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On September 20, 2012 Richard Cordray, the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or “CFPB”, said that he was going to propose a new rule that would effectively eliminate the individual income requirement for consumers who want to apply for a credit card.   The current rule, which was validated by a Federal Reserve […]

As adults we feel an uncontrollable urge to do what we can to help our children and friends.  Giving them rides to the mall, helping them with their homework, offering a place to sleep for a few days.  We’ve all got that helpful wiring.  Unfortunately, it can get us into deep trouble if we’re not

Every time you turn on the television to a financial network you hear how low mortgageinterest rates are. Home buyers with good credit can easily get rates below 5%, whichis historically low. But what about other consumer loans? Are all interest rates goingdown? Interest rates are largely a product of consumer credit risk, credit scores and

You cannot open your mailbox without a credit card offer staring you in the face. Sincethe credit meltdown in 2008 the credit card industry reduced and then eventuallyincreased the amount of preapproved credit card offers being sent to prospectivecardholders. And most, if not all, of those card offers involve some form of credit cardrewards. Rewards cards are very easy to

Consumers who have gone through tough credit times are always looking for ways tobuild and rebuild their credit reports and scores. And, the credit repair professionalswith whom they work are constantly looking for new ways to serve their clients’ scoreimprovement needs. Can a credit builder loan be an “outside the box” solution for both? A credit builder loan is

A personal loan is an unsecured installment loan offered by most large and smallbanks. They went out of favor in the middle of the credit meltdown but have made avery impressive comeback. Many large banks, in fact, will now go as high as $100,000if you’ve got good enough credit and sufficient income. Personal loans, also

For all of the hard work consumers and credit repair companies put in to addressingnegative items on credit files, a gentler kinder approach might yield the same results.The so-called “Goodwill deletion” is becoming part of a consumer’s arsenal when tryingto clear their credit reports of blemishes. What is a Goodwill deletion and when, if ever,does it work?

When you successfully file a chapter 7 bankruptcy, your debts are automatically includedin the bankruptcy. Your debts are essentially placed in one of two categories; statutorilydischargeable and not dischargeable. If you’ve got debts that are dischargeable andyou don’t reaffirm the obligation then a chapter 7 discharge essentially does away withthe debt and your obligation to pay

In our constant battle to end up with the highest credit scores possible we movebalances, increase credit limits, open new accounts, dispute delinquencies, and dowhatever else we can think of to increase earn more points. One of the increasinglyasked questions I receive is what’s the optimal number of credit cards for my score? This is one of