Overview of Finance Services Offshoring

Summary Offshoring processes in the Banking and Financial Service sector, like most industries, is an accepted and widely adopted way of doing business. In the 1990's the Financial Services sector quickly embraced offshoring in particular in the back and middle office. This early enthusiasm focused on standard, repetitive transactional processes such as credit card processing, and as yet the take up of offshoring more complex processes such as Finance and Accounts has been minimal. Given the current market turmoil what lies ahead for this industry? This article reviews offshoring trends in both the Banking and Financial Services (FS) and Finance and Accounting (F&A) market. I review the overlap of these two markets and establish if there is an unexplored opportunity. Finally, I intend to review how the current turmoil in the financial markets may impact the future of offshoring in the FS market.
Trends in Financial Service offshoring Offshoring within the FS sector can be traced back to some of the early pioneering contracts of the 1990's. Organisations such as UBS and Citigroup were quick to identify and realise the benefits of offshoring. Many FS organisations set-up captive shared service centres in locations such as Mumbai and Chennai for the provision of predominantly their IT and transactional back office functions. Other organisations such as Credit Suisse opted to join forces with a third party supplier, rather than going it alone.

Diagram One: Outsourced processes in FS sector

Interestingly the FS outsourcing market profile has not changed significantly. In 2008 the FS offshore market still strongly reflects its heritage with IT and back office areas still equating for over 80% of the market.

The back office transactional work includes processes such as mortgage, credit card and loans processing and retail banking.

Offshoring is still popular confirmed by a recent report by FS Outsourcing who state that in 2007 the FS outsourcing market was valued at close to £25.2 billion. They also estimate the FS market to grow at approximately 25-30% per year, which is phenomenal. Indeed there is an argument that, given the current economic climate and turmoil, the estimated growth of this market may be underestimated and that many FS organisations will look to further utilise offshoring to achieve necessary efficiencies and cost savings to survive in these challenging times.

Trends in F&A offshoring The F&A market is a multi-billion pound industry and can also be tracked back to the 1990's with early deals such as BP with Accenture and IBM. Offshoring F&A typically starts with basic transactional processes such as accounts payable or travel and expenses. These are usually the first processes to be handed to a service provider, often under trial. Like the FS market, the F&A market place is experiencing significant growth. FAO states that in the last 5 years this sector has seen 40% growth with 107 contracts signed in 2007. As highlighted above this growth is despite its poor take-up from FS companies.

The F&A market, shows no signs of slowing down with many wide-scope F&A deals being signed including well known names such as BBC with Xansa (now Steria), Thomas Cook with Accenture and Centrica with WNS. The F&A market has providers servicing a broad range of industries, from travel to utilities and manufacturing to drinks companies, many of whom have special, individual and unique, requirements and regulations.

Diagram Two: F&A process complexity pyramid

This sector's growth can be split in two parts. Firstly, more organisations are realising the benefits of offshoring basic, repetitive, rules based and transactional processes. Secondly, this market is evolving. Many companies have gained more confidence in their offshoring providers, some of whom have worked together for over a decade. They are now exploring offshoring more complex processes.

Diagram two shows typical F&A processes plotted against complexity. Organisations typically start offshoring from the base. The current trend is that organisations are now offshoring more processes and are moving up the value pyramid to include processes that are increasingly complex and judgemental.

The cross-over It is clear from the sections above that both the FS and F&A markets are buoyant and experiencing significant growth in their own right, but there is limited overlap. As stated above FS outsourcing reported that of the £25 billion FS market just 2% is represented by F&A.

Our research shows that, of the banks and FS companies that have outsourced any F&A processes, most remain in the bottom third of the complexity pyramid above. National Australia Bank has outsourced their accounts payable to Accenture and Lloyds TSB have a contract with Steria for the provision of their accounts payable, employee expenses and fixed asset accounting.

This focus on just the transactional work is years behind other industries. There are only a handful of FS organisations who have taken it a step further and offshored processes higher up the complexity pyramid.

Morgan Stanley and HSBC are two examples of organisations actively utilising offshoring and who have pushed the boundaries into the middle tier of the complexity pyramid. They both operate their own captive shared service centres which provide F&A services, including statutory accounts and risk reporting, and HSBC's also includes tax and financial analysis. Examples of FS organisations who have offshored middle tier operations working with third parties are less widely reported. In 2005, Finodis was established. This is a joint venture between Fortis Commercial Finance (FCF) and Electronic Data Systems (EDS). The joint venture provides invoicing, payments and management reporting.

Our research could find only a few, predominantly US, examples of FS organisations who have offshored higher end (top tier of the complexity pyramid) processes including financial analysis, planning and treasury. Interestingly in most cases they used a third party provider rather than setting up operations independently.

Given the success, at many levels, of outsourcing F&A in so many other industries why is there such a limited appetite to offshore these processes, in particularly in the UK FS market?

Offshore providers can offer many references of clients who have successfully off shored similar F&A processes, for example the well publicised success of BP. The original contract signed 15 years ago was worth $20 million a year this was so successful that their outsourced contracts are now worth £1.5 billion. Yet few FS clients have been convinced. So why are FS organisations not offshoring? Do they have valid reservations?

Why not F&A? A possible reason the FS sector lags behind in F&A offshoring is that management have had other important competing priorities. Management of FS organisations have been dealing with constant change over the last few years and have had to address other major issues such as IFRS, USGAAP changes, Sarbanes Oxley, Basel II, MiFiD and other regulatory changes.

Additionally whilst recently working on a recent UK bank engagement the following issues were also cited as barriers: • Operational Risk • Compliance Risk • Reputational Risk

Operational Risk The safety and 'lock-down' functionality of technology, systems and data were cited as reasons for blocking offshoring. There was concern that remote offices are less secure. This location issue has however not stopped the banks detailed above so clearly this is not insurmountable. Fraud was also a concern and it was felt the increased remote nature and use of third parties extenuated the risk.

Compliance Risk The FS industry is fiercely regulated. There is increasing pressure for the sector to be more transparent and able to provide regulators and investors with meaningful investment information. A very important point is that Chief Finance Officers and relevant account executives are personally responsible for compliance. They cannot delegate their responsibility so there is often concern about offshoring. Executives want to guard this work closely so they can ensure compliance and control. It should be noted however that compliance and regulation is an issue being faced and overcome by many industries. Compliance with rules, regulations and standards can and are being written into contracts. This reduces the loss of control and, some would argue, introduces contractual boundaries often stricter than internal governance. Other organizations have taken more innovative steps. Credit Suisse made the decision to co-manage their offshored location. They put their management 'on the ground' working alongside their third party provider. This relationship and contract is a success. Compliance risk can be minimized but if the appetite for offshoring is not there then this risk could prevent it from happening.

