Debt Fast Track

Maintaining a good credit score is critical in today’s world. We are used to the lending industry evaluating our credit worthiness based on our scores. However, these days, insurance companies and prospective employers, among others, are increasingly viewing credit scores to determine future risk.

If you remain unconvinced, spend some time talking to people who have lost their home. Often you will find that they heeded advice to use their home as leverage towards more risky investments. Now, the investments are worthless, and their homes are lost. Alternately, if you own your home outright, and are limiting your more high risk investments to funds that you can truly afford to lose, you are financially secure.

 Once again, there is discouraging news on the home sales front.  February 2011 home sales numbers are among the weakest ever, taking a 16.9% plunge, with the lowest reading on record since we started tracking such things in 1963.  Foreclosure sales continue to drive prices down.  Confidence among builders have taken another huge hit.  To [...]

The notion of building fortunes using other peoples money, or even our homes, became so popular that we allowed ourselves to completely disregard the inherent risks of investing. In the mean time, the basic building blocks of financial security, such as paying off your mortgage, eliminating your debt, 6 months of emergency reserves, living within your means, etc. became the laughing stock of the financial industry. No one is laughing any more.

Making the proper financial adjustments now can lead to financial security and restored retirement savings sooner than you think. Not making the adjustments will only prolong the pain and financial stress, perhaps for the rest of your life. By changing a few non-essential things in your financial life, chances are good that stress can be reduced, savings can be built, and financial security can once again be yours.

Think we have financial turmoil in the US? A quick look across the pond will show that the Europeans are at a critical crossroads as they consider the best options to help bankrupt Greece. This is the equivalent of the US bailouts times 100. Is there a country that is too big to fail? For [...]

Barak Obama and Chris Dodd are still at it, giving speeches and acting for the world like their 1,300 page finance reform package will give us consumer protection that is necessary to save the future. There is one element of this proposal that once again does not pass the initial sniff test…it has to be [...]

I thought much of President Obama’s speech today pushing the Dodd financial reform package was spot on. We do need more transparency in the fine print of financial institutions. We also need more clarity in guidelines and regulations. When he told us that executives should not receive high bonuses when they are taking taxpayer dollars, [...]

Implementation of new credit card rules mandated by Congress becomes effective today (2/22/10) 9 months after President Obama signed legislation on 5/22/09.  Credit card issuers now have to send bills at least 21 days before the cardholder’s due date and they must also provide at least 45 days notice before changing any significant terms on [...]

…about mortgage rates permanently increasing.  Over the last month, including the Christmas season, mortgage interest rates have been steadily on the rise.  Mortgage Bonds are trading lower once again this morning.   However, this doesn’t come as too much of a surprise, as we have been discussing the inevitable move higher in rates.  The Fed is [...]