Monthly Archives: March 2013

People are always enticed investing in money market savings account literally because they pay you high money market interest rates which in turn yield high. Apart from high money market account rates, there are decreased level of transactions along with safety as well as guarantee.

Money market savings account

These savings accounts are just phenomenal because they yield you with best return on investments. The money market interest rates vary from one country to the other depending on the economical condition. These accounts are basically offered by banks, credit unions and other huge financial institutions. The money can be saved for a time period of 1 year or even more. Though there are advantages of using theses money market account, there are drawbacks as swell. Let us look about the advantages as well as the disadvantages in detail:

• Security: These accounts are basically insured by FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) and hence they are basically secured. Even if the bank fails to secure your savings, FDIC definitely will and hence the depositors will not have to worry about losing their cash. The risk factor is completely low when compared with other investment plans like stock market and mutual funds.
• High minimum balance: The main drawback of using these accounts is none other than having a high minimum balance. The account holder or the depositor is asked to have at least a minimum balance of $5000. Even if an account holder fails to maintain the minimum balance, then the financial institution might incur a penalty.
• Maintenance costs: If you are on the safer side in sustaining the specified minimum balance, then there wouldn’t be any fees charged on you but once you drop down from the minimum balance, then you will have to pay them with certain cost. There are certain banks which put up separate charge for maintenance every year. Though it is common for all the banks, the charges differ from one bank to the other, thus look for the ones that charges less.
• Limited transactions: These accounts will generally ask you to make transactions only for a specified number of times in a month. Even if you exceed the quantity of transactions in withdrawing funds, then you will have to pay the financial institution a penalty.
• Liquidity: Compared to other accounts, these possess high liquidity because they are easily accessible. They are completely flexible but the drawback is that they are not as liquid as the checking account. In these money market accounts, there are restrictions in the usage of checks.
• Yields: Since they are completely insured by the FDIC and as well as offer high interest rate, the yields are also high. The more cash you drop in the account, more will be the yield. Talking about the risk, they are less when compared to the other investment plans.

Before choosing these accounts, you will have to research a lot of financial institutions offering these accounts. You need to look into the money market account rates offered by banks and other financial institutions. You will have to shortlist few of the service providers and use a comparison tool to check for the best interest rate offered by the service provider. You need to check if the account will suit all your needs. You need to check on every factor associated with the financial institution as well as the bank.

 

Who doesn’t wants to live in own homes? Everybody has this wish and there might be times when people may not be able to afford with all the expenses related to buying a home. At such critical times, banks can really help you. But you will have to take cautious step in picking up a loan so that you don’t find it hard to repay them. You will have to look for the best bank interest rates. There are certain banks which offer high interest rates and one must never pick such banks as it becomes really difficult to repay the loan amount which you have borrowed. To qualify the best bank interest rates, you definitely need to possess a good credit score and shouldn’t be blacklisted in ChexSystems. Even if you have been blacklisted, then you can recover from it with the help of second chance bank accounts.

As there are lots of people involved in buying homes, you can see a lot of financial companies coming forward to the customers with various interest rates readily offering loans. Some companies will have high interest rates and some can be low. You shortlist the ones that offers less interest rates. You will have to do a complete research on the financial company so that you can find a good loan. Also you will have to search for the various options that are there in the market. There are certain banks that offer different rates for the people who are salaried and who owns a business. You must check with every little thing that you fit into. You need to pick the one that helps you in fulfilling all the basic requirements. You need to plan accordingly so that you can repay the entire loan amount on time along with the interest. In spite of researching a lot, if you do not really find attractive interest rates offered by the banks, you can get the assistance of a broker who can really help you in getting the finest rates. While hunting for the loans, you should not only look at the interest rates, but also you must be able to know information about the company’s reputation, total cost, duration etc.

