Finance and business helping guides

Being careful with your money is extremely valuable. Here are some advices regarding finance issues. While many credit cards come with the ability to transfer balances, a balance transfer credit card is one that offers a low introductory rate on balance transfers for a certain period of time. If you want to save money on a high-interest rate balance on an existing card, a balance transfer is a good way to go. Balance transfer interest rates vary – some are as low as 0 percent, but these usually have qualifiers such as a minimum of two transactions a month. The lower the promotional rate (and longer the promotional period) the more attractive the card is. However, you’ll often need good credit to qualify.

Obtaining a Payday Loan: Payday loan providers are typically small credit merchants with physical locations that allow onsite credit applications and approval. Some payday loan services may also be available through online lenders. To complete a payday loan application, a borrower must provide paystubs from their employer showing their current levels of income. Payday lenders often base their loan principal on a percentage of the borrower’s predicted short-term income. Many also use a borrower’s wages as collateral. Other factors influencing the loan terms include a borrower’s credit score and credit history, which is obtained from a hard credit pull at the time of application.

Terms: Account : An arrangement with a financial institution for the debit and credit of funds; also the record or statement of these transactions. Businesses may use an account structure with another party to keep track of goods or services rendered and payments owing.

Cash flow: The cycle of money coming into and out of an account according to income/revenue and expenses. Negative cash flow is when expenses fall due before income/revenue is available and the account experiences a shortfall. Positive cash flow is when income/revenue outstrips expenses and there is excess cash in the cycle.

For our finnish readers here is a resource that you might find useful : Credit cards easily explained. Official cash rate (OCR): Defined by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) as an operational target for the implementation of monetary policy. Broadly speaking, it is is used to denote the interest rate which financial institutions pay to borrow or charge to lend funds in the money market on an overnight basis.

GAAP: As a new investor, it’s important to know the distinction between like measurements because the market allows firms to advertise their numbers in ways not otherwise regulated. For instance, often companies will publicize their numbers using either GAAP or non-GAAP measures. GAAP, or Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, outlines rules and conventions for reporting financial information. It is a means to standardize financial statements and ensure consistency in reporting. When a company publicizes its earnings and includes non-GAAP figures, it means they want to provide investors with an arguably more accurate depiction of the company’s health, like removing one-time items to smooth out earnings. However, the further away a company deviates from GAAP standards, the more room is allocated for some creative accounting and manipulation (like in the case of EBITDA). When looking at a company publishing non-GAAP numbers, new investors should be careful of these pro-forma statements, as they may differ greatly from what GAAP deems acceptable.