Every time you apply for credit, for example a credit card or a loan, the lender will request to see your credit history from a credit reference agency. The information they hold is so detailed that there's really no need for us to fill out that long application form, because within a fraction of a second they can see all they need to know from Experian, Equifax or Callcredit, the three main credit reference agencies. You would be very surprised to see just how much they know about you.

Banks, building societies and other financial institutions providing credit have been passing on details of your financial transactions to the credit agencies. Every time you apply for a credit card, every time you miss a mortgage repayment – it gets noted. They know whether you pay the minimum or the balance each month, they even know details of your credit limit on each credit card. They also look to public records, the voters' roll and the public register of court actions because that is where all county court judgements are listed. It all happens automatically, and when your credit history is requested, the computer will provide a statistical analysis of your financial habits and provide an assessment of your suitability. It enables, the industry argues, lenders to make an accurate judgement about whether they should lend you money or not.

However, there is one piece of financial information that the credit agencies are not allowed to access, and that's the student loans. Despite the industry's remonstrations to the government, nothing has changed, and they are not allowed to access the information. The reason? Student loans constitute a debt to the taxpayer, they were not funded by commercial business.

Before September 1998, the student loan system worked like this: once graduates were working and earning the national average, which was £15,000 at the time, they had to repay their loan on a monthly basis by direct debit. 59,000 of those pre-1998 graduates still haven't started repaying their loan, and each has on average a debt of £2,750.

In September 1998, the student loan system changed, and the system remains the same to this day. Now, repayments are taken directly at source, straight from the salary in the same way as national insurance and income tax. This method has been a lot more successful.

The lending industry is not happy about the student loan situation, their main argument being that they need to know, when considering an application for credit, if the applicant has extra financial responsibilities. The introduction of top-up fees resulted in increasingly large student debts, and as the post-1998 loans have to be paid off at a rate of 9% of the graduate's income once it has reached £15,000, it is a large portion of income to lose.

The Association Consumer Credit Counselling Service made the following statement: “Knowing whether a young person has a student loan and whether it is being paid back, is useful.” So they are in agreement with the lenders.

The Citizens Advice Bureau is also keen to have the information made public, because they feel that graduates could be taking on too much debt, and if lenders could see their student loans, they would ensure that graduates are not given the ability to borrow beyond their means.

However, the Department for Education and Skills is showing no signs of wavering on its decision to keep individuals' debts to the Student Loan Company private.

For the foreseeable future – the situation will remain the same and student loans information will be inaccessible to the credit industry.

Defining your savings goals is the first thing to do before you invest, especially when that investment will have an impact on your child’s future.

It is after-all your child’s future that you are investing in--and school finance cannot be avoided, as babies will grow into adults who need to be given the best opportunities we can offer as parents.

The best advice that any parent can get is to start saving early. College tuition fees can cause a strain on your family's budget and lifestyle. You need to have a goal to keep you motivated to save. And what better motivation is there than knowing that the money you save will finance your child's education.

Normally the best stage to start saving for your child’s finance towards college tuition is at birth. If, however, you have not started, then the time to start saving is now. It is never too late to start saving.

The sooner you start saving, the more time there’ll be for compound interest to build up into a nice college fund for your child. Remember that each child should get his or her school finance savings fund.

You also need to decide the amount you intend to save by the time that your child reaches college age. There are many options available for you to choose from when it dollar amount. This means that you calculate the projected cost of public college tuition by the time your child is ready for college.

The other commonly used method, which many parents prefer, involves devoting a fixed percentage of income to their child's future college costs. The idea is this: whatever you do, you have to have a defined goal. You should save as much as you can, whether it be a large amount, like several hundred dollars a month or a more modest amount, such as $25 to $50 each month.

A college education is an investment in the future of your child. If you truly want to see your child succeed, as all parents do, what could possibly be a better investment?

Most people would never consider installing a new transmission in their car by themselves. They don't have the time or skills, so they hire a mechanic for peace of mind. Many of today's investors take the same approach to investing and get expert advice from an experienced financial adviser.

The 77 million Americans who are preparing to enter retirement want to ensure their savings won't run out. The average investor, however, doesn't understand market fluctuations or complex financial products. Studies show that those who seek the advice of a financial adviser are more confident about their financial futures-but how do you find the right person for the job?

Step 1-Identify your needs. Whether you need assistance with retirement planning or saving for your children's education, you should define your financial objectives before you begin your search for an adviser.

Step 2-Ask friends, family and co-workers to make recommendations. Your financial adviser should be someone you trust-you're putting your hard-earned money in their hands.

Step 3-Interview at least three advisers before making the final selection.

