If youre one of the many people struggling to rebuild your credit, chances are good that credit card offers have stopped flooding the mailbox. Lenders continue to be weary of subprime borrowers, having suffered big losses during the recent financial crisis. However, debt-collectors are appealing to riskier borrowers by offering them credit cards with a catch.
A recent Wall Street Journal article outlines the controversial partnership between debt collectors and banks. Banks allow debt collection agencies to use their license with MasterCard in exchange for fees and higher-than-average interest rates on the new cards. Basically, borrowers are offered these credit cards in exchange for the payment of old debts that have expired under the statute of limitations.
In some cases, the borrower is only obligated to pay a partial amount, while others are on the hook for the full amount. These partnerships are growing in popularity as debt collectors seek to recoup losses. However, federal authorities have scrutinized certain offers due to their deceptive nature.
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My blog about trying to set up a Facebook app to allow my friends to share my Citi ThankYou rewards points was featured in this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance.
Hosted by Diva in Debt, the 344th edition of the carnival selected bloggers Matt About Money Intelligent Speculator and One Cent for Editor’s Choice honors. A blog carnival is a compilation of the best blogs about a particular topic. Each week, a different blogger acts as host and selects what he or she feels are the best blogs related to that topic.
The Carnival of Personal Finance focuses on managing money, credit, budgeting, finance, real estate and saving.
A foreclosure hardship letter is an integral part of Loan Modification or Short Sale package. When homeowners are facing foreclosure, these documents are submitted to the Loss Mitigation Department of the mortgage lender. Loan modifications are offered to homeowners who have the financial ability to become current on delinquent payments. Short sales are offered to homeowners who do not have the financial means to pay their mortgage payments. Lenders who accept short sales offers agree to accept less than is owed on the mortgage note.
For most people, the foreclosure hardship letter is the most difficult aspect of loan modification or short sale procedures. It can be excruciatingly painful to express on paper the circumstances which caused the homeowner to fall behind on their mortgage payments. Many people are intimidated by the hardship letter. They don’t know what to say or how to format the letter so it is easy to read and understand.
Keep in mind, foreclosures and short sales are handled by the Loss Mitigation Department of your lender. E
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Gambling debt is not only a pecuniary responsibility; it is also an early sign of an addiction to gambling. There are a handful means to get by the financial problem of gambling debt, yet you may want to look into your gambling lifestyle to steer clear of a further upsurge on debt as well.
1. Speak with the casinos where you gamble to learn about how much you exactly owe them. Such circumstances also deem accounting for whatever loans you put your name down for to fund your gambling.
2. Create a list of supplementary resources of funding that you utilized to compensate for gambling. A number of gamblers obtain money out of family savings accounts and college funds. You will want to strive to return the money into such funds past the repayment to loan companies and casinos.
3. Establish a payment timetable in order to cope with paying off gambling establishments. Interest rates differ from casino to casino, but you can perhaps try to reach a deal for lower rates if you concur to pay higher sums.
4. Become a member of a gambling support group.
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Whats the best way to save money and pay off debt in 2012? We talked to seven personal finance experts who weighed in with their best money advice for the new year.
Bill Losey, retirement strategist, Wilton, N.Y.:
If you haven’t already, it’s time to automate your savings. If you’re not good at stashing money away, having a certain amount automatically taken from your checking account and placed in your savings account can help you regularly set money aside.
Losey recommends saving at least 1 percent of each pay period’s earnings. When you get a raise, add an extra percent to your savings, and spend the rest.
“This way youll continually increase your savings rate while enjoying a higher standard of living,” he says.
Candace Bahr, co-founder of the nonprofit Womens Institute for Financial Education, WIFE.org:
“Start the new year right by increasing your regular investment in your tax-deferred retirement plan at work, such as a 401(k) plan,” Bahr says.
You won’t have to pay taxes on your investment or earnings in a 401(k) until you withdraw them at retirement, so your savings have a chance to grow faster than an after-tax plan would. Plus, because the
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Mobile phone applications, like Square and Intuits GoPayment, let anyone receive credit card payments. Having a garage sale? You can now use your iPhone or Android phone to receive payments, just like a big-time merchant. Selling stuff at a farmers market or flea market? Whip out your iPhone with the Square or GoPayment apps and let your customers say charge it. One problem is that it can take time to set up your new merchant account to let you receive funds from these transactions. Intuit claims to have made it even easier, with the launch of their GoPayment Prepaid Visa Card. With the new GoPayment prepaid card, users of the GoPayment mobile application can quickly get set up to receive money from their customers. The money you get from your customer gets loaded onto the GoPayment Visa card, and you can access the cash by withdrawing it from an ATM machine, or by using your GoPayment Visa card to buy stuff at other merchants.
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