Every loan has a declared rate of interest. The interest could be a fixed rate or floating. It could be a combination as well, fixed for a few years and then adjustable as per the prevailing lending rates in the market. All standard loans are re-paid over a period and every instalment has a bit of the principal which is the loan amount and a bit of interest. Most loans are designed in a way wherein more interest is paid in the first few months or years and towards the latter half of the term it is more of the principal amount being re-paid and less of interest.

An interest only loan is an unconventional option in which you don’t repay any amount of the principal loan. You only repay the interest. Only when your interest is re-paid do you start repaying the principal loan amount. This is mostly applicable in cases of properties. Interest only loans are not readily available for all kinds of purchases or spending purposes.

Pros and Cons of Interest Only Loan

The Pros

The Cons

Debt is unavoidable. All of us have debts. For some people, the debts are simple obligations like utility bills. For many, it would be a credit card bill. From mortgage to paying back the student loan, people have myriad types of debts. It is almost impossible to avoid debts. Even the billionaires of the world have humongous business loans to repay. They continue to persist with those debts because they are necessary and they haven’t turned into bad debts.

There is good debt and there is bad debt. You cannot and should not avoid good debt. Let us explore the simple differences between bad debt and good debt.

 

There are grey areas when it comes to good debt and bad debt. A car loan is neither good nor bad. Since cars are depreciating assets, you are better off purchasing one with a down payment or in cash. But if you don’t have enough cash or don’t want to use it up, then you need a loan.

It is not necessary to make debts complicated. Necessary debt with reasonable interests and when it is manageable is good debt. Any debt that is needless, demands high interests and becomes a burden is bad debt.

Buying a home is difficult. Buying a home when someone is very young is all-the-more challenging. Young professionals may be able to pay the instalments of the mortgage but saving enough to make the down payment is an uphill task. When one is in their twenties or even early thirties living in the city or when expenses are reasonably higher due to various experiences that the young usually indulge in, it becomes difficult to set aside the money needed to buy a house.

The down payment is the biggest financial challenge. The second challenge is qualifying for the mortgage. There are many lenders with varying rates, the eligibility criteria would be a hurdle and the homebuyer needs to manage their finances well so they can keep making timely payments without impairing their lifestyle. Your credit history will also play a pivotal role in the mortgage preapproval and approval process.

If you are planning to buy a house, you could get your parents or a family member to make some contribution in myriad ways. You may want them to pay a part of the down payment. You may even get them have a cash gift that takes care of the entire down payment. Parents often use the equity of their large home, a second property or an unused block of land to fund the down payment of their grownup child’s home. Families could contribute whatever amount of money they can afford and whatever would be useful for your mortgage.

Another effective way to help your child is to become the guarantor. It is quite possible that your child would fall short of the credit score requirements by just a score of points or a dozen odd points. He or she may fall short by a hundred points. The income and disposable part of the income, which is considered by the banks or mortgage lenders while processing home loan applications, may not be sufficient. There can be other red flags which would become the reason for rejection. Instead of having your child’s mortgage application turned down or some criterion playing spoilsport, you can chip in as the guarantor.

Parents or family members can become your guarantor as well. Having a guarantor will increase your chances of qualifying for mortgage and almost assure you a fair deal. Shortfall in credit score will not be a deterrent. The lender will not impose high fees or unreasonable rates of interest. You would not only qualify for the mortgage but also get approved sooner and would also get a good deal, including the loan to value ratio and the rate of interest.

Bankruptcy is a legal provision that allows you to declare yourself incapable of repaying debts. You could be truly bankrupt, which literally means that you don’t have a penny in your bank. Realistically, you don’t have enough money to repay the loans or creditors and would want the debts to be waived off.

Bankruptcy can be obtained for due to personal reasons, including strife among spouses. Personal bankruptcy or insolvency can be due to unemployment or if your business has run into unbearable losses. There can be other causes such as failing health or some personal incapacity that prevents you from working and hence repaying your debts.

Bankruptcy is almost always looked at from the perspective of debt and it is a way to get relieved of the obligations to repay. However, what most people don’t realize is that bankruptcy will derail your life the way you know it. Let us factor in these realities to understand bankruptcy.

