The Advantages of Credit Cards
There are many evils associated with credit cards, but there are benefits that are hard to ignore. One benefit is having the credit card company act in your behalf to recover funds from a disputed transaction. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act the credit card company has to investigate the dispute and either take the charge off your bill or explain why it is correct. Even better, you don’t have to pay the portion of the credit-card bill or related interest charges while the dispute is being investigated.
The types of blling disputes/errors covered by the Fair Credit Billing Act are:
- Charges that list the wrong date or amount.
- Charges for goods and services you didn’t accept or weren’t delivered as agreed.
- Math errors.
- Failure to post payments and other credits, such as returns.
- Unauthorized charges.
Before you dispute any of issues you must first contact the retailer and try to settle the dispute. If they ignore you, or the dispute is not settled then contact the credit card company. Usually you need to have your dispute in writing to the credit card company. The address for billing disputes is different then the address to send payments. The billing dispute address can be found on the back of your monthly statement. If it cannot be found, call the credit card company’s customer service for the billing dispute address. You usually only have a certain number of days to dispute the billing error so make sure you mail in your dispute before the deadline.
Top Ten Reasons People File for Bankruptcy
1. Eliminate the legal obligation to pay many of your debts.
This process of wiping the slate clean is called a discharge of debts. The goal of a discharge is to reduce debt to give you a fresh start. Whether it is through straight bankruptcy (Chapter 7 Bankruptcy) or through reorganization (Chapter 13 Bankruptcy), most or all of your debts can be cleared.
2. Stop foreclosure on you house and allow you to effectively make payments to catch up on missed payments of your mortgage.
If your home is in foreclosure, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy will stop the foreclosure any time prior to the sale. Bankruptcy does not eliminate mortgages on your property without payment. Rather, bankruptcy will structure a plan in order to repay your mortgage arrears (the amount that you are behind).
3. Prevent your car or other property from being repossessed.
Even if the creditor has repossessed your car, filing bankruptcy can effectively force them to return your car or other personal property (if the bankruptcy is filed quickly enough). The past payments you have missed will be consolidated into your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy plan. After this you will no longer pay the finance company, rather you will make monthly payments to the trustee of your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy who will then pay the finance company.
Doing a California Refinance Online
Californians are passionate people. I know. I have lived in California my whole life: From the smoggy basins of Los Angeles, to, well, the smoggy basins of Sacramento. I’ve traveled highway 101, I’ve smelled the glory of the Redwoods, and I’ve experienced the confusion of the Terminator becoming governor. Without turning into a pop-song, I’ve done it all California-style, and that even includes, moving through the exciting process of doing a California Refinance Online!
Okay, so it’s not exactly as poetic or as exciting as I’m making it out to be, but a California Refinance conducted online does not make you a bad Californian. It makes you a smart consumer, and if it’s important for you to keep your business local, then there’s no need to shy away from your monitor. You can still do it all in your pajamas.
In the next few moments, I’m going to cover some basics to ease your worries and calm your nerves about using the internet to gain access to local money.
1. You are in Total Control.
2. Some Important Online Information
3. Keeping it Local!
4. Start Broad, And then Narrow Your Search.
Love The Thrill of Risk? Invest in an Annuity!
With the stock market in steep decline, people are looking for safe places to invest their savings. Many banks and investment companies are pushing annuities. Annuities offer a higher interest rate than CD’s, but are they safe?
You could view an annuity as a tax deferred CD. You don’t pay taxes on the interest until you start drawing from the annuity. But there are some important differences between an annuity and a CD.
An annuity is a product offered by an insurance company. With giant corporations like Enron, Kmart, Worldcom, and United Airlines going bankrupt, can you guarantee that the insurance company won’t fold, leaving you with nothing? Insurance companies are insured by re-insurers, like General Re. But it seems no matter how large a company is, you can’t be sure it won’t fold. The bankruptcy of a large insurance company might cause the re-insurer to collapse along with it.
Bank CD’s are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) for up to $100,000 per bank. The FDIC is a branch of the U.S. Government, who, as you know, are the people who print the money. If they go bankrupt, we’ll have more to worry about than just losing our savings!
Cash Advance Payday Loans: Yes The Rates Are Higher!
Typically Cash Advance Payday Loans have no credit checks, and a very minimal amount of paper work.
They are mainly concerned that you are, whom you say, you are. And, that you have the income, and the ability, to pay back the loan. And, that you have a checking account.
Cash advance loans are designed for emergency situations! When you are short on cash and need money fast! Family emergencies, unexpected car repairs, overdrafts, telephone reconnection, unexpected bill, etc.
