Bluevine Loans Review for 2019

Bluevine Loans is a popular online lender offering three types of financing to small businesses: lines of credit, term loans and invoice factoring. The qualifying criteria for each product varies, but you can generally find more relaxed credit and business standards at Bluevine compared to other providers.

is best-known for fast funding times and brief repayment terms, which could help your business stay afloat with a quick cash infusion. Broadly speaking, that makes Bluevine a better option for short-term needs than long-term business goals. Business owners with good credit and other strong credentials may qualify for better terms with other lenders.

Submitting a Bluevine application won’t impact your credit score. If you accept your loan offer, you can take advantage of fixed rates and no origination fees.

Bluevine Loans at a Glance

• Lines of credit go up to $250,000 with rates as low as 4.8%. Bluevine draws funds directly through your online dashboard and deposits them into your bank account within hours.
• Term loans also go up to $250,000 with payments automatically withdrawn from your account every week. Repayment terms last either six or 12 months.
• Invoice factoring lines go as high as $5 million. Rates start at 0.25% each week and your credit limit can increase as your customer base grows.

The Specs

Loan Amount	$5,000 – $5 million
Best For	Small businesses who need quick financing with flexible credit requirements.
Not For	Small businesses with excellent credit seeking long-term financing options.
Types of Financing Available	Line of Credit Term Loan Invoice Factoring
Loan Terms	6 or 12 months
How Payments Work	Weekly payments deducted automatically from your business bank account
Approval Time	5 minutes
Funding Time/strong>	12 – 24 hours
Funds Delivered	$2 billion+
In Business Since	2013
Better Business Bureau Rating	A+

The Claim

promises minimal qualifications to get approved for small business financing, even for for business owners with bad credit. They also advertise fast approval in five minutes or less and funding within hours. With three different financing structures available, Bluevine lets small business owners take advantage of time-sensitive opportunities or weather unexpected struggles.

Is Bluevine Legit?

Yes, and it’s a good option for certain businesses with certain needs. A hard credit check isn’t pulled when you apply — in fact, Bluevine only performs credit checks for sole proprietors and general partnerships. Even then, this step only occurs after you’ve received an offer and accepted your financing terms.

For lines of credit, business owners need a minimum personal credit score of 600 in order to qualify. Invoice factoring requires a credit score of 530 or higher. Additionally, your company must be at least six months old with $100,000 or more in annual revenue. Bluevine also considers your business cash flow and the strength of your customers when evaluating your financing application.

Once your application is approved, you can opt for a bank wire transfer to receive your funds in just a few hours. This expedited service costs $15. For a free alternative, choose the ACH transfer. While you won’t have to shell out any extra cash, the ACH transfer is a bit slower, anywhere between one and three business days.

Even though Bluevine’s financing options come with the potential for fast funding, some of the variables are either out of your hands or require an extra cost. It’s smart to go in with realistic expectations so you don’t end up disappointed with the actual speed of business.

Our Deep Dive

• Bluevine’s financing options are not unsecured. Instead, your loan, line of credit or invoice factoring is secured by a general lien on your business. You must also provide a personal guarantee, although personal assets are not used as collateral.
• There are no penalties or termination fees for paying off your financing early.
• To apply, you must provide your business address, tax ID, business owner’s personal information and either a read-only connection to your company’s bank account or your three most recent bank statements.
• Bluevine products are not available to certain restricted industries, including those related to gambling, political campaigns, firearms, nonprofits and auto dealerships.

Lines of Credit

• No fees are added to your account for prepayment, account closure or monthly maintenance.
• You can repay your drawn funds over a period of either six months or 12 months. Payments are made on a weekly basis.
• Your available credit replenishes as you repay your balance.

Term Loans

• Payments are deducted from your bank account weekly, so it’s important to make sure you have enough money to cover the fixed payment amount.
• When your term loan is paid down to 50%, you may be eligible to apply for additional funding.
• The advertised 4.8% rate is a simple rate calculated over a 26-week period, not an annual percentage rate. Make sure you’re comparing similar terms for different loan products.

Invoice Factoring

• Invoice factoring allows you to borrow against invoices owed by your customers while you wait for them to pay.
• It’s a good alternative if your business doesn’t qualify for a line of credit.
• Invoice factoring with Bluevine does not involve a long-term contract. You can cancel your agreement at anytime without any penalty.
• Factoring rates are advertised as low as 0.25% but also have the current LIBOR rate added to the base.
• You can opt to either sync invoices from your business software or manually input them into your online Bluevine dashboard.
• Receive between 85% and 90% of your invoice amount up front. Once your customer pays, you’ll receive the remaining money with Bluevine’s fees deducted first.

