by Edwin Ivanauskas | Tags: Banking, Loans

Once a month you get the mail and dread what you see. You have accumulated an overwhelming amount of credit card debt and you see no way out of it. You could file bankruptcy but that will ruin your credit for a long time. You can't keep this up for long. Perhaps you are running from one card to the other without thinking, only shopping for the lower interest rate to put your balance on. How long can you do this? The debt is mounting and you can't keep this up. There is an alternative. You can do credit card consolidation.

What is Credit Card Consolidation?

Credit card debt consolidation is combining all of your cards and their debt into one monthly payment at a lower interest rate.

How Can This Help Me?

Credit card consolidation can help you get the creditors too stop calling you. A credit counselor will help you stop the harassment that you face daily with phone calls to your home and job. Consolidating your debt will insure that your payments will be made to your creditors and they will no longer call you. They will deal directly with the credit counseling company that you choose.

How Do I Choose a Credit Counselor?

When choosing a credit counselor you need to check to make sure that they are a reputable company and also check on what their stipulations are. Most credit counselors charge a start up fee and a monthly fee that they get paid. You need to be clear on what that fee is. Some credit counselors charge up to fifteen percent of the debt you are consolidating. There are government credit debt consolidating agencies out there that are non for profit. You can also contact them.

Credit counselors will not only consolidate your debt into one monthly low payment, they will also be able to deal directly with the creditors that you owe and either freeze your interest rate or lower it all together. This will help you to lower the debt without the mounting late fee's and penalties that accrue with it. The easiest way for you to know if you need to consolidate your credit card debt is to see if your income is less than you owe for your bills. If you are only making minimum payments and struggling with that, then you more than likely need to use credit card consolidation. Most people have an average of five credit cards at any given time and at least a minimum of $10,000.00.

There is hope and you do not have to immediately file for bankruptcy with credit card consolidation. The counselors are there to help you end your nightmare of debt and help you get back on the right track of saving your credit.

When you contact a credit counselor make sure that you have all of your credit card debt available with the balances, interest rate you are currently being charged, late fee's accrued and the contact information for each card. When applying for credit card consolidation be prepared to give them everything that they need to take the burden off of you.

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by Edwin Ivanauskas | Tags: Banking, Loans

Credit cards are everywhere we go. Our banks offer them and even our favorite clothing store has their own credit card for us if we choose to apply. Why wouldn't we? I mean, won't we get an extra twenty five percent off for just applying? It is almost too good to be true. They want to give me a discount just for applying for their card. You are crazy if you don't, or are you? Almost every department store offers a company credit card. You are given these great discounts and you get this nifty card that all your friends will think looks great. Having a credit card is a huge responsibility for you to have and it also reflects on your credit score if you are ever delinquent or late for any length of time. There is nothing wrong with having a credit card, in fact in today's world we almost need to have one when we go anywhere. Credit cards have become an important part of our currency.

What is a credit card?- A credit card is basically cash or a line of credit put into a plastic card. You are able to pay for services with this card and are able to pay back at a later date. Goods are also bought with your credit card such as food, gas, or clothing.

How do I pay my credit card balance?- A credit card balance is usually due based on a percentage of how much you have spent versus the interest on the card once a month. If you only pay the minimum amount due then you are only paying the balance back down to what you originally placed on it. You must pay more to account for the original balance due.

Interest Rate- When choosing the credit card that you want, you need to find the best interest rate that you can. Although you may get offered a card with zero percent interest in the beginning, it may balloon up to sixteen percent after only a few months, whereas you may find a card with an interest rate that starts out at 10.9% and stays there. This may be the better card for you so that you do not find yourself always on the hunt for that next card to carry your remaining balance to.

Cash back- Some cards have features that offer cash back on your card for every purchase or a set amount each month. You may have to buy from major stores or it may only be if you buy gas with it. Depending on how often you use this card will decide whether it would be worth it for you.