The interest rates keep changing. It completely depends on the nation’s economical status. To save some cash for your needs, you can drop your money in the banks as they are the safest place to invest in. The risk factor is completely less when compared to other investments. Since it is connected to the bank, they are completely secured and safe with a guaranteed income even it is less. The bank will pay high if it performs well in the market. Generally banks will make money with the interest rates they get from the mortgages and loans which they offer to people. This is connected deeply with the economy as well. Only if the country’s economy is well, people will earn well and they will be able to pay down all the interest rates on the money they have borrowed from banks which in turn bank can earn some. Finally you will get good returns from the bank on the amount you have invested. Everything is interconnected to each other. Yet another factor that affects a bank’s interest rate is none other than inflation. Inflation is none other than sudden price hike in all the commodities and goods which we use in our day to day life. For example you might saw news about the sudden increase in the prices of vegetables, fruits, oil, diesel, petrol, gold, silver and many more.

If you think that only when you purchase savings bonds, you can secure yourself, then it can be wrong. There are second chance bank accounts as well in the market that can help you to save better. Let us have a closer look on some things.

What are second chance checking accounts?

When you often write down some bad checks for over-drawing cash from the bank account, then you soon might be blacklisted in ChexSystems. As this happens with you, banks will never let you to open a new account unless all the problems associated with the previous banks are cleared. There are certain banks which readily help you in correcting all your mistakes down if you have been blacklisted in ChexSystems. These types of banks can help you a lot in rectifying all your previous mistakes. You will have to pay a small price in order to get the credit back. They offer similar features same as that of normal checking account but has some safety measures for total protection. The safety measures took by the bank for them are as follows:

1. The accounts are checkless which literally means that you will not have rights on check-writing.
2. There are no chances of over drafting the account you hold and the limits on spending is set by the bank alone.

Most of these accounts will offer a card for accessing the ATM machine in order to withdraw some cash. Other than the ATM facility, it also offers online banking facility, online bill payments as well as monthly statements through online. To qualify for these second chance checking accounts, you will have to clear up all the problems which you had with the previous banks. You must then pay back all the cash that you owe from others. It also requires a minimum balance to be deposited while you open it. There will be monthly charges as well which can be either $10 or $25. This charge completely depends on the bank you choose. Once you know that you have been blacklisted in Chex, it is better to find for a 2^nd chance checking account so that you can improve your credit score quickly.

What are second chance bank accounts?

The second chance banking accounts are for people who are not able to acquire the traditional checking account or a savings account. The second chance bank accounts are an ideal solution when you have been blacklisted in TeleCheck or ChexSystems. These two are just like the 3 credit agencies that take care of your credit score. If you have been blacklisted in any one, then you will have to take some action. The second chance banking will assist you in making a new start with a fresh responsibility. When you have a bank account, you will be able to save all the cash in a safe way and earn some interest with the amount you have deposited. To open up the 2^nd chance bank accounts, you will have to pay a very less amount. There is no requirement of credit check with such accounts. The procedures for opening these accounts are really very simple. All you have to do is to fill in the application form with all the necessary details along with a photocopy of your ID and a tiny deposit. When the account has been opened, you are free for making some transactions. There is plethora of companies that have started to offer such accounts but you will have to make a complete research on it so that you can pick the best one and which fulfills all your requirements.

Apart from knowing “what is earnest money” in the previous article, you should have good knowledge on the savings bonds as well. You can purchase savings bonds in order to secure your future. The bonds have always been a good way of investment as they are completely secured and help to overcome a financial crisis. When you purchase savings bonds, you have to make a complete research on it so that you can pick up the one that is best in the market. Bonds can be of many types like: Government savings bonds, national savings bonds etc. Let us look in detail about these two:

Government savings bonds:  If you are watching for a safe investment, then probably this is the place to invest. Government bonds have low risks and guaranteed income. You can earn with the interest rates put up by the bank on the principal amount you have deposited. Bonds can basically be classified into 2 types which are as follows:

• Series EE bonds: This type of bond involves very minimum risk and you can buy them with the help of a Treasury Direct account. The rate of interest depends on the current market condition. The bonds that were purchased after 2005 can earn an interest rate that is fixed whereas the bonds that were purchased between the years: 1997 (May) and 2005 (April) earns a varying interest.
• Series I bonds: Investing in this type of bond is termed as liquid investment as it protects you from inflation. You can earn a good income with such bonds. You can purchase them with the help of a Treasury Direct account. You can earn interest for about 30 years.

