Commercials for payday loans make them appear like a quick, simple, sensible way to receive finances when you’re in a fiscal bind. They tell you that receiving $100 is as simple as showing a latest ticket stub, your driving license copy, or a blank check. They don’t tell that for a lot of people, returning that $100 might end up in months, or even years, and coming to thousands of dollars to return.

The work of short-term loans

For example, you have to borrow $100 until next payday. You pen the creditor a postdated check for the value of the credit plus the fee. Creditors compute payday loan dues in one of two manners – as a rate of the value you borrow, such as 10%, or as a placed value per $1 borrowed, such as $15 for every $100 borrowed.

After you pen the check, the creditor provides you the money or automatically lodges the credit into your running account. Later, on your settlement-day, the creditor cashes your check lest you prolong the credit. Prolong the loan, as well referred to as “rolling over” the loan, costs one more fee and lets you hold the loan for another term. You pay a fee every time you prolong the credit.

What payday loan costs

The Truth in Lending Act orders all creditors, involving online creditors, to divulge the price of the loan in writing before you undersign any contract. They have to provide you this data in terms of the money charge and APR, or Annual Percentage Rate. Even after getting this data, you might not comprehend just how costly payday loans really are.

For instance, one payday creditor, charges $17.50 per each $100 borrowed. On a 10-day credit, your efficient APR is around 640%! This is fifteen times more than some of the costliest credit card default percentages.

Frequently, borrowers locate themselves borrowing new cash loan to cover old ones and completely end up borrowing thousands of dollars on what began as couple of hundred dollars of backlog.

Catching the military and the poor

Over and over again statistics display that cash loan companies intend to overreach poor customers. You will infrequently locate any payday credit stores in the upper-middle category vicinity of the town, where borrowers would practically afford to compensate the credits. Instead, you will see them in the poor and black suburbs of the city and around army bases as well. For instance, a Yahoo Maps search resulted in twelve cash advance and cash loan industries within 5 miles of Fort Knox, Kentucky, an American Army Post Office.

Alternates to payday credits

It would not be right to totally disband payday credits, or payday loans. Anyway, if you have difficulties in getting a cash loan, here are some alternatives:

• You can order a small credit from your credit union or bank
• Get a cash advance from your credit card – shop around for better fees and rates
• Customer loan counseling
• Cash advance from your boss
• Small credit from a friend or family member
• Obstacle paying plan from your lenders
• Emergency obstacle system – usually proffered by your city, county, or state’s manpower resource department

Lot #17 – Driveway and house site cleared. Open to offers. A unique, large acreage waterfront lot near a great full service town.

The Malone Bay community features 18 lots at W. Kerr Scott Dam & Reservoir. Fourteen (14) are Lakefront and meet private dock requirements. All lots have access to public water, saving owners from $5,000 to $10,000 on drilling a well. These lots have public water and will save you the cost of drilling a well. The entire development also features underground utilities.

This is a gated community with lots ranging from 2.3+- acres to 6.8+- acres on the Hwy 421 side of the lake just off South Minton Road, Wilkesboro, NC 28697

W. Kerr Scott Lake is 1500 acres with 50 miles of shoreline and is controlled by the US Army Corps of Engineers. It is clean water with good fishing and is excellent for boating, kayaking, skiing, and swimming. The property is surrounded by National Parks. Wilkesboro is a beautiful community and town with friendly people. It is located just 40 miles east of Boone and Blowing Rock, NC and one and a half hours northwest of Charlotte.

Main Channel Views.
Private dock.

3.87 acres.

MLS Number: 52139
List Price: $242,500
Lot Size: 3.87 ac.
Apx Acreage: 3.87
Type: Waterfront
Area: Area 2
Suitable Use: Residential

Topography: Rolling
Utilities: Underground Utilities
Road Frontage: Private Road
Restrictions: yes
Water/Sewer: Public Water
Location: Malone Way

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During the winter season you definitely think of having a good time on the beach more often as you do in summer. And if you dwell in the Snow Belt, such thought may be accompanied by worries, seeing snow and wind outside your window. It may be a very good way to make great winter landscape photos, but ice and snow are not the best conditions to go driving and keep your car safe.