Reputational Risk The reputational risk if something fails could be detrimental' was cited as a major issue for FS organisations. This risk is interesting as if something fails then it could be detrimental to an organisation, but this is not necessarily increased because a third party supplier is involved. As per the point above if the appetite doesn't exist within an organisation then this issue will become a show-stopper.

The issues and hurdles faced by FS clients are complex but every industry has specific nuances and processes and regulations that are unique to them. The FS sector's F&A processes are not so complex or unique that they cannot be offshored, as demonstrated by those who have already done it.

The road ahead For the last decade the FS sector has been very successful but at the current time you cannot open a newspaper or turn on the TV and fail to hear about the worsening financial state of the economy. The credit crunch and daily press coverage of the government bailing out the banks is causing major economic, financial and reputational damage. The years of strong growth are behind us. Life in the city is tough and going to get more so. In recent years success has meant banks have not had to focus on their cost base. However this is going to change and become a key priority. Over the next 12-24 months FS organisations will have conflicting pressures. There will no doubt be more regulatory changes (as a result of recent events) which will need to be implemented but these will need to be dealt with whilst also addressing cost pressures. CFO's are going to be facing increasing cost and resource pressures and are going to have to make tough decisions. For those organisations who have not already done so offshoring is a possible option to overcome both the cost and resourcing challenges. Offshoring will be utilised not just to get the competitive edge as the likes of HSBC and Morgan Stanley did, but to ensure these organisations just stay in the game. The current economic turmoil will increasingly focus attention to parts of the FS organisation where cost savings and efficiencies can be achieved. F&A offshoring is an established market with proven track record so is a sensible starting place. The current economic situation will result in boundaries being pushed and changes that were 'nice to have' becoming a necessity.

Know the Facts: Buy a Home with Bad Credit Mortgages

It may seem incredibly impossible, but any person can actually buy a home with bad credit mortgages. It is true enough that a person with bad credit standing can have a difficult time applying for any type of loan: personal, car and home loans.
Sometimes, the only available option is to go for sub-prime lending while you repair your credit history. Repairing your credit history is a slow and cumbersome process â€" there are no miracle steps here â€" but that does not mean that you cannot buy a home when you need one. At the very least, you can apply for a bad credit mortgage and see what your next options are.

There are some things to consider though. You have to remember that although bad credit mortgages are readily available, there are some lending companies that can actually do your credit standing more harm than good. Sub-prime lending as a rule offer higher interest rates because of the so-called higher risk market, and if you are not particularly careful with the loaning agreement you have signed up for, you just may find yourself paying for more than you bargained for.

Be especially wary of hidden costs and those miscellaneous or incidental expenses because they can really jack up the interest of your loan. Of course, when you find yourself getting into a loaning agreement that you cannot afford, you will find yourself sinking lower and lower when it comes to your credit standing.

Your first logical step is to make sure that you do qualify for bad credit mortgages. Do not assume for one moment that the only option you have is this kind of mortgage because you have a bad credit standing. It might surprise you to note that there are some people with such standing who can still qualify for A-paper or prime mortgages.

Take note of your credit standing score and check with your local brokers and lending companies. It certainly will not hurt to ask… Besides, prime mortgages are far easier to pay off. However, one of our initial recommendations for this matter is to stay clear of banks and their respective loaning officers. This is a veritable waste of time, and no matter how much you ask for bit of leniency in loaning policies, you will always be met with a resounding N-O! It would be best to focus your energy elsewhere.

Your second step should be to actually find someone to work with you and your home mortgage needs. Yes, you need to find yourself a mortgage broker, preferably an experienced one at that â€" not a virtual broker, mind you. Although this may seem such a hassle especially with online applications pervading our times, a mortgage broker can advise you on so many levels when you want to buy a home with bad credit mortgage. An experienced broker may even find you deals which you did not even know existed. If you do have a mortgage broker on your payroll, try asking him about private investors who may want to lend you mortgage money regardless of credit score, standing and history. There are still lots of private individuals who are willing to invest on another individual, so ask away.

There are however, some limitations to availing the services of a mortgage broker. One: most brokers ask for retainer fees. Two: the deal you get on your bad credit mortgage is really dependent on the capability and efficiency of your broker. Certainly, you can do the research on your own by simply checking out your options in the World Wide Web. You can do this for free, at your own convenience, using your own sleuthing skills. It should be noted though that caution should be taken when you do research your mortgage options on your own. Some websites require you to fill up site applications for free processing. Some online applications are tightly monitored by lending companies, and in extreme cases, you may even be crippling your own credit score by giving inaccurate details of your credit history and current standing.

The real deal here is that anyone can buy a home with bad credit mortgages. You just need to know where to look and who to ask help from. It is true that not many lending companies or private individuals offer such lending agreement, but the truth is, you only ever need one lending company to believe in you and the rest should be smooth-sailing.

Where To Find Poor Credit Personal Loans

Poor credit personal loans can be found virtually anywhere financial services are found today. Many of the larger financial institutions will more than likely turn someone with poor credit away due to the risk of default. Smaller lenders welcome those with less than ideal credit to help draw in more customers.

You will also find lenders today have information and applications available to the borrower right over the Internet. This is a very convenient and time saving method of applying that makes borrowing easier for all parties involved.

One would simply fill out the online application and wait for someone to get back to them with an answer. No matter what time of day or night you apply, most lenders will send you a conformational e-mail to let you know that your application is being processed.

Should you be accepted for a loan online, the rest of the process would generally be done over the Internet as well. This will include any funds that will be transferred into your bank account and in some cases even your repayments.

When it comes to poor credit personal loans, lenders really do not have an issue taking a chance on you given your prior credit history. You will be required to offer a form of collateral against the cost of the loan to secure it. This is achieved by offering your home or a piece of land against the loan.

When you use your home as collateral you do not automatically lose possession of the property. What happens is that you will still retain possession of the property and the lender will hold the title or deed to the property until the loan is paid off.

Methods Of Payment

The amount of money you will be required to repay each month will depend on how much you borrow and term time you have chosen. Your lender will look at the collateral you have to offer as well before approving any loan amount and offering terms. How you will repay will also be up to you and the lender you choose. You may be required to use electronic debit for your repayments, or you could simply need to send in a check or money order.

Different lenders have different options, so it is important to ask each lender what their preferred repayment method is. This will allow you to know what to expect from your lender.

