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my husband and i want to buy a house within the next year. we talked to a lender and my bubbys credit is not bad, but he virtually has no credit at all.

we dont want to take on a car payment, we have a nice car thats already paid off. we are goin to apply for credit cards. any other ideas? any input would be greatly appreciated. thanks!

Have it your way

Credit is important because this is how lenders see you. All you have to do is MAINTAIN A GOOD CREDIT REPORT. Credit report will have bunch of your information in the database like SSS, address,bills paid on time, employment history, how many credit cards you applied and you have.

no such thing as building fast credit - especially the kind of credit needed to buy a house

credit is one thing - will you have enough CASH?? - 10-25% of house price will be needed

and you won;t be able to get a mortgage any bigger than 2.5 times your annual incoem - are there houses IN THAT PRICE RANGE where you live?

if you open too many credit accts at one time, that will hurt your credit score for awhile

and taking on new debt like a car loan will definitely hurt you because it will reduce your available mortgage eligibility

What you stated is the best way to build credit, Make small purchases and pay them right when the bills comes. Credit will not build up fast but it will build up.

It is not possibly to build a credit rating "fast." He'll need at least 12 months....more like 24 months of on time payments to build a credit history.

Our company is planning to open an online store and accept online payments using Paypal (which we know can be used for credit card payments).

We are already an accredited credit card merchant, so do we need to get another MERCHANT ACCOUNT in order to accept credit card payments ONLINE? Also, will ONLINE INVOICES created in Paypal be enough for BIR/government audit?

Have it Your way

Paypal will be your merchant account, so you don't need another one. In the US, Paypal's online statements are fine for tax auditing, but it'll be easier if you maintain your own books also.

No, but you might want to read some of the horror stories about businesses that have used Paypal as their merchant account. Just because Paypal gets paid doesn't always mean you will get your money promptly or at all..

I'm in a bit of a quandary here... I'm currently working in manufacturing but don't really see any future at all in it for myself. It's completely boring and isn't what I want to do with my life. The thing is, I'm interested in psychology having studied a homestudy course and through general reading on the subject.

What I really want to do now is get on a access to higher education course at college studying psychology then hopefully do it at degree level. The thing is though, the course I want to do is full time for one year and costs nearly £2000, so I would need to leave my job.

I don't mind doing this at all because I don't like my job but the thing is I have a loan that I'm currently paying of that is £2500. So just to recap my current situation is this - working full time and paying my loan off (as well as the usual bills and things).

I've been trying to figure out how I could leave my job and get onto this course that would benefit me and pay huge dividends in the long run, but it seems I just cannot do it for the simple matter of money - if I leave my job how can I pay my loan, bills, etc? I think

I could maybe perhaps get a part time job as the course is only 3 days a week. Also I've no current qualifications or anything, just standard GCSEs. I'm 30 years old. Do you think I could get any financial help or anything as I'm completely lost what to do or how I could go about this. Thanks for any advice.

Have it your way

Higher education is a good Idea. I just got my degree last week. I worked full time and went to school part time.

It will be worth the effort in the long run. You could probably work part time. Your employer may even allow you to work and go to school at the same time. If they don't then it's not a good employer, so don't feel bad about quitting.

if the course is only 3 days a week,that leaves you 4 days a week to work for pay.Is it not possible for your present employer to let you work this 4 day week? If not then get another job that will enable you to earn money,do your course and maybe you could get some working tax credits etc to top up your earnings.Go to the CAB or Job centre for some advice.I don't see why you cannot get some financial help to better yourself,there is enough going to people with no intention of even getting a job!
Good luck.

Make your own money.. if you don't like the sound of that and are a what we say a 9 till 5er or whatever, then you are going to have to start telling people to F off and that there have to wait for there money (your creditors) this will give you alittle time to think how you are going to get thur.

In other words your going to get paid and just hold on to your money for as long as possible. paid only what needs to be paid rent- yes, getting to work - yes, your child - yes everything else - NO (i want to pay you but your have to wait) hold on to your cash.

Put simply you are over committed just on your own, you are not currently in a position to raise a child if you cannot look after yourself.

