You Plan to Carry a Balance on Your Charges From Time to Time

Ideally, a credit card user would pay off their charges before the grace period expires on any new charges.  That way the credit card company would not apply any finance charges to unpaid balances on the account. These finance charges can really add up.

If you know that you will occasionally keep an unpaid balance on your account, the best credit card deals for you are cards offering the lowest APRs.  Credit card companies often reserve their best APR offers for customers with the best credit scores.

You Want to Save Money on Finance Charges of your Current Credit Card Balance

What if you already have a sizeable balance on your current credit card account?  Then the best credit card deals for you are cards offering zero APR balance transfers with the longest introductory periods (where the zero APR applies), lowest regular APR, and don’t forget to look for the lowest transaction fee.

You don’t Carry a Balance on Your Credit Card

If you do not plan to carry a balance on your credit card, then the most important thing to look at is the best rewards or cash back credit cards are available to you. Not every cash back programme is the same and you cannot compare them directly because they probably use different formulas for figuring out how much cash back you get.

The way to compare the various cash back programs is to look at two things:

1)     How many points do you get for each pound spent?  Usually, you might get a point for each pound spent. For certain products, you might receive double points.

2)     How many pounds do you get when the points are converted back to pounds? The conversion rate might be .01% for example (100 points equal a pound).

You Plan to Stooze

If you plan to use credit cards as a source for zero interest loans, you want to look for credit cards that offer zero APRs for the longest introductory periods.  Do not stooze that money with anything that is not guaranteed because while it might be a zero interest loan, it is not a free loan. You will need to pay it back, regardless if you made or loss money on it. 

1) Stick to a budget. Work out your disposable income and set yourself a budget and make sure you stick to it. There is no way of knowing where your money is going without a budget so if you haven’t got one – get one.
2) Pay off your credit card debt. Credit card debt prevents millions of people getting ahead financially. It can be quite easy to buy something on a credit card, you promise yourself you’ll pay it off ASAP but it sometimes never happens, leaving you paying a lot of interest.
3) Save some money. By setting some money aside each month, no matter how big or small, will stand you in good stead if anything untoward happens. Wouldn’t it be nice if you had some money aside for those car repairs or new washing machine? Or even a holiday!

For more financial tips and advice visit the Thrifty Trend.

If you are looking to take a huge loan in the future (ie, anywhere from 6 months to 2 years), it is best that you start thinking about making sure that your credit score is in pristine condition so that you can get the best possible rates for your loan (either a mortgage or an auto loan presumably). There are various steps that you have to take to make sure your score is in tip top condition.

1. Check Your Credit Report - The first thing that you can do is to actually check your credit score. You can have a free copy of your credit report from each credit bureau once a year. The place to get it is actually www.annualreport.com. Note that you will not see your score, but only your report.

Verify that the information is correct - Scan through your report and make sure that the information on the credit report is correct. If there is incorrect information, you can dispute via a letter or through the bureaus website and they have 30 days to correct it. Any inaccurate negative information that is removed can help boost your credit score.

Improve Your Credit Utilization Ratio - The credit utilization ratio is a very important ratio and improving it will help your credit score. If you have low ratio (30% or less is good). But if you have high credit card debt, then you should consider getting a plan to reduce your debt.

There have been various methods that have been touted in the financial press. Dave Ramsey’s snowball method is a widely accepted way to kick start your debt reduction. But you can either allocate extra money to pay off your credit card with the highest debt first or the one with the highest interest. Once the first card is paid off, you can then apply the amount that you would have paid for the first card to the second card. Wash rinse and repeat and before you know it, you would have had your debt paid down. This will help your score tremendously.

Another tool to help your debt reduction efforts is to transfer a balance from a high rate card to one with preferably 0% interest. The best balance transfer credit cards these days offer 0% for six months.

What if you have no credit - Well, if you have no credit, you have to start to build a credit history because otherwise, you would end up paying a higher interest rate. One way to do it is to get a credit card. But if you have no credit history, getting a regular credit card may be a bit difficult. The solution is to actually look for secured credit card offers. Get one and start building a credit history.

If you happen to be a student, then consider getting a college student credit card.

Make sure you do not get out of control. Just use the card and pay off your balance in full. Before you know it, you will have a good credit history which you can use to your advantage.

Lenders are being careful with their lending these days, but they are still being competitive. With that in mind, it makes sense to look around and ensure you are getting the very best deal on your remortgage.