It is also smart to find out what the terms are on repayment before you take on any loan. You must be sure that if you are repaying the loan via electronic funds that the money is available every month. If it is not you will be responsible for all the fees and penalties from both the lender and the bank.

For those who choose to mail in their monthly repayments for poor credit personal loans, it is best to find out when your check must be there to not be considered late. Some lenders may only require that the check be mailed on the due date, where others expect you to send payment early to be sure it arrives on or before your scheduled date.

Credit & Credit Report. What is Credit and why do you need credit?

Credit & Credit Report. What is Credit and why do you need credit?
Summary: Webster dictionary defines credit as: "Reputation of trustworthiness; Influence derived from the good opinion or confidence of others..." In other words, credit is the amount of financialinfluence a person possess.
Article: Wherever you live in this crazy world of genocide, suicide, murder, rape, or other crimes of human against human, or adults against children,... when every religion claims and repeats to enforce the same ideology that "we are all brothers and sister", credit is the "ideology"/concept of living a better life. It does not mean that credit or money will bring happiness but it provides us a better lifestyle. With credit, you can buy a better car than an embarrassing clunker we may drive. It allows us to have roof over family's heads, gives us opportunity to own better furnishings, and so much more. The concept of credit is practically saturated in our lifestyles to the extent that we cannot draw a distinguishing line.

Have you ever heard your parents or grandparents tell you, "we used to go to the grocery store down that street, picked up whatever we needed and if we didn't have money to pay right then, we would ask the store owner or manager to add the items to our bill and next time we come in, we'll pay the bill..." It was a trustworthy relationship (as described in the credit definition-above) people had a few decades ago. However, that type of trust seems to be a thing of the past. Now, we live in a bigger, more crowded, and distrusting world. Most to all of those mom and pop stores have been closed, become major corporations or that the employees' and managements' "ideologies" have changed. It is also because some of us have abused the "Trustworthiness afforded to us by others." Although some utility companies may still apply some concept of the old school credit and trust us; however, they still request a cash deposit or ask to see our credit report in advance of connecting our services, which takes us to the next paragraph.

What is a Credit Report? As a result of the changes in our lifestyles, distrust and other issues discussed in the paragraph above, for profit companies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) have been established to obtain, process and hold our history of trustworthiness ("credit history"). These companies, which are called credit reporting agencies or "credit bureaus", have been receiving our credit history, accumulating, holding and processing them into an organized, readable format (called credit report) for others who are willing to lend us money (Creditor). Therefore a credit report is a collection of your payment history for loans and credit cards of over the past several years. As a result, whenever you want to purchase something using Other People's Money (OPM), the one who wants to lend you money or extend credit in some fashion, would want to pull-obtain/retrieve your credit report.

Note: Since we mentioned "several years", lets make this phrase clear. a. If you opened an account and the account is still open, then it will be reported on your credit report (also called "credit file") from the date the account was opened... now read b. b. When an account closes, it still remains and reported on your credit report for yet another seven years. c. Now if the account was in good standing and closed that way, there will be a note/comment on your credit report (on the last line of the history for this account) that will say, "account closed at consumer's request." However, if the account was in default (you missed payments and the creditor was forced to close the account) then, it will state, "account closed by credit grantor." d. If the account has a balance and was not paid at the time it was closed, then depending on the type of account, it will report serious negative on your credit report such as "Collection," "Charge-off," "Repossession," "Foreclosures," or some other adverse wordings (depending on the type of account you were holding. (For more in depth information, please read the book called, "Your Credit = Your Life, Fix It Now!" e. Whichever type of accounts you may have (whether good or bad), it will NOT be reported for more than sever years on your credit report, UNLESS, you file bankruptcy and include some accounts in your bankruptcy petition; therefore those accounts will be reported longer (based upon the type of bankruptcy filed).

Why credit repair is important? First let's make something clear. Although a lot of credit repair companies want to mislead you by making you to believe creditors and credit bureaus are horrible devils from "hell", the truth is that mistakes can be made by all parties. The same way that we may make a mistake and forget to pay a bill on-time (once or twice), the creditors may report inaccurate information by mistake. There is no law broken. However, the law is breached when a creditor or a credit bureau does NOT want to fix the mistake, argue with you or abuse their discretion. As stated in the last paragraph of "What are Credit Bureau's Responsibilities?", a bureau is responsible to report accurate information and any evidence of inaccuracy must be resolved in favor of consumers. This includes when a creditor or a collection agency does not reply to the bureau's request for correct information. See the book mentioned above.

The way the credit system works is similar to the court system. You are presumed innocent until proven guilty. However, in the court system a person that is charged with a crime, is arrested, taken to jail, finger printed, booked, a bond is set (in most cases), then released on bond until a later date when through a series of court hearing the person is proven innocent or guilty. Although most credit repair companies want to make you believe that the credit system works in the reverse order, this is not true and do NOT be deceived. As I stated above, mistakes can take place by both (your creditor and or the credit bureaus). It is your job to look at your reports, find the inconsistencies and contact the bureaus or the creditors to resolve the issues. Discussed in the resource mentioned.

Sine the inconsistencies can take place accidentally or inadvertently, no one can be blamed UNLESS you notify the party who made the mistake and no corrections are made. Some credit repair companies use scare tactics concerning credit bureaus to get your business.

Financial Planning & Money Management -- Does Your Retirement Plan Take Into Consideration "who You Are?"

One of the biggest challenges we all face is planning for retirement. The future is impossible to predict, and the further away we are from retirement the more difficult it is to determine what our financial needs may be when the time comes. A comfortable retirement depends on knowing how much money you'll need -- but knowing how much you need also depends on knowing who you are. "One size" does not fit all.
Are you a big spender? ...If you expect to enjoy your retirement by traveling a lot, for example, then you'll need a pretty sizable nest egg. Or, if you want to move to a more expensive location so you can be near the golf course, by the lake, or at the seashore, you'll need more money for that, too. It goes without saying: the bigger your retirement dream, the bigger the bank account you'll need.

Are you a workaholic? ...While it may be an attractive thought, the idea of not working for the rest of your life may actually make you miserable. Retiring at a later age or maintaining some kind of part time work in retirement may be better for you.