Cost Rundown

The cost of a service depends on which type of financing you choose. None of its products come with an origination fee, so you don’t have to worry about upfront costs or money deducted from your financed amount. Here’s a rundown of each Bluevine product so you can compare your options.

Line of Credit

With no origination fee, you won’t end up paying anything until you actually start drawing funds from your line of credit. Your first draw must be a minimum of $5,000 and can be as high as your available credit. For additional draws, your minimum withdrawal is just $500.

Interest is charged on the amount withdrawn at an APR between 15% and 78%. Your fixed payments are either weekly or monthly over a period of six or 12 months. The line of credit’s balance automatically replenishes as you repay the borrowed funds.

Term Loan

A Bluevine term loan features an APR ranging between 15% and 88%. Payments are fixed and paid on a weekly basis so you know exactly what to expect. Like the line of credit, Bluevine’s term loan is repaid either over six months or 12 months. Your business account is auto-debited until your payment period finishes. You can also repay the loan early without facing any prepayment penalties.

Invoice Factoring

You’ll receive advances on your customer invoices between 85% and 90% of the full amount. Bluevine then charges weekly interest at an APR between 15% and 68%. Once your customer pays the invoice, the total interest is deducted from the remaining balance and you receive whatever is left.

The sooner your customers pay, the less money you’ll owe on the advance. The downside is that if a customer doesn’t pay the invoice at all, you’re still responsible for the amount you borrowed and the interest. If this happens, you can either self-pay directly or enroll in an installment payment plan.

Cheaper (or Free!) Alternatives

Bluevine is a direct online lender. To compare it with your other options, consider applying with a loan broker representing several lenders or to multiple lenders to make sure you pick the most agreeable financing for your business. Be aware of how credit checks are handled with each one to avoid excessive hard pulls on your credit report.

Another financing alternative is to use a business credit card if you’re in a cash crunch. Bluevine is designed for small business owners with limited credit scores or quick financing needs. Keeping a credit card on hand can take care of temporary cash flow issues without the hassle of applying for online financing or taking on above-average interest rates.

The Competition

Online business financing is becoming increasingly prevalent in this digital world. Here are some top competitors in the business loan industry.

• : Provides lines of credit and term loans to small businesses. Borrow loan funds up to $500,000 with an APR between 9.99% and 99%. Get up to $100,000 with a line of credit and 13.99% to 63% APR.
• : Offers businesses a line of credit up to $250,000. Term lengths are more flexible with terms lasting six, 12 or 18 months. The revenue minimum to qualify is just $50,000 annually. APRs range between 24% and 99%.
• Fundbox: Business owners can choose between a line of credit and invoice financing with the ability to borrow anywhere between $1,000 and $100,000. You also don’t have to provide a personal guarantee or any physical assets as collateral.
• StreetShares: Choose between secured and unsecured loans or a line of credit. You can receive same-day approval up to $250,000 with APRs from 8% to 39.9%. The credit minimum is a low 550 and the required revenue is just $25,000 annually.

What Others are Saying

• Bluevine averages 4.5 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot.
• On the positive side, one customer wrote, “Bluevine had approved my company for a LOC or loan. I chose the LOC. We finalized the paperwork and logged in to Bluevine’s super user-friendly site to complete the transfer and track my activity. I had funds showing the next day in my bank and usable the following day.”
• Another verified user noted, “I found them to be very high pressure and high interest presented in a deceptive fashion. They are ok for brief, short-term funding but their draw fees and interest rates are excessive.”
• Bluevine has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

The Bottom Line

offers a range of products to help small businesses get quick financing. With the potential to get approved even with below-average credit, you may also end up paying excessive interest rates. Compare your options and only take on additional debt when it makes strong financial sense for your business. Also be sure to fully realize your responsibility for the loan, including the details of the required lien and personal guarantee.

Editorial Note: Compensation does not influence our rankings and recommendations. However, we may earn a commission on sales from the companies featured in this post. To view a list of partners, click here. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by our advertisers. Reasonable efforts are made to present accurate info, however all information is presented without warranty. Consult our advertiser's page for terms & conditions.

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Five Reasons to Get the Walmart Credit Card

Information about these card have been collected independently by The Simple Dollar. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy.

Walmart is one of the largest and most frequently used retailers in the US.

Walmart currently offers two credit card options to its shoppers: the Walmart® Credit Card and Walmart® Mastercard. The main difference between the two is that one can only be used at Walmart, while the other can be used to make purchases anywhere. The good news for you is the benefits of each card are virtually identical.

Here’s what to expect when you apply for a Walmart® Credit Card or Walmart® Mastercard.

