Banks still turning down thousands of mortgage applications

It has been revealed that whilst many reports have claimed that restrictions on mortgage and general lending have started to ease off recently banks are still turning down thousands of mortgage applications every month, further hindering the recovery of the housing market.

The Bank of England released these figures recently, and its data suggested that around [...]

The Fed, Your New Personal Financial Adviser

Good timing. A week after the Federal Reserve Board chairman Ben S. Bernanke publicly opposed the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency, and instead argued that the Fed should keep its consumer protection responsibilities, the Fed releases this: “5 Tips for Shopping for a Mortgage.”
The bullet points:
1. Know what you can afford.
2. Shop around [...]

Time to Replace the 401(k)

We had taken a perfectly decent supplementary 401(k) savings plan and, without any real discussion, allowed it to become the sole source of most workers’ non-Social Security retirement income. The 401(k) was not designed for that role, and it has come up way short. The simplest proof: Even before the crash, the median household [...]

IRA Investments

If you have a trustee for your IRA retirement account, be aware that many of them will not act as the trustee if there are unconventional investments involved. This includes self directed IRA for real estate. In this case, the IRA account owner will have to find their own trustee that will provide the services [...]

Using A Personal Loan To Pay Off Credit Cards A Good Idea?

It might or might not be a good idea to pay off your credit cards by using money from a personal loan, but we’re going to take a look at the pros and cons, and when you’ve read them, you should be able to easily decide whether or not it makes sense for you.
Moreover, it [...]

Negotiating Credit Card Debt Yourself Can Save You Thousands

Negotiating credit card debt is not a particularly mysterious science, but there are things to keep in mind if you are contemplating trying it yourself. There is a predictable sequence of events that follows once the process has been initiated, and you must be aware of the proper steps to take to ensure a successful [...]

Examining Your Personal Secured Loan Options

If you are looking to get a personal loan, you have two basic options. A secured personal loan, or an unsecured personal loan. Since many people generally want a secured personal loan, they are the most popular. Secured personal loans are loans that are secured against a piece of your property. It does not matter [...]

Increase the Chances of Finding a Job in This Recession

With unemployment rising, the job competition is fierce right now. Indeed, during a recession the job competition is always fierce. One way you can increase the chances of finding a job in this recession is to focus on what are known as “soft skills.” Cash Money Life has a great post on soft skills and [...]

Make a retirement plan your first interest

It’s easy to put off your savings plan for retirement or anything else for that matter. If you have any interest in becoming more financially secure for the future, it will take time and good savings habits. Put off saving too long and you may have to work longer before you can afford to retire, [...]

TAX-FREE RETIREMENT PLANNING SERVICES

For many self-employed individuals and small business owners, employer retirement plans are a key part of retirement savings. Understanding how the employer retirement plan fits into an overall retirement plan is important to being able to plan adequately for retirement.
Congress believes that employers should be encouraged to assist individuals in this retirement planning stage. Congress [...]

keep looking »