Beware of LendingTree® Loans

So, I decided to try and consolidate my credit card debt via a LendingTree® loan.

Bad idea. I did not get approved.

========

They lure you in with words like "No hidden fees," "No points," "No collateral required," and "Borrow up to $35,000."

Then, when you initiate the loan request at LendingTree.com, you'll be asked to submit all kinds of personal information, like:

• What's your employment status?
  
  
• What do you need the money for?
  
  
• How much do you want to borrow?
  
  
• Estimate your credit score
  
  
• How quickly do you need the money?
  
  

And they'll want you to submit your most sensitive personal information too, like your Social Security number, your address, your current and former employers, etc.

You'll be presented with a list of potential lenders and their terms (maximum loan amount, interest rate, monthly payment, etc.) 

So, despite having a very good FICO® credit score (780), the bank I chose, First Midwest Loan (www.firstmidwest.com) did not approve my application.

Why?  Well, 1) They did not like the fact that I am self-employed and 2) They asked me to submit 2 years of tax returns, which I did not have (The online tax preparer I used promised to save all my returns, but they didn't.) 

So, If you're going to apply for a loan online, be sure you are ready to submit your tax documents.

And if you are self-employed: good luck.

========

Of course, applying for this loan resulted in a hard inquiry, so my credit scores will almost certainly experience significant dings.

========

Does LendingTree sell your personal / sensitive information?

Well, there's a link at the bottom of the First Midwest Loan homepage that reads, "Do Not Sell My Personal Information."  When you click this link, you are taken to a page that says:

"...Residents of California have certain rights regarding the sale of personal information to third parties. First Midwest Bank, our affiliates, and service providers use information collected through cookies or in forms to improve the experience on our site and pages, to analyze how our site is used, and to present personalized advertising.

At any point, you can opt-out of the sale of your personal information by selecting Do Not Sell my Personal Information.

You can find more information and how to manage your privacy choices by reviewing our California Consumer Privacy Disclosures located on our Privacy information page by following the link on the bottom of any page..."

In other words, unless you visit the bank's opt out page and waste a significant amount of time filling out the opt out form, your personal / sensitive information can be sold to...Whoever....

========

Borrowers: Beware

========

--> www.FedPrimeRate.com Privacy Policy <-- --> SITEMAP <--

Income Sharing: An Excellent Alternative To Student Loans

As a person who suffered with extremely oppressive student loan debt for many years, I found this NBR segment out of Purdue University very cool:

--> www.FedPrimeRate.com Privacy Policy <-- --> SITEMAP <--

Have Fun While Paying Down Debt and Save Money

SaveUp.com

Need some extra motivation to save money and pay down your debt?  SaveUp.com may be the site for you.

SavdeUp.com gives its members the opportunity to win cash and prizes for doing the right thing with your money, i.e. paying down all types of debt (credit card, mortgage, auto, etc.) and increasing your savings. 

The site is completely free; it makes money by collecting fees from partners.

How it works: you connect your accounts to SaveUp via a secure process.  Then, as you save money and pay down debt, you earn credits.  These credits can then be used to participate in the site's rewards program, i.e.

Here's a sampling of prizes won at SaveUp.com:

• A credit card payment

• A mortgage payment

• An Apple iPad 2
• A gift card to Chipotle, Starbucks,Banana Republic, Best Buy, Target, T.J. Maxx, NFLShop.com, Southwest Airlines, Amazon.com, Wal-mart, Etsy, Costco, etc.
• 1 Year of Netflix
• Cash towards an IRA or Roth IRA
• Financial Planning Consultation.
• Ninja Pro blender
• An oil change
• An energy bill payment
• Valentine's Day fund prize
• Cash towards a travel fund
• Holiday savings prize
• Cash (my favorite!)

Have I tried SaveUp.com?  No.

I'm very paranoid about sharing my banking details with any site, even with all the state-of-the-art security features sites like SaveUp have in place.

In the news, I'm constantly hearing and reading stories of sites getting hacked, and huge batches of credit card numbers getting stolen (example.) 

Back in 2011, my Facebook account was hacked.  My Google account was compromised soon after.  Needless to say, I don't use Facebook anymore (I'm perfectly happy sticking with Google Plus.)

So, if you're comfortable sharing your sensitive details with SaveUP,  give the site a try, and let us know what you think in the comments section below.

If you like SaveUp.com, you may also like PayOff.com.

Comments are always welcome.

--> www.FedPrimeRate.com Privacy Policy <-- --> SITEMAP <--

Montel Williams Will Still Loan You Money: How To Inherit An Elderly Relative's Credit Card Debt

The first thing I noticed the day I moved in with my grandmother was Montel Williams sitting on top of her unopened mail.

She's been in and out of the hospital over the past few months. After 84 years, her body just isn't holding together anymore. Worse, her memory and cognition are becoming unreliable. She was in terrible shape when my parents first hospitalized her, in denial about how poorly she was taking care of herself and the three-bedroom house my father built for her. Dirty dishes in the cabinets, a layer of dust over all the furniture, floors stained with what could only be dried vomit or worse... but she insisted that she could still take care of herself.

When she was first admitted to the hospital, my mother started handling her bills. Many of them were months overdue or, more worrying, paid more than once in the same period. One of the overdue bills was a credit card statement from Capital One, a card that my grandmother denied having, a card that was still being used while she was in the hospital. When my mother said she was going to report the card stolen, my grandmother admitted the card was hers. She'd given it to a neighbor who said they needed money. One of her “friends,” like Montel Williams.

Leafing through pages and pages of my grandmother's credit history, we were horrified to find that the $500 Capital One card was the least of her credit card secrets. At one time, she owed Bank of America a little over $20,000, but that account had been in collections for almost two years, purchased by a company called Asset Acceptance, that had bumped her debt all the way to $28,000 and put a lien on her home, the one my father built for her just a few years ago.

The envelope with Montel Williams on it was from a company called MoneyMutual. Montel promised, “Get up to $500 deposited into your account by tomorrow!” The information in the envelope was confidential, exclusively for the “member,” and assured my 84-year-old grandmother, who believes the city inspects her garbage for recycling and will fine her if they find any, “Your Emergency Cash Card has been activated and is ready for you to use. Keep it in your wallet or near your computer so that your personal Reservation Number is always handy.” Much like the neighbor running up her Capital One card, Montel Williams was her “friend,” always ready to lend her money if she needed it. On the back of the MoneyMutual letter, the fine print reads, “www.MyMoneyMutualNow.com is not a lender, an agent, a broker, or a representative of a lender, and does not make cash advances or lending decisions. MyMoneyMutualNow.com will provide your information to lender(s) that offer short term loan products.” In other words, MoneyMutual would happily give my grandmother's name and finances to whoever was swimming in the low end of the shark pool. Thanks, Montel.

My grandmother lives on food stamps and social security checks, but companies like Aspire Visa, Bank of America, HSBC, Chase, Upfront Rewards and even Barclays Bank of Delaware have been extending her enormous credit lines over the past five years. She had limits as high as $15,000 dollars on some of these cards, which she would use and then roll onto another card as soon as she had trouble making the payments. Some time during 2009, she stopped being able to keep track of which cards were canceled and which were due, and stopped paying all of them. The companies wrote off the debts, and various collection companies scooped them, including Asset Acceptance, a collection agency notorious for its tactics. The lien on the house is likely their doing, but my grandmother can't tell us anything about how it happened.

According to a recent article on the New York Times website, heavy credit card debt among the elderly is exploding in recent years, with seniors “regularly swiping cards to pay for things like gas and groceries.” The balances pile up, leaving it difficult for them to cope by themselves. The same article cites a study by Demos, a public policy research organization: “The growing reliance on plastic has driven the average credit card debt for people over 65 to $10,235.” My grandmother owes three times that amount.

