Benefits of a Personal Loan

Whether you need finance to buy a car, caravan or boat, whether you’re planning a holiday or a home extension a personal loan can offer you unique benefits such as:

?        A secured loan. A secured loan is one which has the item you are borrowing to purchase, as security against the loan. This means if you default on the loan and can’t make your payments your lender is able to seize the item to recover their costs.

?        A lower interest rate. A personal loan has one of the lowest interest rates of any type of financing and much lower than a credit card interest rate. A secured personal loan has an even lower rate than a standard personal loan as you are less of a risk if you are able to put up an asset as security against your borrowing.

?        A set term. Unlike a credit card which you can be repaying for an indeterminate number of years, a personal loan has a short set term, often five or seven years, so you have a clear end point in sight. You can also often choose your own personal loan term, for as short as one year in some cases.

How to Apply for a Personal Loan

The personal loan market is a competitive one and if you take the time to shop around and compare you can come up with a personal loan package with the lowest interest rate and the best choice of features for your needs.

To apply for a personal loan:

1. Check your credit. Before you apply you want to gauge your chances of approval because even a rejected loan application can appear as a black mark on your credit report. Therefore obtain a free copy of your credit report and look for any mistakes which could give you a poor score. These could be bills which you paid but were not registered or you may be the victim of identity theft. You’ll also be able to see, all in one place, how much debt you already have, and whether more is wise.
2. Aim for a secured loan. Applying for a secured loan will allow you to negotiate a lower interest rate and a higher borrowing amount if you need it.
3. Consolidate your debts. A popular use of a personal loan is to pay off existing debts such as credit cards or store cards. When you use a personal loan to repay bad debts you can be paying a lower interest rate and making just one monthly repayment, rather than one to each card.
4. Be a good personal loan customer. You can also use a personal loan to repair a bad credit rating because making your repayments on time every month shows responsibility and reliability when it comes to credit. At the same time, don’t forget about your other debts or financial commitments such as bills or rent and mortgage repayments.
5. Shop around. Don’t apply for the first personal loan product you find, from the first lender who will approve your loan. Instead, make sure you get multiple quotes on your personal loan needs; a comparison website is an ideal tool for this as you can enter your information once and receive quotes from the lenders and products which best suit you, so you know you are making comparisons on the same information, on a level playing field. 

Guest post by Eric Cheng, who is a regular personal finance writer and part of the team at Personl Loan Finder, a 100% free Australian personal loan comparison and application service. Visit the Personal Loan Finder website for more information on personal loans.

When it was sold, it was the second time that the town had been put up for sale. It was previously being offered for $1.1 million US, but it recently sold for only $370,601 US in April. The town was not listed as a distressed property since businesses are being leased for approximately $3000 monthly. It also has a great location close to Whistler BC in Canada.

Unusual properties for sale

There are many other unusual properties that come up for sale. Last year a Gothic castle covering 8250 ft.² with spires and turrets sold for $1.5 million US in Harlem. The skinniest house in New York was sold for $2.1 million USD in Greenwich Village. The house measures only 2.9 m wide by 9.1 m long.

The most expensive home in the world is listed in Mumbai Indiana. It is the first house in the world that goes for more than $1 billion.

There are a lot of unusual properties you can get your hands on at auctions. These sites seem to attract people that are shopping for something a little out of the ordinary and these homes certainly fit the bill! EBay draws a huge crowd of both buyers and sellers, so if you are looking for something out of the ordinary it is the first place you should check. You may also find some interesting homes at local auctions in the area.

Keep your eyes open for a new auction that starts on June 2, 2010. A 2 level Victorian terrace will be optioned off. A bloody battle between the union squatters and police occurred at this home and it is your chance to own a piece of history from Newtown Sydney. Then keep your eyes open for more unusual homes being listed as well. You never know what you will find at an auction!

This article was written by William Eve. William writes about real estate and investment loans for mortgage comparison site HomeLoanFinder.

Working from the comfort of their home is a dream come true for many people. Saying good bye to long commutes, snarly bosses and bitchy co-workers has its benefits. You can grab your own slice of this global behaviour shift by finding, and starting a business from home.