Securing yourself from such hazards implies winterizing the vehicle

Here are certain things to consider doing before the first snows come to your place if you don’t want to get in trouble on the road:

• Perform a seasonal check of your car with a certified and experienced mechanic. See if your tires are inflated enough and have a good grip of the road, check your antifreeze, defrost and heating systems, setup new wiper blades if necessary and see if your brakes are working properly.
• Make sure to have the following items in your car during the winter season: ice scraper, cell phone, snow shovel, flashlight, tire chains, jumper cables, blankets, lock deicer, food and water.
• Make an extra copy of your car key to avoid locking yourself outside of your car.
• It’s better to keep your vehicle in the garage during the cold season in order to avoid start up problems.
• Auto clubs are a very good help in the winter, especially when you need a free jump start or tow.
• Keep your auto insurance in order and make sure it’s sufficient/ Winter is the season of increased traffic risks and it’s more likely to have a mishap during that time. So keep your coverage amounts over the minimum.

Additional tips on winter car driving

Besides following the car storage tips, there are also some guidelines on how to drive your car in the winter that you might find helpful:

• It’s better to keep all of your windows clean to have a better view during bad weather. Wipers and defrosters are your best helpers in this, and don’t hesitate to stop your car and clear your windows if you have a bad view from your car.
• Try using highways and main roads during the winter time, because the back roads are more likely to be covered with snow and ice.
• Keeping your tank full with gas is a must because running out of it in the cold means much more trouble than during the warmer seasons.
• Defensive driving is a must. Being aggressive on a snowy road is the same as driving 100 mph with a blindfold on.
• Know how to drive your car in snow. See how the vehicle responds to complicated weather conditions. Try practicing at an empty parking lot for that.
• Test your brakes on a regular basis when driving in complicated conditions, and see how their respond changes with the shift in environment.
• In case your car breaks down, stay with your auto until help arrives and use the heat of the running motor to stay warm. However make sure to not run out of gas.
• Be as rational as possible. Drive responsibly, or don’t drive at all if the weather is too poor and the visibility makes it impossible to drive a car properly. Have good auto insurance coverage for emergency.

Contact Elizabeth Carter, 336.973.5594 or Greg Stikeleather, Broker, 704.880.5247 or email eacarter@charter.net

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The general statistics show that health insurance premiums have been rising faster than inflation in the business sector while the extent of the cover is being more narrowly defined. It is the old “less for more” syndrome. Insurance companies are not unjustified in raising their premiums. They can point to the rising costs of drugs and medical devices, and the increasing charges levied by hospitals, clinics and professional health care providers. Since their costs are rising and their investors expect a dividend, premiums must rise. Worse, the health of the nation is deteriorating. With an epidemic of obesity, the health services are buckling under the resulting waves of cases with high blood pressure, heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Unless there is government intervention to fund the national expansion of health care, the costs for all will rise. This gives business owners and managers a serious problem as the recession gathers pace and revenues fall. How does a business reduce costs without sacrificing the employees’ goodwill? Under normal circumstances, it would trade-off between the cost of the health plan and other benefits. But in this economic situation, it is likely that pay and benefits must be reduced if the business is to survive with full employment. Among small businesses, the number of employers providing health plans has dropped 10% in the last three years. Alternatively, a number of nonessential employees will have to leave to pay for continuing benefits for the survivors – painful downsizing. One compromise tactic is to play the yearly “shuffle”. Insurance companies often offer a first year discount. So some small businesses look to transfer their health plan to a new carrier every year. This is a real administrative headache and inconvenient for all the employees to switch doctors, but it does save money. The great hope was that businesses would pool their insurance and negotiate their cover as a group. Insurance companies have mostly won the war against this both as an initiative of business associations and at state level. California, for example, attempted to combine features of the individual and group market. This was not a great success. This leaves business with the choices of increasing the deductibles or making the co-payments or paying the expenses fo the employees. These are slightly risky options because, unless limits are written into the commitment, a serious accident involving one employee or one long-term illness can swamp the budget. However, this is a balancing of cause and effect. In any group plan, major costs incurred by one can also drive up the premium for everyone in the plan. Insurance helps to keep businesses afloat. Small business insurance is particularly important because, until there are cash reserves to fall back on, even a small liability can be devastating. Health insurance is a valuable part of the remuneration package in businesses of all size. It helps maintain staff morale and gives a business the best chance of keeping key personnel healthy. But, equally, business insurance premiums must remain affordable. Hence, the interest of business associations and states in group schemes.

The U.S. government recommends that adults eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, including two or more servings of fruits and three or more servings of vegetables.

We all know that eating fresh fruits is very healthy.

But are there any health benefits to eating dried fruits?

Dried fruit is well packed with vital vitamins and minerals such as vitamin C, vitamin A, B6, potassium and magnesium. Dried fruits are high in dietary fiber that aid against corpulence, high blood pressure and factors that contribute to the chance for heart disease. The benefits of dried fruit are plentiful.