A few years ago, when my grandmother was just starting her life in Florida, she mentioned a few of the credit card offers she'd accepted as though it wasn't a big deal. “I asked my lawyer, and he said that no one has to pay those bills after I die. So why not?” My parents were skeptical, but neither of them believed a credit card company would extend much credit to an old woman on social security. I tried to tell them that these same credit card companies extended credit to freshman college students living off SallieMae loans.

My grandmother's lawyer was only half right. In a column posted on www.creditcards.com, a woman named Roberta wrote in asking about a similar situation with her elderly mother's credit card debt. Roberta's mother and my grandmother are both what Harry S. Margolis, Boston Attorney and president of ElderLawAnswers (http://www.elderlawanswers.com/), call, “'Judgment proof,' meaning the credit card companies may be able to sue her, but they can't collect anything if there's nothing to collect.” Credit card debt is unsecured debt, which is why collection agencies will try so hard to convince you to pay them. Unsecured debt won't live on after my grandmother's death, but somewhere between running up almost $30,000 in credit debt and now, that unsecured debt became firmly anchored by her house through a lawsuit or a home equity line of credit she doesn't remember agreeing to through a lien. When the house passes completely to my father, the lien and her $30,000 worth of debt will go with it.

Every morning, I remind my grandmother to take her pills, and every morning, she asks a short while later whether she took them or not. Despite a failing memory, she gets mail almost daily from her “friend,” Montel Williams, who wants her to borrow more money. Her calendar on the refrigerator still shows the due date for the last cash advance a local check cashing store forwarded her against her social security check. My grandmother used to keep a detailed record of every phone call and transaction in a notebook. I've read through the entries during the period where she stopped paying her credit-card statements, trying to find a clue to how the debt became so huge, why it became tethered to the house. All I found were a few confusing scribbles about lost credit cards and this note, dated March 19 of 2010, “Letter from Bank of America Attorney – left message, no way I can pay them, do what they want.” Her handwriting grows erratic after that point, and the notes stop altogether in early 2011. One of the last entries was that she sold some of her custom jewelry for $100.

My grandmother's phone never stops ringing, but it's not collection calls. Those must have stopped when Asset Acceptance placed a lien on her house. The calls are from dozens of my grandmother's “friends,” all the people she used to do favors for. “I've done a lot of good for a lot of people,” she said to me the other day. I believe her. $30,000 worth of favors, including credit cards to friends and paying other people's bills and lending borrowed money to people who neither me nor my parents have ever met. My mother wants me to be polite when these friends come to visit because we don't know the whole story. We'll never know the whole story. So I smile and shake the hands of these strangers, like the woman who borrowed the credit card, but whenever Montel Williams pays a visit, I tear him in half and toss him in the trash.

--> www.FedPrimeRate.com Privacy Policy <-- --> SITEMAP <--

In Pursuit Of Child Support

Your heart sinks down deep into your belly as you open your phone bill. With shame and dread you see not just the current charges, but a sterile red insert alerting you that your account is seriously past due. Again. Gently, the bill is placed on top of the others. Electric bill. Credit card statement. Mortgage note. Relief from this debt seems elusive as your sadness turns to anger when you realize that your ex has failed, once again, to pay even a dime in child support for the month. The pale excuses ring in your ears - “Times are tough”, “I bought her a video game last month” and “Next week, I promise”. None of that nonsense pays the bills nor puts food on the table. None of that eases the despair that you feel down to your soul.

According to the U. S. Census 2006 report, nearly 22 million children depend on timely child support payments to sustain them. This report further indicates that approximately 87% of custodial parents were owed delinquent payments from the non-custodial parent. Clearly there is a need for more efficient child support collection efforts. Because of this gap in services in 2009 Senate Bill 1859 entitled “Child Support Protection Act of 2009” was proposed and has a predicted implementation date of mid-2010. This bill seeks to allow federal funds to match state funds in pursuit of past due child support payments. While this is a step in the right direction as far as protecting the financial interest of dependent children, much more needs to be done. And, there is much that the custodial parent can do to move their case forward.

Sometimes it seems that the easiest piece of business is the actual child support order. All parties work together to come to some sort of mutually beneficial agreement, given the guidelines of each individual state. Most states work with a child support guideline worksheet which translates to a support order of about 20% of the non-custodial parent’s income. Further, orders concerning the coverage of day care expenses, health insurance cost and extra-curricular activities may also be drafted. Many a parent has walked out of a courtroom clutching these agreements smiling as they think that the worst was over. Actually, the real work starts at that very moment. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services 27% of non-custodial fathers and 47% of non-custodial mothers completely default on their support payments and offer zero monetary contribution.

A savvy custodial parent will work immediately post-order to do what they can to ensure that they receive all monies owed to them in the near and distant future. This could be as simple as keeping notes concerning their ex’s employer, their work schedule, and the bosses name. This type of basic information will prove to be very helpful in the months ahead should the payment of support become increasingly erratic. Now is a time to start a file with all of your paperwork, including a log of all support related conversations with your ex, state child support hotlines and your attorney.

Speaking of your attorney, the question you may be asking is this: “Why not just let my attorney handle all of this?”. This simple answer is that it is cost prohibitive to nearly all custodial parents. Per www.lawyers.com the average national billing rate for an attorney is $284 per hour. This means that your 15 minute phone call just cost you over $70.00. Since nearly a quarter of custodial parents fall at or below the poverty line, a private attorney is just not feasible.

The first key to this process is to adjust your thinking about child support. This money is not a gift to you, is not optional and is not contingent on how often the non-custodial parent sees the child. This money is not a luxury, is not something to be bartered and is not a donation. It is money to support a child that two people created. It is a legal debt and a real obligation. Whatever happens outside of the support is secondary. You get along? Great! Hate each other? Doesn’t matter. Pondering getting back together? Of no consequence. The money is the money, plain and simple. This is a gender neutral issue as well, as 16% of all custodial parents are fathers and that number is anticipated to rise in the coming years

Another mistake that people make is believing that if the ex pays for additional items (e.g., a birthday party, new shoes, school supplies) then it relieves the non-custodial parent of all or part of their fiscal responsibility. New shoes are great, but that won’t pay the electric bill. This type of off-set system will only work if all parties agree to the terms in advance and preferably it is all in writing. It is one thing to come to agreement that you will reduce support by 25% if the ex pays for summer camp and it is quite another for a non-custodial parent to refuse to pay support in November because they bought a new backpack in August.

Yet another error that folks make is believing that in order to qualify for state child support enforcement services they must receive state benefits. While it is true that nearly a third of all child support cases involve a custodial parent who receives public assistance, most do not. All states have a department that deals with child support enforcement (“CSE”) and nearly all of these agencies charge no fee for their services. In 2004 over 4 million custodial parents turned to their local CSE for some sort of assistance with their case. Starting with the CSE of your state very early will prove to be helpful. As always, keep track of who you speak with, what you discussed, what follow up is necessary and what sort of timeline you are expecting. It is very helpful to also get an email address and fax number for your local CSE office, should you need to quickly get information to them.

Getting financial assistance for your dependent children is your duty and the non-custodial parent’s responsibility. Think of it in terms of an actual job and decide each week what you will do to get the money your children deserve. One week you may make a phone call to the local CSE office to get an update on your case. Another week you may try to verify where your ex is employed. Yet another week you may want to write to your local congressman to show support for any pending child support enforcement legislation.

If you feel that dealing directly with your ex on these matters is hazardous, then don’t. These things can quickly get escalated and virtually never result in a payment towards past due support. You will walk away angry, frustrated and empty handed. Needless to say, never let these matters trickle down to your children and make them aware of any animosity between the two of you.

