On behalf of the entire VIVA team, we would like to wish everyone happy and healthy holidays. However, we also know the holidays can be stressful—especially this year. Therefore, we hope to alleviate some financial stress by sharing a few responsible spending tips for the holiday season.

Tip #1: Shop with a budget!

We all want to be generous this time of year, but it’s easy to get carried away and over-spend on gifts for friends and loved ones. Therefore, budgeting is essential to keeping our finances under control during the gift-giving season. Try this simple and effective budgeting technique to ensure you don’t over-spend on gifts:

1. Decide the total amount you will spend on gifts.
2. Make a list of everyone you plan to buy gifts for.
3. Allocate the maximum dollar amount you will spend on each person (this should add back up to your total amount).

Here is a quick sample of what a holiday shopping budget might look like…

Holiday Shopping Budget	$500
Mom	$200
Dad	$100
Sister	$100
Grandmother	$50
Cousin	$50

Not only is budgeting essential during the holidays—it is a cornerstone of financial well-being all year round. We highly recommend exploring more in-depth information on budgeting in our previous newsletter, Budgeting Made Simple.

Tip #2: Be mindful of seasonal expenses.

In addition to gift-giving, there are many other expenses that often lead to a spike in spending during the holidays. Some traditional seasonal expenses include:

• Entertaining family and friends
• Dining out
• Travel
• Home decoration
• Season clothing

This year, the Coronavirus pandemic has forced many people to stay inside and tighten their budgets. However, the prevalence of modern conveniences like online shopping and food delivery at our fingertips makes it easier than ever to keep on spending. We don’t mean to sound Grinchy, but it is important to be mindful of these seasonal expenses to make sure you don’t go overboard!

Tip #3: Be careful about over-using credit cards.

Credit cards can be a healthy part of your financial life and often provide an effective means of financing important purchases. However, one of the dangers of revolving credit is that you can easily get in over your head. Spending limits are often high relative to monthly income, and about 37% of Americans carry credit card debt from month to month. (Remember, if you carry a monthly balance on your credit card, you must pay interest on that balance.) Excess credit card debt is also one of the leading reported causes of bankruptcy in the United States.

During the holidays, it’s easy to swipe the plastic and defer the consequences. However, holiday spending can increase the risk of building up a balance that will carry over into the new year and begin accruing interest. Make sure you understand the interest rates on your credit cards and monitor your charging habits to ensure you don’t spend yourself into a hole that will be difficult to dig out of.

Affordable Financing for the Holidays

If you are in need of affordable financing this holiday season, VIVA Finance offers personal loans that can be used to help cover important expenses. Eligibility with VIVA is based on employment—instead of credit history—and VIVA’s installment loans come with built-in guardrails to ensure responsible borrowing. Loan amounts are limited based on income and repayments are made automatically through payroll, which can help build your credit score over time.

You can visit www.viva-finance.com to learn more and see if there is an option that is right for you. If you have any questions, please give us a call at (678) 685-8834 and a team member will be happy to speak with you.

Thank you for being part of the VIVA Finance community, and we wish you happy and healthy holidays!

Sincerely,

The VIVA Team

You work hard for your income and you deserve to know where your money is going. However, as many as 50% of Americans say they do not maintain a budget. A budget is a plan for tracking and prioritizing your spending over a specific period (usually one month at a time). Without a budget, you will be in the dark about where your hard-earned money is going—and may be left wondering why your finances aren’t adding up at the end of the month. In this newsletter, we will cover some of the basics of budgeting and lay out a few simple actions you can take to start budgeting and taking control of your finances.

Why budget?

The foremost benefit of budgeting is to make sure you are not spending more than you are making. If you don’t keep track of your spending relative to your income, you are in danger of over-spending and sinking into debt.

Budgeting also empowers you to properly allocate your funds by categorizing and prioritizing your spending. This allows you to make sure your needs are covered, while understanding how much will be left over for your wantsand your savings.

The “50 / 20 / 30” rule:

A common rule of thumb for budgeting is that 50% of your income should be used to cover necessities, 20% should be committed to savings, and the remaining 30% can be spent on your “wants”. Let’s take a quick look at each of these categories…

Needs (50%):

The needs category includes the essentials for survival like rent and groceries. Minimum credit card payments can also be included needs—because if you don’t make them it can damage your credit score and affect your financial future. The first priority of budgeting is to ensure your needs are covered.

