Monday, February 11, 2013

Mammoth Winter Storm Bashing East Coast




A potentially historic blizzard named Nemo is hammering the East coast of the United States, prompting widespread power outages and making travel nearly impossible. The winter storm which first struck the Midwest, has gathered strength as two weather systems came together to converge on the Northeast Friday. The sweeping storm, struck New England Friday night in earnest and was expected to pound the region throughout the day Saturday and last as long as Sunday in areas further north.

A state of emergency has been declared in New York, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Nearly 1,000 National Guard members were activated in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York late Friday to help first responders and emergency transportation workers. Thousands of flights coming in and out of Boston's Logan International airport were grounded Friday while Amtrak cut it's services coming in and out of Boston. In the most dramatic move, Deval Patrick, governor of Massachusetts ordered a travel ban in his state. All non-essential vehicles were ordered to be off the roadways by 4pm Friday, otherwise drivers would face stiff fines and possible jail time.

Snow was falling at the rate of two to three inches per hour in Boston Friday night. By midnight, the city had already received 18 inches of snow. And, because the snow is expected to continue through much of Saturday, Boston could get three or more feet of white stuff before the punishing storm moves out of the area. In New York City, sidewalks and city streets were empty late Friday night, creating an eerily silent environment that's normally bustling with life.

Coastal flooding and beach erosion are major concerns with this massive storm. It is feared that Saturday's high tide could cause storm surge of several feet along the coast, posing a real threat to home and business owners. Other worries for homeowners are frozen pipes, snow dams on roofs and entire roof collapses as the heavy snow that's falling is very wet. Residents living on the coastline were being told that winds could be in excess of 70 miles per hour which could cause tides to be 4 feet above normal. Superstorm Sandy survivors in the East are re-living their worst nightmares with Nemo as they're very worried about new flooding.

All of New York's major airports will be closed completely Saturday as will many across New England. Schools all across the region were closed Friday as the massive storm bore down on the East. The number of people without power because of downed trees and powerlines increased dramatically during the night Friday. As of midnight, over a half a million people in a total of 9 states were plunged into darkness, with most in the state of Massachusetts.

Monday, February 4, 2013

Why Consolidation Loans Are Often A Great Way to Increase Cash Flow





One of the easiest ways you can manage your debt is to consolidate the high interest loan balances and get a low interest loan. Loan consolidating is actually refinancing and it is a good option for those who are in trouble of repaying their loan facilities because of the high interests attached. Consolidation loans help reduce interest repayment and the number of individual bills you have to pay every month.

You may be struggling with a stack of credit card bills that have high interest rates or you may have car loans, school loans or other high interest rate loan facilities. Managing these multiple loans with high interests can be a challenge for you. So why would you continue struggling while there is an easy way you can reduce these interest rates and be able to increase your cash flow.

When you consolidate a debt with loan facility or lines of credit, you can benefit greatly. Not only does debt consolidation help you organize your monthly repayment, but it also enables you pay less interest than what you used to pay in your previous rates put together. You may apply for a debt consolidation loan and pay single monthly repayment on the new loan facility. This way, you will not have multiple loan facilities, meaning that you are able to budget and plan for the repayment.

You may also open a line of credit instead of taking out another loan and get to pay the line of credit as you make use of it. When you have consolidated your loans, there is also another task of prioritizing the debts. One school of thought that could work for you is to pay off the highest interest loans first. Financial advisers will tell you that you need to tackle the highest-rate loans first and this is primarily because the interest is accruing at briskly.

However, it could still be complex for you for this theory to apply especially if the highest interest loan is also the longest-term loan or debt you have to settle. This means that it will take you long to settle the loan and the other debts are accruing on interest rates and this could create a scar on your overall loan burden.

The other theory that could work for you is to pay small loans first. When you eliminate smaller loans first, you reduce the overall debt loans and get the satisfaction that you have made an initial achievement. Whereas there are some real benefits of consolidating loans, it is important that you critically evaluate the different options available. Some may be good but others could be downright predatory.

In order to be able to increase cash flow, you need to consider a number of loan consolidation options. You may need to deal with a debt consolidation company. However, these companies will not work free so there are charges. In addition, once you have agreed with these companies, you cannot go back and there could be adverse repercussions especially if you fail to repay the loan as agreed.

Other options you may consider are consolidate your credit card debts with home equity line of credit and by making use of 0 percent credit card balance transfer. Last but not least, there is a new option which is use of peer-to-peer lending option. You can consolidate your debt through the peer-to-peer lending.

How to Find Short Term Unsecured Loans When You Have Had a Previous Bankruptcy





Many people ask themselves if they are able to get unsecured loans when they have been previously bankrupt. The answer to this question is yes! You can still apply for a fast and unsecured loan after you have been on a record of bankrupt previously. But there is a catch here because when you are bankrupt, it means that your credit score is not good. In addition, the situation is made worse because you are seeking for a long without a security or collateral.

Many lenders will shy away from granting loans to people with bad credit and cases of bankruptcy. Those few you will get will offer higher interest rates meaning that you may end up plunging into further financial pitfalls. Bankruptcy is perhaps the worst blotch that will reflect in your credit history profile and therefore you have to trade in cautiously when borrowing unsecured loans.

The first step you need to attempt to do is build up a good image on your credit history in the coming times.  If you have been in a bankruptcy case, you may not be able to obtain loans for a period of 10 years. Similarly, if you have records of charge offs, repossessions, unpaid collections and other serious payment defaults, this could take you up to 7 years for you to be able to apply a loan comfortably.

Even after that period, you may only be eligible to certain amounts of loan principal. As lending institutions continue to increase their confidence with borrowers especially those on bankruptcy records, more creditors are willing to offer unsecured loans. Because you are looking for unsecured loan for bad credit record, it means that you will not be able to offer collateral for the credit facility. The lender will not be able to claim on your assets should you fail to repay the loan.

In order to be able to borrow, it will depend on your ability to repay. If you have steady income, you may be able to sail through the loan repayment comfortably. However, you need to opt for low interest rate unsecured bad credit loans. Because you do not want to taint the bad credit report any further, you need to ensure that you can repay the loan. You need to borrow cautiously meaning that the loan amount should be manageable.

You may also need to get into an arrangement where you get payment protection insurance that will enable you get a cover for your monthly loan repayments. Such protection can save you from unforeseen misfortunes that may strike your way in the course of repaying the loan. Remember any delinquencies on the loans can increase interest rates something, which you would want to avoid.

In addition, delinquencies can result to untimely fines that further constrain your financial ability. When bankruptcy strikes, things take a dramatic change and picking up the pieces and leading your normal life becomes a challenge.

Although chapter 7-bankruptcy law and chapter 13-bankruptcy legislation may help you minimize the burden put forward by your state of bankruptcy, perhaps the best option is to get a loan and pay it off in time. When borrowing the short term unsecured loans, ensure you use them to build low to medium term risk investments. The short-term loanswill help improve your credit score and be able to get lower interest loans in future.