Being a parent means many things. It means helping with homework and feeding them healthy foods and kissing their scrapes. You will also cry with your children and laugh at their silliness and dream with them. Part of your responsibility as a parent is also to ensure their continued financial security in order to create a peaceful living space where they can thrive. Do it for them.

--> www.FedPrimeRate.com Privacy Policy <-- --> SITEMAP <--

Experiences Using a Non-Profit Debt Management Program

Calling a debt management program (DMP) was a low-point in my life. Newly divorced with more than $15,000 in credit card debt, I didn't trust anyone - not my ex-husband, not my credit card companies (who had come after me ruthlessly despite my very decent credit history), not my divorce attorney, not myself. I certainly didn't trust that the automated phone system at a debt management program called Consumer Credit Counseling Services (CCCS) would help me get out of this terrible financial situation.

But I had to try something! My creditors' calls wouldn't stop. The operators, I could tell, were getting ever more professional sounding, higher and higher up in collections at the banks I was dealing with. I had to find a way to restore order to my life - even if it was going to be a new order that I wasn't happy about having to live with.

Consumer Credit Counseling set up an appointment for me with one of their representatives, and I arrived at their satellite office near my home to find a friendly, polite, young man named Gerald waiting to discuss my findings with me. He was sympathetic. He listened as I described my situation. He said to me, "You can do this. You can get out of debt." He added something comforting like, "It happens to the best of us."

He explained to me the terms of "joining" CCCS: I had to divulge all my debts to them as well as tell them about my income and monthly expenses. Based on that information, they would negotiate with my creditors for lower interest rates and lower monthly payments. They would encourage my creditors to stop harassing me. Usually, Gerald said, it worked. I would stop getting harassing phone calls from creditors. This was the good part.

There were more terms, however. I would have to pay CCCS an initial fee, which I think was around $50. After that, I would have to pay them $24 a month for as long as I was on the program. They would need my checking account number because they would automatically withdraw my monthly payment (in my case it was $360 per month), then they would distribute it out to my creditors. Late payments or insufficient funds could mean getting dropped from the program.

And, perhaps most significantly, as long as I was on CCCS's program, I could not have a credit card or apply for a line of credit. Car loans were an exception.

I was hesitant to sign on. After all, I told myself, I didn't have a credit card problem - that problem had belonged to my ex-husband. My problem wasn't overspending, it was trusting the wrong man. The thing was, though, I was the primary card holder on our accounts, and I was therefore held legally responsible for the debt. I was the one who faced harassing phone calls daily. I was the one who, frankly, cared. I didn't want to go forward in life with a terrible credit record and debt up to my eyeballs. So, umm... I did have a credit card problem no matter what the source. And, I wanted my creditors' calls to finally, finally, stop.

I signed on.




With the help of the debt management program, Bank of America agreed to reduce an interest payment on a very high balance from 23% to 8%. HSBC reduced the interest on a card I had with them from 12% to 0%. And, Cox Communications, a cable/ phone company with whom I had an outstanding balance of $550, agreed to accept a monthly payment of just $20 as long as it came through the Debt Management Program. I had tried negotiating with all these creditors myself with no luck - the DMP did so easily and the harassing phone calls stopped.

I made my monthly payments. I never missed one, even though it was really hard sometimes. I lived without the convenience of a credit card for more than two years. While I was on the program, I also strove to make extra payments to my largest credit card balance (Bank of America), using the debt management program to keep me in good standing and generally on track, but exceeding their expectations by paying down the big debt.

(Gerald, by the way, told me I shouldn't have paid the extra money to the credit card balance, but used it to start a savings/ emergency fund - was this good advice or did he just want me to keep paying CCCS $20 a month? I'm not sure. I will say that every single person who I ever spoke to at CCCS, by phone or in person, treated me with kindness, compassion, and respect. I never heard a derogatory word or had the horrible experience of calling during business hours and being unable to reach a real person. Overall, I'm thankful to the company for their support.)

Finally, I was able to pay off almost all of the debt and a family member lent me the last few thousand so that I could go off the debt management program. I wanted to rejoin the world of credit - and reestablish myself as a good credit holder. I expected credit card offers to come pouring in to me. They haven't. I'm not sure if it's because I was on a debt management program or if it is because in the current economy banks simply aren't extending credit to new/ risky customers. I did finally procure a credit card, but it has a limit of just $500 and an annual fee of $39. (So... six months off the program and I'm $39 back in credit card debt, already... without even making a purchase.)

If you are considering a debt management program (DMP), here are some points to consider:

• It should be a not-for-profit organization and the monthly fee should not be above $40.


• You should be able to make extra payments to your credit card accounts at your convenience without going through the DMP.


• You should be able to go off the program at any time you choose, with no penalty from the DMP itself. (Your credit card companies may punish you - for example, when I went off the DMP, my one card with a remaining balance went from a 0% interest rate - negotiated by the DMP - to an interest rate above 30%.)


• You should be treated respectfully every time you call to speak to a representative at the DMP.


• They can only help you as much as you are willing to commit to helping yourself.

The Federal Trade Commission has also posted information for consumers about using Debt Management Programs effectively and about how to know if the program is legitimate. Link to that information here.

--> www.FedPrimeRate.com Privacy Policy <-- --> SITEMAP <--

Even When You Have Outstanding Debts, You Still Have Rights

These days, it’s commonplace to swap telemarketer horror stories with friends and family; it’s as American as apple pie. However, wild bill collector stories are also becoming increasingly popular. With the average American carrying an average of $2500 in unsecured debt plus mortgages, many of us know the dread of receiving unpleasant calls from creditors, although we’re less willing to tell the tales.

An old friend of mine named Wes is one of the great storytellers - he has spent the last 5 or 6 years climbing out of debt. So, he has collected some war stories along the way. One creditor told him that he wasn’t a real man if he didn’t pay his bills, and another asked him whether or not he truly cared about his family. One debt collector actually called my friend 2-3 times a day, every single day, including Sundays, for months. These relentless predators had no idea what his situation was, nor did they care; they were simply looking for the right button to press to get them what they wanted. However, as bad as these instances were, they weren’t the worst of the worst. There was one case that topped them all.

One creditor showed up at Wes’ doorstep.

Unannounced, with no attempts to contact him by phone, an employee from a payday loan establishment knocked on the door, looking to collect. Ironically enough, Wes didn’t owe a lot of money, and he had only missed one payment. Apparently that was enough to send someone out on a bounty hunting expedition. As soon as Wes opened the door, the woman began talking a mile a minute about his commitment, how he hadn't been in to pay, and how she had come to pick up the money. The woman didn't even identify herself - she just started talking. Wes had to interrupt her just to find out who she was. Needless to say, my friend was highly offended, and told the collector that she had to leave his property and not come back. I couldn't believe that a guy who was doing everything he could to settle his debts in a timely manner (even when it meant occasionally robbing Peter to pay Paul) would have to be subjected to such treatment, as if he were evading repayment.

This kind of harassment should be illegal!

The good news is that it is. However, when consumers don’t know that they have rights, they surrender them. The following video explains how to respond when a debt collector has gone too far:



The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is designed to protect consumers against harassment, false claims, and fraud. You have the right to demand that creditors stop calling your home, to dispute the debt, and to receive, in writing, all the details concerning the debt owed. You also have the right to be treated respectfully and not harassed by debt collectors. Furthermore, if your consumer rights are violated by a creditor, you even have the right to sue them! The FTC says,

“You have the right to sue a collector in a state or federal court within one year from the date the law was violated. If you win, you may recover money for the damages you suffered plus an additional amount up to $1,000. Court costs and attorney' s fees also can be recovered.”

Ironically enough, if you won your claim, you’d probably have to turn right back around and hand it over to the guys you just sued.

