Decling Home Values Spell Trouble For Those Looking To Consolidate Debt
“Four out of five metropolitan areas recorded lower home prices in the third quarter from a year earlier, while existing-home sales fell in 32 states from the second quarter, according to the latest quarterly survey by the National Association of Realtors®.”
Underwriting guidelines continue to tighten. Lenders are requiring that homeowners have more equity than before.
Gone are the days of leveraging the full value of your home.
This all spells trouble for those consumers who were planning on utilizing available home equity as a debt consolidation loan.
If you’ve grown accustomed to borrowing against your home to pay off other debts, you may be forced to explore other debt reduction or elimination strategies. Read the rest of this entry »
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Loading ...Dump Your Credit Card Debt
Anytime you carry over balances on your credit card you’re going to pay a lot of interest. Even if you currently have a special low-interest promotional deal, that interest rate is eventually going to increase. Use the following three tips to pay off your credit cards and slash the total amount of interest you’ll pay.
1. Pay more than the minimum balance due and you’ll methodically reduce the amount of the principal you owe. When you only pay the minimum amount due, you’re probably only paying about 2% to 3% of the total balance owed, according to the Motley Fool. Even if you can only spare a few extra dollars a month it’s worth it to put this toward your debts.
(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5) Loading ...Debt Settlement Companies Can Provide Valuable Assistance Consumers
“We choose not to work with debt settlement companies,” said Matt Towson, spokesman for Discover Financial Services, Riverwoods, Ill in an article for InsideARM.com.
Virginia O’Neil, spokesperson for the American Bankers Association (ABA), in the same article was noted as saying “the vast majority of banks do not have formal written procedures in place to deal with debt settlement companies. Settlements reached with the help of intermediary companies are typically the same as settlements reached dealing directly with the consumer”.
It would appear that hiring a debt settlement company, according to Discover Financial and the ABA, would be a waste of money.
For some, that would certainly be the case. For others, hiring a third party debt settlement company may fill a need.
(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5) Loading ...Facing a Utility Shut Off? You May Qualify for Energy Assistance
More Americans are having trouble paying their utility bills, according to the Wall Street Journal. And some consumer advocates and regulators are growing concerned about the growing number of homes that have had their utilities shut off because of unpaid bills—especially because more people may be impacted as the economy worsens.
Throughout the country utilities have shut off more delinquent customers than last year. The article states:
In Pennsylvania, PPL Corp. increased shutoffs by 78% in the first three quarters of the year compared with the same period a year earlier. Shutoffs at electric utilities throughout the state increased by 20% in that period… In Memphis, Tenn., the city-owned utility that supplies electricity, natural gas and water to residents cut off 38% more people in the first eight months of the year, or 69,743 electric accounts, versus the same period in 2007.
If you find yourself in this boat and are facing a utility shutoff, you may be able to get help through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). This federally funded program helps low-income households with their energy bills. LIHEAP may also be able to help you with weatherization and energy-related home repairs.
The program is targeted at low-income folks but eligibility rules have been expanded to allow people with higher incomes to qualify. That’s because state regulators say more people with higher incomes are having their power shut off. “We’re seeing an uptick in middle-class people who have never been in this situation before,” Eric Hartsfield, director of the customer-service division of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, told the Wall Street Journal.
It’s especially important that people with health issues, the elderly, and small children don’t go without heat for too long. Also, using stoves, portable heaters, and grills is dangerous and should be avoided, especially because carbon monoxide poisoning can result.
About the Author:
Francine L. Huff is a freelance journalist and the author of The 25-Day Money Makeover for Women. She has appeared on a variety of TV and radio shows.
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5) Loading ...Banks Continue to Tighten Credit Standards
The New York Times recently reported on the results of the quarterly Federal Reserve bank study that takes a look at current lending practices.
“Besides the nearly 60 percent of banks tightening standards on credit card debt, 65 percent said they had tightened lending standards for other types of consumer loans over the last three months.
About 20 percent of the domestic banks reported cutting limits for existing credit card accounts held by prime, or strong credit, customers. Credit card lenders have been reducing customers’ credit lines, raising interest rates or even closing accounts as they tighten the reins to reduce their risk.”
This is not good news for those consumers looking for options to reduce or eliminate their consumer debt through a debt consolidation loan.
(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5) Loading ...Cutting Back on Dining Out Can Save Big Bucks
Recently my family went to a diner and noticed that the menu had changed. Previously they had offered dinner specials that included an entrée, soup, salad, and dessert all for one price. But that day, the menu indicated that you had to pay an extra $3 for the soup, salad, and dessert. My theory is that too many people were buying the dinner combos and splitting them to save money, so the diner decided to charge more to make up for lost sales.
Whatever the reason for the price increase, it’s just another example of how food costs have gone through the roof this year. That’s why many people are cutting down on eating out or dining at less expensive restaurants. About 43% of those polled by Booz & Co. said they are eating out less because of the economy, and 35% said they are packing their lunch to take to work.