Walmart® Credit Card and Walmart® Mastercard

• Get a $25 credit at Walmart stores or Walmart.com when you get approved for either card and spend $75 within the same day of account opening
• Get 3% back on Walmart.com and Walmart Grocery Pickup purchases
• Save 2% on gas purchased from Murphy USA and Walmart gas stations
• Receive an additional 1% back on all other purchases
• No annual fee
• Free FICO® score check each month
• Online account management available through Synchrony Bank

Five Reasons to Like the Walmart Credit Card

Shoppers who apply for a Walmart credit card may be initially attracted to the 3.2.1 Save Rewards program, which grants varying amounts of cash back on certain types of purchases.

Here five other big reasons to like these cards:

#1: You get 3 percent off Walmart.com purchases.

The main selling point of both the Walmart® Credit Card and Walmart® Mastercard is that they offer 3 percent cash back on Walmart.com purchases. For the average family of four, that’s an average savings of over $100 per year.

The only caveat is that in-store purchases don’t qualify. So, if you use your card at a physical Walmart store, you’ll get the standard 1 percent cash back, as you would with a purchase at any other store.

#2: Rewards can be earned on Grocery Pickup.

Walmart’s Grocery Pickup service allows customers to order and pay for their groceries online and pick them up in-store, and the 3% cash back offer works on these purchases.

#3: There’s no annual fee.

Neither card carries an annual fee. So you won’t have to make any calculations to decide if the benefits are worth the cost.

#4: Free FICO® Score reporting.

US federal law allows you to get a free FICO credit report once every 12 months. With a Walmart credit card, you’ll get the same reporting monthly via your electronic statement. This is a fairly standard feature for credit cards nowadays, but still a nice feature to have.

#5: You get $25 off your first purchase when you sign up.

Walmart gives new cardholders a $25 statement credit when they make a purchase of $75 or more on the day that they open a new account. This applies to purchases made either in store or online.

The Bottom Line

With no annual fees to worry about, there’s plenty of value to be had, especially if you’re a regular Walmart.com shopper. But if you prefer to make in-store purchases, keep in mind that some cash back cards may offer better rewards – like the Citi® Double Cash Card, which gives a flat 2% cash back on all purchases.

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Sainsbury’s Bank exits mortgage market as supermarket branch cuts loom

Sainsbury’s Bank exits mortgage market as supermarket branch cuts loom

Sainsbury's is also cutting supermarket and Argos branches as part of a plan to save £500 million

Stephen Little Wed, 09/25/2019 - 14:02

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Sainsbury’s is pulling out of the mortgage market after issuing a warning to investors that profits are set to dip.

The supermarket giant announced today that it will no longer sell mortgages after reporting that profits for the first six months to 21 September will be down £50 million compared to last year.

The company blamed the “combined impacts of the phasing of cost savings, unseasonal weather against a strong comparative period last year and higher marketing costs”.

The news comes after reports that the supermarket giant was looking to offload its mortgage loan book for £1.3 billion.

Regarding the sale of the loan book, a Sainsbury’s spokesperson told Moneywise that the bank was “looking at options”.

Sainsbury’s also announced that it is closing down 50 stores as well as between 60 to 70 Argos branches over the next five years.

It will open 80 new Argos branches in Sainsbury’s stores as well as 10 new supermarkets and 110 convenience stores.

The supermarket says the cuts will save it £500 million over the next five years.

What will happen to your mortgage?

Sainsbury’s says that there will be no changes to for customers as a result of the announcement and they can carry on as normal. New customers who have already applied will have their mortgages honoured.

It is possible that Sainsbury’s Bank customers with a mortgage could be switched to another lender in the future.

If this happens the terms and conditions of your original loan are protected by law and can’t be changed, including your interest rate and repayment period.

If you have a fixed rate mortgage, monthly payments will continue to be the same. With a variable rate mortgage, payments will be subject to change based on the terms of the original loan.

Growing competition

Sainsbury’s has become the latest supermarket to ditch mortgage sales as part of a plan to become more profitable.

Earlier this year, Tesco Bank said it was exiting the UK mortgage market, blaming “challenging” market conditions.

Like other supermarket banks, Sainsbury’s has found it increasingly difficult to compete in the mortgage market.

With growing competition and a subdued housing market, mortgage lenders are seeing their profits squeezed in the battle for customers.

A raft of new challenger banks have also increased competition, while low interest rates have hammered loan margins.

Andrew Montlake, managing director of mortgage broker Coreco, says: “The level of competition in the market is causing a major rethink among lenders for whom mortgages are a bolt-on rather than their core business.

“Just as with Tesco, for Sainsbury’s the margins are no longer there and its mortgage division was almost certainly struggling to wash its own face.

“We don’t expect this to be the last withdrawal from the mortgage market. It’s pretty brutal out there right now and more departures are likely.”