Savings (20%):

The savings category includes any type of emergency savings, retirement savings, or investment accounts for the future. Paying off debt—like making additional credit card payments—can also be included in the savings category. Paying down the principal balance of your outstanding debt can reduce the interest you will pay over time, thereby saving you money on future interest payments.

Wants (30%):

After 50% of your income has been used to cover essentials and 20% has been committed to building your savings, 30% will be left over to spend on your “wants”. This category includes items that may be important for your quality of life and well-being, but are not absolutely essential for survival. Some examples of “wants” include going out to dinner, entertainment expenses, or upgrading your wardrobe.

Steps to starting a budget:

Budgeting doesn’t have to be overly complicated, and anyone with an income can do it! Here are a few simple steps you can take to get started:

1. Know your total monthly income.

The first step to budgeting is knowing exactly how much is coming in. What we need to know is our total monthly after-tax income. (This is normally what we receive in our paychecks.)

2. Track your spending for one month.

To begin budgeting, we also need to understand our current spending habits. This will give us a baseline for where our money is currently going so we can see what adjustments need to be made.

3. Create a monthly plan for your future spending!

This is where we categorize and prioritize our spending to make sure our income is properly allocated to our needs, savings, and wants. A simple example of a monthly budget can be seen below:

Sample Budget:

Monthly Income: $3,000

Needs (50%):	$1,500
Rent	$700
Groceries	$300
Car Payments	$300
Gas	$100
Minimum Credit Card Payments	$100
Savings (20%):	$600
Emergency Savings	$250
Extra Credit Card Payments	$200
Investments	$150
Wants (30%):	$900
Dining Out	$350
Entertainment	$300
Clothes and Shopping	$250

There’s an app for that:

After we have planned our monthly expenses, we still need to track our spending. This can be challenging because it requires time, diligence, and attention to detail. Fortunately, there is a full marketplace of user-friendly apps that can assist us with our budgeting needs. A couple popular apps that may be worth checking out are Mint and YNAB (You Need a Budget).

When your income isn’t enough:

Budgeting is an important step toward financial empowerment and helps maximize the probability that our income will comfortably cover our monthly expenses. However, as we have all recently experienced, unexpected events can occur and throw off our financial equilibrium. Perhaps a spouse is laid off—reducing the household income—or an accident to our home or automobile creates additional needs. This is why it is critical to allocate a percentage of our monthly income to building our emergency savings. However, the reality is that most Americans do not have enough savings to absorb a financial shock.

How VIVA can help:

When a financial emergency occurs and your income is not sufficient to cover your needs, it is vital to have a source of affordable credit. For these scenarios, VIVA Finance offers personal installment loans that are designed to cover a variety of financial necessities. Eligibility with VIVA is based on employment—instead of credit score—thereby enabling working Americans to obtain financing regardless of their credit history.

If you are in need of affordable financing, you can apply for free at www.viva-finance.com to see if there is an option that is right for you. If you have any questions, please give us a call at (678) 685-8834 and a team member will be happy to speak with you.

Thank you for being part of the VIVA Finance community and we look forward to serving your financial well-being.

Sincerely,

The VIVA Team

Borrowing from your retirement account might seem like an easy way out of a financial pinch. After all, you are just borrowing from yourself, right? While this may be true, retirement borrowing can disrupt the advantages of your plan and in some cases jeopardize your future financial security. There is more to retirement borrowing than meets the eye, and further consideration is warranted before dipping into your retirement savings.

The basics:

Many employer-sponsored retirement plans allow employees to borrow funds from their retirement accounts in case of a financial emergency.

• When an employee borrows from their retirement account, those funds are liquidated from the retirement account and “loaned” out to the employee.
• The employee must pay those funds back to their account with interest (usually around 5 – 7%) over a term of five years.

The pros:

• There is no credit requirement (since you are technically borrowing from yourself) so your rates and terms will not be affected by your credit profile.
• As long as you cover the payments on time and don’t incur any penalties, the interest will be paid back into your own account.

However, there are significant costs to borrowing from your retirement account, even if the interest is ultimately paid to yourself. The costs of retirement borrowing are primarily caused by tax consequences and missed growth opportunities.

Tax costs:

Most retirement plans (including 401k’s and 403b’s) are funded with pre-tax dollars. Earned wages are contributed directly into your retirement account—unfettered by Uncle Sam—to be taxed later when you eventually withdraw your funds in retirement. This is important because you will usually be taxed at a lower rate in retirement than while you are working.

