10 Ways to Get Extra Cash

Cash

Where do you get extra cash when you have exhausted your emergency fund?

Look into your own sources of the fund before you get outside help:

1. Children’s savings accounts: Here is a good source of funds that you can tap into quickly with no hassle.

2. Your fixed deposit: Here is yet another source of quick cash but you have to sacrifice your interest income for premature withdrawal.

3. Cash value of your insurance policies: You don't have to surrender a policy, but you just get a loan against the cash value. You can get your cash in just a few days. You can also redeem your investment-linked insurance policy just like you liquidate your unit trust. There is no need to make repayment

4. Sell your investment: Dispose of off part of your shares or your unit trust holding to meet your cash requirements

5. Pawn your valuables: Another quick way to get cash is to pawn your gold rings, gold chains, gold coins, or other valuables but don't let your friends or relatives spot you at the pawnshop.

6. Cash advance from your company: You can get your salary advance without interest easily from the place where you work.

7. Credit card advance: You will definitely incur substantial interest but it is a quick source of cash and is better than getting the money from Ah Long or a loan shark

8. Borrow from your friends and relatives: You have to be thick-skinned and it may not look good for you financially but what to do when you need the cash. Perhaps you can be kind enough to repay the loan with an extra amount to make your lenders happy.

9. Personal loan or a secured loan from the bank: It may not be as fast as you think but it is a way to secure the needed sum. You may not require collateral for a personal loan but you can secure an overdraft facility with your own house.

10. Loan shark: This is the last resort. If you can, avoid it. If you must borrow, make very sure that you pay back promptly or the debt will be snowballed into a sum beyond your means to settle and that is the beginning of your nightmare.

One good thing about getting a loan from financial institutions is that you can establish your creditworthiness by making timely repayments. You are better than someone with no credit history

Source:http://www.allaboutlivingwithlife.blogspot.com/2009/06/10-ways-to-get-extra-cash.html

Hotel General Manager Accused of Stealing Nearly $900,000 in Credit Card Scheme

ALLENDALE, MI – The former general manager of Sleep Inn hotel in Allendale is accused of stealing nearly $900,000 by directing credit card payments to her own accounts, according to an indictment unsealed Friday, Nov. 21.

Renata Nicole Annese is charged with 15 counts of wire fraud and a single count of money laundering.

The government is seeking forfeiture of property on Maplewood Drive in Jenison titled to Renata and Michael Annese. The government is seeking to recover $872,929.23, which investigators estimate to be proceeds of an alleged scheme that began in October 2006 and ended in April 2013, court records showed.

Renata Annese turned herself in Friday to U.S. Marshal’s Service, records showed. She has hired Grand Rapids attorney James Brady to represent her. He was not immediately available for comment on the allegations.

Annese was hired as general manager at Sleep Inn in Allendale in 2004, two years after it opened. The hotel is affiliated with Choice Hotels International, based in Rockville, Md. As general manager, she was responsible for daily operations of the hotel, including the processing of credit card transactions, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald Stella wrote in the indictment.

Here’s how Stella said the alleged scheme worked:

Credit and debit cards at the hotel would cause wire transmissions to be made through corporate services in Arizona and then through a Shift4 system in Nevada. Shift4 then sent authorization requests to the issuing bank for each customer and stored the authorized transactions in a “batch” on its computer system.

Once the customer’s stay was complete, credit and debit card authorizations were then converted to actual payments. Shift4 allows hotels to review and edit credit and debit card transactions before converting the authorizations into a final payment.

This process allows hotels to reserve authorizations in the event that a customer does not ultimately stay at the hotel or is dissatisfied with service and requires a refund.

Annese had sole responsibility for reviewing credit and debit card transactions. She would log onto Shift4’s system using a unique account number, user name, and password to review, edit or remove transactions before releasing a daily batch for final processing and payment to the hotel.

She allegedly carried out the scheme by fraudulently editing batches of credit cards in the Shift4 system before releasing them for payment. She manually entered her credit or debit card account numbers into the system and used a customer’s name to make it look like the transaction belonged to that customer, Stella wrote.

