Tools and tricks to pay off your loan debts faster

Amongst the different options you can consider to satisfy your financial requirements, loans have always been favourable options. Not only do you get to borrow a lot of funds, but you also get a convenient time to repay back the borrowed funds along with a small sum that conforms as the interest.

But overtime, without proper management and planning, your loan repayment will turn into a never ending loan debt. This is especially the case in long-term loans, such as home loans and business loans. Additionally, there’s a risk in the case of secured loans, where the collateral provided will be reclaimed if the borrowed funds are not paid on time.

The only way to avoid such a situation is to pay off your loan debts fast. Given below are a few tricks and tools such as the loan calculator in India you can use to aid you in this process:

Refinance your loan: High-interest rates and long tenures often make it difficult for a loan owner to repay the loan on time. However, refinancing the loan will help reduce the time spent to repay the loan as well as the original loan rates to a more favourable one. Plenty of lenders does offer to refinance loans at affordable rates. However, this is applicable only to certain loans. You will need to conduct appropriate research before you apply for a loan refinance. Additionally, you will also need to know how much of refinancing will suit your needs. Using the appropriate loan calculator you can easily calculate the appropriate amount.

Use any windfalls to pay off your loans: During some time in the year, you will come into extra funds through your body, holiday, annual bonus or even festive bonuses. At such a stage, you may get the urge to spend it on something exciting for you or your family. At such a stage, it is important that you resist the urge. Instead take the profit and convert it into a payment to pay off your loan debt. This will provide you with relief in your repayment. Additionally, you will be able to save more to pay off the loan faster.

Use the loan calculator to make a repayment plan
A strong repayment plan is one of the most important steps when it comes to repaying any loan debt. You must first plan a flexible baseline to your payments to know how much you will be able to pay per month within a given repayment tenure. You can do this by using the loan calculator.  You can use the different loan calculator in India for the appropriate loan you have applied for. You can even use a general loan calculator to calculate multiple loans.

Personal Loan: How to ensure an easy personal loan management

Financial requirements will come and go in your life. However, at times, it will exceed the amount you earn. At such a time, you can always turn to a personal loan to get the required funds you would want.

But like other loans, this loan must be carefully considered, as well as planned. An unplanned loan will lead to high loan rates, late repayments and eventually a high debt that you may not manage. The best way to manage your loan is to prearrange it. Here are a few factors you can consider when it comes to ensure an easy loan management.

Assess yourself: The first step you will need to take is self – assessment. A true assessment of your assets, liabilities and current financial responsibilities will provide you with the awareness that reflects your true affordability. Use the personal loan EMI calculator to get an idea of how much you can afford. If your current requirements exceed over 45% of your income after deductions, then you must rethink your loan application.

Have a thorough research on lenders:  By now you have come across various advertisements that indicate how easy it is to get a personal loan. However, in this case, it is more easier to get influenced that by getting a good personal loan. To avoid such a potential situation, you must compare the different lenders on various aggregator websites before you narrow down your choices. Use all possible mediums to compare their offerings before making your choice.

Check your CIBIL score: This is a step that most loan applicants tend to skip before the application process. Your CIBIL score is an important factor as lenders use it as a means to decide your credit worthiness. If your score is below 750, your application will either get rejected, or you may not get the loan rates that you want. It is ideal to check your score at least 6 months before your loan application so that you can get an idea whether to you need to improve your score or continue with your application.

Awareness and negotiation: By this stage, you would have adequately prepared for your application, while zeroing on your lender. Now is the time to approach your lender for the funds. You will be presented with the loan offer and terms and conditions. However, make sure that you are thoroughly ware of the important components such as the interest rates, payment options, various charges and penalties. If you must ask questions during the final negotiations, go ahead and do so. In case you have a high CIBIL score, you can even sweeten the deal by negotiating for better rates. You can even use the personal loan EMI calculator to get an idea of what loan rates you can afford and negotiate for.

Credit card: Benefits that will help save you cash

Many individuals are only aware of using the credit card, to borrow funds from the lender and repay it later. At the same time, you would be required to repay back the borrowed funds, along with an added interest rate.

However, while these credit cards can only be used to withdraw funds for any financial purpose, they can also be used to save cash in the long run. Given below are a few factors you can take into consideration to save your funds, if you are applying for any of credit cards in India:

Life insurance: When you apply for certain credit cards for certain usages say travelling, you are liable to get free insurance. Some of these cards also provide you with special coverage, such as hijacking. This form of life insurance works as a benefit on your credit card, providing you protection in case an unfortunate event occurs when you are travelling by air.

