One Credit Payment per Month (Impossible? Read on)
Was this another one of those months where you just couldn’t keep track of what you owed, or who you owed it to, or how much you had to pay somebody? Are you tired of those bad credit calls from loudmouths demanding your hard-earned pay cheque? Maybe it’s time to consider consolidating your credit card debts.
What is debt consolidation?
Debt consolidation is a good idea for pretty much everyone. It means a couple of things. First, you try to eliminate as many credit cards as possible, and put all your debt into one pot. Sort of like when you empty out the garage and put all your stuff into one big pile. It can be a bit scary, at first, because now your debt is all out in the open, and you can see just how high that pile has become. But, let’s do it.
So, how much do you owe?
Say you carry three cards-a gas card, a general credit card, and a specialty card, for your favorite big box store. All these credit cards are near their max, and you don’t make payments each month. It’s tough because they all come due at different times, in different amounts, and it seems that they absolutely never come at the same time you get paid, and might have some money in your pocket. But not paying those debts gives you bad credit-in fact, just keeping those credit cards near their max can lower your credit score.
How can you fix credit card debt?
Take out a car title loan. Sound like more debt? Nope. You’re going to use that car title loan to get rid of those credit cards, improve your bad credit debt, and get your payments in line with your pay cheque so that you make one payment you can easily keep track of, at the same time, in the same amount, every month. Sound easy? It is.
How to get a car title loan
If you own your car (or other vehicle) and it is less than eight years old, you may qualify for up to 40% of the wholesale value of that vehicle. You apply online, fast, easy, and private. About 99% of people qualify, so odds are, you will too. And you’ll know about your car title loan in 24 hours or maybe less-it’s that fast. And they can even direct deposit it to your bank account, if you want.
When you get that car title loan, pay off those credit cards, and start making one payment that’s easy to track and easy to remember, at the same time, every month. You’ll be on the fast track to credit repair, and feel a whole lot better about your life and your future.
What Money Actually Looks Like
Have you ever wondered what a Trillion dollars would actually look like? We often hear of a country’s debt being in the billions or of countries spending billions of dollars. We also hear of more everyday numbers in regards to large sum bonuses and tax rebates. Just for fun, here are a few comparisons to how money really stacks up.
These measurements are using American currency and every day objects.
The Stimulus Check – $1,200: Most Americans received a tax rebate of approximately $1,200 in 2008. If the amount was handed out in $1 bills, it would pile 5.16 inches high, just a little higher than your Apple iPhone.
A single share of the priciest individual stocks traded on the market, one share of BRK is about $90,000. If this was converted into $1 bills, the stack would stand 32 feet tall, approximately ¾ the height of a standard utility pole. During the 2008 high where one single share rose to $147,000, that same stack would now stand ten feet above that same utility pole.
The 2008 AIG Bonuses totalled $165 million. In $100 bills, the height would measure 591 feet, stretching about 40 feet past the Washington Monument. If they were issued in $1 bills, it would be 59,125 feet, extending into the stratosphere and would surpass the altitude of the highest clouds in the sky.
The net worth of some of the rich and famous, such as Bill Gates. $40 billion in $1 notes would measure 2,714 miles, which is the approximate distance from Seattle to Miami.
Scheme money was a hot topic this past year. Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme, the largest in history, totalled $50 Billion. In $100 bills, the sheer volume of it would be just under 20,000 cubic feet. It would be enough to fill 33.5 Super 18 dump trucks to capacity.
Even though AIG handed out $165 million in bonuses, they needed $173 billion in government bailout money to ‘avoid disaster’. In $100 bills, this amount would weight approximately 1,907 tonnes. Almost the equivalent of four Beoing 747 jumbo jets at the maximum takeoff weight.
$1 Trillion: This stack of cash in $1 bills would be about 67,866 miles, stretching 2.72 times around the Earth’s equator. If stacked in $100 bills, $1 trillion would be enough to fill 4.5 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Of course none of us will ever require such large sums of cash during our lifetime, but if you are in need of some cash and realize you have a poor credit rating and standard banks are not an option, consider a private car title loan. These loans are tailored specifically for clients with bad credit and usually provide 24-hour, no obligation on-line applications.
Ending the Not So Merry-go-Round of Credit Card Debt
Do you wake up at 3:00 a.m., worrying about how you’re going to pay your bills? Or maybe you’re not paying your bills at all. Maybe you’re just shuffling them around-paying one debt by creating another-usually using a credit card (or four, or five, or six of them) to bail you out. A bit of a merry-go-round, isn’t it. But your life does not have to be that way. There are alternatives to the nightmare of ongoing credit card debt. So you can get a good night’s sleep.
First things first. Take out your credit cards. Do it with your partner or spouse, if they’ve got cards too. Even get the kids in on it. Make it a family challenge. Then, cut every card up. Yup. Gulp. Take a deep breath, and just do it. Including, by the way, your debit or cash card. From here on in, you’re paying with real green and green alone (that’s the colour of cash, by the way, if you’ve forgotten) for every purchase you make.