Annual fee- There are cards that charge an annual fee based on the amount still on your card at the time that it comes time to pay it. There are many more cards out there that do not charge an annual fee. Keep looking and also understand that this may also be based on your credit score as to the type of card you can receive as well as the interest rate.

Frequent Flier Miles- There are a lot of cards that offer frequent flier miles with the business credit cards as well as the normal credit cards. This is wonderful if you travel a great deal.

Credit cards are great to have as long as you are responsible and do your homework in finding the best one for you. Don't keep adding cards because one has something that the other credit card doesn't. Keep looking until you find the one that is right for you.

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by Edwin Ivanauskas | Tags: Personal Finance, Loans

It is common knowledge that having a college degree can increase your yearly income by nearly double. But this huge increase in income doesn't come cheap. A student typically has to pay not only their yearly tuition, but also living expenses. The most common and helpful student loans happen to be federal student loans.

Federal programs are the largest source of college loans; there are two main programs, the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) and the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP). You can apply for a FFELP loan through banks, education finance companies, and credit unions. Your school may recommend a certain institution for you to get your loan through but you are free to choose whichever institution you want.

The FFELP loans term's include a lower interest rate compared to other federal student loans, your interest payments can be paid by the government while you are in school, you won't have to make your loan payments while you are in school, you will have longer to repay your loan, and you may get flexible credit requirements.

Applying For a Federal Student Loan

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a form that students must fill out in order to be eligible for federal student aid including grants, loans, and work study programs. This form must be filled out yearly by both current and future students who wish to receive federal student aid. The form is somewhat lengthy but can be easily accessed and filled out on the official federal student aid website at (http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/).

In addition, a student's chosen school may require a localized student loan application before they will disperse the loans granted through the federal government. It is important to check with the chosen school to make sure all requirements for loan dispersal are met.

Federal Stafford Loan

The Federal Stafford Loan and it is one of the most common sources of college loan funds. There are two different types of Stafford loans, subsidized loans, and unsubsidized loans.

• Subsidized loans:
  these loans are designed on a need-basis and the interest will not accrue on the loan while you are in school at least half time and during grace and authorized deferment periods (6 credit hours standard, excluding summers). You will have to start paying interest when you leave school and start paying back your loan. Before you are required to pay back the loans, there is a 6 month grace period to find employment.
• Unsubsidized loans
  these loans are not on a need-basis and you will be responsible for all the interest which will accrue while you are in school. If you are do not qualify for a subsidized loan then you may qualify for an unsubsidized loan.

Federal Perkins Loans

A Federal Perkins Loan is a low interest loan for both undergraduates and graduate students with "exceptional" financial needs.

The criteria for this type of federal student loan are:

• Must have U.S. citizenship, permanent residency, or eligible noncitizen status,
• Be enrollment in an eligible school at least half time in a degree program,
• Maintain satisfactory academic progress,
• Have no defaults, unsolved, or overpayments owed on Title IV educational loans and grants,
• Satisfied of all Selective Service requirements.

The school will determine who has the greatest need for this type of loan because the U.S. Department of Education provides a certain amount of funding to each school.

Federal PLUS loans

This loan is a low interest student loan for parents or undergraduate, dependent students. This loan is called a Parent PLUS loan and families can fund the entire cost of their child's education. No collateral is required for this type of loan and it is available regardless of income or assets, and the parents will not have to prove financial need, however a credit check is required. Federal Student Loans are a cheap way to affordably go back to school

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by Edwin Ivanauskas | Tags: Personal Finance, Banking, Loans

You have lived in the same house for twenty years and suddenly with the economy in distress, and you recently laid off or permanently let go, you are now at risk for foreclosure on your home. You see the letter sitting on your table and don't understand what it means. We will go over what this means for you and see what you can do for yourself to protect you.

What is foreclosure?

a Foreclosure is when a creditor files a petition with the court to legally take back a piece of property which is usually your home. When you are late on a mortgage then the creditor has the right to ask the court if they can take it back or foreclose on it. It doesn't matter if you are only a couple of months late. The bank or mortgage company has the right by federal law to do this.

