So what is time value of money in laymen terms? In finance, money is perceived as more valuable today then it is in the future. As an example, a dollar today, does NOT have the same VALUE ten years from now. Imagine how much it costs to buy a hamburger 10 years ago versus today. You can think of time value of money another way, 1 dollar will be 1.20 if the interest rate is twenty percent in a year. Interest, inflation, economy may affect the value of money. Generally, this term is referred to as TVM and can be easily calculated through a business calculator. On a calculator, there are 6 buttons that are used for TVM calculations (the labels in the calculator may vary, but the functions are essentially the same). They are: PV, PMT, FV, I/Y, N and CPT.

PV= Present Value
PMT= Payment
FV= Future Value
I/Y= Interest
N= Period

There you have it. See the next posts for examples.

Newly graduated students are often concerned that they will struggle to get a mortgage once they start their first graduate job due to the large sums owing to the Student Loans Company. Whilst the debt has to be declared as a financial obligation on any mortgage application, underwriters do not pay great attention to it. The reason for this is the low levels of repayment required by the Student Loans Company. Student loans are not recorded on your credit file, so there is no record of your repayment history, good or bad! This may be a bad thing if you are apply for credit from a high street bank or mortgage company for the first time as they may have no credit information on which to base their decision on. Graduates in certain disciplines, such as medicine and law, have an advantage in that a number of high street mortgage lenders will let them take out a mortgage with a 5% deposit, rather than the 10% deposit the lenders will ask for from other first time buyers. In recent years there has been an increase in the number of student mortgages taken out. Normally they are arranged on the basis that the property purchased will be let out to other students who live with the mortgage holder and the rental income will cover the monthly mortgage payments. The author had a student mortgage while he was at university and the balance he had to pay after the rent was collected was very small. Due to interest rate fluctuations during his studies there were periods where there actually was a small surplus each month. Due to the fact that the interest rates charged on Student Loans are closely linked to the rate of inflations, these loans stay at the same level in "real terms". Having a student loan outstanding is a far cheaper debt than having to take out a personal loan or mortgage from a high street lender, and an awful lot cheaper than borrowing on credit cards. The credit crunch has had an effect on the student mortgage, and graduate mortgage, market with few lenders now vying for this type of business. But do not let all the negative press publicity put you off as there are still plenty of mortgages lenders in the market, with over 8000 different mortgage products available in the UK to all types of buyers or remortgagers. As will all mortgage decisions, it is worth approaching a whole of market mortgage broker who will be able to advise on which mortgages fit your circumstances the best. They will also know which mortgage lenders take a softer line than others regarding student debt. This is helpful if it cuts down on the number of lenders you apply to, as a large number of mortgage credit file searches on record can be off putting or suspicious to some mortgage companies.

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About the Author: Aaron Hill has a decade of experience in the financial services industry. His main area of expertise is mortgage advice and writes many articles on mortgages for finance industry, mortgage brokers and the general public alike.

Loans do not have to be difficult to get. In fact, anyone can get an easy loan if they know how to make the process easy. An easy loan is simply a loan where the process is not drawn out. The main key to an easy loan is being prepared.

The loan process involves paperwork and documentation. It involves the lender looking over everything and making a determination about whether to approve or deny the loan request. The process can be hard and long, but it does not have to be.

A borrower who is prepared for the loan process will find they can make it so much easier. Being prepared requires having all documentation, knowing what type of loan and amount needed and having a down payment or collateral. By having these things the loan process can be made easy.

Documentation is a big part of the loan process. It is how lenders verify what a borrower is telling them. Documentation generally involves proof of identification, proof of income and proof of any current financial obligations. A borrower should come to the lender with their pay stubs for the past six months or, if self employed, tax returns for the past two years. They should also bring their identification, a driver's license or other form of legally recognized identification. They should also bring information about any financial obligations they have like child support or other loans they may have. This documentation should include the current status of the account and the amount of the total obligation.

The borrower should also figure out before hand how much they want to borrow. They should also look around and determine the interest rate they are looking for and how long they wish to finance the loan. It is important for a borrower to keep in mind that their credit history is going to effect the final determination of these factors.

It helps if the borrower knows their credit history, including their credit score. By knowing this they can properly handle their loan request. The lender will eventually find out about the borrowers credit history so the borrower should be prepared to discuss any problems that may be present. By knowing their credit history the borrower can also be more accurate in how much they can likely borrow and what type of interest rate to expect.

Lastly, to help make the loan process easy, the borrower should come prepared with either a down payment or collateral to secure the loan. Secured loans are much easier then unsecured loans. The lender is more likely to be able to speed up the loan process if the borrower has something to secure the loan with.

Getting an easy loan is all in the hands of the borrower. By being prepared the borrower is going to save a lot of time and hassle. They will have everything ready and the lender should be able to fill out the paperwork and process the loan quickly. This is the key to an easy loan.

About the Author

James Copper is a writer for http://www.any-loans.co.uk where you can get information on low rate loans