Some research has shown dried fruits to be as much as four times higher in antioxidants than their fresh counterparts.

For example, did you know that 5 pounds of fresh apricots produce only one pound of dried apricots? For this reason, dried apricots carry a much higher concentration level of nutrients than any other forms.

Are dried fruits more calorically dense than their fresh counterparts?

There are two reasons why dried fruit may have more calories and sugar than fresh fruit. First, sometimes sugar is added to dried fruits such as cranberries. Since cranberries are so tart, very few people would eat thi without the added sugar, but of course the added sugar adds calories.

The more common reason that dried fruits will usually have more calories and sugar is because the dehydration process rioves so much of the water normally found in the fruit. A handful of raisins is the calorie equivalent of a pound of grapes.

To sum things up, both dried and fresh fruit have nutritional benefits.

The Malone Bay community features 18 lots at W. Kerr Scott Dam & Reservoir. Fourteen (14) are Lakefront and meet private dock requirements. All lots have access to public water, saving owners from $5,000 to $10,000 on drilling a well. These lots have public water and will save you the cost of drilling a well. The entire development also features underground utilities.

This is a gated community with lots ranging from 2.3+- acres to 6.8+- acres on the Hwy 421 side of the lake just off South Minton Road, Wilkesboro, NC 28697

W. Kerr Scott Lake is 1500 acres with 50 miles of shoreline and is controlled by the US Army Corps of Engineers. It is clean water with good fishing and is excellent for boating, kayaking, skiing, and swimming. The property is surrounded by National Parks. Wilkesboro is a beautiful community and town with friendly people. It is located just 40 miles east of Boone and Blowing Rock, NC and one and a half hours northwest of Charlotte.

click here for more information

Originally the word ‘wealth’ was derived from the Old English word ‘weal’ which denoted the possession of great qualities. This eventually led to the term being used to indicate ‘well being’.

In the hustle and bustle of modern life, in a world that is more and more commercially driven, the well being of a person is particularly dependent upon their resources. Since Western modern societies have shifted away from being predominantly agriculturally based, the focus of valuable resources for the average person is quite firmly centered on the particular financial resources a person may have at their disposal.

Often the term ‘asset’ is associated with the serious finance of corporations, and particularly frequently in an accounting context. Quite simply, however, an asset is anything that a person may possess within their control that is able to be readily converted into cash.

Assets come in various forms and can include anything from actual cash, to balances in a bank account, stocks and bonds, possessions, buildings and land, equipment, and even extend to what are known as ‘intangible assets’. The latter are able to be converted into cash but are unable to be physically handled because they are in the form of a right or entitlement. Such things as a patent or a copyright, or the goodwill of a business may be termed as an intangible asset. Many businesses choose to protect their assets through a business life insurance policy, enabling them to protect shares, key people within the company or their employees.

Of course, as reluctant as most of us are to undertake a lengthy study of accounting and economic theory, it is interesting to note that all of us engage in some form of accounting analysis each day.

Every day we participate in an economy where we pay others for the privilege of consuming goods or services. The ability to pay for these valuables stems from the assets that we already have control over, or assets that we create by receiving payment ourselves.

This ability or purchasing power to pay for things that we need is entirely dependent on the flow of ‘value’ or money. However, just like any dam full of water, if it isn’t topped up it will eventually run dry….

So herein lays an extremely important issue.

Any discussion of assets necessarily includes the recognition of what are known as ‘liabilities’ and these include the debts or financial obligations that a person owes to others already, or those that they will owe at a time in the future.

Given that an asset is something that can be converted into cash, if a person were to convert all of their assets into cash and then repay all of their debts, bills or ‘liabilities’, then the excess balance would be what is known as financial equity or ownership.

If, of course, the result is that there are liabilities left outstanding, then we are presented with a person who has negative equity and is really one who, without financial recovery, is living on borrowed time before the inevitable conclusion is drawn that creditors are unable to be paid.

This condition has a number of consequences, the most serious of which may be in the form of bankruptcy, which is a formal and legal declaration that a person’s creditors are unable to be paid. This may lead to restrictions being imposed on a person that restrain them from the full participation in economic life that other people enjoy. Concessions often need to be made, such as giving up smoking; worthy of noting is that non-smokers enjoy much lower premiums on life insurance, whereas a smoker’s life insurance premiums are often up to 50-60% more expensive than a non-smoker’s. Clearly, this demonstrates the need for sound asset management.