• When you borrow pre-tax dollars from your retirement account, you have to pay that money back with dollars that have already been taxed (presumably at a higher rate than what you would pay if you left the funds alone until retirement). Therefore, you miss out on the tax breaks your retirement plan is designed to provide.
• The interest you pay to yourself will also be taxed again when you withdraw your funds in retirement. The interest may be relatively small, but no one enjoys paying taxes—much less paying them twice.

What if you can’t pay make the payments?

If you can’t make the required payments on time, the loan may go into default and the IRS will consider the withdrawal of your retirement funds to be a taxable distribution.

• This means you will likely have to pay full income taxes on the borrowed funds at your current tax rate.
• If you are under the age of 59 and a half, a 10% early withdrawal penalty will also be applied!

What if you leave your job with a loan outstanding?

If you leave your job for any reason while you have a retirement loan outstanding, you will be required to repay the entire balance of the loan much earlier than the original five-year term.

• The current standard deadline to repay the entire loan is the due date of your federal income taxes for the year you left your job.
• If you are not able to repay on time, the loan will be considered a taxable distribution and income taxes (as well as early withdrawal penalties) will apply.

Missed growth opportunities:

In addition to potential tax consequences, retirement borrowing can be costly when it causes an employee to miss out on the growth of their account.

• Retirement accounts benefit from investment growth. When you borrow from your account, you miss out on the tax-protected investment growth of those funds.
• For reference, the average annualized return of the S&P 500 stock market index is roughly 8% since it began tracking 500 stocks in 1957.

Many retirement plans also feature employer matching contributions, where your employer will match a percentage of the contributions you make to your account—often up to 50% or even 100%!

• When you have a retirement loan outstanding, you may be ineligible for employer matching contributions because you are not considered to be contributing to your account during this time. Missing out on automatic 50% – 100% growth of your contributions is a huge cost!

On principle:

Retirement plans are designed to hold your funds in a tax-protected, growth-friendly account to set yourself up for comfortable living when you eventually withdraw your funds in retirement. Borrowing from your retirement account can disrupt the advantages that your plan is designed to provide, and in the worst-case scenarios can jeopardize the nest-egg that is intended to support you through retirement.

Consider your options:

When facing a financial emergency, it is important to consider all your options before taking action that may jeopardize your financial future. Many employees borrow from their retirement accounts due to lack of viable alternatives—remember, one of the “pros” of retirement borrowing is that there is no credit score required.

The VIVA alternative:

VIVA’s employee loans are designed to provide a source of affordable financing for individuals who may have limited options due to damaged credit history. Through VIVA’s program, employees can access personal loans up to $10,000 with rates beginning at 12.20% APR. VIVA’s employee loans can be used as an alternative to retirement borrowing to help employees protect their savings and future financial security. Eligibility with VIVA is based on employment, and there is no collateral or minimum credit score required.

Eligible employees can apply for free at www.viva-finance.com to see if there is an offer that is right for their financial needs. If you have any questions, please give us a call at (678) 685-8834 and a team member will be happy to speak with you.

Thank you for being part of the VIVA Finance community and we look forward to serving your financial well-being!

Sincerely,

The VIVA Team

All loans subject to the credit underwriting policies of Viva Finance Inc.

VIVA’s loans are not provided by, sponsored, or endorsed by any employer. VIVA Finance is an optional resource and employers in no way benefit from VIVA’s loans. VIVA Finance is not directly affiliated with any employers and completely releases employers from any liability.

If you need immediate access to an item such as a household appliance—but don’t have the cash or credit available to purchase the item outright—a rent-to-own plan might appear to be a friendly solution. Rent-to-own stores allow you to get the item you need right away without paying the full cost up front. Instead, you can make small payments over time on your way to eventually owning the item. There is no minimum credit score required, and you have the option to return the item if you no longer want to make the payments.

Too good to be true?

So far this sounds like a pretty good deal, and renting an item you need can be a short-term solution. However, the cost of purchasing an item through a rent-to-own plan can be exorbitant. Rent-to-own contracts typically range from 12 – 36 months, and over time those “small” weekly or monthly payments can add up to much more than the retail value of the item. In the end, rent-to-own customers often end up paying two or three times more than the retail price of the item!

