By: Phillip Booker
I was exploring the various options to changing currency, especially if I was buying property abroad.
Everybody's first option is their bank. Their reputation speaks volumes and is rarely discredited. So yes I can understand why people when buying property abroad use their bank as the first option. It would also appear that most times they don't even get a second quote.
Whilst I would want to criticize them for lack of financial savings skills, I can also understand that they don't want any headaches; more importantly why should they worry when the banks are offering 0% commission?
Here is the answer... More pennies in your pocket. Why? Allow me to explain further.
In every deal, even at the supermarket, everybody is trying to convince you that they can save you money. My teenage children ask me why there are sofa adverts just before a 'bank holiday'? 40% of Sofa's, 50% of Sofa's and no payment for 2 years... It's not the deal but the bottom line. If you have £1,000 for a sofa, which sofa can you get?
When exchanging currencies the same principle applies. If you are changing £100,000 into Euros and the Bank is offering 0% commission they may give you 122,000 Euros. They are buying the currency wholesale and adding between 3% to 4% profit on top. Currency Brokers however using the same principle would give you 125,780 Euros; their profit margin is almost 1%. The saving is almost £3,000!
It is the bottom line... what will you eventually get for your transfer?
By using what can only be called the new modern system you save yourself £3,000; the larger the amount the better the deal using the Currency Broker. Here are three further real case studies:
Currency Exchange Case Study 1 - Elaine and Robert were buying in Northern France; a second home, but one that required a certain amount of renovation. In November 2007 the Euro had taken a bit of a tumble, so it was imperative that they got a good deal on their currency exchange to help with funds for renovation. The property purchase price was £76,000. Their bank had quoted an exchange rate of €1.33 / £1; whereas the broker secured a good price of €1.35. This was a particular good deal as days either side the broker could only secure a rate of €1.34. The exchange at the bank would have returned €101,080. The broker successfully secured €102,600; saving them €1,520 (£1,125). Elaine and Robert were happy with this saving as Robert had earmarked an inexpensive DIY kitchen.
Currency Exchange Case Study 2 - Ines and Kevin from Glasgow were buying a Duplex in Spain, January 2008; it was a strange scenario, they were renting before they bought. They had lived in Spain for approaching 11 months and had left their house sale money in their bank in Scotland. Because of their purchase they had been advised to use a broker. Rather than use the broker that the building company recommended, they had chosen to look on the internet. Fortunately they had found a Currency Broker. Most brokers can always beat a bank's quote, it isn't so easy to beat another broker. The Currency Broker saved Ines and Kevin €1,300 Euros over another broker, but nearly €6,200 Euros against the banks
Currency Exchange Case Study 3 - Helen and Darren from Bootle in Cheshire had taken 9 months to purchase a villa in Pescara in the Abruzzo region of Italy for €650,000; January 2008. Sadly when a house purchase takes so long there can be fluctuations in the currency rate, and on this occasion it wasn't in Helen and Darren's favour. So it became even more important to save on the currency exchange. Had they gone to a bank they would have paid €8,100 more than what they paid a Currency Broker. They successfully managed to save them £6,090.
Helen had pointed out to me a consideration that since there are British banks that operate in Spain, you can just make your money transfers from the UK to the Spanish branch of the same bank and pay no charges at all, but unfortunately that's not possible. These banks are British by name but are totally separate from their British parents. To name but a few there are Barclays, the Royal Bank of Scotland (affiliated to the Santander bank) and Solbank, owned by Banco Sabadell, then of course the other big two Halifax and Abbey (Abbey also being affiliated to Santander Bank).
Financially savvy people prefer to leave overseas money transfer requirements up to their foreign currency brokers. These specialists operate on behalf of hundreds of clients and get much better conditions in the currency wholesale markets, just like financial brokers do for investors who invest their savings on collective investment funds to get a better return.
Always get two or more quotes when transferring large amounts of money overseas.
Copyright (c) 2008 Phillip Booker
Article Source: ABC Article Directory
Buying Property Abroad Mr. P. Booker Senior Currency Expert and Columnist. To get a free no obligation Currency Broker Quotation for Exchanging Your Currency… Please visit Transferring Money Abroad
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Eliminate Rising Credit Card Interest Rates
By: Jim Vrana
Beginning until July 2010, new credit card regulations become effective which are designed to protect consumers against arbitrary increases in interest rates and other unfair practices. There should be doubts however, if these new rules will really help at all.
Why would these doubts exist? For the same reason that rates on most cards continue to rise today, even as the Federal Reserve lowers interest rates. This usually causes lower interest rates for other types of financing, such as mortgages and auto loans.
Yet credit card rates continue to rise, even for customers who consistently pay on time. The bank might claim that a higher balance poses a greater credit risk, and therefore need to raise rates. They may also claim that they need to recoup losses from other charged-off accounts. They may claim nothing at all. The banks are not required to reveal why an interest rate changed on a credit card. The real reason a bank will raise interest rates is simple: Because they can. Period. The newly imposed regulations do not prevent this.