Common types of work at home business opportunities

When people talk about working at home they usually have one of the following opportunities in mind:

Call center work
Data entry
Freelance writing
Network marketing
Technical assistance
Task-based work
Consulting work based on your knowledge and experience etc.

Regardless of the type of work you are looking for, there exists a range of opportunities for just about anyone with a passion for starting out. You will need a healthy dose of entrepreneurial spirit and a willingness to work hard – especially in your first year.

Where do you start?

This is a very important question because it is the single-most reason people fail before they even get started. Due to the ever-changing landscape of the Internet it is very hard to stay abreast of the places that accept you for home-based work.

Generally speaking you can find them on job board websites such as Guru.com, Elance.com, or oDesk, or you can brand yourself on social networks in the hopes that people will come to you.

As you can imagine, that won’t work, unless you already have a solid online profile. It takes time and considerable effort to pull this off.

Your best bet as a total newcomer to work at home opportunities is to go with a reputable job network provider. This will save you a lot of time, headaches and money because these networks have available jobs for capable providers pretty much all of the time.

Theoretically you can sign up with them and find a job within the same day.

Reputable job networks

The following networks are considered safe and reputable as long as you stick to their guidelines and TOS. You can earn thousands of dollars with these job networks if you have a talent for one of the above work descriptions. Most of them are in hot demand all the time, so finding a paying job is really not that hard.

oDesk: oDesk is a company that acts as the mediator between you (the contractor) and the client. Membership is free and you will pay a percentage of your earnings to them for finding you the client.

Guru: Guru works in a similar fashion to oDesk, but is more geared towards technical jobs such as coding, website management, database collaboration, etc.

Elance: Elance is a good place to find writing work fast if you are prepared to stick to a lower pay rate. If you are good at what you do you should see repeat bookings from past clients, meaning it will become easier to find work since you won’t have to chase clients – they will chase you instead. Elance’s shortcoming lies in accepting service providers (and clients) who are unreliable and incapable of performing good work. This somewhat taints their professional image.

Short Task: Short Task looks like an interesting platform through which you can earn money for fulfilling short tasks. I’m not familiar with them myself so I will have to mark this site as “somewhat unproven.” Having said this, it seems the creators of the site have already received accolades for the idea, therefore I’m thinking it might be reputable enough. You will have to be the judge.

Demand Studios: As an emerging freelance writer you can’t look past Demand Studios. These guys are considered one of the best job resources for new and existing writers. You will be paid a set fee for writing articles for them. These range widely in topic. The hardest part of getting a job with them is to get accepted in the first place because they will only sign up new writers based on their requirements. The best way to find out is by applying.

Leapforce: Google’s Leapforce let’s you earn money by becoming an Independent Leapforce at Home Agent. In order to be accepted for paid work you need to pass a strict two-part test on your theoretical and practical comprehension of search engine evaluation. If you fail the test you will not be able to do it again.

Liveops: Liveops is a home-based call service opportunity that lets you dial in from your home. Inbound calls come from people who respond to infomercials; they might have questions, or they are ready to place the order then and there. You will be paid a flat fee and then commissions on top for selling more products.

This opportunity will require a weekly work schedule before you can start to help you stay organised.

How to find more opportunities

Another great way to find reputable work at home job offers is by joining popular industry forums such as the Wahm Forum. The support on those forums is very strong and there are plenty of people in your shoes who are willing to help you find alternative solutions.

By being a member of a forum you will always have a support group of like-minded people around you at all hours of the day and night.

Stay clear of too-good-to-be-true opportunities

If you want to avoid tears, then you are best advised to stay away from work at home opportunities that sound too-good-to-be-true because usually they are. Stick with the reputable providers mentioned in this article and abide by their individual terms to avoid disenchantment.

Finding work from home is possible for the dedicated individual who is set to sack his boss for good. It is only a matter of time until you can do so. Good luck – and welcome to a world of better lifestyle choices.

Author bio: Timothy Ng is a personal finance writer for Credit Card Finder an Australian financial product comparison service specialising in credit cards.