National savings bonds: Recently, the NS&I (National savings and Investments) had withdrew the index linked bonds and thus leaving plenty of potential investors to search for the savings bonds. The index linked bonds of NS&I was also known as RPI linked bonds and had a guaranteed income. It was completely free from tax with a five year fixed time duration. The bond became very popular and had a sale of 50000 in 4 short months. The index linked bonds is the only bond that offers total protection from the huge expenses and inflation. Even though the deal is no more there in the market today, experts are looking forward to some other bonds offered by NS&I in coming April. There is a big gap in the market today and there will definitely be tax incurred on the other bonds. In spite of the interest rates being low, the RPI linked bonds has a good position in the market today. The savers will always have to find for a better approach in the bond market so that they can survive when there is a financial crisis. Before investing, you will have to make a complete review on the current interest rates going on in the market. The potential investors who are looking forward in buying the index linked bonds have to be very careful or cautious about the interest rates of inflation. It is essential that you read down all the terms, policies and conditions of any investment plan before investing. Only when you have some idea about it, you can decide things properly in making money. You will also have to be very cautious about the fixed time so that your hard earned cash doesn’t gets locked by chance and you don’t end up in paying penalties for your own money. But there would be separate charges when you withdraw the cash before the time duration. Have a look at every minute thing connected to the bond.

What is escrow agreement?

An escrow agreement has to be established during the phase of software development. The set-up process of escrow has to be very direct and an escrow gent sends you the.doc copy of agreement and requires you to comment on it before forwarding it to the specific client or a supplier to comment further. Once both the parties have commented on particular agreement, it further proceeds with the final approval. As the final approval is finalized, it will be circulated for the signatures where a software owner has to 30 days time to deposit for source code. You need to check with all the things associated to the escrow. Some of the things are as follows:

• Make sure that all the media are completely free from virus.
• Check if the media as well as the files can be easily read.
• Check if the expansion utilities are there if compressions have been used.
• Check for the source code.
• Make sure that source code is readable as well as understandable.

To maintain the source code, you will have to note on the following things:

• Indentation
• File structure
• Variable names
• Procedure names
• Version numbers
• Source comments
• Modification history
• Appropriate file names

Get to know more about offshore bank accounts as well.

What is earnest money?

It is none other than the term used in real estate business. It doesn’t have to be money though. It can be anything that holds a good value. For instance – car, elephant etc. As the transaction gets closed, the earnest money can be then applied as either down payment or can be returned in the form of cash back to you. The earnest money deposit is paid in the form of check to a buyer’s agent by signing the initial contract. The earnest money deposit will then be put in escrow account. The earnest money deposit is sometimes referred as good-faith deposit and it is generally deposited in the escrow trust.

Let me explain you with an example. Consider you are buying a real estate land or a property and you have made an offer for it. When an owner of the specific land or property accepts the offer given by you, then the purchase contract will be drafted and the earnest cash will be held by impartial 3^rd party company unless the contracts are signed finally. When you offer a perfect earnest money, then it can be enticing to the seller’s eyes and it can help you in accepting your offer soon. When a person deposits the earnest money, it will be regarded as down payment on the property they buy. But it is better not to put in more money as earnest money because things keep changing. To ensure that you are getting the earnest cash back, you will have to cancel a purchase agreement. You need to check if all the contingencies are in place.

You need to know firstly that if you will be able to sell your property or house or land with an appropriate price. If you can then its fine but if you can’t then what strategies you will have to apply in order to push the specific sale. Probably if you are a buyer, then you will also have to check if the house really needs some repairing works. If this is the case, then you can ask a buyer to lower the price as the house is not completely polished. In this way, you can get your earnest money back because these are some of the valid reasons for getting the cash back.