Plan ahead

It’s essential you don’t leave your remortgage too late – any less than a month’s planning could leave you pressed for time. Ideally you should leave at least 2-3 months to go over your options, which gives you enough time to look at what’s available without rushing.

Find out all the costs involved

As with a new mortgage, there are many costs associated with remortgaging – so make sure you know exactly how much you are going to need.

Consider the mortgage arrangement fees associated with each deal. Many variable-rate mortgages come without an arrangement fee, but most fixed-rate mortgages do carry them. If you‘re willing to pay an arrangement fee, a fixed rate is probably worthwhile, since it gives peace of mind over how much you will pay each month, and can usually be added to your mortgage payments. However, if interest rates go down, you may end up paying more than you would with a variable-rate mortgage.

You will also need to consider any ‘additional’ services offered with your mortgage, particularly PPI (Payment Protection Insurance). If you can afford to pay the extra each month, PPI is worth having – if something occurs that prevents you repaying your mortgage, the insurance should cover your costs, often for over a year. If it’s going to be a burden on your finances, though, it may be worth waiting until you are in a better position financially.

Make sure you’re safe if your payments go up

This doesn’t apply to fixed-rate mortgages, since the payments are the same each month – but there is a risk with variable-rate mortgages that if the interest rate rises, so will your mortgage payments. Make sure you have room in your finances for any unexpected rises, and expect your disposable income to take a hit if they do.

Some lenders offer a ‘cap’ on their variable rates, which could help you plan for the worst-case scenario (i.e. rates are as high as they can go).

Check for early repayment charges

If you are hoping to pay off your mortgage early, some lenders will ask for an ‘early repayment charge’ (also known as a ‘redemption penalty’. The idea behind this is that it makes up for what the lender would have gained in interest, had you continued with the mortgage as normal. However, these most commonly apply during fixed rate or discounted rate periods and many lenders offer deals which don’t include such charges.

Avoid mortgages with annual interest

Some mortgages work out their interest on an annual basis, meaning the amount of interest you pay every month is based on the money you owe at the start of each year.

Mortgages with daily interest charge you interest depending on how much you owe at any given time, so as you pay off more of the mortgage, the interest decreases with it. This might not make a huge difference at the time, but over the course of your whole mortgage, you will end up paying a lot less in interest – and the mortgage can technically be paid off years earlier.

Thankfully, there are a few ways you may be able to improve your situation.

What to do if you can’t afford the mortgage

First and foremost, you should never ignore the problem. A mortgage is a secured debt, and as such, you could ultimately lose your home if you fail to keep up on payments.

Contact your lender

In the first instance, you should always contact your mortgage lender to explain your situation. In most cases, your lender will want to help you - they may agree to a short payment holiday, or a temporary reduction in your payments, in order to allow you to focus on your debts and get your finances back on track.

However, you should only consider this as a short term solution. In general, your secured debts should be your first priority. If your unsecured debt problems cannot be solved during a short repayment holiday, then you may benefit more from a more specific debt solution.

Also be aware that your interest will continue to build up during a repayment holiday, so you could end up paying more overall.

Get free, independent debt advice

If you cannot come to a satisfactory agreement with your lender, then it’s a good idea to speak to a debt adviser to discuss your other options. There aren’t any debt solutions that will help directly with your mortgage payments, but if you have unsecured debts that are making it difficult to pay your mortgage, the right debt solution (such as a debt consolidation loan or debt management plan) might make it easier for you to meet your mortgage payments.

Consider a remortgage

If you’re in the position to do so, a then a remortgage could significantly reduce your monthly outgoings. With interest rates currently very low, many people are switching from fixed-rate deals to cheaper variable-rate or tracker mortgage deals. A fall of just a small percentage can save you hundreds or even thousands of pounds every year, depending on the size of your mortgage.

Take the following example of a £120,000 repayment mortgage being paid back over 25 years:

• At an interest rate of 5.5%, your monthly payments would be £736.90
• At an interest rate of 3%, your monthly payments would fall to £569.05 - a saving of £169.85 every month, or £2014.20 per year.

Consider that some of the savings you would make could also go towards repaying your debts, and the benefits are clear.

You may also want to consider temporarily switching to an interest-only mortgage. This can significantly reduce the amount you pay each month, but be aware that you will still have to repay the capital (the amount you borrowed) at a later date, and since this will continue to accrue interest, you will pay more towards your mortgage in the long run.

Tackling a problem is never easy when we don’t truly understand it – not just where it came from, but exactly where we stand today. So it’s particularly worrying to note that fully 10% of respondents admitted to having no idea how much they owed. Without understanding the debts in question, it’s hard to know whether consolidating them is even the right debt solution!