Ouch…

But at the end of the day, your dignity and privacy are worth fighting for, even if you only break even.

--> www.FedPrimeRate.com Privacy Policy <-- --> SITEMAP <--

After 9/11 Creditors Told Me, "There's Nothing We Can Do"

My husband worked on the 81^st floor of Tower One in the World Trade Center for a company called Network Plus. On September 11^th his entire office managed to climb down all 81 flights of stairs and escape just minutes before the buildings started to collapse. His boss guided the entire team of salespeople down and encouraged my husband to continue when he felt tired. At one point my husband’s boss even left the team in order to help carry a woman in a wheelchair down the stairs to safety. Miraculously, she survived as did everyone in my husband’s company. As the highest office to have every member survive, Oprah Winfrey even had them appear on her show.

The ordeal was stressful enough for us to deal with, and after a few weeks passed the company he worked for went out of business. They tried to survive by relocating but the entire city was in such turmoil that the company simply couldn’t make it work. I realized that my husband was the bread winner and I had no idea how we were going to pay for our bills. We had managed to accrue quite a lot of credit card debt and now had only my small teacher’s salary to pay for it all. As the bills continued to pile up I started to make phone calls to the credit card companies with the hopes of working out a payment plan. What ended up happening instead was my filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Before September 11^th I had a credit score of about 650 and had over $10,000 in credit card debt. My payments were always on time and I rarely had any problems. Most of my debt was due to department store credit cards such as Macy’s, Ikea, Express and Spiegel. I also had an electric bill that I couldn’t pay and a cell phone bill which piled up. The interest rates were sky high, over twenty percent for each card and I knew if I didn’t work something out I was going to sink fast. Paired with the late fees I knew it would happen quickly if I didn’t do something fast. The largest amount I owed was to American Express and since they require payment within thirty days they were the first company I called.

To say that American Express is cold-hearted would be a nice way of describing them. I explained to the representatives over numerous phone calls that I wasn’t looking to get out of paying the $2,000 I owed them but that I needed more time than the thirty days. They could care less. They didn’t even sound sympathetic when I spoke to them nor did they seem to care about my situation. As if programmed like a robot, each representative I spoke with said the same thing to me, “there’s nothing we can do”. They would take nothing less than the full amount owed and as long as I didn’t pay it the late fees would continue. The late fees started to add up into the hundreds as November rolled around.

The other department stores sometimes sounded sympathetic when I told them about my situation but could do little to nothing to help me. The representative I spoke to at Spiegel was distraught to hear about my situation and immediately put her manager on the phone. He explained that there was little he could for me except to lower my interest rate from a 22% to a 12%. He waived one late fee for me but gave me no extension.

I found that no one really wanted to do me any favors at all. I explained to each one that I simply needed a two month period during which no late fees or other charges would be given to me. Even when I explained that I would be forced to file for bankruptcy they still gave me the same line – “there’s nothing we can do”.

The only company that helped me out was the bank that issued my student loans. Citibank immediately issued me forbearance for my student loans and gave me no problems whatsoever. They were nice and understanding and were actually the only company that did anything to help me during the difficult time.

My credit score began to plummet as did my credit history. After I filed for bankruptcy in December my score dropped to the low 500’s and stayed there for years. I couldn’t rent an apartment and I had a hard time getting utilities without paying a deposit. The funny thing was that my husband found a new job within months and our income was back where it was before, but none of that mattered when companies looked at my credit report.

Today my credit is back up to a 620 but is still marked with the bankruptcy. If the credit card companies had taken the time to work with me they would’ve had their money and I would’ve kept a clean credit report.

--> www.FedPrimeRate.com Privacy Policy <-- --> SITEMAP <--

Can You Get a Good Job With Bad Debt?

People generally go to college to get the tools they need to get a great job. A degree gives you the credentials you need for professional employment. However, the job hunt doesn’t start after graduation. One of the benefits of the college experience is the opportunity to attain internships and student positions that are designed to lead to permanent placement. They’re the diamonds in the rough that lead to the very job security people attend college to obtain. My best friend landed such a job, and despite how much her employers liked her and how qualified she was for the position, she was still very uneasy about her future.

It turns out that you need more than a great resume and an education to get a good job these days.

My friend applied for a student position with the U.S. Army as a civilian working on base. She would be hired as a technical writer, which was right up her alley. As an English major and a freelance résumé writer, my friend could create instruction manuals for equipment usage or artillery assembly in her sleep. Technical writing takes a skilled pen and an analytical mind, and she has both. So, from the moment my friend saw the listing, she got excited because she knew she had a real shot. The salary was nice and they offered tuition reimbursement. She knew that this was her job. Since she is a skilled résumé writer, she has never applied for a job and not received an interview (her résumés are that good), and she knew her résumé would also serve as a preliminary writing sample. She could kill two birds with one stone!

And that’s exactly what she did.

She got a callback and an interview. In fact, there were two interviews. In both of the panel interviews that she had to undergo, she absolutely shined. She’s just one of those people who knows how and when to turn on the charm, you know? I never did as well as she does in the standard, run of the mill, one-on-one interviews most people get from potential employers; yet in two separate panel interviews, she was able to handle the pressure and even impress them. If that scrutiny weren’t enough, there was the extreme background check; she had to fill out a form that was between 40 and 50 pages long, recounting almost every significant aspect of her life. It was so detailed that she had to give the names, addresses, and contact information of every person whom she had lived with for seven days or longer over the last ten years! How can you ask a college student who has had various roommates to give you that kind of information? It was a nightmare just gathering all of the information that they required. They looked into every job she ever had and anyone who she ever called a friend. It caused me to be a bit paranoid, being her best friend since childhood. I felt like I was under the microscope, too. Yet, despite it all, she passed the very extensive background check. She told me about how much her interviewers liked her. It was an exciting time for her.

That is, until she found out that they would also be checking her credit.

We both panicked - at the time she had a little over $10,000 in unsecured debt besides her student loans. It was also bad debt - as a full time college student she wasn’t making enough to may her bills, so those accounts were in collections. If the credit check was a part of the hiring process, my friend knew she was toast. We tried to remain optimistic about it, thinking that maybe they would let it slide or somehow the results would slip through the cracks. For a moment, there was a small ray of hope; she received an acceptance letter saying that she had been hired and received clearance to begin working. Then, the dreaded reminder at the end of the letter - she would start after her pending credit check was completed.

Of course, the credit check caused a problem.

My friend was called in and her would-be manager explained that her bad credit history posed a unique security risk that would prevent her from being employed by the Armed Forces. Because she would have access to extremely sensitive information, her financial woes could very well serve as a bargaining chip for terrorists seeking information. In a nutshell, they could not afford to have people who may be desperate for money walking around an army base with access to classified information and areas. They did, however, tell her that if she paid the debt off she could reapply. Without the job, she couldn’t afford to pay off the debt. So, a great opportunity was lost because of previous financial irresponsibility. Soon after this experience, my friend, an older student at the time, filed for bankruptcy.

Ironically enough, she was later hired by the IRS!

Go figure…

--> www.FedPrimeRate.com Privacy Policy <-- --> SITEMAP <--

The $4000 "Free" Trip to Paris

My oldest child has retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye disease that slowly erodes her vision. She is now legally blind, but eventually, she will lose all of her sight. Her world will go dark forever, and there’s not a thing I can do about it. Some day, medical science will hopefully find a cure, but until then, we deal with the situation as best as we can.

My daughter has had a fascination with Paris ever since I read the Madeline books to her when she was very, very small. When she got older, she told me quite often that someday she was going to go to Paris. I smiled, but I just kept my thoughts to myself. One day, she came to me and point blank asked me to take her to Paris so she could see the Eiffel Tower before she went blind.