When it comes to bank accounts, you might have heard about best current accounts, savings accounts and many more. But there is something called as the offshore bank accounts and foreign bank account reporting as well. Let us know better about these 2 accounts in this article.

Offshore Accounts: The offshore bank accounts are getting very popular these days among the multi-national businesses. They have become familiar globally. These kinds of accounts help you in protecting the assets and you can find better opportunities of investments with it. It helps your business grow smoothly. To select the best offshore account, you will have to consider the below points:

• First and foremost is to look for the bank’s credibility. Make sure that the bank is completely reputed and established.
• Find out if the specific bank you choose, has operational experience internationally. There should be proven record in the offshore management.
• You will have to check if the bank is offering multi-currency facility as well as quick transfer in currencies.
• You need to go with the institutions that does not require for detailed information on credit.

The offshore account is a better option for saving huge taxes. The concept behind these accounts is to provide protection on the wealth as well as assets. It helps businesses to develop business in private and confidential manner. Business giants always choose these types of accounts because they might be asked to pay certain exorbitant amount on the assets in the country in which they reside. You need to choose the service provider who offers enticing tax benefits.

Foreign bank account reporting (FBAR): If you are someone owning a foreign bank account, then you might have known what a FBAR is. If you really don’t know what it is, then you can know it. A FBAR is none other than the regulation which is required to meet the terms, if you possess a foreign bank account. It is a report that contains info about foreign account you hold along with the transactions conducted. It is not mandatory to file the FBAR report if you have a foreign account unless the aggregate balance does not exceed $10000. It is exceeds this limit, then it becomes mandatory to file the FBAR report. If you fail to file this report besides exceeding the aggregate balance, then you will have to face the consequences of the law. You will be subjected to strict fines as well as penalties by IRA- Internal Revenue Service. It can also involve jail time. The law behind the requirements of FBAR is BSA (Bank Secrecy Act). It requires an individual to report the financial activity annually to IRA via TD F 90-221 form.

The FBAR form is necessary because the world is big and US government cannot maintain everything and this is why they have bought this form to the public holding the foreign accounts. The main purpose behind this is that people can report all their financial activity associated with the foreign accounts. No matter where you reside in this world, but if you are a United States citizen, then definitely you will have to pay all the taxes on the income you earn. There are some constituencies in US which wish to know about the flow of funds you get in foreign accounts so that they can track if there is any illegal things going on. There might be terrorists groups who might have gathered funds for getting the powerful weapons and this is why there have been strict rules associated with the foreign accounts these days.

When it comes to bank accounts, people usually get confused with what is a current account and how to find the best current accounts offered by banks. This article will help you know better about current accounts.

What is a current account?

A current account is supplied to the organizations as well as individuals who are involved with ample of banking transactions. For convenience, an account holder will require banks to care for all their disbursements and receipts. There are many benefits of opening this account, which are as follows:

• These kinds of accounts can be maintained online as well. Transactions done with online are really easy and fast. Thus it saves a lot of time of an individual. All you need to have is an internet connection and a computer.
• To register yourself in online with the bank, you will have to go to its official website and fill in all the required details asked in the form.
• A current account comes along with ATM cards. You can withdraw the cash whenever you want to. It is accessible for 24×7.
• You can pay your debts by issuing checks to the respective person. Even if there is inadequate balance to cover up the issued check, avail for the overdraft facility. This facility is offered by almost all the banks without any extra cost. But it is better to pay the cost rather than paying for the entire transaction.
• Current accounts can earn interest but it is little low when compared to the savings account.

How to find the best current accounts?

There are certain criteria which you will have to know while hunting for the ideal current accounts. The following are certain things to consider:

• Calculate the average balance which you usually maintain in each month. Almost all the UK banks permits to transfer funds from the current accounts to high yielding savings account. If you do this with online, it is even simpler.
• You will have to be aware of the overdraft charges. Overdraft is nothing but withdrawing more cash than it is really present in your account. If you are doing this, then bank will incur charges on you.
• Search for some banking services through online which may be readily available for 24×7 because there are certain banks that will put-off their service and work only for a specific time.
• You need to find out if the banks are offering you online statements as well. You need to know if the bank will be able to offer the bank statements on continuous basis.
• Check for the bill payments. There are certain banks which offer the facility of automatic payment of bills.