A real-life example

An 18 cubic foot stainless-steel refrigerator is currently for sale at Home Depot for $746. The same model is available at a prominent rent-to-own store with a contract of $24.99 per week over a term of 91 weeks. Purchasing the refrigerator through this rent-to-own contract would end up costing a whopping $2,274—over three times the retail price! When expressed as annual percentage rate, the interest rate of this contract is over 160%. (In some cases, the APR of rent-to-own contracts can exceed 400%.)

Explore your alternatives

Rent-to-own stores thrive as a last resort for customers with no other alternatives. If your refrigerator is shot-beyond-repair and you can’t cover the price of a new one with cash or credit, a rent-to-own agreement may be the only way to get the item you need. However, finding an alternative financing solution could save you a substantial amount of money so it is important to explore all of your options.

The VIVA solution:

VIVA was founded to provide affordable financing for individuals who have limited financial options due to their income or credit history. VIVA’s installment loans can be used to cover the cost of large purchases like household necessities at rates similar to a typical credit card—instead of being dragged through an expensive rent-to-own agreement.

Eligibility with VIVA is based on employment and there is no collateral or minimum credit score required. If you are in need of affordable financing, you can apply for free at www.viva-finance.com to see if there is an option that is right for you. If you have any questions, please give us a call at (678) 685-8834 and a team member would be happy to speak with you.

Thank you for being part of the VIVA Finance community and we look forward to serving your financial well-being.

Sincerely,

The VIVA Team

All loans subject to the credit underwriting policies of Viva Finance Inc.

VIVA Finance

1447 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 700, Atlanta, GA, 30309

678-685-8834

Building an Inclusive Financial System

If you’re in a financial emergency and you don’t have access to a conventional source of credit, a title loan might seem like a viable solution. With a title loan, you can use the title of your vehicle as collateral to acquire some quick cash. This can seem appealing for a few reasons: you can receive your funds in just a few minutes, there is no credit score required, and you can often borrow up to 25% – 50% of your vehicle’s value.

Not so fast:

There are a few red flags that raise alarm right away. First and foremost, you have to surrender the hard copy of your car title in order to be approved for your “loan”. Many title lenders also require you to hand over an extra set of keys and even equip your vehicle with GPS tracking to make it easier for them to repossess your vehicle in case you can’t pay them back.

What’s really going on?

A title loan would be a secured loanbecause you are putting up the title of your car as collateral. However, there is one big catch—it isn’t really a loan! It’s technically a 30-day contract to repurchase the title of your car. Under these terms, the lender now owns the title to your vehicle, and it won’t be yours again until you pay back the amount you borrowed plus all of the interest.

Insurmountable interest:

This is where title loans become especially treacherous—title lenders often charge 25% monthly interest. For example, if you take out a 30-day title loan for $1,000 and the monthly interest is 25%, you will have to pay back the full $1,000 you borrowed plus $250 in interest in just 30 days! To put this in context, the APR of a title loan with 25% monthly interest is 300%! (APR or “annual percentage rate” refers to the total yearly interest of a loan and measures the true cost of a credit product.)

Georgia on our mind:

In Georgia—where VIVA is headquartered and the majority of our current borrowers reside—the maximum APR for a title loan is “capped” at an extortionate 187.5%. Title lenders in the Peach State comply with this regulation by starting the monthly interest rate at 25% for the first three months then dropping the monthly interest to 12.5% thereafter. This allows the lender to get as much as they can up front, while still charging the maximum over the course of the loan. Despite being banned in 30 states, loose regulations have enabled title lenders to thrive in our home state.

The rollover trap:

Only about 12% of title loan borrowers are able to pay back their loans at the end of their 30-day due date. At this point, the title lender could repossess your vehicle. However, they don’t really want your car—they want more money. Therefore, if you can’t pay them back in 30-days, a title lender will often allow you to roll over your “loan” into a new 30 day contract—adding more fees and interest to the amount you already owe. Due to the exorbitant interest rates and the debt cycle incurred by this rollover trap, it is common for title loan borrowers to end up paying more in interest and fees than the amount they initially borrowed!

The bottom line:

Although title loans may at first seem appealing due to their lenient approval process and immediate disbursement of funds, they are revealed to prey on the financially vulnerable and trap their borrowers in rapacious cycles of debt. Not only are borrowers subjugated to mountains of interest, they are at risk of losing their means of transportation in the process—around 1 in every 5 title loan borrowers will end up having their car repossessed.

