Estimated read time 4 min read
New Jobs, Extra Income & Making Money

Bad Credit Debt Help – Simple Steps for a Complicated Situation

If you are searching for resources on bad credit debt help, it is quite likely that you have faced at least a few financial complications during the course of your lifetime. Unexpected job loss, hour reductions in the workplace, injury, illness, and even a death of a loved one could result in immense financial complications that leave many struggling to pay off loans, credit cards, and even utilities. Unfortunately, lenders, credit card companies, and other types of financial institutions are not typically very forgiving when it comes to the money that they feel is rightfully theirs. If you are unable to pay that which you are responsible, it is often immediately reported to one or more credit bureaus. Naturally, these reports put unproductive dings in your credit

Estimated read time 4 min read
New Jobs, Extra Income & Making Money

Mortgage Regulation Helps Lenders Learn from the Past

The mortgage industry has undergone a unique series of changes over the last decade. New regulations, for example, have been set in place following a serious default crisis, which brought lending to its knees. Risky practices, it seems, came around on the industry, creating a domino effect that has taken years to reverse. And while high levels of oversight are designed to protect borrowers, the changing landscape of mortgage lending actually hinders buyers, at times. As the mortgage industry continues to evolve, home buyers and remortgagers must adapt to new conditions. What worked a decade ago may not be an option any longer. Conventional wisdom about the best mortgage approach has changed, so if you are in the market for funding, your expectations may also require adjustment.

Estimated read time 6 min read
Financial & Investment Tips

5 Reasons Why New Chip Credit Cards Won’t Reduce Fraud

Banks in the United States are undergoing a major transformation in credit card technology, a process similar to the one Europe successfully completed several years ago. Despite the technological advances in mobile payment that have already rendered plastic cards obsolete, the financial industry wants to replace every magnetic stripe credit card in every wallet. When I received a business credit card in the mail last week, in an envelope anyone paying attention would recognize as a new credit card delivery, it featured a new security measure: a chip. The embedded computer chip stores information, like the magnetic strike, that ties the card to my identity and my bank account (and in this case, my business credit card account). Credit card issuers are going through the process of

Estimated read time 5 min read
Financial & Investment Tips

Three Overlooked Tools for Repairing Credit

This is a guest article by Neal Frankle. Neal is a Certified Financial Planner® in Los Angeles. He is also the senior editor for WealthPilgrim.com, MCMHA.org and CreditPilgrim.com. Your credit report is like a financial passport. If it’s clean you’ll find the doors to the financial world wide open. Your credit journey will be carefree and wonderful. But if you have blotches on your record, the credit border control is going to make it difficult and expensive for you to go anywhere. You probably already know this. But what you may not know is that your credit report may contain significant errors. According to the most recent Federal Trade Commission study [pdf], more than 20{7dabfd103aa443fce219eea47f0f346a11a54ce587a1a0cbb74f06b9f7a304ca} of all credit reports do. And if

Estimated read time 5 min read
Frugal Living, Saving Money & Life Hacks

How To Avoid Falling Into A Bad Credit Score

Building good credit is a years-long process, while destroying credit only takes a few bad decisions. With this in mind, it’s important for new credit users to avoid the many mistakes which lead to bad credit scores. Too often it seems inexperienced credit cardholders underestimate the ease through which bad credit can be acquired. For these folks – the young ones especially – we thought it necessary to highlight the five best ways to avoid a bad credit score: Maintain A Healthy Debt-To-Income Ratio Credit score criteria includes something called the debt-to-income ratio. Basically it’s all your monthly debt payments added up and compared to your gross monthly income. If the former makes up more than 25{7dabfd103aa443fce219eea47f0f346a11a54ce587a1a0cbb74f06b9f7a304ca} of the latter, then credit

Estimated read time 7 min read
Financial & Investment Tips

5 Questions Before Applying for a New Credit Card

Since the credit crunch in the midst of the latest recession, credit card solicitations have seen a significant increase. Unless you’ve opted out, and good luck with that, you’re probably getting junk mail from credit card issuers with invitations to apply for the latest credit card offers. Don’t get too excited, especially if you have bad credit and are seeing these invitations for the first time. The letter might say you’re pre-approved, but all that means is that you are pre-approved to apply. It’s highly rare that an issuer will run your credit and then send you an invitation to apply. In fact, it’s nearly impossible. Even if you’re at a bank branch like Wells Fargo and Chase,

Estimated read time 5 min read
Debt Management, Relief & Consolidation

Comparing Payday & Logbook Loans

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Logbook Loans and Payday Loans have grown in popularity as a financial solution in recent years. You might think that they both serve the same purpose by providing cash in a hurry when you need it, sometimes within hours – but there are important differences between them. We’ve compared them in detail here, with a quick-view summary at the bottom of the page. What’s the difference between a Payday Loan and a Logbook Loan? A Payday Loan is a short-term, high interest loan from £50 to £2,000 that you borrow against your next or next few wage payments. A Logbook Loan releases equity in a vehicle – a car or a van – of between £300 and £25,000