Apart from the above things, you will have to see if the bank is permitting to manage all the standing orders with the help of online. If you are looking for debit arrangement that is direct, then first finalize the deal with the respective company first so that there are no issues later. Choose a bank and current account in a way that it is able to suit all your requirements. If you do not find the right bank, then do more research on it so that you can pick up the ideal one! Internet can help you in minutes with this. In fact there is several comparison tools as well through which you can pick up the best based on your needs. Perhaps if you are a student, then you can have many benefits with the current account. They are mostly referred as current accounts.

 

 

Savings are always necessary when it comes to elders as well as kids. You can see separate kids savings accounts offered by various banks. Apart from the savings accounts, there are many other bank accounts as well which you must know about. Let us look about them deeper.

What is anonymous bank account?

Till 2002, this anonymous bank account was regarded as illegal as people never took them positively. Things have changed as time has changed and this is the reason why people are taking them up. The bank regulations and tax treaties have been modified now. To put it in simple terms, the anonymous account is where a person will be able to make use of all the banking features like: Visa card, ATM card, deposits, withdrawals and money transfers without even revealing the true identity of a person. This can be done in various ways. One smart way is to use an organization name rather than his or her true name for making transactions. People do this because they don’t want to the country’s authorities to identify them. But if the transactions are illegal, then the banks have 100% rights to reveal the person’s identity involved with the account. There are even many online companies who help the people in assisting about the different procedures for opening this anonymous account. For this you will have to either incorporate or register with the offshore company that has been registered.

What is bank account number on check?

There are many scams happening out there and criminals might just steal all your details and misuse it and hence your bank account number on check has to be carefully written. You must maintain its secrecy when you do direct banking. You can protect your account with the help of following tips:

• Avoid giving your bank’s routing number and account number to anyone. These are the 2 essential key numbers which is really required to make the electronic draft.
• You must never do the mistake of putting down your residential phone numbers on checks. You can put down your mobile number instead.
• One must never sign in blank checks because people might misuse and by the time you realize, it will be too late.
• Review the bank statements every month so that you can keep a track on what’s going on.
• An account holder must always possess knowledge about the basic rules about the protection laws of a consumer.
• Whenever you use the online tools for banking, make sure to delete the ID as well as passwords. Never do the mistake of checking the “Remember Me” option.

What is international bank account number?

The international bank account number (IBAN), is used almost by all the European countries and certain parts of Western Asia. It helps in processing the money transfers automatically, avoids delays and prevents the use of incorrect account numbers.

The basic structure of account numbering varies from a country to the other and there are unique bank codes as well. This is the major reason for why there is a delay in the bank transfers. To avoid such errors IBAN has been created as this helps in making smooth electronic bank transfers. It lets the banks to validate and verify with the account number. It involves 2 check digits that are calculated along with the mathematical algorithm. A customer who wants to make the transfer will have to provide the IBAN to a sender bank which in turn validates the specified check digits before the payments are transferred. If they are incorrect, then the transaction is stopped right there.

Apart from saving some cash with the help of high interest bank accounts, you must also begin to save for your kids. There are separate kids savings accounts offered by many banks to help the children with their expenses.

You must encourage your kids in saving at an early stage so that they don’t get the habit of spending too much later on what they earn. Finding the best childrens savings accounts can be really hectic but you will have to make a complete research on it. Once you open the bank accounts for kids, you can even take them so that they can learn how to deposit and save cash. Teach them the importance of savings so that it can really be helpful for them. Let us have a look at bank accounts for kids.