Next step. Go through every credit card bill, and every bank statement, and add up only these fees for the past 30 days:
1. How much have you been charged just for exceeding your credit card limit-not the interest you’re also being charged-on every card you carry (you know you’re over on every one of them)
2. How much have you been charged for exceeding your chequing account limit-that is, drawing on the overdraft (or is your credit so bad, your cheques are just flat-out bouncing-then add up those charges)
3. How much has the bank charged you for exceeding your allotted number of debit card withdrawals this month (’cause you know you use that baby like there’s no tomorrow).
What’s the scary total? Don’t pass out; congratulate yourself. Because you’ve moved to cash-only purchases, you’ve just subtracted that amount from monthly mounting debt. See how much free cash you’ve suddenly discovered?
Now. Make a list of every debt you have, credit cards, in-store accounts, rent-to-own agreements, you name it. List every one of them. List the highest interest debts first. Those are the ones you’re going to pay off first, using the money you’re no longer spending on overdrafts and exceeding your credit card limit. See how that works?
Still not enough?
Consider your assets. If your debt is that bad, you need fast action. Think about using your car, or truck, or whatever you drive, to get a car title loan. It can help you get a jump on those bad credit cards, and help you get your debt repayment under control. Instead of paying high interest rates on three, or four, or more credit cards, you can pay one easy monthly installment.
Right now maybe your credit is so bad you think you couldn’t even qualify for a car title loan. But that’s the best part. A car title loan is especially developed for people like you with bad credit, low credit scores, or even bankruptcy. It works because you use your car-if it’s less than eight years old and you own it-as collateral against the money you borrow.
And, because you’ve qualified for a loan, and make regular payments, it can help you improve your credit score, and get you back on the very merry-go-round of good credit. And back to sleep at night.
Foreclosure vs Short Sale
The recession has brought out the creative survival side in many markets, and the housing market is no exception. Due to the recently distressed property market in the US, banks are encouraging property owners to short sale instead of foreclose.
Banks are currently hiring people who once used to work in the mortgage-lending industry and have moved them over to short sales. The government is encouraging lenders with cash incentives to allow approved homeowners to sell their homes for less than they owe, actually closing the deals on houses. It is a hot trend in the housing market right now and is expected to get even hotter as banks have increased their short sale approvals.
According to Cambbell Inside Mortgage Finance, these short sales accounted for 17% of all residential real estate sales in the month of February, up from 13% in November. As well, the Bank of America says it has more than doubled the amount of short sales it has processed in recent months.
This new trend in house sales heeds a warning to all who want to consider such a move. The reality is that you have lost your house and you still have to pay. Lenders have too much to lose on these transactions so they have been reluctant to approve the sales. They would often wait months before getting back to potential buyers, as the processes would remain stalled and take more than six months to complete. The procedure was further complicated if the homeowner had a second mortgage, adding additional time to make the approval.
Once approved, the first lender is paid in full before any money flows back to the second lender. Often times, the second-lien-holders are left with in the negative and have been the ones disapproving potential deals. That has slowly change as lenders realize they have less to lose on short deals than on a foreclosure. A foreclosure will cost a lender 50% as opposed to only 30% on a short sale. These short sales offer a way to get homeowners out of their financial obligation as well as get distresses properties off the books quickly.
As of April 5, 2010 US borrowers will earn a $3,000 relocation incentive and servicers will get $1,500 for handling the short sale. This comes as part of the new Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative program as an incentive to offer troubled borrowers a short sale option instead of a foreclosure. Investors who own the mortgage will get a $2,000 bonus and the lien holders will receive up to $6,000 for releasing their claims.
There are many options available to overburdened homeowners even here in Canada. Talking with a financial institution is a good way to discover what yours may be. If bad credit is keeping you away from a seeking your options through a traditional bank, there are many private lending institutions that specialize in bad credit loans. They too, can help and guide you through your options.
Our Low Interest Days are Numbered
It seems the great ride could soon be over. As inflation continues to move at a rate faster than even the central bank expected, Statistics Canada says the Bank of Canada could lift its interest rates as early as June. Yes, this means it could very well cost more to borrow money.
The Bank of Canada is guided by the core rate. Consumer prices climbed 1.6% in February, down from 1.9% in January, but the core rate, which eliminates volatile items such as fuel, rose 2.1% from 2%. Economists had not expected Canada to reach this target until the third-quarter of 2011.
Some economist say that Canada’s core inflation mark up resulted in the ‘Olympic Effect’ due to hotels in Vancouver charging exorbitant rates for their rooms. One hotel that normally refers to itself as a discount hotel, was charging $1,200 a night for a suite that usually costs $280.
Either way, Canada is moving out of the recovery phase of the recession. This is going to be a huge factor on how aggressive policy makers are going to be. There is speculation that the central bank will begin increasing borrowing rates before the United States. This speculation has played a large factor on the loonie being close to parity with the US dollar. Out of the Group of Seven, Canada may be the first out of Great Britain, France, Japan, Italy and the United States to raise interest rates since the recession began. The US does not show any sign of raising their borrowing rates any time soon as their consumer prices did not show an increase last month, the first time in almost a year.