When did you start saving for retirement, and how much are you saving for it every year? Obviously, the sooner you can start saving the better... It is always wise to start saving and investing for retirement as early as possible and to allocate as much money for it as you can along with saving for your other, more immediate needs. This is especially true in today's world of dwindling pension plans and faltering Social Security & Medicare programs. Maximizing contributions to qualified retirement plans during your working years that offer tax-deferred growth, such as 401k plans and IRAs which can provide a variety of investment choices and diversification, is essential to maximizing long term growth of your retirement savings... But what kind of investor are you? What types of investments suit your personal tolerance for risk? Typically, the greater the potential return on an investment, the higher the risk. The lower the potential return, the lower the risk. The younger you are, the more risk you may be able to take. But the older you get, the less risk you may be willing to take. Your choice of investments depends on your answers to these kinds of personal questions. You'll want to be able to sleep at night while you let your money work for you, both before and after retirement.

If you are the kind of person who likes to live for today as if there's no tomorrow, then your current spending habits may require you to save a lot more the older you get. On the other hand, if your personality is such that you tend to save money wherever or whenever you can, you're more likely to have saved what you need at an earlier age.

Whatever the case may be, no financial advisor or consultant can tell you who you are. No one knows you better than you know yourself. Planning for retirement is as much of an art as it is a science. The "science" is about financial awareness, knowledge and discipline. The "art" is about personal awareness and how you apply your financial knowledge and discipline.

Business Marketing , Marketing Ideas and Marketing Strategy

Business Marketing
Business marketing is expensive. Despite adequate funding, even large national businesses often find it difficult to develop successful marketing campaigns. And, with an increasing number of businesses marketing through every imaginable communication avenue, it is becoming increasingly hard to attract the attention of consumers.

For successful business marketing, you need to develop a proper business marketing plan, and then gauge its performance for your business growth. There are many things that your business marketing plan needs to address and these points may include some of the following:

What are your business marketing goals?

This actually delineates what are you looking for. What goals you have set for your business and what are you looking to achieve through your marketing plans?

Deciding business marketing system. Every growing business should address the need of Internet or online marketing. Apart from the conventional advertisement systems in newspapers, magazines, online marketing tools should be incorporated in the business marketing plan, which may include: search engine optimization, e-mail marketing, banner ads, etc.

At the end, we can say that business marketing has grown wide and wild with the added horizons of Internet and online business, and a business owner should be proactive enough to handle the situation steadily and should incorporate all possible techniques for better business marketing plans and strategies.

However, there are non-marketing approaches to business marketing. They generally require less money to implement and are often more effective. The only catch is that they require time and creativity to develop. Here are some examples:

Database Business Marketing

Whether you're a partner in a consulting firm, a house painter, or president of an international conglomerate, database marketing is crucial for your success.

Database marketing can be simple or sophisticated. The key is that instead of just having a mailing list of prospective customers or a single list of current customers, you can use a computer to evaluate and manage the information more precisely.

For example, you may want to send a reminder mailing to every customer once a year; a monthly mailing to more active customers; and even place a phone call from time to time to your very best customers.

Business Fax Marketing

Broadcast fax marketing is a great way to reach a large target audience. If you have a generic fax to send to many locations at a specific time, you can set many fax machines and most computer fax programs to dial multiple numbers. If your customers rely on you for updates and product changes, then broadcast faxing is a terrific way to communicate that information.

Business Marketing With Coupons

You don't have to distribute coupons in print advertising or in big direct mail campaigns. You can hand them out on the street corner, at trade shows, or just about anyplace else. You can send a few to your best customers, or you can include "next purchase" coupons in customer orders.

Busines Marketing With Counter Displays

Counter displays are sometimes called prepacks when the display also serves double duty as a counter item. Merchants generally use counter displays for low-priced items that a consumer might decide to purchase on impulse while they are waiting for sales assistance or standing at the cash register. Small novelty items are ideal for counter displays.

There are almost as many opinions and views on marketing as there are companies to market. The big names and multinationals will have an extraordinary amount of funding set aside in which to convey their marketing message to the masses.

Once you are getting the returns that you want from the first media, or if you decide that it is not working for you, you can branch out into another form of busines marketing. Over time you will build up a very diverse marketing plan.

Moreover, business marketing is a process that involves researching, informing and persuading customers in taking hold of products and services in an effort to increase sales as well as to increase the sharing or the transfer of ideas between the business and its customers. Although the process of business marketing may take a great amount of time nevertheless a well planned business marketing solution will result to a more stable influx of sales revenue most especially when customers' trust in your company is built. All future marketing endeavors will promise sweet success.

Money Management Tips

Good money management skills are indispensable for a happy life. Such skills don't only affect the financial aspect of your life. They could also affect your ability to make sound decisions in your relationships and emotional health. Because money management can have such a tremendous impact on your life, you have to hone your skills in it. Here are a few tips for wise money management that, when followed, will help improve the quality of your life through better financial control, increased savings, and better decision-making when it comes to spending.
1. Keep track of where your money is going.

It is very important that you know where exactly your money is going. Paying attention to how you are spending your money is a major step in managing your finances. It would be helpful if you write down all your expenditures for a certain period of time, say weekly or monthly. Once you have done this, you can evaluate your record and try to curtail all of your unnecessary expenses.

2.Spend your money wisely on things of lasting and/or appreciating value.

Most people spend their money on expensive things that have no lasting value, such as clothes, gadgets, and cars. They purchase these things at the expense of those that really matter like property, education, and insurance, among others. In other words, invest your money in things that would be useful to you in the long run.

3. Make a budget suited for you and make sure you stick to it.

Design a budget according to your income and expenditures. Make sure that a certain amount of your income goes to savings and reducing your debt. Analyze your budget and check what expenditures you can cut down on. Once you have a budget, make sure you follow it so that you would be able to avoid overspending, gain greater financial control, and eliminate stress.

4. Make sure to set aside some money.

Using your budget as a reference, determine how much money you can save. We are able to reserve some money for our rent, phone bills, and other obligations so it wouldn't be that hard to treat savings as another form of obligation to ourselves. By having extra money kept in the bank, you'll be sure to have something to use when an emergency arises, say, when all of a sudden you find yourself finding it hard to keep up with your credit card payments.

5. Go for debt consolidation if you think it will help you.

You may resort to debt consolidation. This involves merging all of your balances into one loan at a lower interest rate at an extended period. Doing so will help you in the short-run since your monthly expenditure will be reduced to an amount that you can handle given the limit of your income. However, you must consider that debt consolidation will keep you indebted for a longer time, thus stretching your interest payments and will result in a bigger overall amount that you have to pay.

Bad Credit Mortgages no Problem

Bad Credit Mortgages no Problem.
With Simply Mortgages bad credit mortgages and adverse credit mortgages. If you have a poor credit rating, have been issued a CCJ, have defaulted on payments or have claimed bankruptcy or voluntary insolvency, finding the best poor credit mortgages to suit your needs can be difficult.

