401(k) plans are popular with employers because they are less expensive than other types of retirement plans. Contributions constitute the biggest expense for an employer. But in the case of a 401(k) plan, the bulk of the contribution is typically made by the employee — through salary reductions. The employee diverts into the plan a [...]
Do you cringe when you open your credit-card bill? Get debt under control with these ten expert tips. Check out your wallet. Tucked among the pictures of your kids, the grocery-store lists, and the crumpled receipts, there are probably more than a few pieces of plastic. In fact, the average household with credit cards has [...]
Who out there needs a financial adviser? There are thousands of financial crisis tips and secrets out there to scare away anyone just trying to find a basic debt cure. Especially in a financial crisis, finding a debt cure along with having the right insurance protection will assure anyone long-term financial peace. Follow The Quick [...]
1. What exactly is a mutual fund? A mutual fund pools money from hundreds and thousands of investors to construct a portfolio of stocks, bonds, real estate, or other securities, according to its charter. Each investor in the fund gets a slice of the total pie. 2. Mutual funds make it easy to diversify. Most [...]
While included in the term “financial aid” higher education loans differ from scholarships and grants in that they must be paid back. They come in several varieties in the United States: Federal student loans made to students directly: No payments while enrolled in at least half time status. If a student drops below half time [...]
Unsecured loans are monetary loans that are not secured against the borrower’s assets. These may be available from financial institutions under many different guises or marketing packages: credit card debt personal loans bank overdrafts credit facilities or lines of credit corporate bonds The interest rates applicable to these different forms may vary depending on the [...]
A loan is a type of debt. Like all debt instruments, a loan entails the redistribution of financial assets over time, between the lender and the borrower. In a loan, the borrower initially receives or borrows an amount of money, called the principal, from the lender, and is obligated to pay back or repay an [...]
The market meltdown unmoored many a financial plan. With the portfolios of countless baby boomers a shadow of what they once were, BusinessWeek asked five top investment advisers to draft a plan that would enable a hypothetical couple to meet all of their financial obligations. To create the profile of our couple, we picked a [...]
Debt can become secured by a contractual agreement, statutory lien, or judgment lien. Contractual agreements can be secured by either a Purchase Money Security Interest (PMSI) loan, where the creditor takes a security interest in the items purchased (i.e. vehicle, furniture, electronics); or, a Non-Purchase Money Security Interest (NPMSI) loan, where the creditor takes a [...]
In the case of real estate, the most common form of secured debt is the lien. Liens may either be voluntarily created, as with a mortgage, or involuntarily created, such as a mechanics lien. A mortgage may only be created with the express consent of the title owner, without regard to other facts of the [...]
A mortgage loan is a secured loan in which the collateral is property, such as a home. A nonrecourse loan is a secured loan where the collateral is the only security or claim the creditor has against the borrower, and the creditor has no further recourse against the borrower for any deficiency remaining after foreclosure [...]
There are two purposes for a loan secured by debt. In the first purpose, by extending the loan through securing the debt, the creditor is relieved of most of the financial risks involved because it allows the creditor to take the property in the event that the debt is not properly repaid. In exchange, this [...]
A secured loan is a loan in which the borrower pledges some asset (e.g. a car or property) as collateral for the loan, which then becomes a secured debt owed to the creditor who gives the loan. The debt is thus secured against the collateral — in the event that the borrower defaults, the creditor [...]