Month: September 2016

How Can I Pay Off My Student Loan Debt?

    Finance Tips

Selling fixed annuities

Are you interested in cash for your structured settlement? If you’re not sure what a lump sum payment is or how it works, you may want to continue reading below. More and more Americans are struggling with debt nowadays — from medical bills to student loans, the various factors that can sink you into thousands of lost dollars seem never-ending. With a structured settlement annuity you can see your debt gradually paid off over a fixed period of time with minimal interest and fuss, allowing you to get back to your life sooner than you thought possible. Let’s take a look at how this process works and whether or not it’d be right for you.

What Are The Most Common Forms Of Debt?

While debt can occur from many different situations, there are a few that are becoming increasingly common for the average American. Nearly one in five Americans under the age of 24 describe themselves as being in ‘debt hardship’, after all, so it stands to reason this is becoming a foundation everyone can relate to. Over 70% of Americans believe the greatest debt stigma concerns underpaid credit and debit cards. Medical bills, student loans and home payments are also common sources of debt hardship for many.

How Do People Generally Pay Off Their Debt?

Some choose to save up their money gradually, while others attempt to use whatever resources are at their disposal to shave away at stubborn debt. The average American household with debt carries over $15,000 in credit card debt and a whopping $129,000 in total debt — although household income has grown by 25% in the past 12 years, the cost of living has nearly doubled. Even now one of the most effective and popular methods of getting rid of excess bills and fees is getting cash for your structured settlement.

What Is A Cash For Settlement Payment?

Also known as a structured settlement annuity, selling a structured settlement is an incredibly effective way of tackling debt in a gradual manner. The average structured settlement payout in the United States is around $324,000, with over $6 million paid each year to fund new structured settlements. In fact, it’s been found that consumers vastly underestimate or overestimate how much debt they have — as of 2013 lender-reported credit card debt was a stunning 155% greater than overall borrower-reported balances.

What Is A Lump Sum?

Similar to a structured settlement annuity, a lump sum is a fixed payment you can receive to help pay off your bills. More than 37,000 Americans use structured settlement money on a yearly basis and over 90% of claimants who sell their structured settlement are ‘very satisfied’ with their decision. When the average American household pays a total of $6,000 in interest every year, it helps to have something you can rely on to reduce your day-to-day stress.

What Is An Annuity?

Compared to the one-time payment of a lump sum, an annuity is paid over a period of time. Selling off an annuity can surrender charges of around 10%, but the trade-off is a more feasible way of tackling your debt. Structured settlement payouts can reach over a $100,000, which is perfect for when medical bills and student loans are getting too high. If you want to get started on the right track to getting cash for settlements, look below for some simple tips.

How Can I Get Started?

Consumers have a wide variety of options for reducing pain and eliminating credit card debt, according to financial experts. Since a low credit score can impact your ability to apply for loans or buy a home, one of the first things you want to do is go to the source — a survey conducted by CreditCards.com found that people were able to successfully waive fees 80% of the time when meeting with credit card companies, allowing them to eventually balance out their score. Personal loan rates can be as low as 5% if you have a good credit score, giving you convenient monthly payments with accessible interest. Debt isn’t forever — with a structured settlement annuity, your goals can be realized in good time.

Three Ways Professional Debt Management Services Help

    Finance Tips

Debt settlement help

Today, debt is an easy trap for anyone to fall into, and it has become inevitable for many people. The average household in U.S carries about carries $15,355 in credit debt. If you have been hit by a debt snag, and it is really twisting you, then it may be time to get some help. You can get the help of a professional debt management service before the who thing impacts your credit score. There are several ways these services can relieve the burden of a debt by focussing on debt negotiations, financial planning, and payment distribution.

1. Debt and Credit Counseling

First, it is important to understanding the financial situation of a debtor. This is the essence of debt counseling. It strives to highlight the details of the debt and the different expenditures a person has. By outlining the current budget of the debtor, a debt management firm helps to identify options and ways the person can use to reduce their debt.

Normally, one has a contract that stipulates the details of the debt management process and the timespan for the process. Throughout the term, the debtor needs to seek counseling to find more ways to cut the debt.

2. Payment Distribution

With a professional debt management service, you don’t need to keep track of the due debts and minimum payments. The service handles all the bill payments, paperwork, and phone calls, so you can have peace of mind. Throughout the contract period, the service maintains contact with the creditors to see that the debt is settled in full.

Still, this should not be a reason not to monitor your debt. It is necessary to continue keeping a close eye on your debt to see that the company is on track. This also helps to understand what areas affect your financial life and how the can be handled.

3. Professional Negotiation

Working alone on debt management can be quite a tricky process, especially when you have to deal with several creditors. With a professional debt management company, you get to enjoy the power of negotiation. In situations where the debtor has failed to pay a loan for a particular period, the interest continues to accumulate making it even more difficult.

With a debt settlement help, you can enjoy reduced interest rates, payments or even a lower total amount if your case is reasonable. However, it is important to note that creditors are not obligated to reduce the fees and the debtor is still expected to pay taxes on the loan amount even if the debt is forgiven.

Debt management is a lengthy process and the time depends on the amount of the loan a debtor is expected to pay. The other important aspect is the dedication of the debtor and the money sources that should cover the debt. Therefore, careful planning and commitment are essential to ensure the whole debt is sufficiently paid. With a debt management professional, the whole process is simplified to allow the debtor to focus on rebuilding their lives and planning their financial situation.