Simply Mortgages Bad Credit Mortgages shortens the process of finding cheap poor credit mortgages by having sourced the best UK bad credit mortgage lenders and making these available to you.

Gone are the days of repeating your details time after time over the phone or typing details into many different websites. With Simply Mortgages its quick and easy to find the best product and it will take only minutes. If you don't find the cheapest CCJ Mortgage then simply we have not done our Job.

With access to a wide range of products that cover all circumstances we have the capability to find something to match your individual requirements. So relax and let us do the legwork to help you find the solution to your mortgage needs. We will also now pay your standard Legal Valuation Fees.

This is against difficult US and European stock markets that seem to be entering a Volatile time, and this is set to continue for the short to medium term. The question is how will this impact on the UK Mortgage market. The full implications are not yet known but here at simply mortgages principles remain the same that we are here to help in getting you the best Self Certification Mortgage, bad credit mortgage, CCJ Mortgage or just simply Fast Home Loan advice.

If you are looking for UK Mortgage Advice then Simply Mortgage should be the first point of contact. We have trained advisors that are looking to help you arrange that First Time Buyer Mortgage . First time buyers suffer twice normally they have little or poor credit ratings and to a arrange a mortgage product can be difficult. This is again where simply mortgages can help again in finding you the correct product in this volatile time. I can not answer if know is the best time to buy, that decision is to you.

Bad Credit Loans: Opportunity To Fulfill Needs In Spite Of Credit Problems

How many times have you feel dejected because of your Bad Credit Loans record? Your loan application gets rejected because of it, for which you cannot avail any external financial help. Without any available finances your financial standing is in shambles. Taking this in to account, lenders are now offering finances which in turn assist individuals like you to strengthen the financial condition.
These loans are specially designed for borrowers who are having problems like CCJs, IVA, arrears, defaults, non repayment etc against their name. The amount raised through these loans can be utilized for a number of purposes like meeting wedding expenses, holidays, purchasing a vehicle, financing business or paying of all the existing debts to improve the credit score.

To lend a distinct edge over other loans, these loans are offered in secured and unsecured form. The secured form of these loans can be obtained only by placing any valuable asset such as home, real estate as collateral against the loan amount. The loan amount approved is mainly dependent on the equity value of collateral which implies that higher equity will get the borrower a bigger amount. The interest rates and the repayment period are very convenient which makes it easy for the borrower to repay the borrowed amount.

On the other hand, unsecured form of these loans does not require any collateral as such. Tenants and non home owners are major beneficiaries as they have nothing to offer as collateral. Homeowners who do not want to attach any property fearing repossession can also apply. This loan option offers smaller amount for a small repayment period. However the interest rates will be comparatively higher. A proper research of the market may lead to lender offering these loans at competitive rates.

By making regular installments towards the borrowed amount, borrower gets a chance to improve the credit score. With an improved credit borrower can avail future loans at fairly competitive rates.

These loans can be sourced from various lenders based in the physical market as well as lenders from the online market. For better rates and quick approval borrower can use the online mode. Further, borrower should repay the borrowed amount other wise it may create more problems.

Good Credit - Bad Credit

Good credit is a precious commodity. It takes us years of purchasing, borrowing, and paying timely to perfect the art of good credit. And once you have it, you should not want to do anything to cast a negative light on it.
Good credit could be characterized by a person having opened revolving twelve month credit to pay for their first mattress, and later financing their first washer and dryer through a store credit card, and a few years later having dealer-financed their first new vehicle on a five year note. Let's not forget the ten year repayment student loan that helped jumpstart this individual's career.

Throughout the years, this individual made periodic credit card charges for incidental items and for longer term payment items using more than one credit card. This individual, M. Goody, has paid all of his past and present credit responsibilities on time. Over the years, his credit limits have progressively increased. Also, he has retained a respectable number of credit cards and dollar amounts of outstanding credit and loan balances.

As time grows on, M. Goody is ready to purchase a home. His credit history now becomes an indicator of his likeness to repay the home loan and even calculates into his home affordability. The chosen loan company looks at M. Goody's credit report as well as his credit score. Having a score of 730 out of 850 is not bad. It is well within the very good range. Therefore, M. Goody can expect to receive the best interest rates available for his home loan. The exact amount he can afford to borrow for a home include additional criteria and is yet another story.

While M. Goody now has an opportunity to weigh the terms and cost of a loan with this home loan creditor, he should be aware not to solicit more than a couple of home loan creditors to inquire on his credit report. For every such inquiry reduces your overall credit score. And you want to retain the highest score possible.

What did we learn about M. Goody? Over the years, he built up the number of creditors, paid on time, and increased his credit limits. Having a respectable number of creditors shows he can properly manage the credit entrusted to him. Also, retaining older credit lengthens his credit history. Paying his credit on time shows he is trust worthy to lend money to. It also shows that he is actively managing his monthly bills. Increasing his credit over time allows M. Goody to show responsible use of higher dollar limits. It also shows a lender he is worthy for larger loans, specifically that he may be worthy of their financing his very first home.

Bad credit is easy to come by. All you have to do is get access to one or more credit cards, not pay on time, spend more than the minimum payments you can afford on a monthly basis, purchase a car you can't afford, and/or file bankruptcy.

There are millions of people in the U.S. who have done just what has been described above. Unfortunately, they have either not taken their credit seriously or have succumb to an unfortunate monetary event. In any event, credit is the basis of many criteria which dictates your borrowing power and certain coverage: from car loans, to home loans, to revolving credit, to car insurance rates. If you are one of the unfortunate, it is time to do sometime about it. There are ways to build and improve your credit.

Item 1. Start by organizing your bills. List your expenses. Remember you have household expenses such as food, toiletries, gas, etc. These need to be included along with your credit obligations. Set a budget amount to pay each expense. You'll want to pay off your outstanding credit balances as quickly as possible. This may take years but there's no time like the present to start. Pay at least some amount on all outstanding credit (if you can't pay at least the minimum, the creditor would rather have some amount than zero. See item 3 for more details). Focus higher amounts on credit cards with the highest interest rates first. Getting higher interest cards paid off first will free up more money to pay off other debts much faster.

Item 2. Do not attempt to get new credit, close any accounts that have a zero balance, and have your creditor reduce your credit limit where not needed. Attempts at new credit may inadvertently appear that you plan to continue bad spending habits. This will not help with credit negotiations. Closing any zero balances and reducing credit limits shows you will not attempt to unwisely use your available credit. It is wise, though, to keep at least one favorable (in good standing) credit card in case the creditors in negative standing decide to close your accounts at some point.