My heart just broke because as a single American mother of 4 children going through a horrific and costly divorce, Paris was just not on my “can do” list. There simply was no way I could even dream of affording such a trip. I tried to do the best I could for her—I got her French lessons and books on Paris. I bought her an Eiffel Tower 3-D puzzle and helped her put it together. I hoped that she might accept this instead of the real deal but all of these things made it actually worse.

I was homeschooling my children at that time and they were attending a local homeschool co-op where I taught. My daughter was taking French lessons there and happened to mention to her teacher that she wanted to go to Paris before she went blind. The teacher had actually lived in Paris and still had contacts there. She didn’t say anything to my daughter or me, but she began to work on that Paris trip.

The group began to do fundraisers and spread the word that they were raising money for a community service project. The project: granting a wish to a handicapped child which would allow her to see Paris before she lost her sight. Our community rallied behind this project and the group collected enough money to send both my child and I to Paris for 2 weeks along with the French teacher as our guide. Another mom in the group agreed to keep my other children for free.

When the French teacher told my daughter and I that we were going to Paris after class one day, my child cried tears of joy. She was SO happy and I simply couldn’t believe it; maybe the world wasn’t such an awful place after all. The teacher bought tickets for the airline as we assumed (wrongly) that my ex would be excited for his child to go to Paris, especially since it was free, and would help in any way he could.

I went to my ex and told him about the trip and asked him to sign the paper for the passport. He refused. I went again and again and went with friends and he still refused. I had my lawyer write his lawyer a letter and they never responded. The Paris trip was approaching.

I know it sounds stupid. I mean, why wouldn’t the man just SIGN the paper and be done with it? To understand that, you’d need to understand a little bit more about the relationship the ex and I had. My ex was a very abusive, controlling man. He also had been diagnosed schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder.

Another thing that happened shortly after I left and filed for divorce was that my daughter had admitted to a counselor that he’d been abusing her during her court ordered visitation. Because of this, he’d lost his visitation privileges for a time. They’d been recently re-instated, but he was furious. He was angry that I’d left him and filed for divorce; he was angry about the abuse charges; and he was mad that we were moving on with our lives without him. We were going to pay for what we’d done to him, and this was the perfect opportunity for him to demand payment.

My lawyer advised me to sue him in court and ask the judge to order him to sign the paper. The only catch—it would cost me $3000. I signed the papers and charged the 3k to my credit card. I remember how angry and embarrassed I felt. I simply couldn’t believe that one nasty man was spoiling this wonderful thing for everyone. Strangers had, out of the kindness of their heart, given of their time and money to make this possible for our child and he was going to spoil that. Another thing, how can you deny your child her wish to see Paris before she went blind, if the trip is FREE? How? He was a cruel, heartless person indeed.

The day of the court hearing arrived and we argued our points in front of the judge. The ex’s lawyer argued that our daughter should not be allowed to go to Paris for a whole bunch of stupid reasons and asked the court to deny my request. My lawyer argued that our daughter should be allowed to go to Paris for a whole bunch of reasons and asked the court to grant me my request. Many of those who had contributed to the wish fund were present observing the court session. They too were shocked that things had gotten to this point.

After a brief recess, the judge agreed to grant me my request. He ordered my ex to sign the passport and allow our daughter to go to France and then the judge left the courtroom. This is when the ex, his sister, and his lawyer made a break for the exit. They had no intentions of obeying the judge’s order.

I lost them in the crowds as the different courts let out. I can not even describe the amount of anger I felt at that point. Well, maybe I could describe it, but my description would be peppered with a lot of not so nice words. I saw that across the hall, the ex had taken the elevator with his lawyer and I ran for the stairway followed by a bunch of the people who had supported me. We ran down the stairs and found…nothing. He and his lawyer were gone. I ran out of the courthouse and there they were, talking in one of the gardens in front of the courthouse. I ran up to them both and they were shocked.

“The judge told you to sign this. Do it now.” His lawyer started to argue that he couldn’t and make a whole bunch of excuses when the rest of the group of my supporters caught up with me. The ex and his lawyer were surrounded by a group of us…all very, very angry.

“Sign it. Or I’ll call the judge and report you to the Bar Association.” His lawyer, seeing we meant business, told him to sign.

The crowds started cheering and the ex and his lawyer left. We walked to the parking garage, and the ex’s sister came out of nowhere and tried to hit me and get the passport paper away from me. My friends helped me to fight her off and we continued walking.

I know, it’s incredible, but it really happened this way.

I expedited the passport application, which cost me several hundred extra dollars, but I did get the passport back in time for the trip. The judge had also ordered that my ex be allowed to contact his child for regular phone calls of 1 hour 3 times per week. It was my job to pay for these expenses too. This cost me several hundred dollars as well.

If my experiences were a commercial, it would read this way:

“Free” trip to Paris for 2: $4000
Knowing that your child has seen the Eiffel Tower before she went blind: PRICELESS

--> www.FedPrimeRate.com Privacy Policy <-- --> SITEMAP <--

The End of an Affair

Most people love money. So many people today choose to buy expensive material things and validate themselves by these purchases. Money helps people feel important, to take control, to make a statement about who they are. Money becomes a best friend, a family member, and a lover. Obtaining money is all some people can think about and all that they believe in. It doesn’t matter how they get it or who they hurt in the process, as long as in the end they get the money they need to feed their addiction.

Some people don't have the means to gain the money they desire but this doesn't stop them from having irresponsible flings with it. Even though these people may be late on their bills, they will go out and buy something they can't afford just to make themselves feel better. And it will usually work. During the heat of the moment people who make an impulsive purchase will feel like they are at the peak of their happiness. And when the feeling disappears they'll likely feel guilty, ashamed and regretful. Not much different than a one night stand.

Like all love affairs, my own love affair with money was short, sweet and tumultuous. It was both satisfying and completely unsatisfying at the same time. And similar to many love affairs, mine began at work. My job as a sales representative on Wall Street in New York City started up a love for money that would only go away after it ran its course. It became a love-hate relationship in which I began to spiral out of control.

Making a ton of money as a person who wasn’t even good at her job seemed like everything I ever wanted. I was renting an apartment in a top building and I was able to buy anything I wanted. I shopped in boutiques, purchased the newest cell phones the day they hit the market and treated people to dinners and drinks. What I didn’t realize at the time was that I was building my life around money and money was the thing that was in control.

After I lost my job the love affair became quite rocky. I no longer had the sparkle of admiration I once felt towards money since it was now seeing less and less of me. I moved out of my elevator building apartment into someone’s rental in their house. I went from having a washer, dryer, dishwasher, microwave and air conditioner to having none of these. The quiet of the building I had lived in was replaced by screaming landlords who constantly argued with each other. Instead of shopping at boutiques I started shopping at Old Navy and other discount clothing stores. Eating out and partying all the time was replaced with staying home and cooking dinner.

Some people in my situation would have never given in to the evil tricks that money played on them. These types of people would have picked themselves up, got a new high paying job and started up their love affair again. They would believe that they were back in control, but of course this would just be another trick money would play on them. The second time around would likely be more passionate than the first, and it would become a lifelong addiction that created life for those who chose it. People that would never dream of a real life affair find themselves embroiled in controversy and secret desires.

But love affairs rarely end up so happy in the end. If they do, it takes a lot of pain and struggle to get to the end goal and a lot of people get hurt in the process. I chose to end my love affair with money by replacing it with something real, a true love that was not based on sneaky escapades and under-the-cover operations. As you look back on the choices you’ve made thus far in your life, ask yourself, are you in the midst of an affair?

