ø Debt Consolidation ø

A number of banks have been shut down by the FDIC this year including:

First National Bank of Nevada
First Heritage Bank of Newport Beach, California
Netbank
Indy Mac Bank

Most of the problems plaguing these banks have to do with loaning money to people who couldn’t pay it back.  At one point, loaning money based on equity in a [...]

There is one way you can borrow money from the government for a consolidation loan.  If you have student loans there is a federal government program to consolidate those loans into a single loan.  This program allows students to lock in an interest rate for their student loans.  Normally this interest rate fluxuates.  By locking [...]

Credit card rates in the US can be very high. I’ve seen interest rates as high as 38% before and I’m not sure that is the upper limit. What is funny is that most states have usury laws that make it illegal to loan money at more than a certain rate. Many [...]

If you are looking into debt consolidation stop! The first thing you need to do is to get some credit counseling. Otherwise you are just going to perpetuate the problems and debt consolidation will make it harder for you to get out of debt not easier. Until you control your spending debt consolidation [...]

The best type of debt consolidation is when you don’t need to use it at all. Being out of debt gives you options and opportunities that are not available to someone who is under heavy interest payments for depreciating items.
Your ability to curb your spending will determine how well you can avoid the [...]

When the housing market was booming there were more options for debt consolidation. People looking for debt consolidation loans now days are going to have a tougher time finding institutions willing to lend them money. Generally it will be tough to find someone to lend you money unless you have some asset that [...]

As home values go down, many people are seeing why consolidating consumer loans into a home equity loan is a bad idea. Lets say you bought a $5,000 television system on your credit card and later consolidated that debt into a loan backed by your $150,000 home. As the market has dropped, your [...]

Housing prices have stopped going up and it is coming back to bite people who took out large debt consolidation loans using their home equity. The people who are hit the hardest are the ones who have also lost their jobs and need to relocate. The Detroit area has been particularly hit hard. [...]

It is easy to see debt consolidation as a cure all for your financial woes. A lot of people start looking at debt consolidation once their finances get tight and they are unable to afford to go to the movies as much as they would like.
While it might be tempting to roll [...]

The baby boom generation is marching towards retirement with two distinct traits: 1) a vast wealth of home equity thanks to the boom in real estate that has slowed only recently and, 2) a heavier debt load than any prior generation of retirees. Together these factors seem a good match for taking on a reverse [...]