Providing a better alternative:

VIVA was founded to provide affordable financing for individuals who have limited financial options due to their credit history. VIVA offers unsecured personal loans up to $10,000 with rates of 12.20% – 25.61% APR that can be used to cover emergency financing needs and refinance expensive debt—including breaking free from predatory title loans. Your eligibility with VIVA is based on employment history—instead of credit score—and there is no collateral or minimum FICO score required. Please visit www.viva-finance.com to explore the rest of our financial empowerment resources or see if there is a financial option that is right for you. If you have any questions, please give us a call at (678) 685-8834 and a team member would be happy to speak with you.

Thank you for being part of the VIVA Finance community and we look forward to serving your financial well-being.

Sincerely,

The VIVA Team

Access to credit is a cornerstone of financial well-being. Proper use of credit is essential to affording many of life’s necessities and unlocking some of its most important opportunities. This newsletter is devoted to understanding the value of credit so we can be more empowered in its use. Lastly, we will show how VIVA is challenging the traditional credit model in order to build a more inclusive financial system.

What is credit?

The first question we must answer is, what exactly is  credit? Simply put, credit is the ability to borrow money based on the trust that we will pay it back later.

In case of emergency

One of the advantages of credit is that it allows us to buy things we need now  that we might not be able to afford all at once. This is extremely valuable in cases of emergency. For example, if your car breaks down, you might not have enough cash on hand to cover the cost of the repairs. However, if you have access to credit, you can use credit to pay for the repairs right away and pay that credit back over time. Credit allows you to get your car back on the road and get on with your life.

Life purchases and opportunities

The same principle applies to many of life’s largest purchases and important opportunities. Credit can enable us to move into our dream home or pay for higher education. For example, when we buy a home, we can borrow that money from a mortgage lender, move into the home right away, and pay back the mortgage loan over many years. (For more information on the mortgage process, see our previous newsletter on How to Buy a Home in 2020.)

Types of credit

Credit comes in many forms, but there are two primary types of credit: revolving credit and installment credit.

• Revolving credit is a line of credit you can continuously borrow from as long as you stay below your limits and make your required payments. A credit card is a common example of revolving credit.
• Installment credit is a fixed amount of money loaned that you must pay back over a set period of time. Common examples of installment credit are mortgage loans, auto loans, and personal loans.

Establishing trust

There are many forms of credit, but they are all based on one fundamental principle: trust. For a lender to offer you credit, they must trust that you will pay it back. The more a lender trusts you to repay your debt, the friendlier your rates and terms can be. The conventional way to establish trust with a lender is your credit score. The most important factors that influence your credit score are:

• Your history of making on-time payments
• The amount of debt you carry relative to your income
• The length of your credit history

The traditional model

In the current financial system, your credit score is essential to establishing trust with lenders and it is imperative to manage your score as well as possible. However, this conventional model has its challenges and limitations. If you experience a financial hardship and have to default on a loan or declare bankruptcy, it can damage your credit score and severely limit your financial opportunities. Unfortunately, about one-third of Americans struggle to access affordable credit under the traditional model due to damaged or non-existent credit history. When faced with financial emergencies, individuals with lower credit scores are often forced to borrow from expensive and predatory lenders, which can lead to vicious cycles of debt and further credit damage.

VIVA’s mission: building an inclusive financial system

At a time when the world is changing rapidly and Americans are uniting for equality, VIVA is striving to be part of the solution. VIVA’s mission is to build an inclusive financial system, and this starts by giving more people access to fair and affordable credit. VIVA’s model is built on the belief that trust can be established outside of the traditional credit metrics that currently exclude millions of Americans who have experienced financial hardships. VIVA’s credit model is based primarily on employment information in order to reward hard-working employees for their ability to maintain their jobs—regardless of credit history.

Break free from debt and rebuild credit

If you have been stuck with burdensome debt as a result of expensive or predatory lending, VIVA offers unsecured personal loans up to $10,000 that can be used to refinance and consolidate debt. If your credit score has been damaged due to a financial hardship, VIVA’s loans can also be used to rebuild your credit. There is no credit score requirement to borrow from VIVA, and our automatic repayment process is designed to make on-time payments as effortless as possible. Please visit www.viva-finance.com to explore our financial empowerment resources or see if there is a financial option that is right for you. If you have any questions, please give us a call at (678) 685-8834 and a team member would be happy to speak with you.

