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Thursday, November 20, 2008

Bad Drivers Can Find Affordable Kentucky Automobile Insurance

By Steve Turner

If you have a bad driving record in the state of Kentucky, it can be hard to even get insurance, and the insurance you do find will most likely be expensive. Insurance companies are very cautious when it comes to covering high-risk drivers. Is it possible to find less-expensive Kentucky automobile insurance? Yes, but it can often be tricky.

It is common sense that if you are a bad driver, your insurance won't be as cheap as if you had a better driving record. Insurance companies give discounts for being a good driver because it is less likely that they will have to spend money on you. But if you do have a bad driving record, it is possible to take steps to get a better rate.

The biggest difference you can make in your insurance prices is to try and clean up your driving record. Avoid tickets and accidents to avoid further blemishes on your record. If you already have a bad record filled with tickets and accidents, they can be remedied by taking a Basic Skills Driving Class or a Defensive Driving Course.

When an insurance company quotes you on car insurance, they factor in more than just your driving record. To get the best deal possible, you must be responsible in everything you do. One of the most common things that a company will do is to check your credit. This can give them an idea as to if you will be responsible in paying them your premiums. If your credit is low do, everything you can to raise your score.

Another common discount given by the majority of companies is a good student discount. If you are studying and have good grades you can save quite a bit on your insurance. There are many other discounts you can receive, so make sure that you give your insurance agent as much information as possible. You can even get a discount for having an email address.

With a bad driving history, your insurance will almost always be quite expensive initially, but if you fallow the steps above you can lower your rate over time. Within a few years your driving record can be clean and you can be eligible to get coverage as cheap as anyone else. Improving your driving record over time requires patience, but it will pay off in the end.

In shopping for insurance it is usually most effective to purchase car insurance through an Insurance Broker. These are insurance agencies that work with a number of different companies. This is helpful because they can find you the cheapest rates around. They can shop through all the different companies and find the one that is the most lenient with the problems you have.

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Credit Collections - Remove Bad Credit From Your Credit Report

By Justin Hutto

To remove a bad credit mark due to a debt going to collections you must dispute it. A dispute is filled directly with the credit bureaus.

You will have to create a dispute letter and send it to each credit bureau. In your letter you have to say what mark you are disputing and give a reason as to why that mark is inaccurate.

You will have to send a copy of this letter to each credit bureau. Upon receipt of your letter the bureaus will conduct an investigation into the dispute.

It is common for investigations to result in the deletion of a mark. This is because most lenders and collection agencies are unwilling to spend the resources verifying uncollectible debts.

If your dispute is verified then having a credit repair service can be very beneficial. They can use advanced dispute techniques to remove a bad credit item. These techniques include; debt validation, escalated dispute information requests, and creditor direct intervention.

What is a collection?

A collection will occur approximately after 6 months of delinquency. It is a lenders last resort to recover payment.

Most lenders have some form of in house collection. However many also will use an outside collection agency and/or sell your account.

Collection agencies will either work with lenders or purchase your debt outright. A collection agency is often brought in to collect on delinquent accounts and they are paid a percentage of every dollar recovered.

Be aware that if you just pay a collection it will remain on your credit report. It will change the status of the collection but paying it will not remove it from your report. Future lenders will still see the mark as a negative item even as a paid collection.

In sum you can remove collections and bad credit marks on your credit report. You do not have to wait 7 years for the mark to expire.

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Equity Releases And Determining If They Are Right For You

By Chris Channing

Many people wonder what they will do with their home when they get older. You cannot take your home with you when you pass on, so what use is having it, especially if you have no heirs to receive it? Or maybe, you just do not want to leave anything behind for your heirs to fight over, especially if it is something like your house which simply cannot be split up into pieces.

Many of the older generations have survived a lot in this world. They may have worked all of their lives to purchase a home, get a nice property and survive through time. This may pose the question of when they will finally relax, not at the nursing home! Equity release is often used by these older individuals to put some excitement and relaxation in their life.

You can use an equity release to borrow against the value or equity of your home. Equity releases offer you money for the value of your home and does not have to be paid back until you pass away, in which the home will be used as a repayment.

You can secure your old age necessities with an equity release. Vacationing and general pampering as well as finding some good use for extra money are all simple ways to enjoy your later years. You get to keep your home as long as you are alive and kicking, meaning you can live in the home, make improvements, get a pool or anything else that you please.