Golf on board Costa Cruising

Guests on the Costa Luminosa and the Costa Deliziosa can work on their short game using the customised putting green, which is just a chip away from the simulator. Situated near the top of the ship on Deck 10, the practice area is approximately 100 m2 and features six different holes. The ultra-light synthetic turf and special construction techniques provide true ball roll and make this putting green realistic for the discerning golfer.

In addition to the onboard golfing experience, the Costa Deliziosa and Costa Luminosa have introduced itineraries featuring stops at resorts with actual courses and dedicated golfing excursions.

In the 2010 (northern) summer season, both vessels’ Northern European trips include tours to world-class golf courses from the two main Norwegian ports: the Baerum GolfKlub Oslo and the Meland Golf Club in Bergen.

The Costa Deliziosa offers two regular seven-day cruises: the first to the Northern Fjords departing from Copenhagen (Denmark) with stopovers in Flam, Hellsylt, Geiranger, Bergen, Stavanger and Oslo (Norway).

The second itinerary also operates out of Copenhagen and takes in the Baltic cities with port calls at Tallinn (Estonia), St. Petersburg (Russia), Helsinki (Finland) and Stockholm (Sweden).

The Costa Luminosa is deployed on two regular 11-day itineraries: the first goes to the Baltic cities with departure from Amsterdam (Netherlands) and calls at Copenhagen (Danimarca), Stockholm (Sweden), Helsinki (Finland), St. Petersburg (Russia) and Tallin (Estonia).

The second cruise sails to North Cape from Amsterdam, and includes stopovers in Hellsylt, Geiranger, Honningsvag, Tromso, Giavdal, Trondheim, Andalsanes and Bergen (Norway). There is also an exclusive 20-day cruise to Greenland onboard the Costa Luminosa.

Next (northern) winter on their Arabian Gulf cruises, the Costa Deliziosa and the Costa Luminosa will be offering tours to famous golf clubs in Dubai and Abu Dhabi; a session on the practice range followed by a round on lush courses carved out of the desert against a backdrop of sea, endless beaches and luxury hotels.

Cruisers who choose the Mediterranean routes on one of the other Costa ships can take excursions to the Do Santo Da Serra Golf Club in Funchal, Madeira (Portugal), the Costa Teguise Golf Club in Lanzarote (Spain) and the Glyfada Golf Club of Athens amongst others.

http://www.costacruise.com/

Running Time: 107 mins

Director: Daina Glen

Starring: Brendan Cowell, Peter Dinklage, Yvonne Strahovski, Peter Helliar, Megan Gale

Release Date: 6^th May 2010

It’s pretty rare that we see an Australian romantic comedy. These days, our cinemas are flooded with American rom coms, all following the same predictable format, with the same unrealistic characters, sold to us as an “escape” from our lives. Are our lives really that boring?

Thank the Aussie film gods for Peter Helliar (from TV show “Rove”), who has crafted a cute little local “bromance” with a few surprises.

Brendan Cowell plays Jim, a commitment phobe who just can’t say those three little words to his girlfriend Alice (Yvonne Strahovski). After patiently waiting for 3 years for her love to be returned, Alice has had enough, and dumps him. Jim turns to his best mate Blake (Peter Helliar), new mate Charlie (Peter Dinklage) and sister Marie (Bridie Carter) for support.

The cast are fantastic, Brendan Cowell (fresh from starring in “Beneath Hill 60”) is so likeable on screen, and Yvonne Strahovski (“Chuck”) is very sweet as the British Alice. Megan Gale does well too, in her first film role, playing the Italian supermodel Francesca Moretti. You might imagine this role is not too much of a stretch for the former model, but I think she had a tough job on her hands, considering the fact we all know her as “Megan Gale”. But the standout performance is from American actor Peter Dinklage (“Death at a Funeral”, “Elf”), who brings much gravitas to his role. He is very funny yet touching as well, in fact he is so good, he almost shows up the other actors!

Reviewed by Alicia Malone

The film does drag a little in the second act, but comes together really nicely for a sweet ending. The characters are all very relatable, and there are quite a few laughs to be had. It’s refreshing to see an Australian romantic comedy done this well. Bring on more!

3 ½ out of 5

For a complete guide to what’s worth watching at the cinema, tune into Movie Juice every Saturday night on Movie Extra.