In Asia, the inflation is being beaten back as their country’s growth accelerates. The central bank in India announced a rate hike in an attempt to fight against inflation while China posted a 16-month high in its consumer index recently. Canadian retail sales increased by 0.7% in January due mostly to home-improvement products and the government’s Home Renovation Tax Credit.
Many economists think the banks will raise the rates by 0.25% at a time then re-evaluate, which means the clock is ticking on Canada’s record-low rates. If you are one of the many who are unable to take advantage of these low interest rates due to bad credit, you may want to consider alternate means of financing such as car title loans. While interest rates will be higher due to the high risk nature of these loans, doing some research will enable you to find a lender who provides reasonable rates with flexible repayment terms.
Frugal Canadians Opt for Web over TV
It’s finally happened. Canadians have caught up with the rest of the world when it comes to web surfing. According to Ipsos Reid, the average Canuck spends more than 18 hours a week surfing the web compared to 16.9 hours a week watching television. It’s what Canadians are doing on the web that may be surprising. They’re watching television. As more of our favourite shows migrate to the internet, so do we, so in essence, we’re not necessarily watching less television.
Although television shows are being watched on-line, the usage of radio, magazines and newspapers remains about the same. Part of the reason people are watching television on the internet is due to the rising cost of cable and satellite services, so watching television on-line for free is a logical choice. If you’re not an avid television watcher, paying $30 a month is not really a big deal, but paying $80 a month to watch one or two shows just does not make sense to most people.
As we slowly climb out of our recession shell, it’s still a good idea to save where you can and avoid extra spending or expenses. If excessive cable or satellite bills are weighing you down, then internet television just may be for you.
According to AdAge.com, US television giant CBS has sold out on its on-line advertising inventory for March Madness on Demand, bringing in $37 million dollars, up 20% from the previous year. Other major companies such as AT&T, soft drink giant Coca-Cola and credit card giant Capital One have all bought into the on-line advertising market.
Last year, 7.5 million people watched the NCAA tournament online, compared with 130 million on TV. The internet is an amazing tool and does not necessarily have to be only about television. It can also be a resource for information and provide help on any number of topics.
With more on-line content such as games, video-clips, movies and channels from abroad, these additional factors add to the growing trend. For younger generations, the internet is much more important than television than say to those over 55. Even though computers are becoming increasingly important to everyone, regardless of their age, they’re still a form of entertainment.
If you’re one of the many whose surfing is not because they dislike t.v., but rather because you haven’t paid your cable bill, you may want to consider a private secured loan to consolidate your debt and pay off that massive cable bill. It could have you back to watching the small screen instead of staring at your monitor in no time.
How Much Will a Die-Hard Sports Fan Pay?
I swear, now I’ve heard it all. The latest concept to hit sports teams and their fans, the all new ’sports mortgage’. Yep, you read right! Dedicated die-hard, long-term fans can now lock themselves into prime seats for the duration of 30 or 50 years with the Stadium Financing Capital Group. The concept goes something like this.
Being as the cost of prime seats continue to rise, even if the team is lousy, cash-strapped athletes remain frustrated by their deteriorating stadiums and struggle to keep them upgraded. They are constantly at a loss in making up for the financial shortfalls.
This new innovation in marketing benefits the big-time athletes by offering fans guaranteed top football seats. Jayhawks fans, for example, will pay as much as $150,000 US over a period of ten years to buy the seats for the next three decades. In return, the cost of the seats will remain locked in to the current 2010 prices.
This marketing fundraiser is being called ‘equity seat rights’ and has been advertised as a win-win for both the teams and the fans. The teams can bank on extra revenue and avoid borrowing money from taxpayers while the fans can be assured of the seat prices they will be paying to see their favourite teams well into the future. If one is buying seats for college or university football, the seat-fees become a tax write-off for donating to a school.
In California, fans have been given an even greater opportunity. They’ve been offered an ‘endowment seating program’ which allows 30 years to pay for 50 years worth of season football tickets. The program is going well, as it has sold more than 1,800 of the 3,000 available seats. This has generated $150 million for renovations to its own Memorial Stadium, which was built in 1923. The long-term seating programs come with annual interest payments, much like a home mortgage plus a 6% annual administrative fee.
The Chicago company behind the ’sports mortgage’ is confident that these equity seat rights will take over the personal seat license, which does not lock in ticket prices. Even during difficult recession times, the cost of professional and university stadium seat prices go up. Top Jayhawk tickets tier between $175,000 and $225,000 but a club seat will cost more than double that amount if it was paid out over a 30-year period.
In the event you are a die-hard fan looking for a long-term sports commitment or maybe you’re just in need of a loan to clean up a bad credit record, you may want to consider a car title loan. These secured loans are tailor made for people with bad credit who need cash fast.