If you have received a foreclosure notice and you can pay the debt then you need to do so immediately. If not you will have a set length of time before the foreclosure will take effect. A sheriff's officer will serve you with a foreclosure document that will let you know that you are going to lose your home on a set date. You can dispute this in court but unless you have an attorney or can prove to the courts that there was an error, you will more than likely lose this battle. A hearing is given along with an eviction notice that you must leave the property or you will be removed for trespassing. If your belongings are still in the house, you will lose those.

Normally, a judicial sale will follow a foreclosure. This is where they will basically auction off the property and all assets that were left behind. If the sale or auction does not bring the amount owed for what your remaining balance was on your home, then you can be taken back to court and forced by lawsuit to pay the remaining balance.

If you receive a foreclosure letter, you can always try to negotiate with your lien holder or bank to try to resolve the foreclosure process. You may also try to refinance your loan through other banks or means before it gets to this point.

By law when you contest the foreclosure, you can try and get a restraining order against the lien holder or the bank so that you can hold on to your house a little longer. This may give you time to argue your case in court with your challenge of the debt not being correct or it can help you to simply buy more time to get a new place to live. Most states have been known to make the bond on the restraining order the same amount of the debt supposedly owed. This stops a lot of people from trying to just get more time within their home.

A Foreclosure is a scary situation for anyone to be in. Please consult an attorney if you receive a foreclosure notice to find out the rights that you may have.

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by Edwin Ivanauskas | Tags: Loans

At some point in life a person will eventually chose to take out a loan. This can be a major life changing decision such as buying a home, getting your first car or going to school. It could also be something as simple as getting a loan to buy furniture or recreational equipment. Regardless of what the borrowed money is for, it is important to understand as much as possible about the loan before making the commitment.

What is a loan?

A loan is an advance of money from a lender to a borrower with the promise that the borrower will pay back the money plus a fee for the amount of time they got to borrow that money. The other important thing you need to know about when it comes to getting a loan is interest. Whenever you borrow money from a bank or other institute you will be charged a fee for the amount of time they must lend you the money for, this is called Interest. The longer it takes you to pay back the loan the more interest you will have to pay.

A loan is a legal and binding contract between the borrower and the lender. There are two types of loans secured and unsecured. A secured loan is backed up by some sort of collateral like a car, home, boat or any other form of equity. Almost anything of value can be used as collateral if you can prove that you own it. Unsecured loans do not have any type of collateral to back them up.

Secured loans and how they work

To get a secured loan you need three things:

1. Some type of ownership document that proves the borrower owns the collateral. This can be a car title, a savings account statement, a real estate deed, a bill of sale; basically anything that can show that you are the owner of the item you are using as collateral.
2. You need a note or a type of document that states that you promise to repay the lender and lists the terms and conditions of the loan, this is the contract.
3. The last item you need is a security document. This document shows that they lender has a security interest in the collateral that you have offered.

How to get a loan

Anyone that is at least 18 years old can get a loan. Before you dive in and get a loan from just anyone it is important that you shop around. You will want to compare different financial institutions before you decide to see who has the best interest rate. You will want to get at least three quotes before you commit to a certain institution. You will want to do this for any type of loan you may be trying to get.

The next step is applying for the loan; be truthful on your loan application and only provide the information that they ask for. You application and your credit score is going to determine if you are eligible for the loan, how much the interest rate will be, and how much you can borrow and how long you can borrow it for.

The final step of getting a loan is of course, making the payments on time and every single month. If you get behind on your loan you will be charged late fees, your credit score will take a hit.

Specific loans

Specific loans that you can get are car loans, mortgages, and personal loans. To get any one of these loans you will follow the same basic steps. The only difference will be the length of the loan, the cost, interest, and the monthly payments.

Getting a loan does not have to be scary or intimidating, everyone asks for money in some point in their lives and banks have special departments that deal with just that.

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