The Cash Advance Payday Loan industry is the subject of much criticism. Most of it coming from members of the regular established lending industry, banks and credit unions. This is because of the interest rates and fees involved with these short-term payday loans.
Typically if you receive a $100 Cash Advance? 7 to 14 days later you will be required to pay back about $125.
That may not sound so bad, especially if you really needed that $100 at the time, and know you can easily pay it back plus the extra $25 when you get paid from your job.
California Bad Credit Mortgage
California is a beautiful place to live There is no doubt about that. But, to live in California you must pay the price, which is sky high real estate prices. Renting, as opposed to buying in California, can save a little bit of money. However, renting has the disadvantage of not building any equity. As home prices in California continue to rise, you may want to be a homeowner and take advantage of the home appreciation factor. If you’re going to be paying a lot of money to live in California anyway, you might as well be making some money on top of it too, right?
Now, if you have bad credit and are trying to get a home loan for California home prices, this may seem like an impossible situation. Home prices are high and if you already have poor credit, the fact that you need to be approved for such a high loan amount can be an added difficulty when trying to get a home loan.
However, there is hope. There are so many programs available today to help people with recent bankruptcys, collections and even foreclosures, obtain mortgage financing. There are nationwide mortgage service companies that can either approve you directly or get you in touch with a lender who can approve you.
How To Choose A Credit Card
Your credit score may just be a little number, but it packs a big punch. A poor credit score can keep you from getting a mortgage or a car loan. In addition, your credit score may haunt you for a long time if it suddenly drops. Of course, if you have a good credit score it opens a lot of doors for you. This is just one reason why it is important to think about which credit card you apply for before you do.
Every time you apply for a credit card, the company has to check your credit score. This is a bad thing. Numerous inquiries from credit card companies look bad on your credit report because it looks as though you are scrambling to open lines of credit, which can be a sign that you are struggling financially. Of course, this may not be the case. However, credit scoring companies all look at it the same way.
Beta Factors: How They Can Be Used In The Current Situation
Ever since the turn of the century, world stock markets have been very volatile. In other words there have been significant movements (up or down) in share prices. This phenomenon has been evidenced by the collapse in recent years of the share prices of the dot com companies (e.g. Yahoo, Amazon etc.) and the sharp falls in the share prices of telecommunication stocks (e.g. British Telecom, Marconi etc.). Yet despite these events there is very little emphasis placed on measuring the volatility of stocks.
The aim of this article is to explain one method of measuring the volatility namely beta factors and how investors can interpret this information. The article aims to state how investors can use beta factor analysis to their advantage when there are political uncertainties affecting markets. Though some stockbroker firms calculate the beta factors of certain stocks quoted in their respective stock exchanges, investors have little access to these figures. In more developed markets many stockbroker firms do have access to beta factors but it is only in recent years that investors have access to this information.
BETA FACTORS:
Secured Personal Loans - What You Need To Know About
Loans that are secured against property are called secured personal loans. They are suitable for when you are having difficulties getting an unsecured personal loan, are trying to raise a large amount, or you just have a bad/poor credit history. Usually, lenders are more flexible when it comes to secured personal loans, which makes them worth taking into consideration if you want to buy a new car, make home improvements, or take the luxury holiday of your life.
Here is a list of benefits of a secured personal loan:
You have lower monthly repayments than an unsecured personal loan
You can borrow more money
Repayments can be spread over a longer period of time
Because a secured personal loan is a type of loan available to people with securable assets (usually homes), they are often referred to as ‘homeowner loans’ or just ‘home loans’.
To be eligible for secured personal loans you don’t even have to own your own home outright. You can put the proportion of the home that you own up as a security, if you have a mortgage.
Buying A Home After Bankruptcy - Get A Mortgage Loan After Bankruptcy
If you have a recent bankruptcy on your credit and are looking to get financing for a home, there is hope. Buying a home with bad credit will just put more emphasis on the other two factors needed to get a mortgage loan, which are; income verification and a down payment.
After bankruptcy most lenders want you to wait at least 2 years from the time of the bankruptcy discharge before they will consider you for a mortgage loan. After the two year waiting period is over, you should be able to get financing easily. You should also be able to get 100% financing as well. You can usually achieve this as long as at least most of your payments have been reported to the credit bureau as having been paid on time since the discharge of your bankruptcy.
If you are looking to get a mortgage loan after bankruptcy sooner than the 2 years from the time of discharge, you will need to have almost flawless payment history since your bankruptcy discharge. Also, you may need to have a down payment. If you have even 3-5% to use as a down payment, that may be enough to help you get approved.
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