Item 3. Contact your creditors and negotiate a payment plan that is fair to you and equable to them. In every case it would be preferable to pay the minimums on all credit obligations. If you find this is not possible, do not hesitate to ask your creditor to reduce your interest rate and your minimum payment to improve your ability to repay the loan timely.

Item 4. If possible set up automatic bill payment from your checking account to pay some of your credit cards. This will improve your ability to pay your bills timely and should help establish a better standing with your creditor.

Item 5. Any extra cash that befall you, bonuses and cash gifts, use it to pay down on the higher interest rate credit cards. It is good practice to pay off as much as you can as soon as you can.

Item 6. Work diligently to clean up your credit report. You should start this effort as early as possible. It can take lots of work to clean up this act. Your credit report may contain erroneous and misleading information. Identify accounts that should be closed and ones that contain incorrectly recorded information.

Contact the three credit bureaus to get the information rectified. If the creditor does not properly rectify the issue within the specified timeframe, have the three credit bureaus remove the negative information. As you work through the inaccuracies, you should be left with only the credit that needs to be cosmetically repaired and/or paid off.

Paying on time and paying as much as possible, requesting the creditor to assign more favorable "pays as agreed" terminology to your account for any listed as "late," lowering your credit limits where necessary, reducing the number of active credit cards, and actively staying on top of your credit not behind it, over time will help increase your credit score and get you back on track.

It should be noted that filing for bankruptcy and having collections or tax liens reported against your credit report is the least optimal "bad credit" situation you can be in. The steps above can start you on your road to recovery but will not remove the wounds that will be inflicted. Bankruptcy can appear on your credit report up to ten years, where as tax liens and collections stay on for seven. That's quite a number of years to wait before you get back on your feet. Regardless, it's worth your while to repair the damage and as soon as you are ready to rebuild your credit, find a credit-building vehicle that will jumpstart you on your way.

Find a credit card that allows you to charge products and services, with no credit check, you're approved regardless of credit history, and has credit limits up to $10,000. Many of these credit cards have no annual fee. Get started moving your credit in the right direction. And remember pay on time and don't over-extend yourself.

Favorable Tip:It is a good idea to acquire your credit report periodically, at least once per year. Under Federal law, you are entitled to one free report per year from each of the three credit bureaus. Access your free credit report online or contact each of the three credit bureaus directly: Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union.

Top 10 Sales Tips to Start a Sales Career

1) ALWAYS top-down sell. I can't say how many time's I've observed someone loosing more revenue simply because they didn't ask for the max subscription or term of their product/service. You'll find not all customers are concerned about prices since they can use what they spend with you as a tax break on their business.
2) Start the pitch with a larger value products and if we can't close the big sale, follow up with a smaller product.

3) Get into the habit of not using the word 'hundred' when giving a customer a price. Hundred has a 'large amount' connotation to it. Rather than saying 'one hundred and nineteen dollars and 50 cents.'

Use: It's ONLY one-nineteen fifty for the year.' And follow up with features, functions and benefits of multi-year/unit purchasing.

4) Set your sights and expectations high! Imagine yourself where you want to be at the end of the day and that's where you be!

5) ALWAYS break down price to the smallest metrics. Example: Describe a product as $9.96/month initially, rather than whatever the yearly rate would calculate out to.

6) Handling resistance is the key to successful sales. ALWAYS handle resistance on multiple terms and initial sales pitches. If everyone always took NO for an answer then no one would be meeting their goals. You'd be surprised how many customers change their minds after they here the benefits of a product.

7) A sale is happening on every call. Either a customer is selling you on a reason not to buy, or you're selling them on the reasons why they should be buying.

8) Stay away from words/terms such as MORE, EXPENSIVE or COST when relaying the price of a product to the customer. Always precede a price by the word ONLY, even if it's a price like $4,454.90.

9) Using a customer's name throughout a sales pitch can help build rapport and create a more positive experience. Although it may seem simple, you'd be surprised how it can change the tone of a conversion. EXAMPLE: 'Jim, do you know how much are you paying for this service with [company name]

10) Every customer has dynamic needs so we must make our pitches dynamic. Stay away from 'canned' or repetitious pitches. Imagine what your needs are in your everyday life. Let's say you play guitar and you just pick up a brand new one. You think it's the best guitar you've ever played and you tell your friends about how great it is. You're not trying to sell it to them, but the conversion itself is fluid and pushes the features, functions and benefits of the guitar. They in turn may end up buying it if the time comes.

Remember, you have to act like your not selling anything to the customer, but recommending to the client. You are simply there to help them find the right solution. Nobody is going to buy anything, they are simply going to reflect on the recommendation they received. Always remember, sales is not the word. recommending is. Your goal is making them believe your helping them, not pressuring them. But don't be to passive. Some aggression is needed to succeed.

How To Improve Credit Score The Easy Way

With the plethora of consumers in debt these days, many are scrambling to find easy, quick ways how to improve credit score. Credit scores are very important in building a strong credit history that will vouch for you when you want to purchase a house, get a job, or rent a car just to name a few. If you want to clean up your credit score, it’s important to adhere to the following tips to get your credit score back on track. Remember, having credit is a responsibility that you will pay back the money you’ve charged, and if you don’t you can find yourself in serious debt.

First and foremost, it’s important to annually review your credit reports from each of the three major reporting agencies. This will allow you to catch and correct any mistakes you find regarding your credit score. It’s very important that you do this early, especially if you’re planning on applying for a loan because changes can take up to three months or more to finally be corrected. Secondly, you’ll want to ensure that you are consistently paying your bills on time, every time; in full if you can manage. These tips are essential to how to improve credit score.

You may wonder how to improve credit score if you have outstanding balances on your credit cards. Well, it’s always best to reduce your balances as quickly as possible in order to clean up your credit score and bring your balance to 25% or less of your total credit limit. These tips are absolutely imperative to follow if you want to improve your credit score. After following these tips for awhile, eventually you’ll be debt free and look more trustworthy when businesses or individuals view your credit score. Take the time to clean up your scores now for a debt free life later.

Should you get an Amercian Express Credit Card?

