Credit Card Debt Consolidation

The following are beginner ideas on researching simple credit card debt consolidation:

- Most credit card debt consolidation firms are also obliged to offer counselling to their clients. So, if the company dealing with you does not refer to assigning a credit counsellor, you should prompt them. A credit counsellor can make an important contribution to cleaning up your financial muddle.

- You can refinance your credit card debt consolidation yourself, if you have sufficient equity in your home to cover your debts. This is one of the best choices for clients because the interest rate is modest.

- BEWARE of running up your credit cards after the refinance. Be sure to cut up your cards and get rid of them. Keep the oldest for the credit history tied to it, and don’t utilise it. If you don’t have sufficient equity, then you can take out a second credit card debt consolidation to consolidate your debts. This is not as good as a refinance, but is an alternative if a refinance is not workable. The rate will be stiffer, but should still be modest enough to save you some money and get your debts under control.

- You can also take out a line of credit in order to consolidate your debts. The only real difference between this and a second credit card debt consolidation is that it functions like a credit card. Plus it tends to have an adjustable rate that can move up and down a little over time. This is a practicable alternative to employ to consolidate your debts.

- If you have a lot of credit-card debt, then it is affecting your credit ranking in a negative way. One thing that credit-card companies don’t tell you is that if you carry a balance on your cards and it is over 25 per-cent of your credit limit, then you are penalised on your credit rating, even if you make your repayments on time. So if you consolidate debts that include credit cards with high balances, then you are doing yourself a favor and helping your credit. You can consolidate not only credit cards, but if you have a car or a personal loan, then when you consolidate those and pay them off you will ameliorate your credit rating. Firms love to see that you paid off a car or a personal loan. It helps to boost your credit score quite a bit.

- If you have enough debt that you are considering consolidating it, then the key is that you need to give up using credit cards and get rid of them. If you consolidate your debts and then you run your credit cards back up to their limits you are doing nothing to help yourself. You will end up in a tougher situation.

- Get a copy of your credit report. Call For a fresh copy every year to ascertain that there are no errors even if you trust you have a top notch rating. If you find a mistake, get hold of the credit bureaux immediately by letter to request that item be withdrawn. You should also get hold of the creditor that supplied the inaccurate data to the credit bureau as well, and make them change it. Beware of challenging _true_ items in your credit report. Also beware of challenging a mistake or debt that is nearly seven years old (or whatever time it takes for items to be cleared, locally, from your credit record). Your debt may have been sold off to a debt-chasing firm, and your hassling them will make your case ‘live’ again, and may provoke them into coming after you. Let sleeping dogs lie!

- Most firms who offer credit card debt consolidations ought not expect any collateral against them; they look at you and what your credit and employment history say about you. If you have been making steady repayments to all your creditors and if you have a solid employment history those factors can work in your favor, demonstrating that you, as an individual, are a good risk.

- If your debts are just too overwhelming then get assistance from a _non-profit_ credit-counselling service. They will help you in working out a repayment plan, or a credit card debt consolidation agreement. It is not the most gratifying choice when attempting to repair lousy credit, because it prolongs your poor credit score, but it is a healthy way to go about it. Private, for-profit firms are operating for their own good. Yours is secondary.

I hope these few basic ideas will assist you in researching simple credit card debt consolidation.

Shopping for a New Credit Card

From CNBC.com 

With all the hubbub surrounding the credit card industry’s new focus on slashing customers’ limits and raising their rates, more people are thinking about taking back control of their credit by shopping for new cards. So how can you make sure you pick the right one?

In Monday’s Web Extra, John Ulzheimer has a credit-card shopping primer:

First, make sure you choose a card that reports to all three credit bureaus. This is especially important if you’re replacing a credit limit that was cut on a previous card. Your credit score won’t improve unless your new card reports to all three agencies.

Go small, Ulzheimer says. Only the large credit card issuers are cutting credit limits, closing accounts and raising interest rates, he says. Credit unions and smaller, regional banks are not. Consider getting your new card from one of these providers instead of the big names. 

