Buying things on credit cards has never been easier and consumers have taken advantage. Experian reports that the average household has $16,000+ in debt other than mortgages. Online shopping is ubiquitous; Ebay has just announced that they will be no longer accepting checks and will only accept credit card purchases and PayPal […]

Popularity: 21% [?]

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Back in July, one of Kristy’s blog posts urged readers to speak up and comment on credit card rules. Well, it appears that at least some of your comments were heard, as the bill that would abolish unpopular credit card industry practices passed a key U.S. House committee test recently, moving it toward a vote […]

Popularity: 19% [?]

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However, the bandwagon better be a hybrid, horse-drawn or get pretty darn good gas mileage to qualify.
I know “going green” is a buzzword of the times, but “green auto loans” sounds to me more like something sold on the Vegas strip. I like the way the marketing types make it sound though, “loan products […]

Popularity: 19% [?]

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Although I do have some empathy for the tremendous financial losses that many of our banking institutions are facing with the credit crunch, I’d have to say this is pretty underhanded. One of the latest ways banks have found to boost revenue includes jacked up fees and policies that have been re-written to maximize […]

Popularity: 18% [?]

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I know, your mother always told you to “focus on the positive” and that is stellar advice. But it’s possible your house includes all the “Top Ten Homebuyer Turn-Ons” (OK, guess I have to create this list next) but what if it also has some significant “turn-offs”? Have no fear, here is a great list […]

Popularity: 19% [?]

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That’s right, this is one of the “better” provisions included in the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, the much-hyped legislation which became law in late July of this year. Otherwise known as the “First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit”, the provision gives homebuyers yet one more $7500 reason that it might be a good time […]

Popularity: 23% [?]

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Many times consumers will open up a line of credit hoping to rebuild their credit. it will do you no good if the creditor does not report your payment history to the credit bureaus. Creditors are not required to report anything to the credit bureaus by law. The only requirement is […]

Popularity: 22% [?]

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In April, I published a blog post covering a New York Times story about outsourcing collection calls to India. In this article I maintained that any violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), harrassing phone calls, threats, revealing information about the debt to someone who is not the debtor would be the […]

Popularity: 21% [?]

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Do you even know what generation you belong to? More importantly, do you care?
Generations are extended periods of time that are connected with pop culture. Probably the most well known and talked about is the “baby boomer” generation; you know, the aging hippies born between 1943-1964 (or so). Their kids? Generation X (1965-1979) and Generation […]

Popularity: 20% [?]

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That’s right, studies show that a potential home buyer makes up their mind within the first 8 seconds of seeing the outside of a home whether to take the next step, or just drive on by. With the inventory of homes listed for sale at record highs, that’s a lot of competition. Given a limited […]

Popularity: 22% [?]

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