Guest Contributor on Money Questions and Answers Blog

Five Little Touches That’ll Add Value To Any Home

Simple Renovations That Add Value To Your Home

You don’t need to renovate a house floor-to-ceiling to make it more valuable. There are plenty of little things that’ll help – here are just a few of them. Renovating a home you’ve invested in can be a difficult, stressful task and not just because tracking down the right contractors can be a tall order. You want to squeeze as much value out of your property as you possibly can, whether it’s your home or a property you’re looking to sell quickly. But, not all the changes have to raise your stress. You might be surprised at how much value a minor change can add to a home. In my business of flipping homes, I have found that a … Read more

Bigger Cars on a Budget – How to Afford a Car You Really Want

by Guest Contributor

For those with smaller budgets, a big vehicle may feel out of reach, even if it is greatly needed. Large families, small businesses, big dog owners – there are a multitude of reasons for requiring a bigger car, so how do you afford to get what you really want when you’re counting the pennies? Here are a few great routes to take:

How to Afford a Car You Really Want

Lease your vehicle

Leasing a car might feel like a strange concept to some, but in the long run it works out to be a much more economic means of obtaining a vehicle. Not only can you get your hands on a big car for an easily affordable monthly rental price, you also don’t need to worry about depreciation when it comes to selling the vehicle on.

This means you can get your hands on that SUV or even the latest Range Rover comfortably. You do need to carefully consider your annual mileage and any wear and tear to the car – exceeding agreed mileage and any damage may require further expense when your lease is up.

Personal loan

If you want to purchase your vehicle outright, a personal loan is another option to consider but it’s very important you seek out a loan product offering the best deal in terms of interest over time. It’s likely you will pay more than the car is worth when interest is added. for many paying back a loan on a monthly basis is more affordable and achievable than saving up the full amount for a brand new, big car. For many, using savings and a personal loan is an affordable way to buy a bigger car on a budget.

But, for many paying back a loan on a monthly basis is more affordable and achievable than saving up the full amount for a brand new, big car. Using savings and a personal loan is an affordable way to buy a bigger car on a budget.

When Is Investing In a Roth IRA Right for You?

by Guest Contributor

When Is Investing In a Roth IRA the Right Decision for You?

The following is a guest post by DJ Whiteside, who is the author of the book “Save BETTER!” and writer for My Money Design, a blog where he talks about saving his way to an early retirement and financial freedom. If you’d like to submit a guest post to Money Q&A, be sure to check out the site’s guest posting guidelines.

I know you’ve probably read this before: The financial media LOVES to recommend Roth IRA’s.

Make no mistake: Saving your money in a Roth IRA is a smart move. Pay your taxes now – enjoy tax-free income when you retire!

BUT is it always the smart move for you? In some situations, you might actually be better off going with a traditional IRA instead.

When is Investing In a Roth IRA Right?

Here are the major factors that can help you to understand when a Roth IRA might be a better fit for you over a traditional.

If You Plan to Retire With More

Do you know how much money you’re going to need when you retire?

This is the number one question that you need to ask yourself in order to pick which road you’d like to go down: The traditional-style plan or the Roth.

Generally speaking, if you plan to live on less money than you’re earning right now, then the traditional style plan will work out better. This is because if things are similar to how they are now, you’ll be in a lower tax bracket and likely pay less in taxes.

On the other hand, if you’re going to be fortunate enough to enjoy more money than you’re earning right now, then you’ll be in a higher tax bracket and would owe more in taxes. Therefore, the Roth would be your better bet.

Peer to Peer Lending Programs Face-off: Which is Better for You?

by Guest Contributor

The following is a guest post by Charley Mendoza, a freelance writer covering business and personal finance. She also moonlights as an investor, micro-entrepreneur, and adventure junkie. If you’d like to write a guest post about peer to peer lending or any other topics for Money Q&A, be sure to check out our guest posting guidelines. You want to diversify your investments, but you don’t have thousands of dollars to buy real estate or start a business. Perhaps you have an extra $300 or so a month, which you mostly invest in stocks and other paper assets. Now you want to diversify your portfolio. Peer to Peer (P2P) lending might be a good option for you. Peer to peer lending … Read more

Home Inspection Tips for Sellers – DIY Pre-Inspection Tips for Listing Your Home

by Guest Contributor

If you were selling your car you would give it a good clean inside and out as well as fixing a few minor faults in order to get the best possible price, so it makes a lot of sense to take the same approach when selling what is probably your biggest asset of all, your home.

If you are planning on selling your house it would be a good idea to walk around your property and make a list of the sort of jobs that you could tackle yourself, which is a better idea than waiting for someone else to find the sort of fixable faults that help drive the price down. 14-Day Free Trial on Home Real Estate Listing Service. Start Now at ForSaleByOwner.com!

Home Inspection Tips for Sellers

Here is a look at how to prepare your home ready for a home inspection, including some tips on how to be proactive when it comes to repairs, plus what to expect when an inspector calls, and why it often pays to come clean about any problems with the house.

Anticipating Problems

A typical scenario that can play out with a residential property deal is when a clause in the contract allows the buyer to back out of the deal or negotiate a lower price after they get the results of a home inspection carried out by a licensed professional.

If you don’t want the buyer to exercise that clause within about 7-10 days of the contract being ratified, you need to be a proactive seller and prepare your home before the home inspection is booked.

If you want the option of selling your home in its current condition and settled as is, there are options to get a cash offer when you visit WrenRealityInc.com and other sites like it, but if you want to try and maximize the amount you sell your home for, it often pays to anticipate any potential inspection problems and fix the issues beforehand.

Retirement Income Tips To Implement from Jeannette Bajalia

by Guest Contributor

The following is a guest post by Jeannette Bajalia who is the author of Planning A Purposeful Life: Secrets of Longevity, Retirement Done Right and Wi$e Up Women and president and principal advisor of Petros Estate & Retirement Planning. If you’d like to submit a guest post to Money Q&A, be sure to check out Money Q&A’s Guest Posting Guidelines.

The average person spends 30-40 years working, saving, investing and dreaming about the yellow brick road of retirement. I know this because I’m a baby boomer and have done the same.

After 38 years at my first career, I retired at 55. Recently I celebrated the 10^th anniversary of my second career, or the second chapter of my professional life as a retirement income planner.

I became a retirement income planner because, after retiring from my first career, I knew I was headed out of the savings mode – which we refer to as the accumulation phase of our lives – and into the distribution phase, meaning I now needed to use my savings as income.

Talk about a huge psychological shift!

I was an expert at savings, now I needed to learn the most efficient way to use my savings to produce predictable income streams that would last a lifetime.

On my quest to get help, I interviewed five financial advisors with one goal: To get a solid retirement plan that would ensure I didn’t run out of money before I ran out of life.