>>Credit Card Rage: Congresswoman Says Help Is on the Way

Shop stragically. Find out which credit bureau holds your highest FICO score, then find an issuer that uses that bureau as their primary credit report provider. That way, you get the best rate they have to offer and put your best, most credit-worthy foot forward. 

Credit card interest rates jump in last week

The average annual interest rates charged on most variable credit cards rose significantly last week after several weeks of little change, according to Bankrate.com.

The biggest jump came for low interest cards, which have rates below the national average but are often offered only to customers with strong credit histories. The average APR jumped to 11.70 percent, up from 11.62 percent last week.

An increase of this size would add about 54 cents interest each month to a balance of $8,000. While not a substantial increase, it is the largest increase Bankrate has reported since early February.

The average APR for cash-back cards, which feature cash or other reward incentives and generally require a good-to-excellent credit rating for approval, rose to 13.83 percent, from 13.78 percent.

The smallest increase was for cash-back cards, which feature cash or other reward incentives and generally require a good-to-excellent credit rating for approval. The average rate rose to 13.2 percent from 13.19 percent.

The average APR charged for all variable-rate cards tracked by Bankrate jumped to 10.78 percent, from 10.70 percent.

Bankrate surveys the 10 largest banks and thrifts in the 10 largest markets in the U.S. to determine its averages.

U.S. February credit card losses hit record

NEW YORK, April 27 (Reuters) - U.S. consumer credit quality deteriorated further in February as credit card losses hit record levels amid a worsening economic environment, Fitch Ratings said in a report on Monday.

Fitch's Charge-Off Index, which tracks the write-down of uncollectable debt by credit card firms, climbed 101 basis points to a record 8.41 percent, eclipsing the prior mark of 7.52 percent reached in November 2005 during the bankruptcy spike.

The charge-off rate has increased 28.01 percent in the past six months and is up 46.77 percent year-over-year. The rate is being amplified by declining asset pools, as issuers continue to tighten underwriting at a time when overall consumer spending is slowing.

"As consumers struggle between surging unemployment and steeper declines in home and equity market values, they have been cutting spending and a larger percentage have fallen behind on their credit card bills," said Fitch.

The U.S. unemployment rate reached its highest level since 1983 in March, at 8.5 percent, while total revolving credit shrunk an estimated 9.7 percent in February, for the biggest decline since 1978.

Following steep climbs in the prior two months, credit card delinquencies shot to a record high in February. Fitch's Delinquency Index rose 29 basis points to 4.33 percent, for the third consecutive record high.

Fitch said bankruptcy filings for March surged to 121,413, up 40.9 percent increase from the same period a year ago and up 23.4 percent over February.

Despite the latest results, remedial actions by credit card issuers are providing investors with a cushion against future losses. Portfolio yields increased and excess spread levels, remained robust, said Fitch.

Fitch's prime index showed a gross yield of 16.83 percent in February, an increase of nearly 83 basis points from January. The increase was largely attributed to Citibank's Credit Card Issuance Trust, which saw 300 basis points jump in gross yield during the month as its repricing results kicked in. 

The higher gross yields and lower funding costs helped to offset higher loss rates, said Fitch. Three-month excess spread, the level of credit support in a transaction, fell by only six basis points to 5.74 percent in February. While 24.07 percent lower on a year-over-year basis, it did not deviate much from its long-term average of 5.48 percent since 1991, said Fitch.

While Fitch's Monthly Payment Rate Index declined to 15.78 percent from 17.15 percent, the drop was driven by seasonal factors as well as fundamental changes in cardholder payment trends.

"There is usually a slowdown each March, since February has fewer collection days and consumers are paying down holiday balances. In addition, cardholders exhibited some fundamental behavior changes as transactors cut spending, revolvers made smaller payment and more cardholders became delinquent," said Fitch.

Despite significant regulatory changes scheduled to go into effect for the credit card industry in 2010, several pending and potential bills in Congress could force changes to current business models sooner and accelerate bankruptcy filings, the rating agency warned.