Having a visa card is almost indispensable in today’s day and age. Why, since I obtained my American Express credit card, I have been able to partake of a wide variety of goods and services, and that is no joke. Without that America express credit card, I was unable to join the local gym, to order t-shirts off of the Internet, to reserve a plane ticket online – and that is just a few of the basics. It seemed like only a few years ago that cash was the preferred way to purchase things, but those days are now long gone now. All across the country and the world, people are using their Visa, Mastercard card, or American Express credit card to make purchases with money that they do not have for goods which they may not need. Although American Express credit cards are a really convenient way to make a purchase – get it now and worry about it tomorrow – it does come at a heavy cost. Credit card debt is mounting everywhere.

It is true that credit debt is one of the biggest problems that is facing America today, and it is no laughing matter. That is one of the main reasons why I had to cancel my American Express credit card in the first place. Once I had the power to purchase items without parting with my money immediately, I was almost unstoppable spending machine. I would charge everything and anything on my American Express credit card, and soon the costs would spiral out of control. I was dealing with a debt that I could not possibly pay for, and I was literally in a state of panic. I actually had to go through a debt refinancing service to get my credit card debt into some form of a manageable form where I could hope to pay it. The whole situation was a nightmare.

Now, thank goodness, I have gotten my debt paid off and canceled my American Express credit card. A lot of people would think that it is incorrect to blame it on the American Express credit card, but I think that they do not understand something about human psychology. When I had to pay with everything in cash, I would know just what I had at any given time. But like I said before, the American Express credit card made everything way too easy. I could spend money like water, and before I knew it, it was all gone. No American Express credit card, no problem.

Maximum Return On Your Credit Cards

There has been an explosion of credit cards that specialize in certain benefits over the last five years; reward points, cash back, 0% transfers, credit monitoring, discount gasoline, money-market savings, etc. So how do you get the most return from your card, particularly when their plans change?

(Presuming you never, ever carry a credit card balance – interest charges and potential fees will more than consume any side benefit that a card can offer.)

In the old days, the big benefit was airline miles. Let’s see how well that works out. The average airfare for a ticket that was paid for with credit card airline miles is about $400. And the average program requires 25,000 to 35,000 miles to be credited a free ticket. Since miles are normally accrued dollar-for-dollar, the average benefit is between 1 to 1.5% of what you spend. More reference material for this article is available at http://investing.real-solution-center.com.

Now we are starting to have something to compare. If you get an offer for a 1% cash back credit card, you’d be slightly better off getting the airline miles. But in my opinion, the many cards offering up to 5% cash back are the best deal, as long the fine print lines up. First, there are normally limitations on the shops where the 5% applies. You want a card that applies the 5% to where you spend the most of your monthly income. The credit card industry calls these ‘everyday purchases’, such as groceries, drug stores, and gasoline, but exclude warehouse clubs. You should get a card with the widest number of retailers where you commonly spend money. Or, get a specific-store card for those large one-time purchases. For example, if you are buying new kitchen appliances from Sears, apply and use their card for the purchase and you normally get 10% off. You can cancel it later when it has a zero balance.

The next 5% cash back problem is an annual limit. Citi Dividend credit card limits your annual earning to only $300. If you have some big purchases, you may have spent $5,000 on your credit card in the first month, and you’ve hit your cash back limit already. So guess what, you are going to stop using that card and start using a different 5% cash back card until you’ve used up that limit as well. Use them up and move on. American Express currently has a card called Blue Cash for bigger spenders. It offers only 1% cash back until you spend $6,500, and then it pays 5% cash back until you’ve spent $50,000. But there aren’t nearly as many AmEx merchants as Visa/Mastercard merchants. (Again, AmEx and others may have exclusions like purchases at warehouse clubs). You can compare dozens of credit cards from directory websites like www.allstarcreditcards.com.


Getting the most from your card is like going into battle: you can have a great plan in the beginning, but once cardholders start exploiting loopholes and creating unintended consequences, the card companies change their policies, it goes back and forth continually. So read all the fine print before applying, and squeeze some extra money from your credit card purchases this year.

Five Steps to Planning a Successful Business Exit

A business owner’s exit is a once-in-a-lifetime transformation. We’re not talking about selling a house or a car. This is a complex process that requires the technical expertise of a team of trusted advisors. The key to any successful business exit is planning. It must begin with personal reflection on the part of the owner regarding what he or she wants out of the business exit. Only then can the owner, along with his advisors, design an appropriate exit strategy. The five (5) planning steps outlined in this article are designed to help business owners define their personal goals, understand all the transfer options and work with an advisory team to execute a successful business exit plan.

Step 1: Define the Personal Goals of the Owner

Since personal goals intertwine so closely with the daily existence of a private business owner, it only makes sense to begin with the basic albeit crucial question, “What do I want to accomplish with my business exit?” The answer seems obvious--make the most money after taxes and fees. Often, however, it isn’t this simple. Owners have nourished and raised their businesses from infancy; they typically care a lot about who will take the reigns. Family members might also be involved in the business. Their fate will also be dependent upon what the business owner ultimately decides.

Aside from money, other motives for a business exit can include “transfers to family”, “transfers to employees”, “transfers to co-owners”, “partial transfers to gain some liquidity today but still run the company’s day-to-day business”, or “an initial public offering”. The decision often comes down to a question of liquidity. A substantial source of liquidity outside the business makes for a much easier choice.

However, more often than not an owner’s wealth is tied up in the business. The owner must therefore balance his financial and interpersonal goals in order to find the best possible exit strategy. Therefore, an assessment of the range of values for the business is the crucial next step.

Step 2: Understand that a Range of Values Exist for the Business

The value of a privately-held business depends largely upon who buys it. It’s not as simple as watching the ticker tape for today’s stock price. The type of buyer can impact both the price placed on the shares (or assets) of the business and the tax consequences to the selling owner. Value (net transfer price) is therefore a “range concept”.

“Internal” transfers to employees, family, and co-owners provide fewer dollars up front, but allow for greater “control” of the business, “continued income”, and flexible timing and tax characterization of payments to the exiting business owner. By contrast, “External” transfers to other industry players, financial groups, or by initial public offering command more liquidity “up front” while the owner relinquishes more control over the Company and the timing and tax characterization of payments. A closer examination of the transfer options can help an exiting business owner determine the right balance of money and control over the future of the business.

Step 3: Examine the Options Available for the Transfer of Shares

There are seven (7) primary purchasers of privately-held business stock (or assets). Below are listed the Parties to the Transaction and Types of Transactions Available (samples; not a complete list)

Internal Parties:




Employees - Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)

Charity - Charitable Remainder Trust

Family - Gifting Program

Co-owners - Leveraged Buyout

External Parties:

Financial Groups - Recapitalization

Industry Buyers - Acquisition (at Synergy Value)

Initial Public Offerings - IPO (at Public Market Value)



Based on the primary goals defined in step one (1), an exiting business owner chooses the “party” to whom the business will be transferred. That designee, once chosen, will determine the limits or expansion of the Value. At the end of this phase, the process comes full circle as the Value (after taxes and fees) is matched against the owner’s goals. If the two meet as one, congratulations! A successful business exit strategy has been devised. Now it’s time to execute.