--> www.FedPrimeRate.com Privacy Policy <-- --> SITEMAP <--

The Expensive Road Trip To Hell and Back

Life isn’t fair. Perhaps you have learned this tidbit already. Family court really isn’t fair. You may not have learned this already.

When I divorced my ex, I didn’t realize that the share of justice pie you get largely is determined based upon how much money you can shell out to hire a lawyer. My ex’s family re-mortgaged their expensive suburban Philadelphia house in order to hire him a lawyer. My family smiled and said, “Good luck with that!”

I hired the best lawyer I could almost afford and wracked up debt on my credit cards paying for his services. That was a bad decision, but the only one I had really. My ex was abusive and I really feared for the safety of my children. So my choices were: fight for my children or go into debt. I chose the first option.

Years went by and I happened to go into a coffee shop one day while the kids were visiting their dad. I met the most wonderful man who was a soldier visiting the area for some training. He lived over 800 miles away near the beach in Virginia. We ended up exchanging information after we’d finished our coffee and went our separate ways. I really didn’t expect anything to come of it at all, but life rarely turns out like we expect.

Fast forward a year or so and we are preparing to get married. We went to court to work out visitation because my ex frankly asked the court to NOT allow me to move out of state with the kids. I assumed that the judge would give us a standard “long distance” visitation arrangement. You know, the non-custodial parent gets the summer and long school breaks. It didn’t work that way.

Incredibly, the courts ordered me to meet my ex half way each month in DE to exchange the children with him. Some months, with holidays and breaks, it is even two times a month. The visits are from Friday to Sunday (normal visits, not the holiday breaks) and take approximately 16 hours to complete. With gas, tolls and food costs, we are spending an incredible $500 a month if we have to do 1 visit. This month, we will make two trips—spending an astounding $1000 to obey a court order. His regular monthly visitation occurs a week after his court ordered Labor Day holiday visit and so, in the space of 6 weeks, I will spend $1500 on visitation. Of course, the total amount of money the trip costs depends upon the wildly fluctuating price of gasoline. The ironic thing—he has been court ordered to pay me $930 a month for our 4 children. I spend more paying to take them to visit him than I actually get in child support.


For him, this is really no big deal. His family feels sorry for him and pays all of his expenses, including a rental car to make the trip and reimburses his gas money. I do not have a financial fairy Godmother.

In order to ask the court to re-consider, I would have to save up a retainer fee of $5000. I have asked my ex to re-consider, but he refuses. I have caused him great pain by remarrying and getting on with my life, and he wishes to make it most difficult for me.

I try to not let it get me down…and think of all the things I could do with that money. Right now, I am trying to get the kids ready to go back to school, and that $1500 could surely buy a lot of clothes, backpacks and school supplies. It could also buy a lot of food. But I have no choice. If I can't make those trips, I risk being sued for contempt of court. Conceivably, if I was found guilty, my children could be taken from me and given to my abusive ex.

This month, to make the budget work, we’re eating a lot of Macaroni and Cheese and other pasta meals. I’ve found that if we eat soup once a week, that really helps the budget too. I’ve bought a bunch of back to school clothes at the local thrift stores and I shop on half price Wednesday in order to stretch that already pinched budget even further. I have even learned how to cut hair in order to minimize our expenses even further. As gas prices continued to rise this summer, we cancelled our vacation plans and other fun events we’d planned in order to be able to afford to pay for the trips I was court ordered to make.

Some days, the stupidity of it all really gets to me. My youngest child is 9 years old and I simply can't imagine having to do this for 9 more years, but what choice do I have? With how tight the budget is, there is no money left over to be able to save to go back to court to ask the judge to re-consider the current arrangement.

I don’t for a minute regret marrying my current husband and moving. My children are doing very well and loving life near the beach. Yes, moving was one of the best decisions I ever made. But if I had to do it all over again….I think I’d ask my husband to move too…and we’d go across the country, where no one would tell me I had to go through this insanity every single month. Sure, it would mean purchasing plane tickets several times a year so the ex could get his visitation, but think of the money I’d save!

--> www.FedPrimeRate.com Privacy Policy <-- --> SITEMAP <--

The Student Loan Dilemma

When I decided to go to college I knew that no matter where I went I was going to take out student loans. My parents didn’t have much money to pay for college and I had little to no savings for the occasion. Instead of thinking about money and how much the bill would add up, however, the school advisor was limited to helping me choose a school. After all, I was going to have a college degree in four years so what’s the difference how much my student loans added up to? While there are some kids that have a strong and dedicated desire to be something great like a doctor, lawyer, or dentist, most kids planning for college simply go to get a degree in whatever interests them by their junior year. If you plan on going to graduate school at a hard-to-get-into college then the undergraduate school may matter. If you are going to graduate with your bachelor’s and get a job, I’ve learned the institution really means nothing.

I chose to go away to school in upstate New York where most of my friends were going. I had no clue what I wanted to do but knew that I qualified to have just about everything paid for by my student loan. The majority of the loan was through a private bank while just a minute amount was funded through the government. An even smaller amount was given as a grant that I wouldn’t have to pay back. At 18 years old, I didn’t think twice. I packed up my belongings and headed off to what would become the best four years of my life.

After I graduated college, my loans totaled over $20,000. I slowly paid off the government loan which was around $3,000 and deferred payments on my private loan. Although the rate was pretty good at 4.41% I found it impossible to pay the $390.00 monthly payment with my newly acquired job. I applied for consolidations and was denied multiple times. Since the rate was good everyone I spoke to acted as though the $17,000 should be easy to get rid of. But I didn’t go to school to be a lawyer or doctor, I graduated with a degree in Psychology that I settled on after 3 years of trying to figure out what it was I wanted to do. In fact it seemed as though my college degree was more of a high school diploma and all the places I applied to could care less what I studied, only that I had the degree. Completing 4 years of college showed dedication and an aptitude for learning and that was all anyone seemed to worry about. My job was in sales and I had no idea how I was going to pay back the money I owed.

That was 8 years ago. Today my loan now totals over $19,000. The interest keeps building up and the payment remains at $390 a month, a nearly impossible amount for a person that makes $30,000 a year to afford. Now that I own a home I’m going to try the consolidation process again to see if that will help. After all, isn’t better for me to pay something rather than nothing? It would seem from the $2,000 in interest they’ve made that the answer to that is no.

While going away to college was a great experience, was it really worth the price of a new car? I could have easily got the same degree at a local community college for less than half the price and to be honest most employers could care less where the degree came from.

My answer to this dilemma is a big fat resounding yes.

While many kids may seem like they are just going to college for the sake of it, who are we to make that choice for them? I am happy I was given the chance to decide for myself and will do the same for my children someday. Limiting a child to a local community college when they have aspirations is like telling someone who wants to be a police office they can only be a security guard. Yes, many of them will fail and end up protecting the local mall anyway, but isn’t it worth it to give them a chance?

--> www.FedPrimeRate.com Privacy Policy <-- --> SITEMAP <--

The Pros and Cons of Settling a Past Due Debt

Before the economy fell into the dark pit of despair that it seems to be in today, I was barely making ends meet. We had far too many bills than we had money coming in. At one time I sat down and ran the numbers and we were over $150,000 in debt on an income of $50,000 a year (I was not working at the time). Coupled with the fact that I was in very poor health and making over a year and a half's worth of doctor trips and hospital visits, and we were afraid to answer our phone from the bill collectors calling day and night. I had four hospital stays in that period of time from kidney stone and getting my gall bladder out, and then was plagued with fibromyalgia and interstitial cystitis. Between the mounting medical bills and having more bills than income, we were sinking further and further behind. Finally it got to the point when they (the bill collectors) were offering to settle our past due debt for 50% of the balance. Some of these were medical bills, others were credit cards used to get by when we just didn't have any money left. There were even times when I was getting a cash advance on one just to pay the minimum payments on the rest. Truly a dark time in our financial life.