After all, debt consolidation loans aren’t the only solution to debt. Many people in debt could be better off looking into debt management, for example, or an IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement) or Trust Deed (for residents of Scotland), rather than consolidating their debts. Someone whose debts are truly out of control may even need to talk to a debt adviser about bankruptcy.

And debt awareness doesn’t end with identifying the right debt solution. Even someone who knows that debt consolidation is the best way forward still needs to understand the differences between the various debt consolidation loans available. According to the survey, an alarming proportion of the populace don’t know the APR (Annual Percentage Rate) they’re paying for their credit cards, loans and overdrafts. Even though the majority know what their overdraft limit is, 36% of people ‘are unsure what APR is’ – something which makes it almost impossible to choose the most attractive debt consolidation loan.

“As with any financial decision, it’s extremely unwise to consolidate debts without first ‘doing the maths’,” said a spokesperson for debt consolidation experts debtadvisersdirect.co.uk. “By reducing someone’s monthly payments, a debt consolidation loan can turn an overwhelming debt problem into something they can deal with. However, it’s important to weigh that immediate benefit against the long-term consequences. If someone arranges to repay a debt more slowly, it stands to reason that they’ll be paying interest for longer – unless the consolidation loan’s APR is significantly lower than the original debts’, this can actually increase the total amount repaid. Clearly, someone who understands the importance of APR figures stands a much better chance of finding the best consolidation loan on offer.”

But that doesn’t mean it takes an honours degree in Finance to find the right loan. “A professional debt adviser can help borrowers make sense of their debts and their options, from understanding the small print to drawing up a budget. At debtadvisersdirect.co.uk, we’ve been helping people with financial difficulties for 15 years. In fact, we were one of the first companies to offer free debt advice to people in the UK. When people phone us, we don’t just assume that debt consolidation is right for them – we can review their financial situation, take them through all the debt solutions available and help them make their mind up about which is the most suitable.”

Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t mean to belittle the seriousness of the situation. The crisis is causing very real, life-changing problems to many people and to their dependants. I did however say life-changing, not life-threatening. Some of you may still argue with that too. If you don’t have the money, what value is there left in life?

That’s where I believe the situation really gets serious. The day we put money at the centre of life is the day we stop valuing the natural wealth stored within the authentic self - the inner person we are, have been since birth and will continue to be until death us do part. That’s the person who is the source of:

• personal growth, satisfaction and lifelong desires.
• passions that drive potential, stored within a unique mix of natural-born skills, abilities and talents.

In the last couple of decades or so, humanity has had to come to terms with dramatic changes, stresses and pressures to perform. It has been made easier by the ready availability of money to buy almost anything we want. The sudden loss of that money availability - and the need to pay back loans - has reminded us that happiness and financial wealth are located on two entirely different life paths.

Personal values have become vague and uncertain in deference to the politics of economic rationalism in which everything is measured by the dollar.

They say good comes out of all ills. I am increasingly hearing positive, human responses to the financial crisis:

• Deciding to love the person they are, no matter what money they have.
• Philosophical reflections that life goes on no matter what,
• appreciating more what they have, rather than what they would like.
One of my friends, who owns a very successful business, has developed what he calls a minimalist approach to life - enjoying the fact that, within himself, he has everything he needs, irrespective of any impact the financial situation has on his business.

This isn’t a debate on which is right - financial worth or self worth. It doesn’t seek an either/or answer. It’s about respecting the fact that success is found from within, utilizing all the resources - natural and material - at our disposal. It’s about respecting the dignity and worth of humanity - self and others.

We come into the world with nothing and we will leave it the same way. It’s what we did along the way, not the money we spent, that others will remember after we’ve gone.

The challenges of globalisation

All advantage is temporary. The ultimate advantage is achieved by choosing high value competencies well and establishing how long to invest in them, and identifying commodity competencies to divest. The faster the product life cycle the shorter the advantage. In 1888 Kodak created the slogan “you press the button we do the rest” and from this a highly vertically integrated model was created maintaining an almost Neolithic control of the photographic market. This was achieved until digital technology arrived. It is essential that an organisation becomes flexible enough to jump when required.