Thank you for being part of the VIVA Finance community, and we look forward to serving your financial well-being.

Sincerely,

The VIVA Team

We are all enduring a crisis that has profoundly impacted the lives of millions across the globe. This unprecedented event has also affected nearly every aspect of the economy, including the American dream of home ownership.

On the one hand, the current economic environment could provide a great opportunity for prospective homebuyers.

• Mortgage rates are at an all-time low (average APR on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is down to 3.375%)
• Many real estate analysts expect home prices to drop in 2020 (Zillow predicts the average home price to drop 3-4%)

On the other hand, lenders are often hesitant to loan to borrowers with less than stellar credit when the economy is unstable, and the requirements to obtain a mortgage have tightened.

• JPMorgan Chase recently raised its minimum FICO requirement to 700 and is requiring a 20% down-payment in order to qualify for a home loan!
• Wells Fargo and US Bank both raised their minimum FICO requirement to 680—even for FHA loans (which require additional insurance but usually have lower credit limits).
• Navy Federal Credit Union and others have even temporarily stopped offering FHA loans altogether.

Although the current environment presents a unique opportunity to achieve the dream of homeownership, it is more important than ever to have your finances in good shape to be able to get an affordable mortgage.

            By the way, what exactly is a mortgage?

• A mortgage is a loan where the lender holds the title of the property being purchased as collateral—with the condition that the title is all yours when the loan is paid off.
• If you fail to make your payments, the lender can simply have you removed from the property and sell it to someone else (a foreclosure).
• The foreclosure process can be costly for the lender, so they will take a close look at your financial situation to make sure you are qualified before offering you a mortgage.

There are two great steps you can take to begin your home-buying journey:

1. Get a pre-qualification estimate.

• A lender will make an informal evaluation of your financial situation and give you an unofficial estimate of how much you can borrow.
• A pre-qualification is great way to get an idea of the realistic price range for your future home.

2. Obtain a pre-approval letter.

• A pre-approval letter is a legitimate offer to lend you a certain amount under specific terms.
• To get a pre-approval letter, you will fill out a mortgage application and the lender will pull your credit history. The lender will also scrutinize your debt, income, assets, and employment.
• The pre-approval process allows you to shop for the best rates between different lenders and compare your loan options.
• Pre-approval offers can change if your financial situation changes but offers are typically good for 60-90 days.

With a pre-approval letter in hand, sellers will know you are a bonafide buyer, and you will be prime in position to begin working with a real estate agent to find your new home. The preapproval process will also provide valuable feedback on whether your credit situation is adequate to qualify for a mortgage loan.

Although VIVA Finance does not offer mortgage loans, our personal loans can be used to help get your financial situation ready for the home-buying process.

• VIVA’s rates are based on employment information—instead of credit score—and borrowers can build their credit through on-time repayment.
• Our loans can also be used to consolidate and refinance expensive debt, which can help streamline your personal finances.

If you are interested in more information about the home-buying process, VIVA’s financial education content includes a detailed course on becoming a homeowner. Please visit our website to explore our financial empowerment resources or see if there is a financial option that is right for you.

Sincerely,

The VIVA Team

How will the coronavirus stimulus bill affect you?

Last month, the U.S. government passed the largest stimulus bill in history—the $2.2 trillion CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security). One of the key features of the bill is that “economic impact payments” will be distributed to most adults. However, many people have been left wondering how much they will get and when and how they will receive their payments.

How much will you get?

• Single adults making $75,000 and below will receive a payment of $1,200.
  
• Married couples making $150,000 and below will receive $2,400.
  
• Individuals and couples will also receive $500 for each child under the age of 17.
  
• Payments scale down for individuals making over $75,000, and the income limit to receive any payment is $99,000 ($198,000 for couples).
  
• If you file taxes as “head of household”—meaning you are unmarried but have dependents and pay more than half of their household expenses—you will receive $1,200 if your income is $112,500 or below.

The IRS is handling these payments, and they will determine your income based on your 2019 tax returns (or your 2018 tax returns if you haven’t filed for 2019 yet). If your income was over the eligibility limit for 2019, but will be below the eligibility limit in 2020, you will receive a stimulus payment after you file your 2020 taxes next year.