Reviewed by Alicia Malone.

Running Time: 93 mins

Director: Steve Pink

Starring: John Cusack, Chevy Chase, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clarke Duke, Crispin Glover

Release Date: 22^nd April 2010

I love a film with a literal title; you know, one that delivers exactly what it promises. “Snakes On A Plane” gave us… well, snakes on a plane. And “Hot Tub Time Machine” is about… I think you can guess.

John Cusack stars as Adam, one of a bunch of mates who head off to their old holiday destination hoping to recreate the fun times of their youth. But when they arrive, Adam, Lou (Rob Corddry), Nick (Craig Robinson) and Adam’s nephew Jacob (Clarke Duke) discover their old stomping ground has declined into a sort of “Shining”-esque dump of a hotel. But the hot tub is still just as inviting, so the boys pile in for a bit of good old fashioned naked male bonding. After a crazy night the foursome wake up to discover they have time travelled back to their teenage selves in the 80′s.

“Hot Tub Time Machine” is definitely not a highbrow film, in fact the comedy is about as lowbrow as you can get. But the infectious energy, great cast and quotable lines make watching this movie a lot of fun.

John Cusack is back in fine form after his disappointing films “2012” and “1408”; it almost feels like we have time travelled back to his charming “High Fidelity” days. Rob Corddry has the lion’s share of gross-out jokes, which include spewing on a squirrel. Yes, you heard me. He spews on a squirrel. That gives you some indication of the level of humour we are talking about!

Crispin Glover has the best running gag of the film, playing a weird one-armed hotel bellboy, and a wide-eyed Chevy Chase has a cameo as the hot tub repair guy, who might be able to explain what is going on, or might just be crazy.

Reviewed by Alicia Malone

The logic of the actual time travel and what happens when they return to the real world doesn’t quite add up, but it doesn’t matter. There are great jokes for children of the 80’s (is there any funnier decade?) and quite a few genuine surprises in there too.

“Hot Tub Time Machine” is a totally gross-out, totally stupid guilty pleasure.

4 out of 5

For a complete guide to what’s worth watching at the cinema, tune into Movie Juice this Saturday night 7:15pm on Movie Extra.

Reviewed by Alicia Malone.

Running Time: 104 mins

Director: Jim Sheridan

Cast: Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman

Release Date: 18^th March 2010

Tobey Maguire steps out of his Spiderman shadow to star in “Brothers” as Sam, a soldier getting ready for his tour of duty in Afghanistan. He’s leaving behind his wife, Grace (Natalie Portman), his two children, and his brother Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal). These two brothers could not be more different; Tommy, is the black sheep of the family, and has just been released from prison, whereas Sam is a career soldier, and the apple of his father’s eye.

While in Afghanistan Sam’s helicopter is shot down, and he’s captured and tortured by the Taliban. He is presumed dead to everyone at home, leaving Grace consumed with grief. Tommy steps in to help look after the children and help around the house, and becomes very close to Grace and the kids.

The impact this kind of emotional film has really comes down to the cast, and all the stars deliver with powerhouse performances. Tobey Maguire proves he is capable of so much more than we’ve seen, delivering a haunting performance with a dark edge, you just never know when he is about to crack. Natalie Portman gives just the right amount of emotion, never going over the top, but heartbreaking none the less.

Jake Gyllenhaal, besides being dreamy to look at, is vulnerable and charming – you quickly find yourself switching sides from ‘Team Sam’ to ‘Team Tommy’.

And I have to give a special mention to the two young actresses who play Grace and Sam’s daughters. Taylor Geare and Bailee Madison are so believable, managing to convey a couple of complex emotions at once, very rare to see in a Hollywood movie!

Reviewed by Alicia Malone

I can’t comment on whether this remake is as good as the original Danish film it’s based on, since I am yet to see “Brodre”; but this version of “Brothers” will take you on an emotional and thought provoking ride, which you’ll be talking about with your friends for hours afterwards.

4 out of 5

Reviewed by Alicia Malone

For a complete guide to what’s worth watching at the cinema, tune into Movie Juice this Saturday night on Movie Extra.

