08
Dec 2007

ARM Freeze Agreement Does Not Help Everyone

On December 6, President Bush revealed a plan to help some borrowers with ARMs avoid a rate hike for 5 years. The plan is designed to help homeowners build equity and have time to improve their credit so that they can refinance to a mortgage loan with better terms.

The purpose is to prevent a foreclosure fallout that would affect entire neighborhoods and further decimate housing markets in several key cities. They key compromise though is that homeowners must not be delinquent in their payments.

Posted in Foreclosure | No Comments »
07
Dec 2007

Credit Cards Defy Interest Rate Cut

The Federal Reserve Board is expected to cut interest rates on December 11. This reduction normally is followed by interest rate reductions by major lenders.

Major credit card issuers normally adjust their rates accordingly within a 30 day time frame. However, it appears consumers will not see the relief this time.

Posted in Interest Rates | 1 Comment »
06
Dec 2007

Seek Credit Counseling Before Charge-offs

Credit counseling is marginally effective once all of your accounts have been charged off. The reason is that most of your options are off the table when your accounts are turned over to outside collections.

Experienced credit counselors are familiar with multiple techniques and strategies to eliminate credit card debt. Reputable agencies can help you understand all of your options. If you wait too long, then you only have a few options left.

Posted in Credit Counseling | No Comments »
05
Dec 2007

Credit Card Charge-offs Up 20 Percent

According to Collections & Credit Risk, credit card charge-offs rose 20% in the third quarter of 2007 over the same period in 2006. Bank of America, Chase, American Express and Citigroup set the pace with a combined $5.57 billion in charge-offs for the three months ending September, 2007.

This is less than the second quarter’s increase of 22%. Here is how the individual issuers fared.

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Posted in Credit Cards, Debt Collectors | No Comments »
04
Dec 2007

Senate to Debate Credit Card Rate Increases

The Senate is reexamining some of the common practices of credit card issuers. One item that is being scrutinized is the credit card rate increases resulting from reviews of your credit report.

Credit card issuers cite the need to balance increased risk with higher interest. They check your credit regularly to look for signs of financial weakness. Did you know that your rate could increase even if you never missed a payment?

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Posted in Credit Cards, Interest Rates | No Comments »
04
Dec 2007

Wake EITC Coalition Formed

Several Raleigh, NC based organizations have formed the Wake EITC Coalition to assist working families with income tax preparation and filing. The Family Resource Center of Raleigh, Fiscal Progress, Passage Home, AARP and the Triangle United Way have formed a partnership with Wake County Human Services and the Internal Revenue Service.

This partnership will help working families by providing free income tax preparation and electronic filing. Rather than paying for a refund anticipation loan, most refunds will be received within 10 days.

Posted in Taxes | No Comments »
03
Dec 2007

Newest Long-Term Care Trend: Mexico?

One of the newest trends in home health care is outside of the traditional long-term care business. Instead of paying premiums for long-term care insurance or forking over thousands of dollars a month for assisted living facilities, many retirees are moving to Mexico.

It is cheaper and rapidly gaining in popularity. However, there are also many risks involved with this largely unregulated industry.

Posted in Financial Planning | No Comments »
30
Nov 2007

Equifax and E-Book Fraud?

A new report by MSNBC examines a peculiar “coincidence” that involves Equifax and an E-book seller named Digismarket.com. Literally hundreds of internet shoppers have noticed unauthorized charges of $4.95 from Digismarket.com. The other connection many of them had was that they had also recently used those cards to purchase credit services through Equifax.

Equifax conducted an internal investigation and reported that there was no connection and no evidence of a data breach. However, hundreds of victims are convinced there is more to the story.

Posted in Identity Theft | No Comments »
29
Nov 2007

Mark Everson Resigns Under Pressure

The former IRS Commissioner known for scrutinizing many nonprofit credit counseling agencies has now been asked to resign from his most recent post. Mark Everson left the IRS to become President and CEO of the American Red Cross.

In as little as 6 months, Everson went from top IRS official to embattled nonprofit executive.

Posted in Credit Counseling, Taxes | 3 Comments »
28
Nov 2007

IRS Increases Mileage Rate to 50.5 for 2008

On November 27, the Internal Revenue Service released its official mileage rates for 2008. The standard rate will increase to 50.5 cents per mile for business miles driven.

This is up from 48.5 cents per mile for 2007. Medical or moving purpose mileage actually dropped from 20 cents to 19 cents per mile. Volunteer miles driven in service of charitable organizations remains at 14 cents per mile.

Posted in Taxes | No Comments »
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