• It is the duty of every parent to open the best childrens savings account and tell them the various uses of saving at the right time. You can open the bank accounts for kids and tell them how it functions and what they should do in order to save when they begin to earn.
• You will have to analyze about different banks near your residential so that it can be easy for you to deposit the cash in the kids savings accounts. You will have to pick the one that provides certain dividends for the kids.
• To open the kid’s saving account, you will have to be ready with all sorts of documents asked by the bank initially.
• Once you open the account for your kids, your kids will be given a unique account number through which they can access in order to make certain transactions. You will have to teach them about how to put their signature as well as read their documents.

The bank that you select for your kids will have to be free from the maintenance charges and make sure that there are no hidden charges as well. You need to read all the terms, policies and conditions of a bank properly before opening an account in the specified bank. You can even take up online banking if you are not comfortable with direct banking. Online banking can really be easy and safe. It saves a lot of time and helps in quick transactions. You don’t have to go till the bank just to deposit some cash for your kids. If you have them in your account, you can directly transfer it to their account with just few clicks. You will have to create an account with the bank first. For this, you must enter into the official website of the bank and apply for a form through which you can access it through online. You will have to fill in all the essential details specified by the bank and submit it for further verification process. Once everything is verified by the bank officials, you can have the kid’s account accessed through online. Never ever do the mistake of submitting your personal information through emails or text messages. You will have to access them only with the help of an official bank website. Once you begin to save some cash for your kids, it can be really helpful for them in future education or other personal expenses. Studies have shown that if children are taught to save cash at an early stage, have always been better managers in spending later. Even parents will not have to be worried about their future and they can rest peacefully. Thus these are the things; you will have to know about, when it comes to saving accounts for your kids.

 

Once you finish the process of opening a bank account, you will have to start with some savings for your future. You shouldn’t spend all your cash down. Bad times can befall you at any time and there is no guarantee for how long a good time can exist. Hence you will have to be prepared for your bad times as well. This is why saving accounts by banks have been introduced. There are even high yield savings accounts with which you can earn good returns. Let us look about it more.

What are high interest bank accounts?

Holding on your money has become little hard these days because the prices of almost all the commodities have reached its pick where saving has become quite impossible for a common man. Investing in stock market at such financial condition can really be foolish because the market rates are fluctuating and with the thirst of making your money double, you will end up losing all. This is when high interest bank accounts come to rescue. There are many banks offering such facilities to the public. We must be wise enough to pick the ideal one that suits all our needs. With such accounts there will be 100% guaranteed income and they have less risks. You can earn the interest on the amount you deposited and since it is bank, they are completely safe.

What are high yield savings accounts?

These types of accounts are for people who don’t want to take high risks but still want to possess a sturdy income. There are many savings account which offers high yield and hence you will have to make a thorough research on them so that you can be sure that you are picking the ideal one. Some of the banks that offer high yield savings are as follows:

• Discover Bank: This bank offers about 1% rate of interest when you at least sustain 500 US dollars in your account. It is well known and reputed bank with complete security.
• Ally Bank: It also offers high yield when it comes to savings account. This bank offers about 0.89% interest to the public. This bank has positive feedbacks from its customers as there is no requirement of having a minimum balance.
• ING Direct: This is yet another bank which offers good yield and is trustworthy for the dropping your money in. It offers an interest rate of about 0.85% on the cash you deposit and doesn’t require any minimum balance.
• Ever Bank: This requires you to have a minimum balance but the yield is really high and offers about 0.76% interest rate. You are supposed to have a minimum balance of about $1500.
• FNBO Direct: This offers 0.70% interest and it does not require any balance in the account you open with them.

Before you decide to move on with the accounts, you will have to examine with all the things. You must know about all the charges involved with the transactions.

What is savings account interest calculator?

When it comes to savings, definitely you will have to maintain the account with calculations. Sometimes calculations can really be very complex and this is why the savings account interest calculator has been introduced in the market. They are there in online and can be readily downloaded. It helps you in knowing about the future earnings and assists in customizing the financial situation. It helps in making complex calculations easier for you. You can even calculate the compound interest which you can earn on the cash you have saved in the bank. Before you download one such calculator, you will have to check about its reviews and ratings.