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Money in the Bank Doesn’t Buy Contentment. Stuff Doesn’t Deliver Contentment, Either.

Quite often, I hear from readers who express a great deal of hope that having money in the bank will solve a lot of problems in their life and bring happiness in other spheres of their life, or that buying some particular item will bring them a level of contentment that they don’t currently have.

Here’s the thing: once you reach a level of income that secures your basic needs – basic food, water, clothing, shelter, and hygiene and a small amount of financial flexibility – additional money has almost no connection to a person’s level of contentment with life and overall happiness. It’s virtually nonexistent.

The overall idea that some sort of change will make us happier is a good idea at its core, but there are two key issues with how many people interpret it.

First of all, you can’t make yourself be happy. Happiness isn’t something you can force. The more you chase it, the more elusive it becomes. Rather, you should strive to build a life that you’re contented with. View happiness as the product of a cultivated garden, not a rabbit to be chased. If you cultivate your life for contentment rather than constantly chasing happiness, you’ll find happiness bubbling up naturally throughout your life. I look at contentment as something you tend within yourself, like a garden, and happiness is the harvest from that garden. It’s never a guarantee, and harvest isn’t a constant thing, and different things bring happiness at different times, but it’s like the difference between hunter-gatherer living and the birth of agriculture.

Second, contentment comes almost entirely from within, particularly once your basic needs are met. Contentment comes from a deep understanding that you have a lot of good things in your life and that’s enough for a good life, which is entirely an internal sentiment. You can’t get that feeling from anything outside of yourself. No amount of purchases or trips or experiences can get you there. No amount of money in the bank can get you there, either. Once you’re past a very minimal level of financial stability – and if you’re reading this site, it is extremely likely you’re already there – contentment is almost entirely an internal matter, and money is entirely an external thing.

If you’re discontented without an iPhone, you’ll be discontented with an iPhone.

If you’re discontented before your trip to Italy, you’ll be discontented during your trip to Italy.

If you’re discontented before you get married, you’ll be discontented after you get married.

If you’re discontented before you have a child, you’ll be discontented after you have a child.

If you’re discontented before getting that higher paying job, you’ll be discontented after getting it (provided your current pay covers your basic needs and a little more, of course).

All of those things are external things. They don’t change how you feel inside. Oh, sure, external things can cause a brief burst of happiness, but that feeling fades so incredibly quickly and dumps you right back where you started.

While this obviously addresses the issue of spending to fill a hole in your life (or obsessive saving to do so), how does this perspective really guide personal finance? For me, it provides a strong nudge toward spending less than I earn and being frugal, because buying excessive things doesn’t bring any more happiness or contentment. Rather, money saved at a moderate pace – meaning in a way that doesn’t interfere with the actual important things you want to do – helps to preserve and secure the parts of your life that support contentment. It’s a lot easier to find contentment when the wolves are far at bay.

Ultimately, however, there is no magic recipe that will bring everyone to internal contentment. I wish there was an easy recipe I could just hand to everyone, but I’ve come to realize that it really is a journey that most people are on with no actual end point, just a gradual migration toward a gradually more contented life. I have found, over the last twenty years or so, that the more I feel that each area of my life is pretty good and that I don’t really need anything else to be happy, the more likely I am to actually feel happy on a somewhat consistent basis. I never reach a point where I absolutely feel all areas of my life are great – I don’t know if that’s really possible – but as time goes on, I feel that things are pretty good in most areas of my life and I can’t really ask for more than that, because honestly I have to give up something I have now to gain something I don’t currently have, and what I have right now is pretty good.

I guess that’s my first piece of advice for seeking contentment: understand that when you gain something you don’t currently have, you lose something in exchange; in other words, you simply can’t “have it all.” If I give more time to physical fitness, I might have a more fit and muscular body, but where does that time come from? If I give more of myself to anything – money, time, energy, whatever – that money, time, energy, or other element has to come from somewhere, so when I step forward in one area, I step back from another.

Thus, if you want something in life but there’s nothing you’re willing to give up right now to get it, that means your life is pretty good in terms of what you want out of it. As I said earlier, you can’t have everything – there are always things you lose when you try to gain something, and if you’re not willing to lose anything in your life, then it must be pretty good as it is.

At the same time, any self-improvement journey means that there’s something you don’t have that you want and that you value more than something you currently have. It means your values have shifted a little, and now there’s something you don’t have that you want more than something you currently have.

That’s really what I consider to be the fundamental principle of personal finance. If I decide I want to have more financial security, that means that I value that financial security more than I value my most frivolous current spending, whatever that may be, or that I value financial security more than the time and energy I need to invest to further my career. In simpler terms, if you want to improve your financial state, you need to spend less than you earn.

