More Solutions for High Credit Card Rates
Posted on July 23rd, 2010
Lawmakers on Capital Hill continue to look for ways to lower credit card interest rates and fees for consumers. Hundreds of proposals that would restrict credit card companies have been offered that will appeal to consumers, especially when finances are tight. Coming almost exclusively from liberal Democrats and so soon after the enactment of the CARD Act less than a year ago, the prospect of passing new legislation is questionable.
But one, bi-partisan, proposed regulatory bill has the support of financial experts. It would give states the right to impose interest rate caps on out-of-state companies who lend to their residents; in affect, closing a loophole created in 1978 by a ruling of the Supreme Court that the laws of a bank’s home state take precedence and govern transactions across state lines. S
Tags: Credit Card, Rates
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Americans Fear ID Theft
Posted on July 20th, 2010
Some things are irrational to fear, such as monsters under the bed or your inlaws coming for a visit. But some things that we fear are perfectly reasonable, like the Internal Revenue Service and identity thieves. In fact, a study taken by Unisys, an information technology consulting service, asserts that more Americans fear having their information stolen online than getting mugged or robbed in person.
Perhaps the reason for this is twofold. First of all, when you submit your information online you like to think that it is safe. Knowing that someone can hack in and find it can make a person feel vulnerable. The second big problem with this type of identity theft is that it can occur without your knowing about it. At least if someone steals your wallet you know that you need to cancel all the credit cards it contains.
Tags: Fear, Fear Id
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Credit Card Bad Credit? Check Your Records!
Posted on July 19th, 2010
If you’ve had credit card trouble, you may have credit card bad credit. Worse yet: you might have bad credit for no reason at all. Mistakes, identity theft, and fraud can lead to bad credit in scrupulous individuals. For that reason, whether you think you have bad credit or not, it’s absolutely essential that you check your credit report regularly.
What is a credit score?
When you have bad credit — whether it’s credit card bad credit, mortgage bad credit, or what have you — it affects your credit score. Your score basically represents your financial risk factor compared with other people. The higher your score, the lower your risk.
In other words, whenever a lender extends credit, they are gambling you may not pay it back. A high credit score indicates that, according to your history, you probably will: a low score indicates the opposite.
Lenders use credit scores not only to decide who can borrow from them, but what interest rates they charge.
Tags: Bad Credit, Card Bad, Card Bad Credit, Credit
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Wall Street Reform: What Does It Mean For Credit Cards?
Posted on July 19th, 2010
After weeks of partisan bickering, the Senate finally voted this afternoon 60 to 39 to pass Wall Street reform. Officially deemed the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010, it is now headed to Obama’s desk, which he said will be signed next week. Despite the bloated size of 2,319 pages, some feel the bill leaves us with more questions than answers.
Almost everyone agrees that reform is needed, but many question whether this watered-down version addresses the problems… or just creates new ones. For example, the bill remains silent on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Derivatives and hedge funds get to continue their wild West ways. Twelve new regulatory agencies will be created, but almost nothing will be done to fix the 115 current federal and state financial regulatory agencies (only one of them will be consolidated). In
Tags: Reform, Street Reform, Wall Street, Wall Street Reform
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Good News on Credit Card Delinquencies
Posted on July 16th, 2010
According to a recent report published by Fitch, delinquency rates for credit card payments (60 or more days overdue) has declined for the fifth consecutive month. Along with the lowest rate in 17 months of 4.01% (from 4.33% a year ago) and more consumers working to pay down their credit card debt, the drop is good news to banks and credit card issuers who consider delinquency rates when predicting future losses. In addition, there has been a three month decline in the rate for payments 30 days or more overdue, falling to 5.27%.
Financial experts are hopeful that the economy may be slowly improving. Another positive sign comes from a recently released report from the U.S. Commerce Department. Consumer spending grew by 0.2% in May.
Lower delinquency rates typically result in fewer charge offs; however, a small increase in charges offs was noted.
Tags: Card, Credit Card
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Get Monthly Income with a One Reverse Mortgage
Posted on July 14th, 2010
If you find yourself at the admirable age of 62 or above with the house of your dreams but very little cash to pay the bills, you may think you will be forced to consider selling the house and moving to a smaller house. There is another option though. You could get monthly income with a ‘One Reverse Mortgage’ and remain in your dream home. If you have no children you wish to leave the house to this may be the perfect solution. Even if you wish to pass down the home, it may work for you.
A reverse mortgage lets you tap into the equity in your home. The law does not permit reverse mortgages to be given to people under the age of 62. You also need to have substantial equity in your home for a reverse mortgage to make sense. As a rough guide you can expect to be able to get a reverse mortgage for up to half the value of your home if you own it free and clear. The