The Pro's
The phone stopped ringing with twelve different collection agencies calling about the same bill. That was the biggest relief. Then there was the matter of just knowing that the debt was settled, done, and over with. It was a positive step in the right direction to trying to rid ourselves of debt and credit. It was far easier to come up with the diminished lump sum payment they wanted to settle than it was the entire amount of the debt. Every dollar that we "saved" in the lesser amount was able to go toward another debt that was still in the (now shrinking) pile of bills. Attempts at payment arrangements never seemed to be enough for the creditors that we had. They (before the settlement offer) were unwilling to accept a payment plan that would have worked for us, and kept piling on late charges and over the limit fees on the credit cards.

The Con's
About two months after settling the debt, it was showing up on our credit reports. I didn't think about it at the time, considering it a good thing that we at least paid most of the debt and stopped the collections, but it was working against us still credit wise. They were actually viewing the settled debt worse than if we weren't paying on the debt. What we did was do a "charge off" where the agencies forgive the large portion of the debt and stop trying to collect. These charge offs appear on our credit statement just as if we hadn't paid a thing and the companies decided to just stop attempting to collect. A very bad sign for anyone looking at our credit report. Now I realize that with our new mindset of Cash Only in paying for things the credit report should really not matter much, but it does.

In summary, if you are in over your head it’s a very personal decision. It definitely isn't a magic wand quick fix and all your credit and debt troubles go away. The best advice would be to talk to a financial consultant about where you are and where you would like to be in the future and the best method to get to that happy place. For us, had I had it to do over again knowing about the black marks on the credit report and everything, I'm certain I still would have done it. Today I have a savings, no credit debt, no harassing phone calls all the time from collection agencies, and the ability to know that we can save for the things we want instead of paying for it on credit. It was a good decision for me.

--> www.FedPrimeRate.com Privacy Policy <-- --> SITEMAP <--

Dude Where's My Car?...Seriously

I woke up in a hurry knowing that I only had about 45 minutes to get ready. That's 45 minutes for my daughter and me to bath, dress, do our hair, eat, grab everything we needed and get out the door - not a second to waste or spare. We made it, but going towards the parking lot it took me a few seconds to realize that something was missing. I kept walking though because I was certain my eyes were playing tricks on me. Yet, when I reached our parking spot our truck definitely was not in it, nor was it anywhere else in the parking lot. Way to start the day.

My initial shock quickly turned to frustration once I realized what had happened. Our financing company (the powers hereby known as HSBC) had sent someone out to repo our truck, when just days before they were on the phone reassuring my husband that we would be in the clear as long as they got some kind of payment. I think back now and realize that when they were asking him to 'update' his information, they were actually confirming our address and then waited until the day he deployed to come out. So there I sat, husband having just left, a million things to do that day, no transportation, and certainly nowhere near the almost $3,000 I knew we owed on the note. Plus, I kept wondering how I was going to tell my husband that his prized Harley Davidson edition F150, that he had worked so hard for and loved more than me, was gone.

I had half a mind to let them keep it because we could never really afford the thing to begin with. I couldn't let it go though because they said there would be no repo if we could send a payment and make arrangements for the rest, which we did. I spend the rest of that first day making phone calls to see who had taken the truck, why, where it was and how much they would accept to at least get it back. It didn't really surprise me that I got the runaround and for some odd reason no one knew anything except that we owed them money. Day two was spent doing the same thing, this time with a little more success. The representative I was working with told me he could keep the truck from going up for auction, but the kicker was that I had to give him $2,000 and he could only guarantee the offer for two weeks. I thought that was outrageous since 1) they shouldn't have taken it to begin with after what they said and 2) if we could afford to give them that much then the note wouldn't be past due. Needless to say, day three was spent calling around and begging my family for money and luckily I was able to scrounge up what I needed. Day four, I called up the company and arranged for payment in hopes of having them release the vehicle back to me. Once this was done, they gave me the information for the impound lot and this is where the real fun began.

If you noticed, everything I just described took place over the course of about four days. The next day I went to the company that took the vehicle, paperwork in hand, thinking I was on the way to pick it up. Turns out that it wasn't there, and according to paperwork the company had on file it was transported to the auction lot in North Carolina two days after it arrived at their facility (we lived in Virginia at the time, about 4 hours away from where it was taken to). I don't think the word upset is enough to describe what I felt like at the time. After a verbal battle with the employees there, I was able to get about half of the contents of what was in the vehicle, information for the auction company, signed some papers and high-tailed it right back home to give a piece of my mind to Mr. HSBC representative. This guy assured me that the truck would be safe and kept from auctioning for two weeks, not knowing that while I was talking to him the first time, the vehicle was already on its way to another state. He proceeded to tell me that he had made me no promises and that my payment was good enough to keep the truck from actually being auctioned but not from being transported to the auction site. How much sense did that make, really? After some more time on the phone, he agreed to send over the necessary paperwork and it was up to me to and make sure all was well from there. By this time, it was the end of the business day so I had to wait yet another day.

First thing the following day, I called the auction company and went though the whole rigmarole to get the truck officially released and ready for pickup. To make a long story even longer, I was told that I had no authorization from the finance company to do anything and only the owner could come down and claim the vehicle (it was in my husband's name). So I had to contact the HSBC rep, once again, who had the nerve to tell me that he had NO IDEA that I had intentions to pick up the vehicle myself, which is why I didn't have any kind of authorization. I asked him how he figured I wasn't going to pick the vehicle up if I was the spouse of the owner, had paid him every dime we had, went through all that hassle and had previously informed him that the owner was away on a deployment. I shamefully admit that we argued about this for about 15 minutes before he transferred me to a supervisor at which point I just got off the phone. In the end, and after they received every piece of paperwork imaginable, had exhausted all their excuses and wasted enough time, I was able to get a friend of mine to take a road trip with me to go pick up the prize.

Here we are about a year later still struggling to keep up with these payments and wondering when they will strike again if we're even a day late. There's no convincing my husband to consider trading the truck for something more manageable because it's his and he's determined to get it paid off to show these people that he can. He financed it for about $28,000 and is paying $650/month with an interest rate well over 14.5%. No one will refinance with us for lower rates and payments, and no matter how much we pay it seems like the balance owed is always $2,000+. It's insane and there's no light at the end of this tunnel.

Cars and car loans are much more attainable these days, even with some bumps and bruises on your credit. A person could be denied for a $500 personal loan, but then turn around and get a $10-15K car loan (I can vouch for this from personal experience). This can be a positive advantage for those who really are in need but don't have the best credit record; yet it could also be a trap that causes people to dig themselves further into the hole with debt and no help or hope of getting out. The lessons to be learned here are always pay your bills on time, of course, but also never bite off more than you can chew. This way you stand less of a chance of running into a situation where you can't pay on something. When it comes to leasing and financing, always be aware of what you are getting yourself into by knowing and fully understanding the terms, rates, payments and any other important details and fine print.

--> www.FedPrimeRate.com Privacy Policy <-- --> SITEMAP <--

Doubling Down On Debt: How I Became a Gambling Addict

One tidbit of information about me that most of my friends don't know is that I used to be a gambler. You may not think that's such a big deal, but my reasons were different than most. Many people visit casinos and play the slots and other games for recreation; still others enjoy the thrills and high drama that ensue with games of chance. Neither was the case for me. As young as nineteen years old, when I went to the casino, I was serious and focused because I was going there to make money. I gambled to make money because I was drowning in debt.

