Borrowing

How long have you been searching for your new home? The latest Housing Trends Report from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) suggests that you’ve been looking for a while and may be getting frustrated in the process. You may be coming down with the homebuyer’s blues. Potential homebuyers are being squeezed in multiple
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Have you missed enough credit card payments that your creditor has contacted you about your debt? If so, you aren’t alone. According to survey results from the February 2019 PYMNTS.com Financial Invisibles Report, almost two in five (36.3%) respondents had been contacted by a creditor regarding an outstanding debt. How did many of them resolve
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If you need money and have bad credit, payday loans may seem like your only option. Payday loans are inherently risky – and expected payday loan regulation changes have been delayed, keeping the risk relatively high. Payday loans are relatively small loans (often $500 or less) that are paid back in a short period of
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Your checking account is a tempting target for thieves. You must stay alert for the many varieties of checking account scams – but first, you must be able to recognize a scam when you see one. Have you ever been targeted by any of the scams below? Free Prizes – This scam usually starts with
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No More Collegiate Debt Could the next drag on America’s economy come from student loans?According to StudentLoanHero.com, America’s student loan debt burden hit $1.56 trillion – more than any other kind of household debt except for mortgages. Student loans are one of the most pervasive debts. The Department of Education offers assistance programs, but participants
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According to the New York Fed’s latest Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit, America’s student loan debt burden has reached a staggering $1.44 trillion as of September 2018. Has that burden kept younger Americans from buying homes? A new Federal Reserve study suggests that educational debt isn’t the primary reason for the homeownership decline,
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When it comes to dealing with risk, America’s housing market struggles with balance. How can lenders offer affordable home mortgages for more Americans and still maintain proper safeguards? The Great Recession was driven in part by overly risky loans that were packaged as securities and sold to investors who were unaware of the underlying risk.
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You don’t have any financial issues to hide from your partner … do you? According to a new survey from CreditCards.com, almost 1 in 5 of us does. The survey found that 19% of Americans have at least one financial account that they hide from their spouse or live-in partner – either banking or credit
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Debt is a major barrier to financial well-being among Americans. While we tend to think of debt as an issue affecting young and middle-aged people, the truth is that senior citizens carry debt, too. Among seniors approaching retirement, debt can be an obstacle to maximizing savings. Retirees living on a reduced income may find debt
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Are you having trouble getting a date? Could be your rap, your looks, or your excessive debt. According to a recent survey by Finder.com, 72% of respondents say they would re-think a relationship with a partner in significant debt. (That’s similar to the percentage in last year’s Finder.com survey, so don’t expect debt to
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Survey Suggests Economic Overconfidence If the economy is so great and unemployment is so low, why do so many Americans live paycheck to paycheck? And why don’t we seem to care? The February PYMNTS.com Financial Invisibles Report attempts to answer these questions, noting, “For three consecutive quarters, consumers have been optimistic about their financial futures
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The Shutdown’s Housing Market Woes It’s a great time to buy a home, and you’re ready. You’ve saved up a suitable down payment, found a home, and settled on a lender. As an added bonus, interest rates are at their lowest point in the last nine months – despite the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes.
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Identity thieves have many ways to steal your money – including fraudulent tax returns. They file a return in your name as early as possible to beat your legitimate return, with fake financial data designed to claim a large refund. You won’t realize this until your tax return is denied because there’s already been a
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According to the latest Household Debt and Credit Report from the New York Federal Reserve, America’s total household debt has surpassed $13.5 trillion. Do you sometimes feel like $13 trillion of that debt is yours? Based on a recent survey by LightStream, almost one-quarter (23%) of Americans believe that it’s nearly impossible to climb out
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Is 2019 the year you finally buy that starter home? Are you upgrading or downsizing to a new home? Are you interested in how your home value is likely to change over the next year? We offer these 2019 housing market predictions to consider as you review your housing plans for the year. Inventory Will
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Your Christmas gift from the Federal Reserve is here. Surprise! It’s another 0.25% hike in the Federal Funds rate. Sure, you’ve already gotten this same gift three other times in 2018, and nine times since late 2015 – but what else would you expect to receive from the Fed? Interest rate hikes from the Fed
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Times aren’t great in the mortgage refinancing market. According to the October 2018 Origination Insights Report from mortgage application software provider Ellie Mae, refinancing homes make up 32% of October’s closed mortgages – continuing a drop in refis that began five to six months prior. It’s likely that mortgage rate increases are to blame for
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Does your wallet take a bigger hit during the holiday season? If so, you aren’t alone. According to a recent study by LendingTree, more consumers fall behind on their bills in December than in any other month. LendingTree reviewed anonymized credit report data from October 2017 through September 2018 and broke down the percentages of
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The Pool Is Shrinking A home equity loan or line of credit (HELOC) can be a useful financial management tool – but only if you have the available equity to take advantage of it. Do you know how much you could borrow against your home if you had to? Black Knight’s October 2018 Mortgage Monitor
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Our prior article, 5 Steps To Be Your Own Mogul – Part 1, covers the first three steps to manage your finances like a business. Below we present the final two steps. 4. Forecasting If you have performed the budget exercise and broken your expenses out into categories, you can start to highlight areas
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Why not take some financial pointers from the business world and apply them to your personal finances? Whether you are a party of one or a family of four, it pays to be fiscally agile. Some of the longest financial plays in the business world today are small businesses that perennially stay afloat and drive
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