Step 4: Provide Full Financial Disclosure to the Buyer

This step isn’t going to be easy on the business owner. Assembling financial records and presenting them to a buyer/successor is a very time consuming, very personal survey of how the business is run. It can be huge psychological block for many exiting owners. Remember, any savvy buyer (or successor) to a business will need to understand the financial condition of the Company. When an owner fesses up to any “creative accounting” they may have employed over the years to help build wealth and reduce tax bills, the process goes smoother. Full disclosure is the best path to a seamless process. There is an old saying - “if the truth will kill a deal, then there is no deal”.

Not only that, but it may reward the owner in the end. Full disclosure is not about passing judgment, but instead affords the buyer (or successor) an opportunity to assess the business’s true profit potential. The astute exiting business owner will recognize this in advance. Why? Because most “creative accounting” practices depress the profitability of a business. Clear those away and the Buyer will recognize a higher earning power and in turn a higher Value for the Company.

Step 5: Assembling the Advisory Team – No One Should Go It Alone

Planning and executing a successful business exit strategy is a complex process that requires the technical expertise of a team of trusted advisors. It’s not the time to take short cuts or pinch pennies. Time and money should be invested in assembling the right team of advisors; a successful business exit is more than worth it. It should be viewed as an investment in success.

We must understand that business owners are independent “self-starters”. If they weren’t, their businesses wouldn’t be so successful and we wouldn’t be talking to them. But some of their strengths and characteristics can lead many business owners to attempt the “do-it-yourself” business exit strategy. This can create an unnecessary drain of time and money on both the business owner and their business.

A business owner’s exit is a once-in-a-lifetime transformation. It is an important milestone that is sure to provide any business owner with one of the most challenging yet satisfying sense of accomplishments.

So remember, planning is the key to any successful business exit because a proactive approach to an Exit Strategy is the only approach to a successful Exit Strategy. If you’ve come to the end of this discussion, you’re already ahead of the game.

© John M. Leonetti

The Cost of Forex Trading

The forex trade is going to be the buzzword for the future and it holds enormous opportunities for the investors in the forex trade. In the earlier days of the forex market the requirement of the capital for the investment was quite big most of the times running into millions of dollars. The size of the investment kept the common investor out of the forex market for quite long. After the internet boom forex market also went through lot of changes and the requirement of the minimum investment to participate in the forex trade dropped considerably, making it a feasible area for the small investors. At present the scenario is as such that, if you want to work at home with a great earning potential you should seriously think about learning the ins and outs of forex trading, one of the most profitable activities anyone can enter into due to its generous characteristics that set it apart from other capital markets at the present time.

Forex markets are very active markets in nature which are open 24-hrs a day except the weekends. It’s a global market so you can trade from any where in the world round the clock and you will always find profitable trades that will make your earnings grow in a stable manner. You have the US market then the European and then the Asian forex markets. Each one of them appears on the forex trade zone one after another. One of the great times to trade is during the over lapping periods. The USA and European forex markets overlap between 5am and 9am EST and the European and Asian forex markets between 11pm and 1am EST. The overlap periods are usually the busiest and best time to trade in the forex market. After the opening up of the forex market for the small investors you can open a forex trading account with a forex broker for as low as $300.

In order to be successful in forex trading you need to learn the tricks of the trade. Forex trading is a very complicated and speculative market and for better understanding you need to have a good knowledge of how markets behave and what influences this behavior to be able to use it in your favor to earn handsomely. The worst thing you can do is to enter the world of forex trading without proper knowledge and this can cost you a lot of money in bad trades. In the worst case scenario you could lose what’s in you account. But you would have to do something really stupid for that also. To help you out from the difficult scenarios lots and lots of expert advice is available on the net. To prepare you to cope up with the actual trading scenario many sites are there on the net that provide you with the demo or the free practice account. By using these accounts you can really prepare yourself to earn some profits in the real forex markets.

There are many factors that contribute to the price fluctuation in the currencies and if you are vigilant enough you would be able to sail over the problem period quite nicely and would be able to log in a nice amount of profit. The forex trade is getting popular among the small investors due to the requirement of very small capital and barring the risk factors of the market, the ability of the forex market to provide ample scope of earning sizeable profit by the investors. There is no need to be afraid of the forex market, only thing required is the proper knowledge about the forex market.

Credit Card Games for Children

Present-day children are much different from the children we once were. They have different values and ideals and play different games. They are growing up in the times of cell phones and Internet, reality shows and computers. Most of them learn how to use a computer before they learn how to read. They are good at using all kinds of devices and equipment and they play high tech games. They also enjoy playing business games.

Money games have long been popular among children as well as adults. You can hardly find an American who hasn’t played monopoly. This board game is extremely interesting. It first appeared on the market in 1935. Since that time it has been upgraded several times. Today it is a number one financial game.

By playing monopoly children learn how to plan and manage their finances. They are real businessman and woman, purchasing goods, real estate and factories. And all the purchases have usually been made with fake dollars. But the latest edition of Monopoly has a unique feature. Now you can use plastic instead of cash! No doubt this was truly a brilliant idea. Who can believe in a businessman or woman without a credit card?

And this is not the only example of credit cards entering a child’s world. Little girls can help their cute little Barbie to make a purchase with her tiny credit card. Of course, these young ladies do not learn anything about credit card fees, rates and credit limits. Who can set a limit to a child’s imagination? With a pink credit card in her hand Barbie buys cute outfits, nice cars and even houses.

Children need to learn how to manage their money. Games is the way children prepare for their adult life. It is the responsibility of their parents to guide them. Fake credit cards can be used for starting your kids’ credit card education. Of course, a 6-year-old will not understand what a balance transfer is but it is not a bad idea to explain the child that nothing comes for free and even if he or she buys something with a credit card the time will come to pay for it.

Parents should especially pay attention to teenagers. They are old enough to understand the basics of credit card management. This idea is fully understood by Bank of America. Together with Hello Kitty brand it issues special credit cards for kids. Parents apply for the card and teach children how to use plastic. Another card for children is Visa Buxx Card. Parents can put money on the accounts and monitor how children spend it. Right now a new credit card ‘for boys’ is being developed.

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