Vanguard in Action

Welcome back to vanguard in action. This blog is now under new management and as a result will focus on slightly different topics. Instead of simply focusing on loans, it will focus on the psychology behind loans and business in general. This will return the blog closer to its origins.

I hope you enjoy the upcoming changes and the new direction the blog takes. If you have any concerns or questions please feel free to leave your comments below. Moreover, if there is anything you would like to read about please let me know.
From the New Management here at Vanguard In Action

Arizona senator Robert Blendu, R - Litchfield Park, has made a proposal to push the deadline for the law that would essentially eliminate the payday loan industry in Arizona back from 2010 to 2012. He proposes that the state Department of Financial Institutions would examine the number of loans made to Arizonans and the amount of money the payday loan companies collect. He hopes that this may give state legislators information that would persuade them to keep payday loans legal in the state. The proposal has been met with plenty of opposition, though. Rep. Marian McClure, R - Tucson, has called the payday loan industry, “an equal-opportunity predator”, and ridiculed Blendu for the proposal. She pointed to the fact that lenders are charging 15 percent interest on payday loans, which equates to a 400 percent annual interest rate. It is likely that the proposed ban on payday loans in Arizona will continue as scheduled, unless Blendu can drum up more support for his proposal.

A lot of people today are refinancing their auto loans, but they don’t realize what a mistake auto loan refinancing can be. They think they can increase their cash flow by refinancing the auto loan, but several negative things can happen. First, cars usually depreciate sharply. Around 45% in the first three years, according to Consumer Reports. This leaves borrowers with an “upside down” loan, that is owing more than the car is worth. Also, amortization begins again with a new auto loan, which basically means early payments cut into faster than the principal. This could leave you with another “upside down” auto loan. Not only that, your payments won’t drop much, unless you increase the number of months you are paying the loan over, which is more expensive. The only reason I can think of to refinance you auto loan would be if you bought a car when you had bad credit and have an extremely high interest rate. Then, it would make sense to refinance the car loan, lowering your interest rate by a significant amount.

Student loan provider Sallie Mae reported their fourth quarter earnings on Wednesday. Sallie Mae’s fourth quarters sales were just under one billion dollars. Analysts see this as a positive for the loan company who has seen plenty of recent troubles. The student lender recently saw the collapse of a $25 billion buyout offer, has been entangled in subsequent litigation and has faced dissatisfaction among investors over large drops (Sallie Mae shares lost 60 percent in the fourth quarter, ending the year at $20.14) in Sallie Mae stock. It may be too early to tell if Wednesday’s news will significantly help the loan company’s image and stock prices, but any good news is welcomed at this point.

Nowadays many people travel all around the world. And everyone knows that such trips can be rather expensive. Fortunately, there are credit cards that can help people to save their money on travel expenses.
If you often go on business trips and stay at the same hotel chain, then hotel rewards credit cards will be the best option for you. These plastics let you participate in reward programs. With the help of such programs you will have a chance to accumulate points each time you stay at participating hotels. Then these points can be redeemed for free hotel stays or other hotel services.
With hotel rewards plastics you will be able to stay at hotels for free. Only imagine that you will have a chance to earn a free weekend stay at a hotel.
One more type of cards that will be rather useful for travelers is air miles credit cards. Having credit products of this type, you will be able to earn free or discounted airline tickets just for using your credit card.
So, rewards credit cards can be very advantageous for those who often go on various trips. Take your chance to make your trips convenient and profitable.