"These proposals seek to restrict a lender's ability to reprice for changing risk or may result in an acceleration of bankruptcy filings, both of which could cause incremental charge-offs at a time when charge-offs are already elevated due to economic pressures," Fitch said. (Reporting by Nancy Leinfuss; Editing by Leslie Adler)

What to do if your Mortgage or Loan is turned down?

Have you been turned down when applying for a mortgage loan? Getting turned down for a mortgage can be very disappointing and heartbreaking. You’ve done your best to apply but when the verdict came, you got denied. According to a report, around half of all mortgage applications in the United States are being rejected. What are the steps you will do when your application for mortgage is denied?

The first thing you can do is to know what exactly happened. You can ask the lender to tell you the exact details on what happened. Ask them why you got turned down for low credit score mortgages. This is necessary so that you would know your mistakes and will not repeat them again in the future. Some lenders have different policy that is why some people get denied. You have to find out if this is the case and not just accept what happened to you.

Sometimes, you can easily correct the reason why you got rejected. If you do this, you can re-apply for a loan to the underwriter and hope it would be approved this time. But if the reasons for your disapproval are not correctable, a written statement that contains all the reasons will be sent to you.

Some people would still try to find a loan after being rejected. In case you do this, try to mention to the lender your situation and give the reasons why you weren’t approved a mortgage loan the last time. In fact, the lender who rejected you can even help you find another source for financing. A good lender that protects its reputation will find all possible ways to help you.

There are common reasons why financing is hard to find. Lenders may have seen your unattractive credit or maybe you are deep in debt or don’t have any assets. If you talk to your lender, the usual advice is for you to clean up your bad credit report.

When you get turned down for a loan, you don’t have to worry because your credit will not be affected. This means you still have a chance to find a mortgage loan. So you really have to keep on trying until you mortgage becomes a reality.

Visit us for plenty more information on cheap mortgage deals & Cheap mortgage deals

Do you want to be able to finance your vehicle affordably?

Do you want to be able to finance your vehicle affordably? Many people are looking for a cheap car financing deal and there are ways to go about the process that will allow you to finance a vehicle on your budget. Many people go into a car dealership and they know that they can only spend a certain amount but when they leave they end up paying much more per month than they knew they could afford. Go to Blacklisted for more information.

Don’t let this happen to you because a car loan is something that you need to take seriously as it will be a source of transportation for you, and if you don’t pay your loan as required you will damage your credit.

Financing a Vehicle Cheaply

The first thing you should do when you want to finance a vehicle is do some homework. How much can you afford each month, what sort of car do you need, what does your credit look like. When you have all of this information you will be able to approach the situation with a lot more knowledge of where you stand so you can counteract any problems that may come your way from lenders, pushy sales people, etc.

You will also want to come up with a down payment to put toward the purchase price of the car. When you have a down payment you are taking away from the purchase price of the car and you are also showing the lender that you are serious about the loan and that they can trust you, and perhaps even offer you a nice interest rate.

When you buy a new vehicle that is, say, $20,000 and you put down $5,000 you then only have to pay $15,000 for the duration of the loan. That means smaller payments and in the end you will also pay less in interest. It may take you a bit longer to actually purchase the car because you need to put together a down payment, but if you really want to finance your vehicle cheaply this is a great way to do it.

If you don’t have perfect credit and you want to try to finance your vehicle as affordably as possible you can take steps before you buy to improve your credit. Sometimes you can do something as simple as consolidating a few of your debts to improve the way your credit looks or you can take a few of the smaller debts and try to pay them off. Refer to Vehicle Finance for more information.

Often we have these small debts on our credit reports that are $40 and $50 that could easily be paid off and would actually improve our overall credit score because it shows that you are trying to improve your credit and your overall responsibility level is better.

Another thing that you can do if you don’t have perfect credit is to have someone co-sign on the loan with you. When you have a co-signer you are able to take advantage of the co-signers credit score which may help you secure a lower interest rate, which will ultimately lower your monthly payment, making your financing much more affordable.

If you don’t have good credit you could pay as much as 15% interest but if you co-sign with someone that does have good interest you could cut that in half, which will save you a lot of money over the course of four or five years while you pay off the vehicle. Visit Vehicle finance for blacklisted for further information.