Again, there’s nothing wrong with what you personally decide is more important to you, as long as you understand there will always be something good that you don’t have, and that’s okay. There is far more good in the world than we can ever stuff into our individual lives, and that’s okay.

You can’t have it all, but as long as you have enough good already in your life that you can’t ever explore all of it, that’s good enough, and chasing more doesn’t help you to feel content or happy and it also takes away opportunities to explore the many good things you already have.

That’s why having more money rarely brings more happiness or contentment. Once you meet a basic level where your needs are met and you have a few good people around you and you can explore a few interests and desires, you’ve got a full life already. Anything more and you’re just swapping largely interchangeable pieces in and out of your life, and often in that process you’re just spending a bunch of money and time without really gaining anything, and that is why a sense of discontentment ends up eating a bunch of money and time without really bringing contentment.

For me, the best tools I’ve found for feeling content with everyday life are reflecting on the good things I have and that I’m grateful for (a gratitude journal is a good example of this), delving into actually doing things I’m interested in rather than just watching others do it or buying things related to it (and making sure I have time for doing so), daily meditation and journaling, and making a concerted effort to make each day my masterpiece. Those things make me realize again and again how many good things I already have in my life and to understand that while there may be other good things out there that I don’t have, that’s okay, because I have so much I care about that I’ll never have time in my life to appreciate and enjoy what I already have, and it’s also okay that other people do have those good things even if I don’t because I already have so much good.

That sense of personal abundance and “enough,” when I’m really feeling it, is probably the best dampener on unnecessary spending that I have. It’s not a constant feeling, but I find that when I’m consistently doing those things I listed above, I feel that way fairly often.

Money won’t buy that feeling, no matter how you use it. The best use I’ve found for money is to make sure you’ve got your basic needs covered along with enough breathing room to explore a few interests, and then the best thing it can do is to keep risks at bay (including the risk of steady employment) and maybe help you reach a few big goals that are tied to lifelong dreams and things you already deeply value.

Good luck in wherever life may take you today.

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Getting Offers for Loans or Credit Line Increases? Here’s When to Say No

We teach kids not to take candy from strangers — maybe adults could learn the same lesson about money from lenders.

If you’re getting offers of money you didn’t ask for — from student loans to home equity lines of credit — it may be tempting to take the money as a short-term fix for other money woes. 

But if you’re relying on money you hope to have to pay off the loan — whether it’s anticipating a six-figure salary at graduation or assuming you and your partner can combine finances to cover the minimum payments — you could be setting yourself up for disaster by accepting money that you don’t necessarily need.

Here’s why you should be wary about accepting (then owing) more than you can afford.

4 Times You Should Say No to Loans and Other Money Offers

Why would lenders offer you money if they didn’t think you were good for it? 

Because it’s in their best interest (ha!) to entice you to accept the most money possible. After all, the more money you take, the more money (and presumably interest) you’ll have to pay back to the lender.

But when you’re looking at an offer, how can you know how much is too much? And are there scenarios when you should accept money you didn’t ask for? 

We’ve come up with four financial situations when it’s better to just say no to money.  

1. Home Equity Loans 

Before you’ve even finished unpacking the boxes in your new home, you’ll start getting those letters in the mail — you know, the ones that shout (because they always shout) that you could use the equity in your home to pay off credit card bills! Go on vacation! Order Uber Eats! (OK, maybe not the last one.) 

And you might think to yourself: I already have the house, and it isn’t going anywhere, so why shouldn’t I take the extra cash to pay for new tires on the car?

But although you may consider your place home sweet home, you should view your house as the commodity it is — not something with a permanent, constant value but one that’s as susceptible to market volatility as stocks. 

“Just because home values have increased and you do have access to the equity in your home, it doesn’t mean it’s real,” said Ariel Ward, Certified Financial Planner at Abacus Wealth Partners. “And just because the access is there to the equity doesn’t mean you should take it.”

The point of a home equity loan — at least in theory — is that it’s supposed to be money you can draw from your home’s value to improve the home and thus increase its value. 

“There are situations where it might make sense — like you are going to add square footage to your home — where you’re actually increasing the value of your home,” Ward said. But she still recommended retaining at least 20% equity in the home, “and if you can keep at least 30% equity, that would be ideal.” 

Just because the access is there to the equity doesn’t mean you should take it.

But if you use money from a home equity loan for anything else, you are potentially setting yourself up for owing more on your house than it’s worth. 

“[If] you used the money to buy things that did not improve the value of your home, and then you need to sell your home because you lost your job or your company is relocating you, you could be putting yourself in a very poor financial situation,” Ward said. 

2. Student Loans

Student loans are designed to cover the cost of college and can be viewed as money that will provide a return on investment through a high-paying career. Simple enough.