What do you have to do?

You don’t need to do anything if you filed your tax returns for either 2019 or 2018. However, if you are required to file a tax return and have not done so since at least 2018, you will need to file your taxes before you can receive your stimulus payment.

When and how will you receive your payment?

The bill was signed into law by the president on March 27^th, and the treasury secretary said he wants the payments go out within 3 weeks. However, former IRS officials have speculated that this timeline might not be realistic, as previous stimulus payments took about 2 months to be distributed. Given the sense of urgency, sometime around the end of April or early May is a reasonable estimate to receive your payment.

If you have previously received a tax refund through direct deposit, you will receive your stimulus payment through direct deposit to this account. If the IRS does not have your bank information on file, you may receive a check through the mail, which could take considerably longer than receiving a payment through direct deposit. The government is working on a web portal for people to sign up for direct deposit and is also considering sending pre-loaded debit cards to people who don’t have a bank account.

How can VIVA Finance help?

VIVA Finance is committed to providing affordable financing for individuals and families who may be experiencing a financial hardship. VIVA Finance offers unsecured personal loans that are underwritten based on employment information, instead of credit score. If you are in need of affordable financing, please visit our website at www.viva-finance.com to see if there is an option that is right for you.

Credit score is one of the most important numbers in your financial life. When you apply for a traditional form of credit like a bank loan or credit card, your credit score largely determines the rates and terms you will be offered (and if your application will be accepted at all). Your credit score is designed to inform lenders of how likely you are to repay a loan and is based on factors like how often you pay your bills on time, how much debt you carry, and the length of your credit history.

Every so often, the models that are used to determine your credit score are updated with the intention of painting a more accurate picture of your creditworthiness. This summer, FICO—the leading credit scoring company—will be releasing their newest credit scoring model, the FICO 10. It’s estimated that over 100 million Americans will see their scores change as a result, and 40 million consumers could see their scores drop around 20 points.

The new scoring model will put more weight on payment histories and credit card balances, especially over the last two years. This means that delinquent payments will hurt more, as will carrying high credit card balances from month to month. The good news is that making on-time payments and keeping credit card balances low can improve your score more significantly. Regardless of your history, this new credit scoring model places greater emphasis than ever on practicing good credit habits going forward.

One of VIVA Finance’s primary objectives is to provide an opportunity to build credit, and 40% of surveyed VIVA borrowers said they are using our services for this purpose. VIVA Finance offers unsecured personal loans with rates that are based on employment information—instead of credit score—and can be used to pay off expensive credit card debt and keep balances low. VIVA’s automatic repayment process makes on-time payments effortless, so you never have to worry about missing a payment.

You can visit our website at www.viva-finance.com to explore additional financial education content or see if there is an affordable financing option that serves your needs.

Debt consolidation can be a powerful tool to regain control of your finances when credit cards or other debts become overwhelming and unmanageable. In these circumstances, it can make sense to take out a new, more affordable loan or line of credit in order to pay off expensive debts. However, there are some key considerations to bear in mind before determining if debt consolidation is right for you.

The first thing to consider is the cost. If you can secure a new form of credit with a lower interest rate than your existing debts, you could save a substantial amount of money in interest payments. However, it is essential to make sure you can get a rate that is more affordable than the rates you are currently paying. A large, expensive loan could help you wipe out your credit card balances, but it will cost you in the long run if you don’t reduce your interest.

The next thing to consider is whether or not this will simplify your finances. The objective of debt consolidation is to streamline the management of your finances, not to complicate it. Ideally, a single debt consolidation loan can enable you to repay multiple lines of existing debt—thus consolidating all of your debt into one easily manageable repayment process.

Finally, debt consolidation should be intended as a long-term solution. When used appropriately, a debt consolidation loan can be an effective way to regain control of your personal finances. However, debt consolidation must not be viewed as a get out of jail free card that will allow you to resume reckless expenditure. All circumstances are unique, but if a large amount of debt has been accrued in the past, it may be necessary to re-evaluate your budgeting and spending habits in order to create lasting change.

VIVA Finance provides a much-needed debt consolidation option for low-credit borrowers by offering personal loans with rates that are based on employment—instead of credit score. This enables individuals with damaged credit to refinance expensive debt and break free from the debt cycles caused by predatory lending. Eligible employees can visit our website at http://www.viva-finance.com to see if there is an option that serves their financial needs.