1) Short term are your bills as cheap as they can be, check on comparison websites to make sure they are such as http://www.moneysupermarket.com. £300 a month on household bills is expensive if you are living on your own and out of the house for 14 ours a day! I am running a 2 bedroom flat, with baby and partner in all day using electric and I only spend £300 a month. Surely you can cut back somewhere.

2) Do you have a car? If you do i suggest using public transport as at 24 your insurance probably costs 10% of your salary, not to mention petrol!

3) You say you are a trainee, do you have a set date by which you will be promoted and get a payrise? If you are thinking about a loan will you get paid enough to support your liestyle AND pay back the loan when you get your payrise? If not be careful.

4) Do you have the option of moving in with your parents? Or a friend who has a spare room for a year?

5) I think a house share, if you can fid one, would be a very good option as bills are usually included in the rent and it will be much less expensive. It doesnt matter that you dont want to do it, you are not in a position to be picky im afraid.

6) Where is the £300 quid overspend coming from? You dont mention that in the figures, if its just your food and child essential you need to cut back. thats £70 quid a week you are spending. You could buy food for you and the bairn for half that.

His mum is getting child benefit and child tax credits to pay for his food and nappies. You dont need to be shelling that out. Plus if you are paying for his food and nappies etc for 3 days a week thats almost 2 weeks a month she is saving on food and nappies. You need to be asking that question

I know you are bitter that there are a lot of spongers that dont work half as hard as you but you need to keep going.

If you are paying of any loans etc you may wish to speak with your creditors and tell them you are infinancial hardship sot hat they can go easy on you.

I have my annual review coming up this Wednesday and I more than deserve an increase in salary. However, others are talking about their reviews and have said that a raise wasn't even brought up. I think this is partly their fault for not standing up for themselves.

However, one person said that a yearly bonus was mentioned. We did get one and that's very generous of them but it shouldn't replace a salary increase. When I interviewed for this position, we discussed the room for growth and that was part of my reason for accepting the position. I can't be expected to remain with a company if that doesn't include financial growth as well. Also, when I was hired, metro reimbursement was part of the negotiation but I never received it.

When I broached them about this again, they said it wasn't in the budget. So, at the moment, they are in the process of expanding the office to increase revenue. I feel they may use this as their reason for not being able to afford to increase my salary. I've thought of several different ways on how best to point out that I should receive a raise.

From what I'm hearing from others, they were using last minute 'issues' that happened as 'areas of improvement' and I think this is going to be their focus and they may try to overlook that my performance overall has been above outstanding. I would like feedback so that I can see if I have the right idea on how to 'make my case' so to speak.

Take it

Although the economy is recovering many employees are finding their companies still aren't ready to pay higher wages. Mostly because they don't have too. Most companies figure they can hide behind the bad economy banner for a while longer as their is a lot of unemployment lingering throughout most economic sectors. In order to be successful in obtaining a cost of living increase you should spend time preparing for the interview. First you should gather all your achievements for the year.

This may include e-mails and letters from satisfied customers, you boss and co workers. You should keep a record of the work you do. If you process forms, how many did you process in the past year. Did you perform special projects, or put in extra hours to ensure the successful completion of assignments. Try assembly these facts and figures in a story form like you were telling a friend how hard you worked over the past year.

Put in commentary of how you helped your coworkers in addition to completing your own assignments, and the recognition you received from management for doing a good job. Next develop a credible amount that you think you should receive.

This should be the inflation rate plus your value added for the year. Check with sites like Monster.com to see what the average increase is for your industry and adjust to fit your circumstances. If your boss does not bring up cost of living, you should. Do not wait until the end of the interview as the boss will have things pretty well wrapped up by then. Perhaps you can find an opening when you are discussing your assignments and achievements.

For example, I worked really hard this year and I exceeded all of my assigned goals, I learned a lot and have increased my skills and value to the company. And with the cost of groceries and gas going through the roof, my cost of living increase should consider both of these factors.

There is a discussion on website forum at www.practicalmentod.com regarding A raise in a bad economy. You may find some helpful information you can use. Good luck The PracticaL Mentor