Sunday, March 8, 2009

Selling Your Structured Settlement To Start A Business

Structured settlement payments are popular financial tool arranged after a court judgment on a personal injury tort claim. This tool replaced the old way of paying lump sum which is very inconvenient for the paying party's part. These structured settlements come in a form of annuities setup for years in the future. One of the reasons behind the structured settlement payments' existence is the expectation that the injured individual cannot obtain any fixed income through a regular employment or any other manner. Conversely, this is not always the reality. Actually, most injured individuals can recover and are able to return to their respective work without the additional help from a structured settlement payment to cove the medical expenses or some sort of disruption or loss of income from unemployment. Without the needed help to augment income every month, there is the major drive to rather sell the structured settlement than wait. It might not be recommended to sell your future payments as it spells comfort for many years to come but it is certainly a good option to sell it for a valid use of the big amount. This leads us to the main point of this article. Selling the structured settlement is a good way to raise money for a business start up. If you have a great investment opportunity in mind you have been planning for in the past, this moment is simply a great way to start an even better way to bigger returns in the future and that is through a business. Let us take an example to illustrate our point further. The lawsuit you won granted you a structured settlement payment deal for a comfortable 8 years. If you need a $25,000 capital as an initial cost to begin your business, you can plan to sell only your last 5 years of future settlement payments. In the next 3 years, you will still be receiving monthly payments as part of your income. Why? This is because it is recommended to keep a security net that you can fall back on when the business venture fails. By keeping a part of your settlement income, you have enough funds to still support your family while the business is not yet self-sufficient especially in the first three years. In the first 3 years of your business, you will be able to support your family regardless of what happens to your business. This will also provide a good amount of time and room to let your business be established

By : Paul Easton

Study How The Structured Settlement Protection Act Can Help You

Are you at present being paid a structured settlement payment? Maybe you are considering selling them? Before taking the plunge in selling them for immediate cash, here is just a bit of information that you should be knowledgeable of before finally deciding to sell. Do your own homework. Research extensively on the companies you are considering selling to before seeing them. It is always imperative that you only deal with a legitimate company. Then internet is one good source of information. There are various types of structured settlement payments that can be sold, namely: court ordered payments for an injury due to disability, life insurance payments, and even lottery payments. Regardless of the type you sell, you will be protected whenever an unnecessary incident happens. For example, if the payer of the annuity or payments filed for bankruptcy, you will not likely be affected if this happens after the sale. Upon selling your structured settlement payments, they actually become the property of the buyer of the settlement. Thus, if the payer defaults on the payments, it will be the responsibility of the new owner, which is your buyer. For more details on how we, the public, are protected with these seemingly complicated financial transactions, let's discuss a bit of the Structured Settlement Protection Act. This article will likely positively affect your financial planning in the near future. The Act regarding the structured settlement is a form of legislation to protect the general public's interests. The Structured Settlement Protection Act defined many safeguards for those individuals who are recipient of structured settlement payouts including the sale of it. The right to one's structured settlement payments is personal. Considering the fact that this is receivable money in the future and the option to sell it is one's discretion, the terms of the settlement payments purchase can be taken advantage by the investors who are mostly experts in the financial sector already. The terms of the sale process including the contracts involved may work only in their favor, not yours. To ensure you, as just an average person without any thorough knowledge of the structured settlement deals, are protected, many states right now have requirements to grant you the authority to sell. You will be required to complete an application and other papers before the court. Likewise, you will be obliged to notify all the parties involved in the settlement. It is also mandated in the Act that you should seek professional advice regarding the transaction. The Act ensures that you receive competent and independent counsel about the possible positive and negative consequences of selling your payments in your specific situation. The Act now makes certain that you are protected with your best interests with the selling of your structured payments. However, check with your local attorney as some states don't have the implementing guidelines or the counterpart state law yet. Nevertheless, your legal counsel will have some remedy regarding the matter


By : Paul Easton

The Student Credit Card Game

When you go to college the first day you find many opportunities to sign up for a student credit card. Most young people are wide eyed and very naïve when it comes to credit cards. That is why many of the credit card companies are able to take advantage by issuing the student a credit card that has high interest rate, monthly fees and an annual membership fee. It is wise to know what you want in a credit card and expect to get it. The agents are eager to get you and possibly your parent to sign on the bottom line explaining how important it is for you to have the ability to get those things that you might need. The truth is that they make a hearty commission if they are able to sell you a high end credit card.You should not take the credit card because they are being pushy or trying to get you to take the card now. They might not be coming back but that does not mean you cannot get a card. You can go online after you're settled into your room and find a much better deal. You should try to get a credit card that offers you 0% interest for the first year, no annual fees and at least thirty days grace period in case you need it. You don't want to find that you are paying more out for credit than you are for the items you need.Instead of getting taking advantage by the mainstream companies, there are some things that you can do in order to find the card that fits your wallet the right way and here's how you do it:Look at the card inside and out - The first thing you want to do is research the card. You're going to want to look at how it's going to benefit you and what you're going to get out of it. Does it look like something you can take advantage of every time you make a purchase?Look at the fees - Every card has some sort of fees but you want to make sure you're looking at annual fees as well since this generally the highest fee that you're going to pay regardless of the card. If the card has an annual fee, you're going to have to pay that no matter what. This is why it's important that you look for a card without a fee and I'm sure you can find it.Look for the major logo - When you do apply for a card, make sure you find a card that has a major logo. This way you'll know if it'll be accepted at all the stores nationwide. If you find yourself getting a card without a major logo, you may find it won't be accepted and it may not build your credit as well.It's always best to do your research first before you apply at a booth because I guarantee you that you'll be able to find a card that suits your needs.

By : Tom Tessin

The Issue Of Hidden Credit Card Costs And You

It cannot be denied that credit cards are a part of life and surival. We use it in buying groceries, clothing, paying utilities, purchasing airline tickets, making hotel reservations, etc. But many consumers who own credit cards fall in the trap of bad debt and financial trouble. Why? According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a lot of credit card holders do not realize that occasional misses or delays with their credit card payments can cost them extra bucks on interest rate and penalty charges. In a study conducted by the GAO, it has been found that leading swipe cards in the market use confusing terminologies in their Terms and Conditions. Included in this study are Citibank, Discover, Chase Bank USA, Bank of America, MBNA America, and Capital One Bank. Misleading Credit Card Conditions Credit card companies are required by the law to disclose all fees in their card agreement. However, some statements may be vague or misleading. Add to this, the Terms & Conditions are often written in very fine print making them difficult to read. But if you won't spend time reviewing your contract, you could end up with a card that imposes unreasonable rates. If some terminologies or phrases are unclear, don't hesitate to call the credit company and ask for a detailed explanation. As a consumer, it is your right to understand everything associated with your credit card. Using a Credit Card to Your Advantage Aside from misleading conditions, it has been found that many credit issuers today impose unreasonable rates and fees. If you take a look at cards in the market, most use the variable rate system of calculation. As a result, many cardholders have found themselves stuck in bad credit and the number is expected to increase in the coming years. As a consumer, it is your duty to research for a credit card that would serve you best. Don't just rely on what the ads tell you. Use your senses. Research. Investigate. Inquire. Compare. Only by doing these steps can you find a credit card with reasonable terms. Finally, upon finding the right credit, it is important to keep your lifestyle simple and think ten times before you use your credit card. Owning such card should be taken as a serious and wise responsibility. Failing to keep up with your responsibilities as a card holder could lead to debt, financial trouble and depression.

By : Liz Roberts