Well, not to go all Philosophy 101 on you, but how do you define the “cost of college”? Is it just tuition, fees and books? Or should that number include housing? And transportation? And pizza? 

Those expenses — and the offers of easy cash — can be overwhelming for someone out on their own for the first time, according to Certified Financial Planner Holly Donaldson, founder of Holly Donaldson Financial Planning in St. Petersburg, Florida.

“People often think: I’m getting a loan, it’s going to cover my tuition and my room and board, but in fact what people get approved for would cover many kinds of extra living expenses,” she said.

Unfortunately, those first-time borrowers assume the only way they could be approved for the loans is because the bank knew the student could repay it.

”It’s a common mistake,” Donaldson said. 

With all those offers pouring in, it’s no wonder that consumers with educational debt had an average of 3.7 student loans, according to a 2017 Experian report. 

Unfortunately, the debt can accumulate quickly and might not be so easy to pay off if you didn’t snag that six-figure job offer you were banking on — just ask the people who currently hold $1.48 trillion in outstanding student loans.

Instead of accepting any offers — even Federal Student Loans — students should figure out exactly how much they need to cover the cost of education, then factor in what they might need on top of that before considering student loans for living expenses.

“It would be really good for the student to sit down with their parents and make a budget before they go to school,” Davidson said. “Allow yourself Friday nights or fun times, but just know that it’s all going on the student loan.”

(Psst. We have a Penny Hoarder cheat sheet for budgeting for college.)

And instead of starting with student loans, consider creative ways to pay for college without going into debt —  scholarships, work-study programs and part-time jobs all offer you money that you don’t have to pay back. 

Although these options may not cover every cost, using resources other than student loans to pay for expenses other than tuition reduces the amount of debt you’ll be paying back long after your dorm days.

“You could use your student loans for room and board or transportation to and from school, and that’s where some of the students have told us that things went south,” said Melinda Opperman, executive vice president of Credit.org. “They realize now that they’re going to spend decades to repay it. 

“In hindsight, they wished they had… taken on a part-time job to pay for some of those things and wished they had only used the student loan truly for the tuition and books.”

3. Auto Loans

You walk in the dealership prepared to buy a used Honda Civic, but you walk out with a Brand. New. Audi!

OK, that might be a bit extreme, but auto dealerships typically make more money from finder’s fees for the loans than the car itself, so it’s to their benefit to get you in the best car possible. 

And if you object that the car seems out of your league? Don’t worry, the dealer tells you, they can get the monthly payments down to something you can afford.

What they don’t tell you is that often means you’ll be signing for longer-term car loans — up to 96-month loans (that’s eight years) — to reduce the monthly payments enough to get you to sign. 

And that means you’ll pay so much in interest over the life of your loan that you’ll end up forking over hundreds — or even thousands — more for those wheels. Plus, your car may be worth less than you owe before you send the final payment.

An auto loan preapproval is a financing offer from a lender that includes the maximum loan amount, APR and terms of the loan. It can give you negotiating power when shopping for a car.

One easy way to avoid becoming overwhelmed on the car lot and being talked into a vehicle you cannot afford: getting an auto loan preapproval. 

A preapproved loan alone doesn’t guarantee you won’t still get more money than you should accept, but it gives you the opportunity to figure out your budget, including how much car you can afford and what else the loan may need to cover (title, tax, insurance, for instance). 

By bringing that offer with you into the dealership, you’ll have a clear picture of how much you can afford, then compare that offer to what the dealership offers.

And if you’re still feeling pressured to upgrade?

“Before walking out with a different car than what you had figured out you could afford, pause, take a breath, tell them you’ll come back later and call your financial planner,” Donaldson said with a laugh.

4. Credit Card Limit Increases

Your credit card company calls… with good news! (How often does that happen?) They want to extend your credit line. You puff up your chest just a little bit because, man, you must be doing something right, right?

Maybe. 

The credit card company is potentially rewarding you for good behavior — like paying your bills on time — but it could also have noticed you got a little close to your limit recently. Rather than suggesting you cut back, the company instead gives you more credit.

And regardless of the reason how you qualified for an increase, the credit card company’s ultimate goal is to get you to spend more money on their card so it can make more money off of your account from fees and interest.

So should you increase your credit limit if offered?

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There’s a good reason to take it, but only if you can trust yourself.

It’s not like the company is handing you money that you’ll have to repay, as with loan offers. 

Instead, this increases the amount of money available to you, which could improve your credit utilization ratio — the amount of debt you have compared to the amount of credit you have available. 

A good ratio is typically less than 30%, but if you want to increase your credit score, it’s best to keep that ratio under 10%.

So if you put $700 on a credit card with a $2,000 limit, your credit utilization ratio would be 35%. But if you put $700 on a credit card with a $5,000 limit, your ratio would only be 14%.