During the interview process, there are many factors to consider. Look for an adviser who has extensive experience in multiple areas, including investments, insurance and retirement planning. You will also want to inquire about the adviser's licensing-he or she should have a Series 6 or 7 registration in good standing. You can check an adviser's record by contacting the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) at (800) 289-9999.

Once you've confirmed that the adviser has a good track record, it's time to delve deeper into his or her personality. A good adviser will consider all aspects of your financial situation and design a customized plan to help you achieve your goals. He or she will provide the same level of service to all clients, regardless of how much they invest. It's also critical that your adviser's "investment philosophy" is consistent with your own. For example, an adviser who favors risky strategies is not a good match for a conservative investor.

Bad Credit and Unsecured Credit Cards: Two terms that don’t often go together.

If you are a consumer that is suffering from a poor credit history you are likely to be aware of how hard it is to get an unsecured credit card. A good majority of consumers are enjoying the conveniences of being able to shop with a credit card carrying and unsecured credit limit. While it is extremely nice to be able to apply for and actually qualify for a credit card you do not have to put money down to get you will quickly see that an unsecured credit card is usually the type of credit card that someone with bad credit is not very likely to obtain.

Since an unsecured credit card isn’t very likely if you are having issues with your credit the best plan of action is to look into a secured credit card for the time being. There are many different types of secured credit cards out on the market for people with bad credit all with different options so be sure to shop around so do some comparison shopping so you locate the card that is going to best meet your needs.

Now while there is no rule set in stone about the exact time that you would be able to apply for and actually qualify for a credit card with an unsecured limit there are some factors that will determine what types of cards that you will qualify for. For instance your debit to credit ratio plays a big factor in whether or not you could get an unsecured credit card.

So while it is not unheard of for someone with a bad credit history to obtain an unsecured credit card the route that is easiest for most consumers is to obtain a secured credit card build up their credit and then apply for the unsecured credit card if they so choose.

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In today's world, shopping in "brick and mortar" stores seems so backward, dated, and boring. Millions of people each year sit in their jammies while drinking wine and shop for clothes, household goods, gifts, and just about anything else you can imagine.

One of the great benefits to shopping online is the various coupon, rebate and dollar-back programs available. If you click through a link, or use a coupon code, your savings can be substantial. In addition, you get all the myriad benefits of shopping online - no children to drag through stores, no gas costs to get there and back, and no hassle of dealing with crowds.

So, once you're convinced to shop online, where can you find the savings? There are several ways to save money online. Let's start with coupons.

Coupons

This is a fairly standard. Go to one of the coupon sites (many will be provided below) and look for the store you want to shop with, or search by category, depending on your needs. Be sure to click "apply" when you enter the coupon during checkout.

Although in the early days of online shopping, coupon codes were plentiful and generous (frequently you could find $10 off a $10 purchase with free shipping), good coupons these days are hard to find. Some stores (like Lands' End) rarely offer coupons while others (L.L. Bean) often offer free shipping on any size order. When you order, or even if you don't order, be sure to sign up with the website either by registering or signing up for coupons. These direct-email coupons are often some of the best you'll ever find.

Here are some excellent coupon sites to get you started:

MyBargainBuddy.com -- Here, a mom compiles good deals and coupon codes for you. Some of the best deals need no coupon at all, but if there's a good deal and a coupon to go with it, all the better.

FatWallet.com -- Lots of codes here along with active message boards where other deals can be found.

MyCoupons.com -- The most beneficial part of this site are the message boards, which are alive with the sound of people saving money. Check out the posts that have stickies on them at the start of each forum - there are often some good links to printable coupons here for favorites like Toys R Us and Chuck e Cheese.

One note: If you are looking for a code for a certain store, don't assume that if it's not available at one website, it doesn't exist. There are different codes at different sites. Visit several coupon sites before giving up hope that a code does in fact exist for that store.

Rebates

Here's how the big daddy of online rebate programs works. Go to Ebates.com and sign up for an account. There's a sign up bonus of $5, so you already have a free $5 coming to you. Then, when you go shopping, check Ebates before heading directly to an online store. Even if you have a coupon from another site, click through the store link on the Ebates page for more savings.

Let's say you choose a new jacket from Kohls and you have a $10 off a $75 purchase. Great. Keeping the coupon code in hand, you head to Ebates and find Kohls among the list of stores. This store offers 2% back, so you click through the Kohls link on the Ebates page, and make your purchase. Not only do you benefit from the coupon code you applied, but also got an extra 2% back on your purchase. Not a bad deal. Ebates will send money to your Paypal account or send you a check.

Points

Not everyone knows about the various point programs available, but since you can earn points without doing any shopping, the points programs are worth knowing.