“By using the customer’s name and making the transaction amount match the amount of the legitimate transaction with the customer’s card, Renata Nicole Annese made the fraudulent transaction appear to be a legitimate refund to that customer, Stella said.

The money laundering charge alleges she wrote a check for $18,930.84 to Betten Imports to buy a vehicle, Stella wrote in court records.

Source: http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2014/11/hotel_general_manager_accused.html

7 Reasons to Save

If you would be wealthy, think of  saving as well as getting ~ Benjamin Franklin

 Did you start saving while you were very young? Do you still set aside an amount each month from your budget as savings? You should be saving like the rich and famous. There are 7 solid reasons why you should save:

 1. Good habit: The amount is not important, the habit is. When you can save, it means you are spending less than what you have earned. More likely than not, you do not incur unnecessary debt. You get what you need, but you think twice before getting something you want.

 2. Emergency fund: Life is unpredictable, especially when money is concerned. A nasty accident or an unexpected retrenchment can cause havoc in your financial affair. It is prudent to have a cash reserve to cover around three to six months’ living expenses. So, the first priority is to save for an emergency fund.

 3. Save for a big-ticket item: it is a good strategy to save enough to buy a big-ticket item in cash rather than using your credit card or getting a personal loan. You exercise self-control and avoid getting into debt and incur interest charges.

 4. Save for a down payment for a car: It is also a better way to save for a larger down payment for a new car. Your car loan will be smaller and you also pay for a smaller amount every month and your loan period is also shorter. The most important thing is that you will incur fewer interest charges.

 5. Save for a down payment on a house: A house is a big investment. It is necessary to get a housing loan to buy your dream home. It is also wise to save and pay more for an initial amount and borrow less.

 6. Accumulate an amount for investment: How do you invest? First, you have to save a substantial amount and then you invest according to your risk tolerance. It is not enough just to save because the amount that you have saved plus the interest you have earned is not even enough to cover inflation. Making a prudent investment is the way to conserve your purchasing power and build your wealth.

 7. The starting point of a care-free financial future: Your financial future starts with savings and ends with a financially independent retirement. Fortune starts with savings and it is the foundation of wealth building. This is also the secret of the rich and famous.

 A penny saved is a penny earned. ~ Benjamin Franklin 

Source: http://www.allaboutlivingwithlife.blogspot.com/2011/08/7-reasons-to-save.html

10 Situations to Avoid Getting a Loan

It is unwise in the following situations to obtain credit and get into debt. It will jeopardize your finance during an emergency situation like when you are out of work


1. No regular income: When your income fluctuates from month to month there is no way to do a budget and include the repayments of the loan into your monthly outlay. It is also unlikely for you to obtain a loan without a regular source of income 

2. Not within your budget: Don’t get a loan when there is no extra fund to meet monthly repayments 

3. Live a more expensive lifestyle: When you can ill-afford to eat out at high-end restaurants and buy branded goods, you still can satisfy your hunger in a less expensive way. The cost of branded goods includes frequent advertisements and a higher margin for profit. A less expensive brand is just as good without the high cost of advertisement and a lower profit margin.

4. Replacing household items that are still in good working order: When you have the means there is no problem but don’t get a loan to replace electrical appliances or TV which are still in good working conditions.

5. Change a three-year-old car to the latest model: The car is in tip-top condition, why raise a loan and incur unnecessary debt and pay interest?

6. Getting things you want: Borrow money to satisfy your ego? It’s a stupid thing to do.

7. Sending your children overseas for further education: If it is within your means to study locally why incur a debt to send them overseas? Do you think it is a good thing to pledge your house to finance your children’s education abroad?

8. Throw a party to celebrate an occasion: Who cares about your celebration? Just do it among family members. Don’t get a personal loan just to spend it.

9. A holiday abroad: Have a good time locally instead of getting into debt and paying interest. Malaysia is one of the top ten destinations for holidaymakers. Discover more about your own backyard.

10. Renovate your house: Don’t beautify your house when it is in good repair even though the bank encourages you to take a loan as the value of your property has appreciated over time. 


The only good thing to raise a loan is to get a roof over your head.

Source: http://www.allaboutlivingwithlife.blogspot.com/2010/08/10-situations-to-avoid-getting-loan.html