Credit and Debt Blog

Credit card issuers have been more than happy to take advantage of the subprime mortgage debacle. They know that distressed homeowners will often run up credit card balances rather than fall behind on a mortgage payment. As many of the adjustable rate mortgages reset their fees, many homeowners tried to keep up by charging living [...]

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Tired of getting those pre-approved card offers? You may have found that you can opt out of these offers by calling 888-5-OPT-OUT. This works across all 3 main credit bureaus. Some mortgage brokers say that this has another unintended affect. They claim that it can give you a couple of extra points on your credit [...]

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This month, numerous debt settlement operations received restraining orders from the Federal Trade Commission. They cited The Debt Settlement Company, The Debt Elimination Center, Money Helps, Edge Solutions, and Pay Help, Inc. All of these companies marketed debt relief through the Debt Meltdown Program. These were operated by Miriam and Robert Lovinger. This is not [...]

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Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM), also called reverse mortgages, are one of the hottest products available to the increasing number of baby boomers entering retirement. In order to assess whether a reverse mortgage is right for you, you should understand the costs and benefits associated with a reverse mortgage. First, consider the benefits of a [...]

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If you have ever fallen behind on your credit cards, you have probably received a few courtesy phone calls as a reminder to make your minimum payment. If you have found yourself a month or more behind, then you may have realized that it is time to seek credit counseling. Once all of your credit [...]

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Maybe you thought that your financial shortfall would be temporary. Perhaps it was. What many people find is that being maxed out presents a new list of challenges. We evaluated the situations of hundreds of clients to list the most common challenges being faced once a family finds themselves maxed out. These are the results [...]

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If you have experienced calls from debt collectors, you know how frustrating and embarrassing these calls can be. They come morning, afternoon and evening seven days a week. Not even Sunday is a day of rest for debt collectors. Many debt collectors routinely will reveal information about your debt to employers, neighbors, relatives and family [...]

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Late fees on credit cards have increased steadily throughout the past ten years. Most credit card issuers have begun raising their late fees to as high as $39. If you have been late on your first credit card payment, then there are ways to get around it. Did you know that most major credit card [...]

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One of the common questions that many of our readers ask is “how do I eliminate debt?” There are many ways to do this, but it all starts with your decision to follow through with a plan. You have to decide that eliminating debt is important enough to temporarily give up a few liberties. The [...]

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You may have pulled your credit report and paid extra to see your credit score. Perhaps you were happy with it; maybe you expected it to be higher. What few people realize is that the credit bureaus do not supply you with an actual credit score. It does not match the score supplied to lenders [...]

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