Credit card interest rates can change because there is no contract between the issuer and the user. Consider the difference between a these accounts, and a mortgage. With a mortgage, there is an enforceable contract with the terms and conditions completely laid out, which a borrower agrees to. Remember all the papers that were signed the last time you acquired a mortgage. Everything is spelled out.
Not with a credit card. Perhaps there is a signed application, but that's all. The terms and conditions were never agreed to up front by both parties. So the bank is free to change the terms at their whim. Imagine the interest on your home mortgage jumping from 6% to 26%, just because the payment arrived a day late. It cannot happen because that's not in the mortgage contract. But with a credit card, there is no actual contract.
So while the new federal regulation might look good on paper, there is not much enforceable consumer protection to it. If the banks feel like an account is not producing enough revenue for them, they will just create a new fee. Why would they do this? Because they can.
American consumers are caught in this trap. We are constantly enticed to use their cards. Lured by their rewards and having a status symbol in our wallets, rather than actual money. The bank advertisements trick us into believing what a wonderful life we can have by simply using that plastic card with their bank name on it.
Seemingly overnight, the balances start to increase. Then the interest charges build up. Then the fees are added on. All of which builds up higher balances. Then they will use your higher balances, as an excuse to raise your interest rates even higher, and charge more fees. The cycle does not stop.
There are many ways to break that cycle. First, get out of the game that the banks want us to play. The only winner in the credit card game is the bank. Stop using the cards. You will be surprised how much money can be saved by taking your cards out of your wallet.
Find ways to pay down, or even eliminate the debt. A debt elimination program may be utilized to walk away from the debt, without bankruptcy. This method can be utilized just once in your lifetime, but it can lead to a fresh start in your financial life. It may surprise you to learn that life can be lived using cash, checks, and debit cards.
Article Source: ABC Article Directory
Billed as The True Debt Advisor, Jim Vrana's mission is to educate and empower people to overcome their financial challenges. The time-tested legal procedures used to eliminate credit card debt have been used by thousands of people with tremendous success. Contact:Jim Vrana True Debt Advisor (800) 637-1785 www.TrueDebtAdvisor.com
Beginning until July 2010, new credit card regulations become effective which are designed to protect consumers against arbitrary increases in interest rates and other unfair practices. There should be doubts however, if these new rules will really help at all.
Why would these doubts exist? For the same reason that rates on most cards continue to rise today, even as the Federal Reserve lowers interest rates. This usually causes lower interest rates for other types of financing, such as mortgages and auto loans.
Yet credit card rates continue to rise, even for customers who consistently pay on time. The bank might claim that a higher balance poses a greater credit risk, and therefore need to raise rates. They may also claim that they need to recoup losses from other charged-off accounts. They may claim nothing at all. The banks are not required to reveal why an interest rate changed on a credit card. The real reason a bank will raise interest rates is simple: Because they can. Period. The newly imposed regulations do not prevent this.
Credit card interest rates can change because there is no contract between the issuer and the user. Consider the difference between a these accounts, and a mortgage. With a mortgage, there is an enforceable contract with the terms and conditions completely laid out, which a borrower agrees to. Remember all the papers that were signed the last time you acquired a mortgage. Everything is spelled out.
Not with a credit card. Perhaps there is a signed application, but that's all. The terms and conditions were never agreed to up front by both parties. So the bank is free to change the terms at their whim. Imagine the interest on your home mortgage jumping from 6% to 26%, just because the payment arrived a day late. It cannot happen because that's not in the mortgage contract. But with a credit card, there is no actual contract.
So while the new federal regulation might look good on paper, there is not much enforceable consumer protection to it. If the banks feel like an account is not producing enough revenue for them, they will just create a new fee. Why would they do this? Because they can.
American consumers are caught in this trap. We are constantly enticed to use their cards. Lured by their rewards and having a status symbol in our wallets, rather than actual money. The bank advertisements trick us into believing what a wonderful life we can have by simply using that plastic card with their bank name on it.
Seemingly overnight, the balances start to increase. Then the interest charges build up. Then the fees are added on. All of which builds up higher balances. Then they will use your higher balances, as an excuse to raise your interest rates even higher, and charge more fees. The cycle does not stop.
There are many ways to break that cycle. First, get out of the game that the banks want us to play. The only winner in the credit card game is the bank. Stop using the cards. You will be surprised how much money can be saved by taking your cards out of your wallet.
Find ways to pay down, or even eliminate the debt. A debt elimination program may be utilized to walk away from the debt, without bankruptcy. This method can be utilized just once in your lifetime, but it can lead to a fresh start in your financial life. It may surprise you to learn that life can be lived using cash, checks, and debit cards.
Article Source: ABC Article Directory
Billed as The True Debt Advisor, Jim Vrana's mission is to educate and empower people to overcome their financial challenges. The time-tested legal procedures used to eliminate credit card debt have been used by thousands of people with tremendous success. Contact:Jim Vrana True Debt Advisor (800) 637-1785 www.TrueDebtAdvisor.com
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