Facts about Foreclosure

In this economic climate it would seem like homeowners are on their own trying to stop home mortgage foreclosure. However, with the right tools and knowledge homeowners can find help, below we discuss what is really going on and a few tips to stop home mortgage foreclosures.

Real estate developers have taken a large hit, the houses they built are not selling and the loans are coming due. This is forcing a lot of the builders to seek a bailout from the government. Even insurance companies, state and local governments are hurting and looking for bailout. With millions of homes still not selling homeowners are left to understand how to stop foreclosure on their own.

It is truly astonishing how the tax money is being used with no real accountability. Our government is handing over millions and millions of dollars to almost any bank or financial institution that asks, even if they do not have a solid business plan to keep them afloat.

The associated press started to ask questions after the rumors in late December said that CEOs of these bailed out banks are still collecting millions in perks. Every bank the press interviewed declined to comment when asked where the money went. It seems that these companies are not worried about paying their bills or helping to stop home mortgage foreclosures but just to line their own pockets.

There has yet to be a foreclosure assistance program designed that actually works for struggling homeowners. This is absurd considering the root of the problem has originated from the collapse of the housing market.

It is sad that these same CEOs that are lining their pockets are hugely responsible for the current crisis. They allowed their banks to provide mortgages to people who evidently would not be able to pay the adjustable rates. Yet these CEOs and banks are still continuing to profit, this time it is with tax dollars.

In a final blow for American consumers, the banks are using the bailout money in any way they see fit. It is my belief that if the government had used the money to buy these troubled mortgages directly from the banks and refinanced them to a lower rate, the problem would have been solved.

They would have not only fixed the financial crisis, by utilizing liquid cash in the banks, but they would have resolved mortgage and housing crisis at the same time. However the United States government decided to give the money to the banks hoping they would do the right thing. Still nothing is solved and millions more homes have been lost, and still homeowners are struggling to find a way how to stop foreclosure.

Still the ridiculous Mortgage Assistant Programs the government has created has helped less than 5% of the homeowners in trouble. They include so many requirements and strings to qualify, that they end up helping very few people.

Fortunately, there are many things homeowners can do if they are trying to stop home mortgage foreclosure. They can stay in their homes for over 24 months even without paying the monthly mortgage. There are different strategies to delay the foreclosure process. The banks do not want you to have this information!

The Possibilities of Learning to Trade

Becoming aware of that which you don’t know, is undoubtedly one of the single most important qualities of any trading education. Not only does this help one to steer clear of danger, but it also makes us aware of our weak points. You can be rest assured, when traders make mistakes, consequences are inevitable. So’ let’s take a look at some of the common mistakes made by traders and also at the price they have to pay for making those mistakes.

The most common, and in many cases also the most costly mistake made, is when a trader expects results which are simply unrealistic. Remember, there are two basic emotions which come into play when trading. While some traders experience fear, others become greedy and it’s this greed which then leads to into expecting too much.

A recent query I received serves as an excellent example with regards to unrealistic expectations. In fact, it goes beyond greed in my opinion. A trader with a $10,000 account asked me if it’s possible for them to make about $5,000 per month. Perhaps they should first have taken a look at what trading profits the professional are making. In general, the professionals are more than happy if they can consistently get yearly returns of about 240%. Making $5,000 per month off a $10,000 account would essentially mean a yearly return of 8,549%. As you can see, there’s a vast difference.

While a proper trading education can’t be achieved overnight, you can certainly protect yourself from failure as long as your expectations are within reason. By setting yourself realist goals, you’ll have far more chance of being successful. Also, if you double your money each year, you have every reason in the world to be pleased with your achievements.

If you’re making steady gains throughout the year then you can be rest assured that by the end of the year, all those gains would have added up nicely. Of course you may also want to consider longer time frames as well, rather than subject yourself to unnecessary pressure which tends to accompany short time frames.

In the first paragraph I mentioned traders not being aware of their own weak points and how such a situation can lead to failure. Well, this is exactly what causes traders to over estimate their own ability with regards to understanding the various charts and tables. These are important decision making tools so I find it extremely unfortunate that so many traders make the common mistake of guessing what some of these charts indicate.