There is no competence more critical to a business than the development of an end to end competency chain from the consumer to the raw material supply. There is no one make or buy strategy that will stand the test of time. It is by defining the long term distinctive specialisation of the organisation, and the organisations position in a network of complimentary specialist diversified suppliers that an organisation will achieve a competitive position. Diversified suppliers bring a wealth of experience from other customers; they provide an early warning platform and the ability to easily modify their existing loosely coupled customer business processes. Captive suppliers often have hard wired business processes making innovation more difficult. The speed of learning is then the key source of advantage, and the loose coupling provides the supplier the space to innovate to deliver clearly set performance targets. Further more; the scale enjoyed by many diversified suppliers enables them to provide attractive career paths to retain highly skilled employees. When looking at the business as a whole, the decision is how much of the past should be taken forwards and how much should be reviewed.

The emerging challenge for slow moving businesses is to look outside the business to review rapidly emerging business models. The best managers should look at the big picture which is rapidly becoming global in terms of suppliers and markets. Financial services in 2005 grew from 24% of the UK economy to 30% and manufacturing is 14% and still declining. As much of the UK financial services industry is located greater than 200m from customers this service too could be provided overseas.

Businesses firmly anchored in competitive emerging markets can successfully export their business models overseas for example ICICI an Indian Bank are signing up 1500 new Canadian accounts every week. There will always be room for specialists but will supply to the mass market ever return?

For hundreds of years up to the 1820s China like the US today controlled 30% of global GDP, and they were really the only economic superpower. From 1949-1976 during Mao’s government, China lost a generation of entrepreneurs. Deng changed this and this enterprise has once again been let loose by relinquishing central control and providing the infrastructure and investment to support start up and growth. From 1978 - 1991 the number of local enterprises increased from 1.5m - 19m, and China has a vibrant aggressive market where only the most rapidly evolving businesses survive.
Cumulative operations improvements create the luxury of choice. Continual waves of innovation cannot be copied and create distinctive advantage, and being at the centre of the toughest markets helps mitigate the risks of predicting what the future will look like.

Developing management skills

Increasing shareholder value today presents resourcing challenges. In a recent survey 54% of UK PLCs suggested they don’t have sufficient talent at senior management level, and only 21% have talent development programs. This high risk gap is often filled by recruiting permanent staff from outside. The skills required to line manage a business and align a business are very different. Recruiting a change manager into a permanent role can be a mistake. Conversely a capable line manager can fail due to lack of skill or support when faced with new and immediate challenges.

There are 3 main assets in any business; business process, employee knowledge, and fixed assets. Anyone can buy fixed assets. As a start leverage employee skills - the key tool to realise this is to develop the business process and work x functionally to address complex challenges. In a business environment where product life cycles are becoming shorter, products become commoditised very quickly - it is the service associated with these products that often differentiates suppliers. The main causal driver for customer satisfaction is employee motivation. There are 3 primary elements of employee satisfaction; clear direction, working relationships, and employee development focussed at realising these objectives. Individuals in the customer front line that feel empowered, and are involved in the problem solving business process, when supported and developed can effect lasting change, and significantly contribute to increasing customer satisfaction. This strategy builds a hugely motivating environment to work in.

The outcome of many US acquisitions of UK manufacturing businesses has been to outsource entire manufacturing operations to low cost centres. The reality of deploying this strategy wholesale to serve the huge variety in EMEA regional and bespoke customer requirements is that the supply chain becomes too long, leading to higher service costs, unresponsiveness and diluted supporting skills. Being in the centre of the toughest market is certainly core to developing the most effective capabilities and business processes, however the local retention of core skills and the requirements of local customisation should also be considered. Toyota for example has long established a tradition of retaining core design capabilities in house.

They foresaw the increase in importance of vehicle electronics systems and developed a joint venture with Texas Instruments to build a semiconductor factory. As automotive manufacturing is unlikely to become as modular as the PC industry this may be the best course. The key is to identify which competencies will be of the greatest value to invest in and which to outsource to most competitively meet customer requirements.

The challenge is to develop more resources by looking outside the organisation and viewing global competencies as complimentary rather than competitive, and accepting that the organisation should play a key role in developing these competencies to meet customer specific requirements.

Specialisation is a trend that is unlikely to be reversed; it gives access to global economies of scale and the associated refined competence that can be influenced. In competitive markets with excess capacity a dynamic is created whereby business models and product architectures are being built from the bottom up. Further more as technology is becoming more modular, equipment manufacturers are becoming design manufacturers. In the case of mobile phones, established players such as Nokia with their very high relative wage levels make a significant target for these emerging design manufacturers who could cut them out of the value chain by supplying service providers direct.

Managing customer - supplier interfaces for low cost is important to reduce the cost of switching suppliers. These interfaces should provide the opportunity to share learning between partners, and simplify the review and daily communication process.

