As of May 2002, consumers had about $712.2 billion outstanding in revolving credit, up about 6.8% from the previous year. Some of this credit is paid off each month; however, about 60% of U.S. households revolve some portion of their credit card balances. For those that revolve, the Federal Reserve Board reported that their balances were $4,100 in 1998. Other estimates show credit card balances as high as $8,000 in 2000 (McGinn et al. 2001). One out of five families with incomes under $50,000 spend at least 40% of after-tax income on debt servicing (Kennickell, Starr-McCluer, and Surette 2000). Needless to say, money spent on credit card debt is money that cannot go toward retirement savings. (more…)

If your debt problem is not totally out of control, why not handle it yourself? It never hurts to ask lenders to lower your interest rates. Interest rates typically are not reported to credit bureaus. Some lenders may lower the rate to keep your business.

Do you want to be debt free? Do you want to be to travel the country and around the world without having to pay the bills? (more…)

The median price of a home as you read this article was running over $200,000. Don’t forget to throw in maintenance, insurance, and property taxes. To see if you can afford a home, with a mortgage, why not do the calculations that lenders do—before you get in over your head? (more…)

Intuitively, many people know that if interest rates are low is not the time to spare, and if interest rates are high is not the time to invest (at least borrowing). Therefore, people are always outstanding read the newspaper, listen to the news on television and listen to renowned economists to know your views on the future of interest rates. (more…)

Do you want to be treated like a VIP when entering a car dealership; and so you can get a pre-approved auto loan easily? The amount of money you could pay for car payment has saved significantly for lower other monthly bills easily. (more…)

Is it something wrong with buying a car on credit? The answer is obvious. Unlike a house, you new shinny car are losing its value starting the day you buy it. The value is dropping even more as you use it. If you buy a car on credit, there is a substantial interest payments on that rapidly decrease in value. And besides those hard facts, you still need to pay steep costs for insurance, registration and maintenance of an other expensive fee by just having car. (more…)

There’s no denying that college is expensive, but with some planning, budgeting, and these 5 simple tips, you’ll discover that funding an education might be easier than you think. And whether you’re saving for yourself or saving for your children, following these five basic guidelines will help make sure you can pay for one of the most important investments you’ll ever make. (more…)

The developed world’s population is indebted to a level never seen before, with the majority of people owing money to banks and other financial institutions. Mortgages and home loans account for a large part of this record debt - after all, with the recently ended surge in property prices, how on earth could the average person ever afford to buy without getting deeply into debt? (more…)

Debt management is increasingly becoming a necessity in our lives. It refers to the proper planning and organization of finances in order to keep a minimum debt balance. Debt management aims at lowering our debt and helping us maintain our credit rating.

Up until recently, it was extremely easy to obtain credit, (more…)

Humans are habit prone. That is why we have to be careful in how we use our credit cards. Those who are good a restraint and will power activities are in fewer numbers or so it would seem. So here are six habits you must avoid in order to keep from digging yourself deep in credit card debt.

Avoid teaser rates. It has been shown that we tend to focus on the low interest teaser rates without considering the consequences before we sign up for a credit card. (more…)