If you never accrue enough charges to get near your credit limit, that increase could be a boost for your credit score.

So take the offer, right? 

Well, only if you’re able to look at the increase, then forget about it. But if you see the new limit and think, “It’s time for a vacation… and a shopping spree,” you might want to consider asking the company to take it back.

“You don’t always have to accept the credit limit that they’re willing to give you,” said Certified Financial Planner Lauren Anastasio, a wealth advisor at SoFi, a personal finance advisement company. 

She suggested that if the higher limit makes you nervous, call the credit card company and ask them to lower your credit limit to an amount you feel comfortable that you could pay if you did happen to reach your new threshold.

Remember: You’re in Charge

Regardless of what the offer is, it’s important to remember that lenders are in the business of making money, not helping you. So have a clear picture of finances before making a decision to accept any of their offers.

“You should not be trusting the financial companies and not trusting the banks to determine what is affordable to you,” Donaldson said. “You’ve got to determine what’s affordable to you.”

Tiffany Wendeln Connors is a staff writer/editor at The Penny Hoarder. Read her bio and other work here, then catch her on Twitter @TiffanyWendeln.

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.

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What will happen to Thomas Cook pensions? Here's what you need to know

What will happen to Thomas Cook pensions? Here's what you need to know

Some members of the Thomas Cook pension scheme could have their entitlements cut by 10%

Stephen Little Wed, 09/25/2019 - 11:33

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For Thomas Cook employees it is a worrying time with thousands of them now facing unemployment.

Thomas Cook has collapsed after mounting debts forced the company into administration, leaving 21,000 employees now facing redundancy.

Whilst employees of the firm now face an uncertain future, the pensions lifeboat scheme, the Pension Proteciton Fund (PPF) has stepped in to assess the Thomas Cook pension scheme.

What will happen to Thomas Cook pensions?

What happens to members will depend on which plan they have saved into - a defined benefit pension scheme (DB) or a defined contribution scheme (DC).

There are four Thomas Cook DB pension schemes and one DC pension.

DB pension schemes pay out a guaranteed income for life. The amount they pay is linked to the number of years the recipient worked for a particular employer or the amount they earned.

The good news for members with a DB scheme is that they will be protected by the safety net of the Pension Protection Fund.

The PPF steps in when a firm goes bust to protect the pensions of employees and the assessment process usually lasts between 12 to 24 months.

Those who are officially retired or who have passed the retirement age will continue to receive their pension payment in full.

However, those who are not retired or retired early will lose around 10% of their pension and will also be subject to an annual cap.

This is set by the government and is currently £40,020 for those over 65 and £36,018 for those who have not retired yet.

DB pensions build up a pot with contributions from you and your employer which are then invested to give you a return when you retire.

Members with a DC pension also have nothing to worry about as money already saved in the scheme is held by a third party and is safe.

A PPF spokesperson says: “Following the confirmation that Thomas Cook has entered administration we await notification that the associated schemes have entered PPF assessment.

"We want to assure members of Thomas Cook’s defined benefits pension schemes that their benefits remain protected by the PPF at what must be a very worrying time for all concerned."

For more information, check the website specially set up to deal with Thomas Cook pension holders: http://thomascookpensions.co.uk

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Could your dog be a 'furrfluencer'? Holiday firm will pay £300 to dogs to review holiday lets

Could your dog be a 'furrfluencer'? Holiday firm will pay £300 to dogs to review holiday lets

A holiday booking site is looking for two canines (and owners) to visit, review and take photos of holiday lets around the UK – and get paid

Edmund Greaves Wed, 09/25/2019 - 10:01

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Holiday let site Snaptrip is looking for two dogs to travel around the UK with their owners as “furrfluencers.”

The pooches will have to visit 10 holiday rentals in 12 months, leaving “honest” 500-word reviews, judging at least one of the following criteria:

• dog enjoyment
• dog practicality
• access to local walks and dog-friendly establishments like pubs and garden space

Owners will have to take stylish photos of their canine companions enjoying themselves at each property.  

And here’s the kicker: Snaptrip says it will pay the ‘furrfluencers’ £300 per property they visit, on top of the free stay, and pay for all travel expenses.

The range of rentals they’ll need to explore include seaside cottages, forest log cabins and countryside manor houses, you’d be barking not to apply.

In the interest of fairness the firm is looking for one younger and one older dog. Other criteria to be eligible include:

• Must be comfortable travelling
• Must be either 6 months to 3 years old or 4 years to 10 years old
• Must be in good health
• Must be comfortable in front of the camera and photogenic
• Must have an eye for detail and impeccable taste

Matt Fox, chief executive and co-founder of Snaptrip.com, says, “We have over 30,000 dog-friendly cottages, and we thought who better to review these places than the animals who are going to be enjoying them!

