credit card debt: How To Protect Yourself From Credit-Repair Scams - 11/15/10 09:39 AM
If you’re drowning in debt, you might be tempted to partner with a debt-relief service or a credit-repair company to help you pay down your debt. In recent years, some companies have preyed on consumers’ financial insecurities, prompting the federal government to get involved by passing new laws regulating the industry.New Federal Trade Commission regulations require that these companies be clearer with customers about what they can do, how long it will take, and how much the customer may or may not save.
The FTC regulations also make it illegal for such companies to charge a fee before they are successful … (0 comments)
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credit card debt: What Do the Credit and Debt Statistics Mean for Consumers? - 10/18/10 11:54 AM
With foreclosures and unemployment rates up, how are loan delinquencies down?
There is a significant difference between how people think of the credit crisis and how they react with their finances. Loan delinquencies trended upward in 2009, but they've peaked for the majority of loan types-auto loans, credit cards, HELOCs, and even mortgages. Student loan delinquencies have not peaked and are still increasing.
Typically, increases in the dollar delinquency rate (the number of loans with delinquent payments divided by the number of loans) were influenced by increases in both incidence and average size of delinquencies. The size of the … (1 comments)
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credit card debt: Signs of Life in the Credit Universe - 10/04/10 12:36 PM
While the credit industry may not be out of trouble yet, there are some signs that recovery is finally here. Equifax's Credit Trend data is showing small, but important changes in the credit industry. A few of these changes have occurred because of looser restrictions on lending, and some have occurred in spite of tighter lending standards.
Signs of Life include:
Risk scores are stabilizing and improving, because less consumers are delinquent on loans. Consumers are paying down debt voluntarily Lenders are extending new credit, although they are doing so very cautiously Auto loans continue to expand, despite tight auto lending … (1 comments)
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credit card debt: Good Debt vs. Bad Debt - 07/06/10 11:27 AM
Check out this helpful information about credit from one of my fellow bloggers on the Equifax Personal Finance Blog.
Have you ever heard someone talk about "good debt" versus "bad debt"? Those terms can be a little misleading, but the kinds of debt you have and how you manage your finances can reflect positively-or negatively-on your credit report.
Your credit report contains a story about what kind of debt you've taken on and how you've paid it back. You might think of the $20 you borrowed from a coworker to pay for lunch as a debt, and it is, … (3 comments)
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credit card debt: Paying Down Credit Card Debt To Buy A House - 05/10/10 01:56 PM
If you have substantial credit card debt, you might want to pay down some of that debt before applying for a mortgage to buy a house.
The home buying experience can be trying enough, but if you have too much debt on your hands, you might not qualify for a mortgage. You may assume that you should do everything to pay down that credit card debt even if it means using retirement funds to do that. You might be wrong. Using your retirement funds should probably be your last resort when dealing with debt problems.
Read the full story at ThinkGlink.com
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credit card debt: Top Three Financial Resolutions for the New Year - 12/26/09 12:17 PM
Make a New Year's Resolution to clean up your personal finances. Stick to a budget, live within your means, and put away savings every month. Below are the top three financial new year's resolutions. Make 2010 the year to stick to your financial new year's resolutions.
Do your personal finances need a tweak this year?
After two years of recession and an unemployment rate that topped 10 percent in 2009, it seems as though a little personal finance rebuilding might be in order.
But as we recover (slowly!) from the worst economy in decades, it’s a great opportunity to rethink … (2 comments)
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credit card debt: Regiment Bill Payments To Get Out Of Debt - 08/24/09 01:41 PM
A debt management plan can help someone whose credit history and credit score have likely already suffered either because their debt-to-credit limits are out of whack or because they have started to pay some of their bills late.
If you have maxed out your credit cards, and are having trouble making your mortgage payments, you need help in figuring out how to get these amounts in line with your income.
As difficult as it might be, the best personal finance advice I can give you is that a properly designed and administered debt management plan is a good … (0 comments)
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credit card debt: Is Paying Off Debt Enough To Raise Your Credit Score? No! - 07/29/09 02:14 PM
Paying off your debt will not automatically raise your credit score and improve your credit report and history. You will have to try to negotiate with the credit card company to report your debt as "paid as agreed" and remove any negative information from your credit report. If you are in debt like one ThinkGlink.com reader that wrote in and you have the opportunity to pay off all of your debt, there are several other steps you must take before your credit score will begin to rebound.
Your credit history should show that the balance has been paid as agreed. Before … (2 comments)
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credit card debt: Online Personal Finance Tracking With Equifax Debt Wise, Mint.com and Quicken Online - 07/08/09 01:58 PM
Online financial planning tools like Mint.com, Quicken Online and Equifax's new Debt Wise can help keep your personal finances on track. How do these online financial planning tools work? What features do they offer. A review of Equifax Debt Wise, Mint.com and Quicken Online explains the financial tools they offer, the benefits and the difficulties of online financial planning tools. Think Glink writer Jennifer Freeman investigates.
I’ll confess. I switched majors my freshman year of college from business to English, just because my advisor told me I had to take another two semesters of accounting.
But keeping track of your … (0 comments)
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credit card debt: Should you buy a car before closing on your new home? - 06/06/09 01:03 PM
For many home buyers, when they're looking for a new home they also happen to be looking for a new car, new appliances and new furniture. That's a lot of cash leaving your wallet (or being charged in your charge card) all at the same time. It might also put you in danger of throwing your debt-to-income ratios out of whack. Mortgage lenders will pull a copy of your credit history and credit score when you apply for your loan, but they'll pull another one just before you close. You don't want to do anything, or buy anything, that will make … (1 comments)
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credit card debt: Credit Card Debt Can Be Sold To Debt Collection Agencies - 06/03/09 07:52 PM
If you owe debts on credit cards that have not been paid in the last 5 years, are credit card companies allowed to sell your account and can those companies come after you? Is there a time limit on when a credit card company can collect or take you to court?
The simple answer is most credit card companies can come after you for an uncollected debt for as long as permitted by law. You need to know what the statute of limitations is for your state to determine if a company can still come after you. In some cases, companies … (0 comments)
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credit card debt: 50% Off Special for May 9 Ilyce Glink Money Makeover Event - 04/27/09 11:07 PM
Here's how to sign up for our May 9 Makeover Your Money event at the Renaissance Waverly hotel at Cobb Galleria.
Go to ThinkGlink.EventBrite.Com.
Click on the $8.27 early bird special.
Enter "savememoney" (one word, no quote marks) in the discount window.
Enter the way you want to pay
And, you'll be signed up -- it's that easy.
I hope you'll join us on May 9. It's going to be an amazing day.
We're going to discuss Debt and Credit, Financing, Refinancing and Foreclosures and how to Invest your money in a wild and crazy stock market.
SIGN UP NOW!!!!
… (3 comments)
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credit card debt: Credit Score - Can Closing A Credit Card Affect Your Credit Score? - 04/14/09 05:19 PM
When you have many credit cards and decide to close one that charges you a monthly fee, it's likely it won't negatively affect your credit score. Closing a credit card that you've had open for only a short time has less effect than a credit card you've had for 10 to 15 years. One alternative to closing the credit card is to transfer the account to a different card, so long as the account usage information gets transferred as well. If that's not possible you may want to explore getting a new credit card that better meets your needs.
Question: I … (1 comments)
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