Protection against fraud: Online frauds have become one of the biggest and rising concerns of individuals who want to use credit cards in India. However, to compensate this risk, plenty of the credit card lenders are now providing protection against online frauds. These cards have different policies to safeguard your online transaction as long as you comply to their terms and conditions. Some cards will protect your from any fraudulent transactions even before you are aware of their occurrence or report the loss of a the card. However, you will be still required to take the necessary steps to report the loss or misuse of the card.

Low foreign transaction charges: Individuals have always assumed that using a credit card on an international trip is an expensive affair. However, certain credit cards do offer the best forex rate, if you only get a card with low foreign transaction charges. With the right rates, you can get a credit card charge of 3.5 % transaction, with premier credit card charges of 2% on foreign transactions. You can even use these premier cards to purchase other products from foreign websites to save funds in the long run.

Free access to lounges across selected airports: The airport lounges may seem like an expensive affair, when adding its charges to your credit card. With almost Rs. 1200 as a basic rate, you definitely would not want to add this charge on your card. But with the right credit card, you can easily get a free access to airport lounges, with an annual cost. As compared to daily expenditures, this will go a long way to reduce your expenditures.

Loan on credit card: Most of the credit card lenders are providing a loan against credit cards. However, the loan rates will depend on your credit worthiness based on your credit limit and your card usage. If you maintain a clean credit history with an excellent repayment history, you can easily get a loan rate that suits your need.

Are personal loans your choice for financial assistance?

When it comes to fulfilling any financial requirement, you can always opt for a loan. But in this case, it is crucial that you opt for the right choice of loan. For example, when opting for financial assistance for one’s business, the business loan will be the ideal choice. Similarly, you can also opt for a car loan to purchase a car or a bike loan for a bike.

But for other miscellaneous requirements, the personal loan is one choice, with the alternative being the loan against property. This personal loan in India has become one of the most popular choices for many individuals. But like any other loan, in order to get the best personal loan you will need to understand that risks that come with the loan. They include:

High interest rates: While the personal loans do have a lower interest rate as compared to banking cards, they still comprise of the highest interest rates amongst the loans. This is due to the fact that the loan comes under the category of unsecured loans. While those with an excellent credit score can get a loan with the lowest possible rate, those with an average score would still a rate over 11%. It would compound quickly and significantly add to the amount that would pay back.

Higher debt: Some individuals use this personal loan in India for purposes under good intentions, such as paying off a higher debt like a high interest credit card. However, in such instances, you rarely get to pay down the debt, and end up with a higher credit card balance, alongside a loan. You must opt for a loan, if you have a fixed concrete repayment plan where you can safely and comfortably make payments out of your debt.

Access your assets: Since personal loans come under the category of unsecured loans, many applicants believe that they can get away from repaying the loan. However, contrary to that belief, if there is a delay in repayment or even, your lender will look for other means to repay back your loan. This will include the income you have or the assets your have under your name. Unsecured loans may not be connected to your home, but you still need to guarantee that you will repay the debt personally.

Personal loans may provide a convenient and quick option for people anytime they need cash to handle any unexpected payments or emergencies. Without the need to pay any collateral, many borrowed would easily get the amount they require in a matter of hours or weeks. However, while it can be expedient for applicants who would want to use the money wisely, it can quickly turn into a dangerous option of high debt balances and crushing interest rates. Therefore, if you want best personal loan you need to be take out the absolute amount that will minimize your risk of falling into a debt trap.

Are you aware of these factors that can affect your loan application?

At a time when you have an urgent and large financial requirement, the loan will prove to be the ideal option to satisfy this requirement. No doubt, when you are applying for the loan, you will consider factors such as the principal amount, interest rate and the repayment tenure. There are other factors that you need to consider, such as the down payment, collateral, EMIs and even the eligibility criteria.

All these factors in total, will have an important role to play when determining the ideal loan that will suit your financial requirement. Given below are a few important factors you need to consider when applying for your loan:

Eligibility criteria:
While there are plenty of different types of loans available in the market, each of these loans come with different features, add – ons and risk levels. When applying for any of these loans, as a borrower, as a rule you will be required to repay the borrowed funds and interest, within the given period. But from a lender’s point of view, there will always be a risk of the borrower defaulting. In order to combat this risk and reduce the chances of defaulting occurring, lenders often include an eligibility criteria when applying for a loan. If you satisfy the eligibility criteria, you will be automatically eligible to get the best loan rates.

EMI calculator
When you apply for a loan, you focus on your financial requirement. However, in the end, you will still be required to repay back the borrowed funds along with the interest rate, within the given tenure, through EMI’s. But planning the right EMI is a crucial step, as it allows you to have sufficient funds for other daily expenditures or emergency financial requirements. By using the EMI calculator, you will be required to calculate the EMI that will help repay back the funds as well provide you with sufficient financial corpus for other requirements. 