Summary
Traditional operational savings no longer suffice, there is now a gap waiting to be filled to create more value through innovation, and the toughest market is likely to drive the most economic value in the relationship. There are 2 key decisions to be made; what to offshore, and what to outsource. Offshoring is the movement of business activity to exploit differentiating skills or cost differentials, whereas outsourcing is shedding non core business activities.

Source:
http://www.bestmanagementarticles.com
http://economics.bestmanagementarticles.com

Borrowers repaid £245m more credit than they took out in February - in stark contrast with the £165m net rise in borrowing in January.

Meanwhile, savings also rose significantly, with Building Societies reporting combined deposits of almost £1.6bn in February.

A debt expert for Think Money said: “The sharp increase in debt repayments, compared with borrowing, suggests that borrowers may be taking their debts more seriously and looking to get their finances in order.

“Of course, there are many people who are not in the right financial position to put more money towards their debts. We advise anyone struggling to meet their debt repayments to contact a debt adviser to discuss ways to make their debts more manageable.”

Read more: Debt repayment levels `highest since records began`

Financial Highlights:

--  Revenues for the twelve months ended December 31, 2008 increased by
    22% to $4,732,444 from revenues of $3,879,312 for the twelve months ended
    December 31, 2007.

--  Gross Margin for the twelve months ended December 31, 2008 increased
    to $2,971,201 from a gross margin of $2,099,023 for the twelve months ended
    December 31, 2007.

--  Net loss attributable to common shareholders for the twelve months
    ended December 31, 2008 was $2,007,719, or $0.09 per share, compared with
    $1,753,078 or $0.15 per share for the twelve months ended December 31,
    2007.

“Our results for the twelve months of 2008 reflect the contributions from our successful acquisitions of Meadowlands, Vanwell, and Fire Control completed during 2007,” commented John X. Adiletta, President of Somerset. Mr. Adiletta concluded, “As part of our growth strategy, we remain focused on continuing to expand our portfolio of security technology companies through additional synergistic acquisitions. Our goal remains to expand our portfolio of companies, increasing cross-selling opportunities and operating efficiencies, and ultimately achieve profitability.”

About Somerset International Group, Inc.

Somerset International Group, Inc. finds undervalued technology investments aligned around the exponential growth in concern and demand for security and the acquisition of profitable and near-term profitable private small- and medium-sized businesses that provide proprietary security products and solutions for people and enterprises — from personal safety to information security. Additional information about the company is available at: http://www.somersetinternational.com.

About Secure System, Inc.

Secure System, Inc. provides personal alarm systems, wireless transmitters and receivers, and personal alarm locators. The company currently serves colleges and universities and medical and mental health facilities. Its products are also easily adaptable for office campuses, residential facilities, and correctional facilities. The system works by providing an individual with a wireless personal alarm locater with which they can summon help and be located by the pressing of a button. Additional information about the company is available at: http://www.securesysteminc.com.

About Meadowlands Fire, Safety, and Electrical Supply Co., Inc./Vanwell Electronics, Inc.

Meadowlands and Vanwell specialize in the distribution, sale, installation and maintenance of fire and security equipment and systems that include fire detection, video surveillance, and burglar alarm equipment. Meadowlands and Vanwell have similar product availability from distinct manufacturers. Vanwell exclusively distributes Siemens Building Technologies, Inc. products and Meadowlands distributes other brands of fire and security equipment. This affords the opportunity to provide a wide array of specified equipment with the flexibility to offer cost effective alternates when appropriate. The products encompass complete lines of fire, CCTV (closed circuit TV), communications and PA systems; services include maintenance contracts, monitoring services and system engineering. Additional information about the company is available at: http://www.meadowlandselectronics.com.

About Fire Control Electrical Systems, Inc.

Fire Control Electrical Systems, Inc. specializes in the distribution, sale, installation, and maintenance of Honeywell Life Safety fire and security equipment and systems that include fire detection, video surveillance, sound systems, and burglar alarm equipment. Additional information about the company is available at: http://www.firecontrols.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Statements about our future expectations are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable Federal Securities Laws, and are not guarantees of future performance. When used herein, the words “may,” “will,” “should,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “appear,” “intend,” “plan,” “expect,” “estimate,” “approximate,” and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements involve risks and uncertainties inherent in our business, including those set forth under the caption “Risk Factors” in our most recent Registration Statement on Form SB-2 dated December 6, 2006 filed with the SEC and other filings with the SEC, and are subject to change at any time. Our actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement.