$8,000 tax credit easily passes Congress, allowing more and more buyers to use their tax “gift” at closing for fees and down payment, says FHA and Fannie Mae.

Sarasota Realtor Mike Payne helps Canadians Dave & Alda buy their winter home!

$8,000 Tax Credit extension called “The Extended and Expanded Tax Credit Agreement” hopes to resuscitate a struggling economic recovery now burdened with commercial failures dropping like dominos.

Oh well, that’s another (depressing) topic. Right now, it’s party time!

Extended Tax “Gift” hands $8,000 to first-time homebuyers (those who haven’t owned a property in 3 years). It’s the same definition as current law.

But wait, there’s something new here:

Extended Tax “Gift” also allows for $6500 to repeat home purchasers, those who have used previous home as principal residence 5 of the 8 previous years. Naturally, there is an in

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Oh the horrors! Credit card balances that make you want to run screaming, debt collectors that call late into the night when you’re home alone, identity thieves that are able to suck the very soul right out of you…It’s Halloween folks, and at SpendOnLife, that means sharing some classic (and financially horrifying) ghost stories.The Lady of the Lake…who couldn’t stop shopping/h2 pIt’s true, she exists. You may see her walking that desolate stretch of road along the lake late at night, weighed down with shopping bags so heavy they could sink her to the bottom of the water. She’s on foot because her car was repossessed (she spent all her money on clothes instead of car payments). But did she have a choice? No! Not when Nordstrom was having THE sale of the year, and deals abounded in every corner of the store. Read all post…

pimg src=http://credit-report-now.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/147177.gif //p pGeorge from Seinfeld would likely disagree, but I’m with BillShrink.com: Shrinkage is good! Who wouldn’t like finding new ways to spend less and save more in their financial endeavors?/p pI gave their product a test drive this past week. After entering in some personal information, I was able to identify a few ways to save with the click of a button. BillShrink has software to help you save money in four categories: wireless service, credit cards, gas purchases, and CDs and savings. /p h2Wireless / Cellphone/h2 pI haven’t had a landline in over three years which means I live and die by my cell. I currently spend $180 a month on three lines and was thrilled to see what I could do to save a few bucks. BillShrink took into consideration every issue I would encounter in switching plans, down to factoring in early termination fees with my current provider. Imp Read all post…

pThink your overdraft charges are high? How does paying 36,500% a year sound? /p pNo, this isn’t the charge from some back-street sub-prime lender. It is in fact the rate that some Halifax customers could end up paying on their overdrafts when the bank introduces a simplified overdraft charging system later this year. /p pThe new system means that most Halifax customers (those with Cardcash, Easycash and Student current accounts will be unaffected) will now pay a daily fee for using their overdraft, whether it is authorised or not. /p pThose with an authorised overdraft will pay £1 a day if they slip into the red by up to £2,500. Above that, you’ll pay £2 a day. That means that if you go £10 into your arranged overdraft for 20 days, you’ll pay £20 in charges. £1 a day on a £10 overdraft is the equivalent of a 36,500% annual interest rate, reckons consumer rights programme Watchdog. /p pAn Read all post…

pOn May 22, 2009, President Barack Obama signed a new law that would protect consumers against predatory practices from credit card companies. strongThe Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009/strong, better known as the CARD Act, addresses the following:/p pAdvance notice of significant credit card term changes/p pLenders can’t raise rates on existing balances/p pNo more universal default/p pPayments apply to highest interest rate balances first/p pNo finance charges on previous billing cycles/p pPayments must be credited on their due date/p pLimits on over-limit fees/p pNo fees based on payment method/p pLimits on fees for subprime credit cards/p pBilling statements must be mailed in a timely manner/p pRules on gift cards/p pCredit cards for young adults/p pDisclosure of marketing agreements with colleges/p pFree credit report ads/p pBilling statement disclosures/p pOnline agreements/p pSettle estates in a timely manner/p pConsider cardholder’s ability to repay/p pCredit card issuer penalty for violating the law/p pCredit CARD studies/p pGuns allowed in national parks and refuges/p pMost of the credit card rules go into effect on February 22, 2010, but some rules become effective on August 20, 2009. We’ Read all post…

The current lifestyle options coupled with innumerable credit cards and easy loan options makes it really easy to fall into a bad credit position.

Credit Counseling

A bad credit is like an incurable disease. It is better to prevent it and very difficult to cure it. You need a good doctor and this is just what ‘credit counseling’ does. The process of credit counseling works by advising customers about how they can avoid bad debt, i.e. how they can avoid incurring debts that they cannot pay off. It is popularly called as debt counseling in the United Kingdom.

Credit Counseling and Debt Management plan (DMP)

One basic step in credit counseling is to co-ordinate with all the creditors to establish a debt management plan for the consumer. A repayment plan is worked out by coordinating with the creditor.

Debt Management Programs-Special Features:

The first benefit customers realize after joining a DMP is the debt consolidation of all their loans into one. The Read all post…

pThe phoney war is over; the supermarkets have begun their assault on the high street banks. Last week Sainsbury’s launched a big expansion of its banking arm by offering a major Nectar points deal to lure in new customers. Meanwhile, Tesco Personal Finance renamed itself Tesco Bank last month – a big step towards the supermarket becoming a full-scale bank offering current accounts and mortgages./p pBoth supermarket giants have been quick to point out how terribly the banks have behaved recently. Indeed they would like to be seen as white knights, riding into banking to offer consumers financial products they can trust. But don’t be fooled – these are businesses not charities. The key question is, how do their products measure up against those of traditional banking institutions? /p h2Supermarket savings rates can be beaten/h2 pThe internet savings deals on offer from Tesco and Sainsbury’s are competitive but complicated. Read all post…