Planning for an equity release is very simple. You basically need to own your own home and be over 55 years of age. This loan is intended for those who think they may be passing on soon or for those who think they can pay off the debt before they die. This also helps to reduce or even remove the taxes on inheritance that you may leave loved ones in your will.

Equity release options are available at most banking institutions. Many banks have alternate requirements for the equity release loans. The internet offers many different sources to apply and research equity release options available to you.

Closing Comments

Equity release is a great tool to help you reduce the equity in your home, or to enjoy your final years. You can use it however you see fit and you usually do not have to worry about paying it back.

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Is A Prepaid Credit Card For You?

By Steven J. Talrechi

Credit is something which people often feel less than comfortable discussing. It can be hard to be approved for a credit card, especially these days. If you have yet to build a credit history or have had credit problems in the past, it can be especially hard to get approved. No matter why you are rejected, it can be embarrassing to have this happen. However, a prepaid credit card can allow you to begin building a credit history while being able to benefit from the convenience of a traditional credit card.

But how does a prepaid credit card actually work? It is essentially an account into which you can deposit money and access it by using the card to make purchases. You can use a prepaid credit card anywhere that credit cards are accepted. Unlike a traditional card, however, you can only make purchases after you have deposited money in your account. There is a spending limit just as with a traditional charge card, but with a prepaid card, this limit is the amount which you have put on your account.

A prepaid credit card offers all of the convenience of a regular charge card. You can use it in the same way at the same places.

A prepaid credit card is very helpful in keeping your spending under control. You can only spend as much as you have deposited in your account, so it is impossible to get yourself into credit card debt by overspending. A prepaid credit card is also a good way to begin learning about managing your financial life responsibly.

Additionally, a prepaid credit card will give you the peace of mind that no one is going to be able to get a hold of your credit card numbers. This way, if you're purchasing things over the phone or internet you can rest assured that no one will have any way to access your other accounts and money.

So how to you set up a prepaid credit card. Well you will incur a fee to set up your credit account. Typically it is quite small. Anywhere from $5-$10. Additionally, there are usually fees that accompany any deposit that you are making into your account. Though there are some slight fees for those who have been struggling with their credit or merely want to keep a tight handle on their spending it really might be a viable solution for you.

Ours is a credit driven economy ? you need a credit card to do just about anything. It's hard to do even function without one. However, if you have bad credit, are trying to build a credit history for yourself or just want to keep your spending to a limit, then you might find that a prepaid credit card is perfect for you.

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Making Sure That You Are Secure With Mortgage Payment Protection

By Chris Channing

Having a mortgage on a house may be one of the necessities that you have to deal with when you need money for any reason. Once you take out a mortgage, you may be in over your head whenever you are unable to make repayments. You could end up losing your hose or worse, everything you own if you do not have any form of insurance such as mortgage payment protection.

If you become unemployed, mortgage payment protection is a special type of insurance that helps a person to pay a mortgage. Even if you lose your job because of accidents, sickness or plain being laid off from a good job because of downsizing, mortgage payment protection will help to cover the costs of your mortgage while you heal or find a new job. You will be able to pay off your monthly obligation to your mortgage with the help of mortgage payment protection.

You can be looking for work or healing from a serious injury while the mortgage payment protection service covers your payments to the bank or lender. Those who have suffered a bad accident and are no longer allowed to work until they heal do not have to worry as mortgage payment protection has them covered.

Being from age 18 through 65 years or older in some cases as well as being employed for over 16 hours a week are some of the requirements to be eligible for mortgage payment protection. You need to be self employed or under a long contract to be able to be eligible if that is your source of income.

The length of the coverage is usually for 12 months from the unemployment date. In some special cases and through some companies, a 24 month period of payment protection is offered. This is usually long enough for a client to get back on track with their health or to find a new job that is adequate enough to cover the costs of the mortgage repayment terms.

Premiums are usually a flat rate regardless of gender, age or occupation. Depending on the type of benefits you choose the premiums may be different at a percentage. There are some age dependant variations of this protection that benefit younger protected individuals.

Closing Comments

If you suddenly find yourself without work, a mortgage payment protection plan can help you with payments so that you do not lose your home or the equity in your home.