Running Time: 122 mins

Director: Jeremy Hartley Sims

Starring: Brendan Cowell, Gyton Grantley , Anthony Hayes, Steve Le Marquand, Chris Haywood, Bella Heathcote

Release Date: 16^th April, 2010

Released a week before ANZAC day, Beneath Hill 60 is a classic war film which celebrates the Aussie spirit of mateship, and the bravery of our soldiers during World War I.

Brendan Cowell heads up the cast of A-List actors, playing Oliver Woodward, a real life Australian miner who fought on the Western Front in 1916. He left behind his young love Marjorie (Bella Heathcote) to join a team of Australian tunnellers, whose mission was to dig underneath German lines in Belgium and set off a series of massive explosions, with the aim of killing thousands of German troops stationed above.

It’s a story not many know about, and one which gives us a glimpse into the true horrors of the Great War. Knee deep in mud and water, the Australian miners worked silently in those torturous conditions, knowing their lives could end at any moment, with German troops doing the same thing only meters away.

Joining Brendan Cowell in the ensemble cast of Aussie miners is Gyton Grantley as Norman “Pull-Through” Morris, the always excellent Anthony Hayes as Capt William McBride, Harrison Gilbertson who plays the young soldier Frank Tiffin, and Steve Le Marquand, who steals the show as the gruff Sergeant Bill Fraser.

Chris Haywood also shines as an annoyingly by-the-book English officer, and Aden Young has a brief cameo as a Canadian miner.

The pace of the film is a disrupted as the story jumps back and forth in time, between the slower romantic scenes, and the action packed war ones. I understand why it was important to give background to the character of Oliver Woodward and, show what he was leaving behind, but these scenes are much less interesting than the war story.

Beneath Hill 60 follows the same conventions as your standard war film, with only a couple of surprises. For example, as soon as a touching personal story about a character is revealed, you know they are going to die.

One refreshing difference is that we are given a look inside German trenches; where you see how their soldiers were going through the same emotions as ours, giving the enemy a face instead of simply being stereotyping them as “evil”.

Reviewed by Alicia Malone

Uncomfortably tense at times, and beautifully shot, director Jeremy Hartley Sims has pulled together a great cast for an interesting story; showcasing the extraordinary task this bunch of ordinary Aussies were able to achieve.

3 ½ out of 5

For a complete guide to what’s worth watching at the cinema, tune into Movie Juice this Saturday night 7:15pm on Movie Extra.

Reviewed by Alicia Malone.

Well, Christmas has come and gone. A very traumatic time of year for many singles. For those of us who were away from family at this time of year and without a partner it can be very lonely, but if you have good friends around this can make up for not having that ‘someone’ to share the holidays with.

Further to my last entry we are here to talk about the Walkers you will meet on your dating journey. “What’s a walker?” you may ask. Let me tell you about the ones I have encountered. Now I don’t pretend to be a supermodel or or Einstein but I can’t understand why some people simply treat you like crap on a date. There are some people who simply have no respect for other human beings…

Part of dating is finding out about people and enjoying new experiences, just because you are not attracted to the other person or don’t believe they are right for you, this doesn’t mean you can be, well, “mean” to them. Even worse are when they don’t even have the courtesy to explain what is going on to you. Let me explain. Example: Meet guy – seems nice. Have coffee – seems to be going well. Asks you if you want to eat – getting better. Nice dinner – ok let’s see where this is going. Do you want to go for a walk – sure why not, as long as it’s not down a dark alley and you have a knife.

So far the formula seems to be working right? So you drop in some humour, he seems to laugh (and not in the pretend way). You come across a bookshop and enter. Now this is a great way to see if you have similar interests. It also gives you a peek into their personality. Ask questions – have you read anything interesting lately? What type of books do you read? And then let him know what you are interested in. Well obviously my Sci-Fi/General Fiction scared the crap out of him. He disappeared… yep. Straight out of the bookshop. No “goodbye”; “thanks but you’re not my type”; “I’m actually married”; “can we just be friends”. Just G-O-N-E.