The legal age for gambling in Canada is nineteen years old, so many young Michiganders cross the Ambassador Bridge looking to have a grown up good time. That's why soon after my nineteenth birthday I began to study the game of Blackjack. The slot machines weren't much fun to me because they seemed to leave everything to chance, with most players losing their money in the end. That wasn't much fun at all. I had heard that Blackjack was the only casino card game in which the house could truly be vulnerable, so, in my free time away from my studies, I learned as much as I could about Blackjack. The more I learned, the more obsessed I became with getting good because it seemed that this form of gambling might really empower me to pay off my debts. By my sophomore year in college I was beginning to rack up lots in student loans, and I had a couple of credit cards that were close to being maxed out because I was not as fiscally responsible as I am today. Throw a new car with a note in the mix and you end up with one very frustrated young lady. I was mostly paying my own way through school, so I quickly learned about the stress that comes from high debts with low income.

I needed a quick way out.

So, I turned to gambling. Not being a real risk taker, I vowed to only gamble moderately, and to only play a game like Blackjack that could yield a reasonable return for my educated effort. In the beginning, my plan worked. My visits to the casino brought me some much needed prosperity. However, as time went on and my debts began to accumulate, my gambling trips became more frustrating and I became more desperate. I found myself addicted to playing Blackjack and addicted to winning. I would even play the slots that I disliked so much, just hoping for a break. I would take bill money to the casino to flip it so that I could pay more bills, and end up losing the little bit that I had. My youthful ingenuity had turned into a full blown gambling addiction, and it was doing more harm than good.

I needed a quick way out.

I thank God that at the height of my demise, my mom was in the picture with a watchful eye. She saw what I was doing, and she began to counsel me. She even helped me get my head back above water. Because I hated losing so much, her lifeline of encouragement and comfort was easy to grab a hold to. I was falling into deep depression, so her understandng and care nursed my poor spirits back to health. I really needed someone older to tell me it would be alright and offer me a helping hand. There are millions of struggling gamblers who are not so fortunate, however. Many gambling addicts do not have a shoulder to cry on, and many of them are so hooked on the thrill they get from high stakes that they aren't able to pull away the way that I did. I'm glad that I was able to get out of gambling before it truly became a lifestyle. I feel the same way about debt. Maybe if gambling and debt were part of my lifestyle today, I might still be trying to juggle them both. I suspect that many gambling addicts are performing such juggling acts right now.

--> www.FedPrimeRate.com Privacy Policy <-- --> SITEMAP <--

What A Little Effort Can Do For Debt Reduction

There are many, many things I love about my life here in the beautiful mesas of the Chihuahuan Desert. Among those are the contrasts, the juxtapositioning of old and new ways of living.

While I make use of the remarkable technologies of today as I write this now, I spent some time this morning as the indigenous women of this region did for thousands of years -- making tortillas. And, while I was working, I was thinking about a couple things related to cooking at home -- far less expensive and far more healthy overall.

I could buy tortillas. They run about a dollar a
dozen. In the photos (always clickable for a larger view), I am mixing up a batch of about 40 for less than a dollar... and, if I do say so myself, my home-made, fresh tortillas are far better than those mass produced in the factory and bagged up. Everyone here has said so, too.

In the big pot next to my wanna-be comal -- I have no proper comal for tortilla making, so I make do with a well-seasoned iron skillet -- are about 5 pounds of pinto beans. I'm feeding 9
people with hearty appetites. I'll be smashing and
frying a good portion of those beans with some
spices for tacos tonight, which is why I made
tortillas this morning. The rest of the beans will be used tomorrow by my sister to make her awesome chili.

The dried beans are pretty inexpensive, about 2 dollars for 4 pounds. Canned beans are easily double and often triple the price. It seems kind of silly to pay that when cooking dry beans is so easy. If I wanted to, I could buy canned refried beans for my tacos, though that would also be much more expensive, and I'd still have to add spices to make them palatable. Furthermore, they'd be less nutritious from the can, and probably have MSG and be high in sodium.

My point, over all, is that many people spend a lot of money on prepared foods, convenience foods, and drive-through foods, when by investing a little effort they could save a considerable amount on their food bill by cooking at home. Furthermore, most of those quick foods are price heavy and nutrition light. The benefits of eating fresh, whole foods are innumerable, but if we stick to the financial aspect for a moment, improved health leads to less money spent on costly health care.

There are many things in day-to-day life that are similar. For those looking to reduce debt and decrease spending (leaving more money for saving or more time for something other than working to pay the bills), learning to do basic repair tasks around the home and on the auto really isn't all that difficult. Being less dependent on others to meet your needs is a very good thing, particularly in today's economic climate.

I've been following the recent news about food shortages, skyrocketing prices, and the rationing of some food items throughout the world with a blend of fascination and horror. This is exactly the scenario that inspired me to remove my family from the city. I, geek that I am, have strange hobbies. Global economics is one of those hobbies and I've been watching trends for a few years now. To me, as well as to many financial experts, it looks like times are sure to be fiscally challenging in the near future and for a significant period of time thereafter. The financial markets are going to have to go through their spasms of correction and we're all going to have to go along for the ride.

During the Great Depression, while those in rural areas did experience severe poverty, they did have a significant advantage over those living in urban areas -- the ability to grow and hunt for their food. During World War II, the Victory Garden was an important supplement to households throughout the nation, including urban neighborhoods, as common, daily-use foods were rationed by the government. Looking at our situation today, it seems that learning to develop a bit of food self-sufficiency -- whether by cooking more, creating urban patio or fire escape gardens in containers, or larger suburban or rural gardens --is not just good economics in terms of a debt reduction plan or strategy for reducing overall expenses, but also simply good old-fashioned common sense.

--> www.FedPrimeRate.com Privacy Policy <-- --> SITEMAP <--

Out Of The Blue...

We've had the equipment for weeks. What we didn't have was an installer. The company couldn't seem to locate one willing to come to our remote high desert location. Naturally, they made no mention of that potential difficulty when they took the order.

So, we held the equipment through installation cancellation after installation cancellation. We just had our appointment for April 30th recently canceled, as the closest installer had to drive 800 miles and had yet to schedule other installs in the area.

And, then, out of the blue, this past Saturday, installers arrived with no notice. After, of course, I'd contacted another satellite company because this one couldn't seem to get the job done. Naturally, their website is just as good as their customer service and I cannot get into my account and will have to go somewhere to call them, as there is no way to e-mail their support system. That doesn't surprise me, ha ha ha.

All that, though, seems fairly small in comparison to this great leap forward for us here in the desert. I can now work from home again. The past few weeks of me having to go out to work have been very stressful for the children. I've always been at home with them. With everybody -- my sister and my brother -- having daily access to the Internet, everybody can get back to work and we can start moving forward with a variety of essential projects, like solar panels to run the modem so we don't have to use the gas powered generator as much.

With all that is in the news today -- food shortages and rapidly increasing prices, oil prices skyrocketing, the dollar continuing its fall, an epidemic of struggling mortgagees, a tidal wave of foreclosures, and the potentials that lie underneath the staggering burden of consumer debt -- our efforts towards sustainability and self-sufficiency seem quite timely and more important than ever.

The path for some of our nation's banking and lending institutions seems inevitably to lead to failure. Already sustaining significant losses from the sub-prime mortgage and lending debacle, many of these institutions are now having to deal with consumer debt gone bad. Economically stressed consumers have been missing payments as they struggle to make their salaries extend to cover the most basic of needs as the costs of those needs move steadily upwards.

That oft repeated Chinese curse -- not the one referring to flooding the market with cheap consumer goods, but the one that says may you live in interesting times -- appears to be an apt description of our current situation. Very interesting times, indeed. To me, everything going on today indicates an imperative need for preparation -- reduce debt, increase savings, and stock the shelves.

--> www.FedPrimeRate.com Privacy Policy <-- --> SITEMAP <--