(World news) Know What To Look For With A 0% Balance Transfer Credit Card
No commentsBy Peter Kenny
If you have high interest rate credit cards with outstanding balances on them you may find that the monthly repayments that you are making on the cards are very high. In addition, if you are only making small repayments on the cards you may find that a large portion of what you pay on each balance in getting swallowed up in interest, which means that your actual balance is hardly being touched leaving you at risk of having the debt hanging around your neck for a long time to come.
This is the reason why many people have decided over recent years to transfer their higher interest credit card debts onto a convenient and affordable 0% balance transfer credit card. By doing this cardholders can save a considerable amount of money in interest payments, and as long as they remain within the credit limit on the new card can transfer balances from a range of different credit cards so that they have fewer credit card debts to deal with.
It is important to make sure that you get the best deal possible when you opt for a 0% balance transfer credit card, as getting the best deal can help you to save more money and buy you more time to repay the balance. There are a number of things that you should check when it comes to finding a suitable 0% balance transfer deal, and by taking the time to compare different 0% balance transfer cards and compare these different factors you can increase your chances of getting the most competitive deal.
Of course, one of the most important factors that you will need to look at is how long the interest free credit period is, as the longer this is the more time you will have to repay the transferred balance without being charged any interest. Some 0% balance transfer cards offer interest free periods of just six months or so, but others offer 0% interest for twelve or even fifteen months in some cases. Make sure that you compare cards from a range of providers in order to find the best interest free period.
Most 0% balance transfer credit cards charge a transfer fee, and this is usually a percentage of the total amount that is being transferred. You need to compare the various 0% balance transfer cards and compare how much each charges by way of a transfer fee, as this can vary from one card provider to another. On average the transfer fee ranges from 2-3 percent of the total amount that is being transferred.
Although you should aim to repay the balance in full before the interest free period comes to an end on these 0% balance transfer cards it is worth taking a look at the interest rate that is charged just in case your have a remaining balance by the time the 0% period expires. However, this should not be the priority, as you should aim to have the balance cleared by the time that the interest free period ends.
Peter Kenny has been writing financial articles for 10 years and is a writer for The Thrifty Scot, please visit us at Credit Cards and Compare Credit Cards
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Indian firms look to diaspora to tide over economic slump
By John Parkr
In these times of economic slowdown, Indian companies, especially real estate firms, are looking at diaspora in the Middle East for investment.
The government kickstarted a series of investment meets last week in Muscat that had major Indian firms hardselling Indias economic stability to the diaspora.
The Muscat meeting held under the aegis of the overseas Indian affairs ministry on November 12 is the first in over 16 such meetings to be held in the Middle East, UK and US .
These countries account for the bulk of the Indian diaspora. According to Col Harmeet Singh Sethi, head of the Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre (OIFC), the Indian government and business groups will target areas in the Middle East that remain largely ignored but represent big money including Sharjah, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain.
According to Sethi, real estate, education and wealth management are key areas where India is looking for investment and support from the diaspora. One of the major obstacles in this area is the bureaucracy and red tapism. We were told that India is rated the 83rd most difficult place to do business in. There were reservations expressed by business people there who are interested in investing in India but we were able to allay their fears to a large extent,’ Sethi said.
The meeting included biggies like DLF, Career Launcher and Kotak Mahindra.
The investor tete-a-tete comes close on the heels of PM Manmohan Singhs trip to Oman where he asked Gulf nations to invest in Indian infrastructure and help the country register 9% growth.
India is now looking at big-ticket investments in areas like infrastructure, healthcare, education, assisted living, wealth management and real estate.
Indians send the highest amount of remittances back home, beating even China. India has now captured one-tenth of global remittance flows with total remittances from overseas Indians growing steadily from $2.1 billion in 1990-1991 to $27.1 billion in 2006-2007.
But investment from the diaspora lags behind. Sources said the ministry of overseas Indian affairs was keen to convert this emotional bond into a financially productive one.
Published on: www.indiarealestateblog.com
John Parker,author of many articles regarding India Real Estate and India Real Estate Buying Selling Tips is a Realestate advisor and giving assistance to the people for indiarealestate and providing information on Real Estate Market in India.
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