There ladies and gentlemen is a classic Walker. Walkers are those people that just disappear into the ether without a word of explanation. They go to the bathroom and never come back. Worse, they leave the table and then you spot them at the bar chatting up someone else. They do exist, they are out there, and all I have to hope for is that Karma bites them in the arse.

So how do you spot a walker? Now I have studied people and here are some signs I have noticed…

• They stare at everything else but you when you are talking to them.
• They have monosyllabic responses to your questions such as “uh huh” even when you’ve asked them how their day was.
• They take their jacket with them when they go to the bathroom, even though it was on the back of their chair (this is also a pretty good indication that they are going to stick you with the bill).
• They constantly scratch their nose. I understand from some behavioural analysts that this means someone is lying. Before you get agro at them check they don’t have sinus first, just in case…

Now for you guys here is some inside information on a female walker:

• Same as all of the above.
• They flirt with everyone in the restaurant but you.
• They constantly text on their phone (this means she is texting a girlfriend to get them to call her to help break up the date or to tell them what a crap time their having).
• She plays with her hair but not in the sexual flipping way. Generally rolling it around in her fingers and examining the ends. This means she is looking at her split ends and working out when she should see her hairdresser next.

So how do you avoid or evade a Walker? No easy way out really. Taking the upper hand is generally the best way to go. As mentioned I do have an ego and it is sometimes easily bruised, so I would rather do the “well this has been great and it was lovely to meet you but I don’t think there’s any chemistry between us”. This gives me the upper hand and I can walk away with a clear conscious that I have not given the wrong messages.

I think that’s enough for now, next time the Time Waster….

Running Time: 153 mins

Director: Neils Arden Oplev

Cast: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Peter Haber

Release Date: 26^th March 2010

I’m sure by now you have all heard of the hugely popular crime novel, “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo”. Spending weeks at the top of many best-seller lists, it’s the first book in the late Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy, published posthumously after his sudden death.

In Swedish, the title of the book literally translates to “Men Who Hate Women”, which I almost think would have been a better name for the film.

Journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) is in a bit of trouble, accused of libel against an industrialist, which could see him go to jail. So when a wealthy member of the powerful Vanger family calls him to help solve a cold case, he jumps at the chance to escape the media spotlight. The case revolves around Henrik Vanger’s niece, who went missing some forty years ago. Henrik believes foul play was involved, and since his family were the only people on their island at the time, he suspects one of them could be the murderer.

Mikael starts investigating the case himself, but soon realises he is being tracked when he receives a mysterious email containing some clues. That email came from computer hacker, researcher, and “girl with the dragon tattoo” Lisabeth Sanders (Noomi Rapace), who agrees to help Mikael solve the case.

Lisabeth has her own problems to escape; her sleazy probation officer (Peter Andersson) has control of her money, and will only give her some when she gives him “some”… if you know what I mean. And forcibly, I might add.

Together Lisabeth and Mikael set about uncovering the mystery behind Harriet’s disappearance, which turns out to be much more sinister than they could have imagined.

The theme of “men who hate women” runs throughout, with sexual violence against women, and graphic revenge on those men. (The scene where Lisabeth gets back at her guardian is tough to watch)

“The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” is a mix of genres – a gory murder mystery with a slick European thriller vibe. It’s such old school crime caper fun; I almost thought Colonel Mustard was going to appear in the ballroom with some candlesticks.

The standout in the film is Noomi Rapace. She adds heart and multiple layers to what could have been a comic book caricature. Her Lisabeth is rough, smart, sexy and kick ass tough. She’s an interesting heroine, with her tattoos, piercings and gothic look – a sort of new ‘Nikita’.

Now I haven’t read the book, so I can’t comment on how well it has been translated to the screen, and I would be very interested to hear what fans of the novel think of the movie. I was able to follow the plot easily, and it certainly didn’t feel like anything was missing. In fact at 2 hours and 34 minutes, it probably could have been tightened up a little bit!

The entire film is in Swedish with English subtitles, but don’t let that put you off seeing it, because the subtitles don’t detract from the story in any way.

Reviewed by Alicia Malone

3 ½ out of 5

Reviewed by Alicia Malone

For a complete guide to what’s worth watching at the cinema, tune into Movie Juice this Saturday night on Movie Extra.