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Saving Money Sucks Unless You Know This Important Fact

By Jenni Snook

Lately, with the current economic and debt crisis, we are encouraged more and more to start putting money aside. In spite of the economic booms of recent times, there still exists the possibility of being out of employment for both yourself and your partner. If you wish to ride out such a situation, it is highly recommended that you save 2-3 months worth of salary to cope with such a dire situation.

Nonetheless, have you ever asked yourself why, even though you and your partner may be earning high salaries, it is near impossible to save money? You feel that the money quickly disappears just after seeing it arrive. you are really trying to save money but you find pretty much an impossibility.

Being able to save money isn't as impossible as you may think. The first major obstacles that is normally faced by those trying to save money is simply organizing their finances. I can pretty much guarantee that you are actually spending more money than you think and that you are oblivious to most of this spending.

One great way to saving money is by keeping track of what you spend. All you need to have do this is a notebook of some kind and a pen or pencil. You must take this everywhere with you to record all your purchases, to the exact cent. Even if the purchase may still small and meaningless, you must keep track of it.

You should aim to do this exercise for at least a 2-week period. This exercise could be a bit difficult, however, it will see you discover and break bad spending habits. After doing the exercise for 2 weeks, you will have to examine all your spending. You will soon start to realize where all that money is going.

People who do this task commonly get shocked by how much is spent on small items. For example, spending 1 dollar on a newspaper each and every day may seem small, but it amounts to 365 dollars over an entire year.

There are 2 things that will occur once you see how much you spend on small items. The first thing that will happen is that you will not be happy about it. It's common to spend a great deal of money on small items over the course a year. As a result, people get angry with themselves about this. Secondly, you will set out a plan to change your spending habits. As a result, you will make a decision as to what items are necessary and what aren't.

If you want to start putting money aside, a great money saving tip is to first start tracking your finances. Such an exercise shows you first hand your spending habits and what you can do to fix them.

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Card Wars: The Revenge of the Card Tarts

By John Evans

It was a long time ago on a planet really nearby... Secretly, in the shadows, there has been a battle going on, a battle between the lone wolf 'card tarts' and the armies of the credit card companies. A card tart (also occasionally referred to as a rates tart) in case you didn't know is a person who applies for a credit card and works up a healthy balance. Then realising that the repayments are getting a bit steep makes a credit card balance transfer onto a card offering a 0% transfer free period, now averaging around 10 months. The problem is that after the period ends they want to transfer again and again and again. Ad infinitum! In other words they wielded their 0% cards in front of them, like a light-sabre, keeping the forces of interest oppression at bay.

Back at the dawn of time (at the turn of the century actually) when 0% balance transfer cards were introduced the companies didn't seem to realise that this was going to be the case. The rebels grew and grew. Fighting back, the card companies introduced balance transfer fees in around 2005. At this time it was estimated that credit card companies were losing around 1 billion a year in admin costs and lost revenue, so you can see why they made the move. Currently these fees are now around 3% of the balance that you wish to transfer. Still this didn't deter the card tarts and people still regularly transfer. Now in a startling turn of events card companies are once again banishing fees to the outer regions but why?

A sign that credit cards were beginning to wise up came along in 2004 when a major credit card company introduced credit card balance transfer fees. Nowadays these fees are around 3% of the balance you want to transfer; transfer 1000 and you will be charge 30. The fee was introduced because it was estimated that switching cards was costing credit card companies up to 1 billion a year in administration costs and other financial losses. With that kind of money disappearing into the ether credit card companies simply couldn't afford not to do something. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on which side of the fence you're on) this didn't seem to stop anyone.

Now credit card companies are on the look out for card tarts in a similar way to police scouring the streets for people selling dodgy goods. They expose tarts by examining credit histories. Your credit history is what determines whether you are accepted for credit or not. It is held by a credit reference agency, which then discloses the details to the banks. The credit reference agencies simply compile data on credit use. On your credit file will be all of the cards to which you have applied, have been accepted for and the credit limits given. It also has details of repayments you have made - or failed to make.

And the battle rages on. The introduction of credit card balance transfers was fantastic for consumers. The introduction of fees wasn't so great but you can certainly see why the move was made. Now with the return of the no fee cards, but with the clamp down on who is accepted for the cards, the battle has entered a new phase. It is perhaps time for the rebel forces of the card tarts to evolve too so that the credit card companies don't launch the big ships and pull out completely. Stop being phantom menaces and become the new hope for the future.

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