Investing is the quintessential key to financial planning. No financial plan, short term or long term, can be effective unless there is an investment strategy integrated into the approach. When you actually start investing, you would have to endure a learning curve. Knowing a few of the golden rules of investing can help you through the nascent phase and you can hone your skills, acumen and judgment as an investor.

 

Be a dedicated investor, check your investments, study and review your strategies.

Home loans or mortgages are designed to help any and every homebuyer, provided they meet specific prerequisites. From credit score to income, the loan to value ratio or the down payment to the type of employment or business one has, everything will be under consideration while determining eligibility. From employed and self-employed professionals, business owners and independent contractors or freelancers. The concept of the home loan doesn’t differentiate on the basis of the type of employment. However, the eligibility factors or the criteria for approval would vary.

There is no alternative to home loan or mortgage if you wish to buy a property, unless it is a commercial property in which case you can use a business or corporate loan. For self-employed professionals, the exact criteria will vary from one bank to another but the eligibility factors will be different from that of employed professionals.

Almost 75% of Aussies aged forty-five and working want to retire in five years. By global standards, Aussies are much more in favour of retiring early, surpassed by only Argentina and France. However, harbouring the desire doesn’t imply most people manage to retire by the time they are fifty. Almost half of all those who want to retire early don’t go through with their plans. Those who are planning now have reportedly stated in many surveys that they don’t see themselves actually retiring although they strongly wish to do so.

The biggest hindrance in retiring early is financial. Most people are not financially equipped to work ten years less and don’t have enough saved up to keep living off their savings for decades. According to many surveys, around 70% of those wishing early retirement don’t have enough savings. Lack of savings is not the only reason though. Having dependents and existing debts are two common reasons why people choose to keep working.

There are various kinds of funds that you can invest in. You could choose to manage your own funds or you may choose to have a fund manager. There are funds managed by banks, financial services companies, independent fund managers and there are special investment schemes designed by various institutions. You may invest in stocks, indices, specific commodities, foreign exchange or you can choose mutual funds and other types of managed or unmanaged funds. Most funds can be classified as active or passive funds. There are similarities between active and passive funds but it is the difference that calls for attention.

Active Funds: Explained!

Imagine a particular amount that you wish to invest in and pick an index of your choice. You could choose any index of any country. You may also choose global indices. If the fund you choose to invest in is managed by an expert and he or she tends to make manoeuvres from time to time, such as buying and selling or even withholding or future trading, to make you more money than you would make normally, then it is classified as an active fund. Active funds are managed to facilitate more profits than what you would make if you didn’t touch the fund and allowed the investments to bear the returns by default. Active funds are designed to predict the markets and respond or proactively take a step to make more money.

While active funds can make you more money, it is not always assured to get you higher returns.

Passive Funds: Explained!

When you choose a fund that doesn’t require a fund manager or even your involvement to proactively buy and sell, withhold or trade in futures, it is a passive fund. The fund remains untouched and appreciate as the index or the specific stock appreciates. If the index or stock depreciates, then the fund will depreciate. With most passive funds, the associated costs are very low and also demand less attention. You can choose passive funds but your investment may not have a staggering chance of earning you a fortune overnight.

 

Most of us are so accustomed with poor money habits that we don’t even pause for a while to review if we can make a substantial change. And let’s face it – old habits tend to live on, they become hard to break.

Let us explore some of these unwise money habits and how we can shun them to get on a good financial path.

 

These simple changes to your money habits will not just help your immediate financial health but also pave the way for a handsome saving in a few years.

Every working adult should know the financial basics. Very few people are proactively conscious of their financial wellbeing. Financial health is not just about your present income, your monthly expense and if you are living from one pay cheque to another or if you are managing to put aside a few bucks. You need to have a plan to have your financial affairs in order and in control for a predictably prosperous future. While it is difficult to perfect financial planning overnight, you have to get started somewhere. Get started with the financial basics.

As always, we recommend speaking to your YFG specialist for expert guidance and assistance.