Understanding Your Finances Can Give You Power And Choice

What is finance and what do you need to know? Finance can mean different things. It may refer to your personal financial situation. It could refer to your investments or a business's investments. It could refer to a credit or loan purchase.

Financing can be involved in your life in different ways. For example, if you are going to invest in a large purchase such as a house or even a car. Large furniture purchases and credit cards all fall into these categories. Interest rates are the most integral part of financing. Why else would a company want to loan you money or offer you credit? How else would they benefit? They benefit from the interest that you have to pay in on financing your loan. There are different types of financing options available.

The percentage rate is the amount of interest that you pay. The percentage rate is the certain portion of your loan or credit that you pay back in interest. For example, if your loan was for $40,000 and your interest rate was 12.3% then you would pay 12.3% of $40,000 in interest. The interest would be added onto your $40,000 and you would pay it back via your monthly payments.

Fixed rate: A fixed rate means your interest rate will stay the same no matter what. People usually prefer these. If you can get a low fixed rate, it will stay with you even if other average interest rates are going up. Balloon rate: A balloon rate can fluctuate with the times and the stock market but depending on the situation, this can be beneficial to you as well. You will have to decide which you think is best for you.

There are different types of financing options as we mentioned earlier. Probably the most common example of finance in the United States is credit cards. A credit card allows you to make purchases with the card. The bank issuing the card will pay on your behalf and you then pay the bank back, plus the interest. The bank makes money off the interest and you get what you want right away.

The same thing applies to pay-as-you-go or rental furniture companies. There are even rent-to-own housing services now where your monthly rent can go towards buying the house if you want to stay. Financing should be a way to help you achieve something that you're going to be purchasing anyway. Financing can get you in your house quicker than saving up the cash. Become knowledgable and financing can be a tool that will serve you well.

The author has found that most people have little or no knowledge about financial matters. She believes this is not a "bad" thing. It's just that they haven't been taught about money. The "good" new is that financial knowledge is a learnable skill, just like learning to ride a bike. She enjoys sharing and teaching people how to have a harmonious relationship with money and their finances. Kathleen Sutera is passionate about finance and is the webmaster of Finance How

---

Retirement Income Needs---Less Than You Think?

It is widely written that you need 75% of your... Read More

Planning Your Financial Future

Millions of people give a lot of thought to financial... Read More

A Quck Lesson in Saving Money

Did you have a piggy bank when you were a... Read More

How To Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft

Identity theft is a serious crime that continues to grow.... Read More

I Want to Buy a Home - Now What?

If you were to ask 100 women "What would you... Read More

Developing a budget? Watch out for Those Budget-Bursting Gremlins

If you've developed a household budget to get your spending... Read More

Strategies for Success

Holy Shenanigans! More STUFF?Loosing one's business due to lack of... Read More

What is a Traditional IRA?

With a traditional Investment Retirement Account (IRA) you pay taxes... Read More

Healthy Eating On A Budget

It is possible to eat a healthy, balanced diet without... Read More

Photo Checks ? A Great Alternative in Checking

It's the little things in life that make it interesting.... Read More

Ways to Save Energy and Slash Electricity Bills

1. Lighting & Light Bulbs Install low energy light... Read More

How To Free-Up 10% to 15% of Your Income

Would you be interested in freeing up 10% to 15%... Read More

Save Money on Gas

Gas prices have soared to unimaginable heights of late. Since... Read More

Creating A Household Budget

Creating a budget can be a very difficult task. Although... Read More

Financing Collectibles for Fun and Profit

With the advent of the internet and especially auction services... Read More

Chex Systems ? Why Every American Needs To Guard His Checking Account With His Life

Most Americans have been brought up to be concerned about... Read More

How to Balance Your Checkbook ? Get a Calculator and Pencil and You are Ready To Go!

Despite how easy it is to balance a checkbook, very... Read More

Are You Ready To Be Fired?

Your boss has just informed you that your department is... Read More

Expenses A ? What Are They And What Can We Do About Them

It is crucial as an individual who is striving for... Read More

If I Had a Structured Settlement, I Would Use It to Pay for Gas

Has anyone been to the gas pumps lately? Soon $3... Read More

Kundalini Lessons - Money

I've been going through and interesting growth period lately that... Read More

How to Draw a Personal Budget that Works

Many people spend their little income haphazardly without any planning... Read More

Reduce College Debt with Scholarships

Six Scholarship judges were sitting around an oval table. Forms... Read More

The Changing Shape of Family Finances

Super-mumsIt seems that the proof of maternal efforts is no... Read More

The Joys of Address Labels

Address labels are many things to many different people. If... Read More

How to Save Money in a Grocery Store

Now there are ways to save money in the grocery... Read More

Succession Planning

Have you ever thought about what you are going to... Read More

Why You Should Seek Professional Help With Asset Management

Everyone needs to maintain their lives. What I mean by... Read More

Resources to Help You Learn About and Protect Yourself from Identity Theft

There is a new bill that is being passes, it... Read More

Budgeting Made Easy

Well, dang! From what I've heard and read, it looks... Read More

What?s New in Checking ? From Designs to Photos

Just about everyone has a checking account. Checks present easy... Read More

10 Money-Saving Tips

1. If you have your haircut every 3 weeks, try... Read More

Tips To Save Money At The Supermarket

Are you interested in saving money off your grocery bills?... Read More