Do you remember me mentioning emotions earlier in this article? Well, it’s those emotions I mentioned earlier that often cause traders to follow a hunch. New traders in particular, are prone to making the mistake of basing decisions on a gut feeling. Whether the hunch stems from something you read, or whether it’s due to something you’ve heard, following hunches is a dangerous approach, and a strategy which should be avoided at all costs. Providing of course that you have a solid system in place, you need to stick to it without making any exceptions. Basing your decisions on solid information and a trading plan is not only the safest way to trade, but it also gives you the best possible chance of reaching your goals. If you ever find yourself thinking that you’ve out-smarted then just remember, many have tried, all have failed.

By becoming aware of what you don’t know, you’ll be in a position where you can make it your business to find the answers to your questions and start to learn to trade. Remember, there’s no such thing as a silly question so if that’s what’s been putting you off in the past, you need to swallow your pride and take advantage of all the information which is available. In fact, there are scores of free trading educations available nowadays and which can be readily accessed. If you’re struggling then you’re also wasting valuable time so rather go and find the answers to your problems. After all, you’re not here to pose as a trader but instead, you’re here to make money.

Credit Crunch

During the past months, the worldwide credit crunch continues to wreak havoc in all financial sectors across the globe. Due to this, things have become very difficult for both lenders and consumers. Lenders find it really difficult and costly to raise money to fund their lending. But what is credit crunch?

A credit crunch is an economic condition in which investment capital is difficult to obtain. This is when banks and investors become unwilling to lend funds to corporations or have limited funds to lend. They increase the amount of borrowing which borrowers find it really too expensive.

Credit crunch normally happens when lending firms suffered losses from earlier loans they made. Due to this, they become generally hesitant or unable to lend money to borrowers. Additionally, when they recognize that the risk is high in the market, banks will increase their rates to counteract the risk. This often results to borrowers being unwilling to borrow because of the higher rates, and the banks in turn may not lend at all.

What does credit crunch do to the economy? Credit crunch can cause a lot of damage to the economy. It can limit the growth of the economy because of the reduced capital liquidity and the ability of corporations to borrow money is decreased.

Borrowing money from lending institutions is important for a lot of companies in order to finance and increase their operations. If they are not capable to borrow, companies will not be able to expand and worst, they might even stop operating. And if recession occurs at the same time, many companies might end up going bankrupt.

So how can companies protect themselves when credit crunch takes place? It is important that companies limit their spending. It also helps a lot if they control their debts. If the company’s credit record is clean, credit card companies and mortgage lenders will more likely to lend them money.

Companies must be able to save more instead of spend a lot. The effects on their company is lessened if credit crunch happens. Because they have saved a lot, they don’t need to borrow from lending firms. Lastly, it helps a lot if their investment is diversified.

Structured Settlements

There is the possibility that you have heard of structured settlement and the purchasing and selling of structured settlement. It is possible that you are seeking for more info in this area. This outline will give a brief outline of what happens in this type of transaction with structured settlement.

What is a structured settlement? In basic terms, it is the final verdict which is made by an attorney or another type of legal professional when something is in dispute between more than one individual or groups. The final decision is made when both parties agree to all of the terms which have been negotiated in the dispute. Once all are in agreement, payments are made. It is called structured because of the way the contract is drawn up.

So what about the purchase of a structured settlement properly? Nowadays, there are many companies, firms and individuals that will purchase structured settlement once everything is finished and the decisions have been made. This should be no surprise as it comes to money or many things in the financial universe, a niche market almost always exists to cash in on it.

Why would these individuals want to buy a structured settlement? The short answer is that they are in business and are always searching to make a speedy profit. However it must be beneficial to the seller also or there is no deal as the seller will also stand to benefit. This is because the seller needs their cash up front for what-ever reason. In many cases, the firm looking to purchase the structured settlement will have no problems waiting to be paid as they are not short of funds. The buyer assumes some risk as in a few cases, they will not be paid back the full amount.

As stated before, this is only a short outline of this subject. It would be very highly advised to do your own research and ask the right people the right questions.

