefinitely for decades until we change our spending pattern.
Japan is a case in point. In the 1980s, Japan's economy boomed, and bought up many American companies. The boom, very much like ours in the past decades, turned into a bubble, and, like all bubbles, it busted with a meltdown that was on a much smaller scale than ours. The Japanese government, like what the US government has been doing since our meltdown, tried to prevent banks and companies from failing with bailouts and economic stimulus plans. History is repeating itself: we are doing exactly what the Japanese were doing two decades ago -- preventing the bubble from busting. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to have worked for the Japanese; for the past two decades, Japan has not had any major economic catastrophe, but its economy stagnated, and everything deflated gradually and slowly, instead of the one-time catastrophic blow-up.
If a catastrophic meltdown in the US is not imminent, then it will be a protracted recession lasting for years, if not decades, just like Japan's decade-long recession. In 2009, the US national debt rose to more than $12.trillion. In the next ten years, the US debt is forecast to reach $25 trillion. And this debt does not include any funds needed to continue propping up a practically bankrupt financial system. The forecast also assumes optimistic growth in GDP, which is extremely unlikely, given the current spending habits of the Congress, and the two wars the country is involved in. Currently, US Federal debt is six times what it collects in tax revenue every year. No matter what, the debt can ever be repaid with normal money. In addition, with debt out of control, interest rates will rise steeply as a result of inflation. It is a wishful thinking that the US economy will improve anytime soon. If you think you will see the light at the end of the tunnel, think again! The worst is yet to come. The US will continue to print trillions of dollars worth of new government securities. But the buyers of these government securities might start to become scarce. The rest of the world may dump their holdings of US debt, which would result in the dollar dropping precipitously and interest rates rising substantially. The future does not bode well. What you can do is to change your mindset of spending: Save, save, and save for the future!
Next, you need to fix your bad credit, so as to save a lot: Debt Credit Repair.
Then, you need to supplement your regular income with an online business. For example, you can make money simply by tagging car license plates. It is an innovative data collection business: you collect, they sell, and it is FREE to join. Or you can also make money in shared advertising, in which the advertisers pay you, the viewers, and again it is FREE to join; for more information, go to my blog post "Profit from Shared Advertising."
Spend your time gainfully to make money, instead of spending money. Change your mindset of spending for a better future.
Stephen Lau
Monday, February 22, 2010
The World's Largest Economy Is Like A Scam
The United States is the world's largest economy -- but it is operating like a scam. The US is printing money in the form of government bonds, which have no intrinsic value other than "faith" in the US government to continue to honor its debt. Nowadays, the demand for US Treasuries has decreased, so the US government has been funding a large portion of its newly issued debt by direct purchases from the Federal Reserve. What it means is that the Federal Reserve is creating money out of thin air so that it can be used to buy US bonds to bail out corporations that are "too big to fail." This reckless economic policy serves dual purposes: to boost up the demand for lack-luster US bonds; and to continue to pump cash into an ailing economy, hoping against hope that it will revive its stalling economic engine. The result of this reckless economic policy is mounting national debt. There will not be any relief anytime soon because the Congress does not show any indication of cutting down government spending, and there is no sign that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq will end in the foreseeable future.
Of course, the US is not the only country with national debt exploding: for example, the United Kingdom's national debt is forecast to reach GBP 1.1 trillion by 2011, and Greece is already drowning in national debt that is impossible to be repaid.
The problem is that there is much too much debt across the globe. Remember, debt, if it keeps on mounting, is unsustainable -- just like a pyramid scam. At some point, there will be a breaking point. It is like Madoff's hedge fund, which relied on indefinite financing from investors in ordet to stay afloat -- it was doomed to end in tragedy, and it was just a matter of time.
In this precarious economic state across the globe, the bond markets are bound to crash sooner or later, and this will cause another economic tsunami of unimaginable magnitude, bringing down everything, including the once-almighty US dollar. When that happens, only precious metals, like gold, will survive.
How To Buy Gold Low shows you the strategies to invest wisely in gold to protect your assets from the economic uncertainties in the years ahead.
Stephen Lau
Of course, the US is not the only country with national debt exploding: for example, the United Kingdom's national debt is forecast to reach GBP 1.1 trillion by 2011, and Greece is already drowning in national debt that is impossible to be repaid.
The problem is that there is much too much debt across the globe. Remember, debt, if it keeps on mounting, is unsustainable -- just like a pyramid scam. At some point, there will be a breaking point. It is like Madoff's hedge fund, which relied on indefinite financing from investors in ordet to stay afloat -- it was doomed to end in tragedy, and it was just a matter of time.
In this precarious economic state across the globe, the bond markets are bound to crash sooner or later, and this will cause another economic tsunami of unimaginable magnitude, bringing down everything, including the once-almighty US dollar. When that happens, only precious metals, like gold, will survive.
How To Buy Gold Low shows you the strategies to invest wisely in gold to protect your assets from the economic uncertainties in the years ahead.
Stephen Lau
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