Collateral
Unlike other loans, a borrower will need to provide a collateral when opting for a secured loan. Depending on the value of the collateral, other influential factors such as the interest rate and the principal amount will be determined. Normally, when you apply for a loan to purchase a particular entity, such as a home or a car, these objects themselves are used as collateral. However, you can add additional collateral to get a loan amount that will suit your financial needs.

Down payment
As a part of the secured loan application process, you will need to provide a small amount of the value of collateral being purchased. This amount can be anywhere between 20 to 30% of the loan amount. The higher the down payment, the more favorable will be the loan rates. You can even use the EMI calculator to calculate the EMI and the down payment you can afford.

While there are plenty of other factors that can affect your loan, these are the important ones you need to consider. You can always approach your lender to know more.

ATM card fraud:How to look out for warning signs and avoid getting scammed?

Almost every individual has some form of ATM card with them in this day and age. Whether it is a normal card or even a debit card, you can use this card to withdraw funds at the ATM terminal. But while this card offers flexible financial means to access funds, it also offers fraudsters the opportunity to earn a quick buck at the expense of you.

So how can you avoid being in a position where your bank account and the funds within in are vulnerable to others? The first step is to understand where the possible places and locations are your ATM card will be compromised. It is mostly in places where you would swipe your card. Here are few warning signs you can keep a look out in these places:

• A bulky card slot suggests that the ATM is compromised. A skimmer device may be in place, causing the added bulkiness. These devices are often indistinguishable from other real card readers as they are often placed above genuine readers. To confirm this, check for a gap between the reader and the pin pad.

• Loose or blocked card slots may indicate a system known as the ‘Lebanese Loop’. In this case, the strip of metal or plastic is inserted into the bank card slot, which traps the card within the card slot. Once the customer walks away to call for help or wait for assistance, the thieves return and retrieve jammed cards. To look out for such a scam, look out for a card reader slot that sticks out further than other parts of the machine.

• A loose or spongy pin pad can indicate a fake pin pad. Counterfeit pin pads allow thieves to retrieve your PIN number, as soon as you input it. Check and see if the pin pad is loose or thicker than normal.

While you are looking out for warning signs is one steps, you can always take certain measures to avoid being scammed. Here are a few steps you can take into consideration when you think your ATM card or the machine may have been tampered with:

• Instead of slipping your ATM card straight in, give it a bit of wiggle when sliding in. This is one way to deflect a skimmer device from reading your card properly. If a skimmer card has been placed on the genuine reader, the wiggle can dislodge it, and move it out of its place. Additionally, the wiggle movement will prevent the fraudulent card reader from completely reading your card.

• Covering your keypad as you enter your PIN number can also limit your chances of your card from being compromised. This is because most thieves also require the PIN code as well as your card details to access your funds. A simple step such as this one will prevent them from accessing your account.

RFC Account: All that a returning NRI needs to know

The financial market has always been a volatile one. While plenty of marketers and investors have spent considerable time and resources, researching about the market, they are still unable to completely predict the market trends. This can go a long way to affecting any investments, especially if the rates are being locked in for a long time.

Under these circumstances, any NRI who is returning to India, may think twice before converting their foreign currency into the local INR. Additionally, they would want to hold out on their foreign funds and investments, in order to anticipate for better conversion rates in the future. However, in order to meet the needs of such NRI’s, the government has offered the resident foreign currency account, especially for NRI’s who are returning home. Here is all that you need to know about the RFC account:

What is the RFC account?
Any NRI that is returning to India can open the RFC account. It can be maintained in foreign currency. Before opening the account, the NRI must satisfy certain criteria. For one, the applicant must maintain a minimum period of at least a year or return permanently to India. Additionally, the applicant should have returned to India on or after April 18, 1992, as per the RBI regulation.

What are the different options under the RFC account?
Under the RFC account, an applicant can opt for a RFC saving account or termed deposits. Under the saving account, the individual can invest in any of the three foreign currencies, namely the dollar, euro or the British pound. However, some banks also offer foreign investments in Japanese yet, as well as other selected currencies. Some banks even allow the applicant to open this account with the provision that will be converted into the above currencies.

What funds can be deposited or transferred from this account?
RFC accounts accept direct deposits of funds from bank account held outside India. Additionally, funds that are raised from selling foreign currency shares and foreign assets or balances from NRI or FCNR accounts can be used. Money can also be transferred externally from this account in the form of foreign currency. But if you are going to use the funds within India, then withdrawal from this account is permitted only in Indian rupees.

How can you open a RFC account?
When opening your account, you need to submit a photocopy of your passport, copy of your visa and immigration stamp that indicates that you have stayed outside the country continuously for a minimum of a year. Additionally, you will also need to submit the required amount of photographs to open the account.