Is Unsecured Credit Card Debt Making Your Life Toxic?

December 4, 2011 – 1:45 pm

Overwhelming credit card debt is one of the biggest worries today. It’s an easy enough situation to find oneself in and eliminating the stress from it can be a worry in itself. Those who have discovered debt settlement are finding a way to make their financial lives less toxic and are regaining their health.

The poisons of debt creep into everyday life whether it is annoying bill collectors or maxed out credit cards that no longer work. Maybe it is time to clean house and get rid of the causes of this type of toxin, and that’s simply to get out of debt. Pay it off and stay out of debt. It’s a great goal that can be met with some help. That help isn’t through bankruptcy, which no longer even creates a clean slate. It’s through debt management or debt settlement, where you confront your creditors and restructure your debt. It is perfectly possible to get out of debt by paying a percentage of it and creditors calling it a day, and that can mean a healthier environment for many consumers. It is a c

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Tags: Card Debt, Credit Card, Credit Card Debt, Debt

European Debt Crisis in Depth

December 2, 2011 – 5:53 am

Economist and author of Capitalism Hits the Fan, Richard Wolff provides an In-depth perspective of the financial meltdown in Europe and its negative effects for the U.S. economy. All eyes are on Germany now to save the European debt crisis. Germany is put under pressure to open their treasury in order to save the Eurozone from the collapse. Polish Foreign Minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, said, I demand of Germany that, for your own sake, and for ours, you help [the eurozone] survive and prosper. You know full well that nobody else can do it. I will probably be the first Polish foreign minister in history to say so, but here it is: I fear German power less than I am beginning to fear German inactivity.

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Tags: Depth

The Crazy World Of Debt Consolidation

December 2, 2011 – 1:59 am

The author of this article has been working the Debt Consolidation sector since 2003. Back then, to most people, debt consolidation meant a loan.

Unsecured debt consolidation loans up to about £15,000 were easy to come by for it seems everyone except those with a very bad credit record.

For those with a mortgage on a home and say, unsecured debt of about £20,000, it was very easy to whack the unsecured debt onto the mortgage and start over again.

Brushing debt under the rug was almost too easy to be true. House prices were rising faster than people could accrue unsecured debt. Creditors  were happy to lend on the back of this, Happy days. Happy days indeed. The daytime TV slots were full of such ads.

That was until the housing market crashed and lenders stopped lending.

Those who put unsecured debts onto their mortgage suddenly found their equity was falling not rising.  No longer were people able to remortgage to consolidate debt.

The only silver lining (if you could call it that) is the Bank of England base rate being cut to, and maintained at, historically low levels of 0.5%. All

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Tags: Debt, Debt Consolidation

Government looks into bank accounts for bankrupts

November 25, 2011 – 4:26 pm

Although people who have been made bankrupt are legally allowed to hold a bank account, in practice most banks refuse to allow an undischarged bankrupt to open one.

This reluctance is because of the risk that a trustee could pursue the bank for loss of money following a bankruptcy.

However, the lack of a back account can make life very difficult when it comes to paying bills, receiving wages and managing finances generally, while being forced to use cash can result in additional expenses being incurred.

In July last year Citizens Advice published a report suggesting that the current situation was causing undischarged bankrupts undue hardship.

The Insolvency Service has therefore launched a 12-week consultation into improving financial access for undischarged bankrupts.

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Tags: Bank, Bank Accounts

FHA loan limits restored to higher levels

November 23, 2011 – 12:29 pm

While FHA loan limits were lowered in expensive housing markets at the beginning of October, on November 18 Congress voted to restore higher loan limits. In areas with lower cost housing, this move will not have an impact, but in places such as New York City, Washington, D.C., Hawaii and San Francisco, buyers and homeowners will be able to use an FHA loan to borrow as much as $729,750. According to The Wall Street Journal, about 600 counties are impacted by this change.

FHA mortgage impact

FHA mortgage loans are insured by the government, allowing lenders protection against borrower defaults. According to Bloomberg, approximately one-third of all mortgages in the U.S. are now guaranteed by the FHA.

In areas with expensive costs, homeowners who wanted to refinance a mortgage above $625,000 (the previous FHA loan limit in high cost markets) and homebuyers were forced to take out a jumbo loan, which typically has higher mortgage rates and tighter credit requirements, as well as a down payment or home equity of at least 20 percent. Read full article…

Tags: Fha Loan, Fha Loan Limits, Higher, Loan Limits