“Many dog-owners pick accommodation based on whether they think it’s suitable for their pet, so we think a potential Furrfluencer review system will be really helpful to our customers.

“Whether they want a chilled countryside retreat for their aging labrador, or an active fun-packed break for their bouncy cockapoo, Snaptrip.com customers will be able to read an actual dog’s experience of a holiday rental to decide whether it’s the perfect place for them and their pet.”

Find out more about how to enter here: https://ift.tt/2lC9BC0

There’s no deadline for submissions, the firm says it depends on how many it receives.

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Moneywise Pension Awards 2019

Moneywise Pension Awards 2019 Rachel Lacey Wed, 09/25/2019 - 00:09

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Jeff Prestridge: Why I’m a fan of NS&I and its Premium Bonds

Jeff Prestridge: Why I’m a fan of NS&I and its Premium Bonds

Most people I know have a little bit of their savings squirrelled away in government-backed bank National Savings

Jeff Prestridge Wed, 09/25/2019 - 00:00

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Although love is too strong a word to use when talking about how customers view any of this country’s financial institutions, most savers do trust National Savings & Investments (NS&I). It is more liked than despised.

It is certainly more liked than the big banks and most building societies, even if it is guilty of using some of the same tricks as its rivals – for example, suddenly cutting savings rates or withdrawing popular products as it did at the beginning of September with the removal of its one- and three-year Guaranteed Growth Bonds and Guaranteed Income Bonds.

Our fondness stems primarily from its formidableness. Irrespective of the economy’s health (currently in deterioration mode), financial crises (think 2008), government turmoil (think now) and political machinations (all the time), NS&I is always there standing firm. Solid as the rock of Gibraltar. Part of the country’s financial fabric.

It is the equivalent of a port in a storm, offering its 25 million customers something no other savings rival can do – safety irrespective of the amount that is saved with it.

For NS&I customers, there is no worry about ensuring their savings are safeguarded by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if their bank or building society hits the buffers – currently set at £85,000 per savings institution. Reassuringly, at every twist and turn, Her Majesty’s Treasury sits four square behind them.

Equally, NS&I is a harbour in calmer times, providing an array of attractive products for savers with specific requirements – be it a need for monthly income (Income Bonds), tax-efficient savings for either children (Junior Isa or Jisa) or adults (Direct Isa), or bog-standard savings accounts that can be operated both online and by phone (Direct Saver) or by post (Investment Account).

Yes, the interest rates may not be the best on offer – ranging from 0.8% on an Investment Account through to a more mouth-watering 3.25% on its Jisa– but that’s not really the point. Most savers are prepared to sacrifice a little in interest in exchange for the reassurance that NS&I provides.

Of course, I’ve saved the best NS&I product to last – Premium Bonds that offer holders participation in a monthly draw with tax-free prizes on offer from £25 up to £1million. The average prize rate is currently equivalent to an annual 1.4% and bonds can be bought from as little as £25.

My three sons – Matthew, Mark and James – are all big supporters of good old Premium Bonds. They have been ever since I and my generous mother-in-law, Betty, started buying them bonds as youngsters for Christmas and for their birthdays.

Admittedly, the gifts were not always welcome at the time – “Dad, we wanted video game Football Manager 2008” – but the boys have all grown to love the bonds as they have moved into their 20s and become financially independent. A steady drip of prizes – a £25 here, a £50 there – has kept them interested.

Indeed, my middle son Mark won’t say a bad word about them. Unlike his brothers and for that matter his Dad, he seems to enjoy the luck of the Irish, winning a prize at least once every other month. My modest Premium Bonds’ holding has yet to yield a single prize although I’m adding to it every month in the hope of greater success.

Lots of my friends – all in their 50s and 60s – now hold the maximum £50,000 in Premium Bonds and would buy even more if they were allowed to do so. Yet I think NS&I has got it right in now, preferring to refocus its eye on younger savers and encouraging them to take up good savings habits.

It has done this with its Jisa – only one provider currently offers a better interest rate (building society Coventry) – and it has also just done it with Premium Bonds by removing the restriction that only allowed parents and grandparents to buy them on behalf of children and grandchildren. Now, aunts, uncles, godparents and family friends can give children the gift of a Premium Bond – with purchases made either online or by post.

Premium Bonds have their drawbacks. Prizes are not guaranteed (as I am finding out to my cost) and while the bonds can always be cashed in at face value, it doesn’t protect them from the ravages of inflation. But if they encourage the children of today to become the adult savers of tomorrow, we should laud them, not pick fault with them.

It is my contention that every savings portfolio should have a sprinkling of National Savings. Does yours? 

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