Ideas on getting out of Debt

Unless you’ve been in the bush for the past year without any form of communication you may have noticed there is something of crisis going on at the moment. It’s all extremely complicated, this article may help where I can’t but the long and short of it is times are hard and are getting to get a lot harder.If you are currently struggling with debt you maybe considering seeking professional assistance by way of a re-mortgage or a debt agreement. The problem is that if you are struggling with debt the current financial situation is now doubt adding even more pressure on what is not doubt a tough situation. Commonly, there are three forms of consolidation, further borrowing, informal arrangements and formal arrangements. In this post I will address how each of these is being affected by the credit crunch.

Further borrowing.

Without doubt this form of consolidation has been hit the hardest by the credit crunch and in many respects is the actual cause of the current financial crisis. Put simply, there has been too much borrowing in the forms of mortgages, loans and credit cards. When people consolidate by borrowing further they normally do so in the form of loans and re-mortgages.

In the past it was relatively easy for people with poor credit history to get out of debt by using the equity in their homes to re-mortgage and consolidate their debts. These ‘sub-prime’ mortgages are the very reason why the credit crunch has happened. Too many people are unable to repay their mortgages thus resulting in huge numbers of repossessions and banks losing millions of dollars. Clearly, the bank industry has had to react to this which they have done by not lending to so called ‘sub-prime’ borrowers. If you have a poor credit history and are a homeowner you may struggle to find lenders who will assist at this present time.

The other important factor to take into consideration is for those coming to the end of fixed rate mortgages. If your fixed rate is coming to an end it is highly like that your payments may increase as a result, try the sites below for more help.  Whereas before your home could be the key to bring about debt relief for the foreseeable future you may have to pursue other options when it comes to debt consolidation.

Informal Arrangements

Unfortunately, there are no statistics to show, however in theory there is no reason why people trying to put informal payment plans in place with their creditors should not be on the rise. If you are struggling with debt problems and do not which to declare bankruptcy or seek to obtain a Debt Agreement why not try and talk to your creditors directly? With banks losing money it would stand to reason that they would be more agreeable to this form of debt consolidation. 

Bankruptcy and Debt Agreements

The number of people declaring Bankruptcy is increasing by the month. Unfortunately, with prices increasing those who are suffering with debt problems to wave the white flag and declare bankruptcy. There are ways of avoiding bankruptcy namely through a Debt Agreement.

Debt Agreements do mean that you have to pay some of your debts back, however, they are an excellent alternative to bankruptcy and may help you beat the credit crunch.

Bad Credit pay day loans

Bad credit loans are attractive nowadays and have a vast market. They are loans that are made for those with a poor credit past and anytime you apply for a loan, your credit report is checked. These bad credit loans may be the only option for people who have a dinged credit score or those who have not yet established a credit history. However, like any other loan type they can be used for almost any reason. Lenders have also become less than willing to give loans to people with a dinged credit history because of the default rate being so high.

Finding secured bad credit loans is an easy job but making sure that you find the right deal isn’t always that easy. Assistance is available on the web and on the high street for those that need bad credit loans and debt consolidation. One must be aware, because there are loans made available, the rates of interest will be high so you need to think about this when availing the loan. There are two types of bad credit payday loans and cash advance loans, secured and unsecured.

Secured loans involve using something of significant value as collateral when applying for the loan, normally your house and you can borrow up to 125% of the collateral value. Plus you can typically borrow from £5,000 to £250,000 with a repayment term of 5-25 years. To make things easier a lot of electronic loan finder comapnies allow you to compare the market for secured loans. Using such loan services could save you a lot of time searching and wasted minutes waiting on the phone waiting to speak to a loan company.

Unsecured substandard credit loans, however, are among the hardest to get. Unsecured loans are not secured against any property or collateral. These loans do get approved much faster as there is no evaluation of asset required. 
This type of loans are typicallyalmost always the best option for students, private renters, council tenants and people living in housing association properties looking for loans for people on benefits. Unsecured private loans for poor credit will carry much more in the form of interest rate than secured personal loans.