Visit MyPoints.com and sign up for an account. My Points will send emails (sometimes daily, sometimes several in one day). You click a link in the mail and automatically get 5 points. Sign up for an offer or make a purchase through that link and earn even more points, from hundreds to thousands of points per offer.

My Points is most useful, however, when you're shopping online. It's like Ebates in that you click through a link on the My Points site, and you get points for your purchase. Most stores offer a certain number of points (2 to 4 on average) per dollar spent. Once you have at least 1,000 points, you can redeem the points for gift certificates for restaurants, gas, travel and clothing.

You can't use Ebates and My Points in the same purchase, so if a store is linked through both Ebates and My Points, you have to decide which is the better deal for you. Whenever possible, try to combine a coupon code with the My Points or Ebates deal.

Where ever you are presently in your life you can begin to make large amounts of money very fast if you understand a few simple principles. Despite what anyone may tell you these principles of generating money fast do work.

These principles are not difficult but in order to understand them you must process them. You must take the time to give them some thought, until the thought becomes a part of your very being.

How to make money fast is one of the hot topics on everyone’s mind. Most people will tell you that claims of making fast money is a hokes. Those are the very people who believe that only hard work and struggle can create money. However despite the hard work, the concept of fast money is still not part of the equation. After all if you are working very hard you are unlikely to be making the sort of fast money that you would dream of.

I can tell you from first hand experience that fast money does not come through hard work. If you are marketing your business or interested in accumulating more money struggling will only kill your changes of getting money in a fast and easily way.


--The First Step--

The first think you need in order to make fast money is to have a clear goal. How much do you want? You would be so surprise at how many people want more money but don’t have a clear idea as to how much they want.

Without a clear goal your desire is just a wish, it is not concrete. Be specific about how much money you want and by when you would like to have it.


--The Second Step—

The very next step is to take inspired action. Inspired action comes from the universe as a nudge. It’s the perfect idea, job or business that will help you in getting your goal accomplished.

It makes no sense trying to do something that your neighbor or your coworker tried. What is an ideal opportunity to make fast money for them may not be ideal for you. Besides your goals are unique and the opportunities that are rightfully aligned for you are rightfully suited for you to reach your goal in the time that you desire.


--The Third Step—

The third most powerful step is to have a clear and bright vision of your goal. This is where most people fail. Most people get caught up in fear and worry that their goal will not be able to materialize and spend lots of wasted time holding back on their actions.

How many times have you been offered a great idea which you may have promised to do but allowed your fears to get in the way?

You must be able to hold your vision in such a way as to feed it with your own personal powerful intention that your vision will materializes money a lot faster than usual.

Many people who understand the power of holding a clear vision have gone on to make money very fast again and again. Those are the ones who deeply understood the precise way. With a little time and your deep desire you can literally suck money to you faster.

Over the years I can honestly say that I have tested all these theories and without fail they work in generating money faster than if I did not practice these methods.

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1. Interest Backdating

Most card issuers charge interest from the day a charge is posted to your
account if you don¹t pay in full monthly. But, some charge interest from the
date of purchase, days before they have even paid the store on your behalf!

REMEDY: Find another card issuer, or always pay your bill in full by the
due date.



2. Two-Cycle Billing

Issuers which use this method of calculating interest, charge two months worth
of interest for the first month you failed to pay off your total balance in
full. This issue arises only when you switch from paying in full to carrying a
balance from month to month.

REMEDY: Switch issuers or always pay your balance in full.



3. The Right To Setoff

If you have money on deposit at a bank, and also have your credit card there,
you may have signed an agreement when you opened the deposit account which
permits the bank to take those funds if you become delinquent on your credit
card.

REMEDY: Bank at separate institutions, or avoid delinquencies.



4. Fees Are Negotiable

You may be paying up to $50 a year or more as an annual fee on your credit card.
You may also be subject to finance charges of over 18%.

REMEDY: If you are a good customer, the bank may be willing to drop the
annual fee, and reduce the interest rate ‹ you only have to ask! Otherwise, you
can switch issuers to a lower- priced card.



5. Interest Rate Hikes Are Retroactive

If you sign up for a credit card with a low "teaser" rate, such as 7.9%, when
the low rate period expires, your existing balance will likely be subject to the
regular and substantially higher interest rate.

REMEDY: Pay in full before the rate increase or close the account.



6. Shortened Due Dates

Most card issuers offer a 25 day grace period in which to pay for new purchases
without incurring finance charges. Some banks have shortened the grace period to
20 days‹but only for customers who pay in full monthly.

REMEDY: Ask to go back to 25 days.

SOURCE: MASSACHUSETTS EXECUTIVE
OFFICE OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS AND BUSINESS REGULATION