The Basics Of Initial Public Offerings

    Finance Tips

Prime broker services

Initial public offerings are about more than business decisions. An IPO represents the moment when a company transitions from being small-time to running with the big leagues. Certainly, it can be frightening for any business owner. But it also opens up companies to new and exciting opportunities that would be otherwise impossible to even imagine. Still, there are business decisions to be made, and plenty of tasks to handle — from quarterly snapshots to secondary offerings. There’s a big difference between running your company’s daily tasks to making it public. This is why many business owners choose to hire professional help when opening their company to the public. In this case, they’ll often end up looking into an IPO firm. IPO firms employ prime brokers, and can therefore offer prime brokerage services. As exciting as IPOs are, however, they also make or break the future of some companies. Below, we’ll look into the basics of IPOs — what they are, how a business can ensure a better possible outcome for their IPO, and much more. You would be amazed by how much a difference small details can make. The information attained from a quarterly snapshot could completely change the way you plan your IPO.

The Basics Of An IPO

It’s not as if you can simply open your company up to the public and hope for the best. There are plenty of things you need to do when conducting an IPO. There are quarterly snapshots to consider, as well as the all-important lock-up period. The lock-up period is a legally binding contract between the underwriters and the insiders of a company. This prohibits them from selling any stock for a specified period of time. Depending on what they agree upon, this period of time could last anywhere from three to 24 months. Another thing to take into consideration is how much of the company is going to be offered up in an IPO. This could be another thing judged in part based off of a quarterly snapshot. Usually, an IPO involves offering up about 10% to 15% of the company. This ensures that the owners still have enough stock to exert the control that they need to over how the company is run. The prices of an IPO will be, on average, 13% to 15% less than the trading price. Now, there is no way of looking into the future and knowing how an IPO will turn out. But there are ways in which you can make a good prediction.

Understanding The Probability Of Your IPO’s Outcome

Think about how the market is going before you take your company public. Typically, an IPO will go well if the markets are going well. If you have reason to believe that the SandP 500 is going to reach double digits next year, the IPO will likely outperform that benchmark. Think too about those who benefit from IPOs. They usually benefit institutional investors willing to buy large amounts of stock before the company’s debut. They can provide companies triple-digit gains on their first day of trading. One of the simplest ways of understanding how your company is going to do following an IPO is by looking at how similar companies have fared following their IPOs.

Looking Into The Outcomes Of Other IPOs

In recent years, many strong private companies have gone public. For example, the makers of Fitbit offered 36 million shares at a public offering valued at $741 billion. Their stock has since risen by 50%. Fitbit is proof that you can value your company with a strong estimate and succeed. Other top-performing companies include Etsy Inc., which opened up 94% from its indicated price and Shopify Inc. which opened up 52%. If your company falls into this sector, you can take cues from these companies. If it doesn’t, however, you should look to past IPOs from companies that do fall into your sector for guidance.

Who, What, Why and How of Settlement Payments

    Finance Tips

Sell my structured settlement annuity

If you have recently won a settlement or inherited a large sum of money, you know the annuity and lump sum differences. You have several payout options when getting a lot of money and you shouldn’t feel limited to simply abiding by what you’ve been told you should do. Here are a few considerations to think about.

  1. Why Selling a Structured Settlement Helps
    This will be the first choice you have to make. Annuity and lump sum differences basically come down to this: Annuity gives you the payments over time, be it monthly or annually. Lump sum gives you the money all it once. How you decide to get the money really depends on what you want to do with it. If you don’t think that you can handle having all that money and are afraid you wouldn’t use it wisely, then you don’t have to sell your annuity payments. However, if you want to purchase a house or travel or go to college or pay off debt, then getting the money as a lump sum might benefit you a little more. If you got the amounts annually or even monthly, you would likely have to save up to do any of the above mentioned things just like you would if you were making a regular income.


  2. What the Annuity and Lump Sum Differences Are
    Now, keep in mind that just because you have decided to sell your payments does not mean that it will not come without it’s own set of disadvantages. There is a good side and a bad side to both options. The problem with getting a lump sum is that overall, it might actually give you less money than if you got the amounts incrementally. However, you probably wouldn’t even notice because you’d never have all your money at one time getting it through annuity anyway.

    Another difference is that by getting annuity, you deal only with your lawyer and their lawyer and the courts. If you decide to sell then you will be adding in a third party to the decision making process. Keep in mind, however, that they are only around until you receive your funds and then you don’t have to deal with them again.


  3. How to Make the Right Decision
    The best thing that you can do for yourself is get a financial adviser. You could even take it one step further at hire someone to completely manage your finances for you. This way, you could sell your payments, get the lump sum and not be afraid that you are going to use it unwisely. The only catch here is that you need to listen to your money manager or adviser. Realize that you hired them for a reason and if they advise you against making a certain decision then you need to abide by what they say. They are not going to force you to make the right decisions. The money still does belong to you and you have the final say but the reason they are there is because they know how to deal with money and they even know how to make it, make you more money.


  4. Who Not to Listen to
    It’s common for people coming into a lot of money to hire a money adviser but then spend all their time getting advise from family and friends. Unless your family and friends have as much money as you now do, they will not be able to give sound advise. Loved ones are well meaning and want to help but unless they have the experience, they might be leading you in the wrong direction.


  5. When You Should Make the Decision
    You are probably on a time limit with the courts. Speak with your lawyer about when you need to decide how you’ll receive your payments. Keep in mind that if you do decide to sell your payments, then it might take somewhat longer to receive it because the buying company has to have a little back and forth with you and a judge in order to make sure everything is done properly and in your favor.

The bottom line here is, listen to your lawyer and your financial adviser regarding annuity and lump sum differences and you can’t go wrong.