(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5) Loading ...FTC Cracks Down on 33 Credit Repair Companies
Last week the FTC announced an effort to shut down 33 credit repair operations with the assistance of 24 state agencies. According to the FTC Release:
“In response to thousands of complaints from consumers throughout the nation, the FTC launched ‘Operation Clean Sweep’ with 24 state agencies in 22 states. In the cases announced today, the Commission charged seven operations with violating the FTC Act and the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) by making false and misleading statements, such as claiming they can substantially improve consumers’ credit reports by removing accurate, negative information from their credit reports. The agency also alleged that the defendants violated the CROA by charging an advance fee for credit repair services. The 26 state actions include alleged violations of state laws and the CROA.”
Many consumers faced with overwhelming debt often consider the credit score consequences of the various debt settlement strategies available to them. If already behind on payments, you may have even looked into possible credit repair solutions.
(3 votes, average: 5 out of 5) Loading ...Layaway Regains Popularity in Tough Economy
A few years back I remember hearing some colleagues making fun of someone they knew who purchased things using layaway, which allows you to have items held until you complete payments on them. They hooted and hollered about how it was so tacky and beneath them to even think of using layaway to purchase anything. I was pretty mystified by the whole thing and mentioned that when I was a kid layaway was standard practice by almost every family I knew – especially when it came to back-to-school shopping and Christmas gifts. They acknowledged that it was common practice years ago, but all of these people said they wouldn’t be caught dead using layaway.
My, how times have changed. Apparently layaway is regaining popularity as the economy’s woes deepen. While many retailers did away with layaway years ago, places like Kmart and Burlington Coat Factory still offer this payment plan. Kmart is even highlighting its layaway plan in its holiday advertising.
(4 votes, average: 5 out of 5) Loading ...Rising Credit Card Delinquencies May Aid Your Debt Settlement Efforts
Credit card companies are starting to feel the squeeze. Some of the country’s largest credit card issuers are suffering from large quarterly losses and are watching their credit card delinquency rates rise to historic levels.
According to a recent CNNMoney.com article,
“Credit-card companies will “pull back on growth and aggressively manage credit lines to manage through this cycle,” said Meghan Crowe, an analyst at Fitch Ratings. “Charge-offs will increase. Margins will be squeezed because of higher funding costs, higher provisions and as consumer spending slows down.” The credit ratings company expects an increase in charge-off rates among borrowers with strong credit to hit at least 7% by the end of the year from 6.4% in May.”
Essentially, credit card companies will need to restrict credit limits for some of their customers to help curb future loses. They expect more accounts to go delinquent and expect less revenue from a reduction in consumer spending.
(4 votes, average: 5 out of 5) Loading ...Don’t Stick Your Head in the Sand and Ignore Retirement Funds
I just peeked at my IRA account and it wasn’t pretty. At least I looked. Quite a few people have told me in the past couple of weeks that they refuse to look at their retirement accounts to see how much money has been lost as the stock market has gyrated.
I’m not surprised people are taking the losses so hard since Americans have lost about $2 trillion in retirement savings over the past 15 months. But I am surprised that so many people don’t even want to look at their portfolio to see where they might be able to make changes to minimize their losses.
(3 votes, average: 5 out of 5) Loading ...- This blog covers a wide variety of debt consolidation and loan topics.
We rely on a large network of financial experts and leading authors to write the content for the DebtHelp.com Blog.
Decling Home Values Spell Trouble For Those Looking To Consolidate Debt
Debt Settlement Companies Can Provide Valuable Assistance Consumers
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Chris Rocks is the Founder and Executive Director of the Credit Advisory Alliance (CAA). CAA is a nationwide membership-based organization that assists consumers recovering from a financial difficulty and those who need a significant increase in their credit score.
Chris began his financial services career as a Financial Advisor helping young families with risk management and asset accumulation strategies. It was during that time that Chris realized that many of these young families also needed someone to guide their choices with regards to debt management.
He made the transition into the mortgage industry where he first worked as a loan originator and later the Vice President of a small mortgage company. As Chris came across clients who had suffered through financial challenges and saw the difficulty they had in re-entering our credit driven economy, he discovered there was a real opportunity to leverage his unique background and help others.
Francine L. Huff is the Publisher and Editorial Director of Super Savvy Publishing, LLC, which provides editorial and publishing services. She is a gifted author, freelance journalist, and motivational speaker who has entertained and motivated a variety of audiences through workshops, panels and keynote addresses. Francine is the author of The 25-Day Money Makeover for Women, which has inspired and motivated many readers to reign in poor financial habits, become good stewards over their money and work toward a debt-free life. She has appeared on a variety of TV and radio shows. Francine previously worked for the Wall Street Journal, where she was the spot news bureau chief, a news editor and a copy editor. She has interviewed a variety of financial professionals about financial issues and strives to present information about managing money in an easy-to-understand format that is accessible to people of all backgrounds and income levels.
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