I find it funny how you take out a loan with a higher interest rate, and then after you pay it back, you keep getting offers for “free money” from the lender around the holidays and other times when they figure you might be weaker and go for that seemingly easy money all in exchange for paying interest down the road.
Well, thank God I never took the bait, but after I paid off my higher interest rate credit consolidation loan with Citi Loan, I got a new offer for credit every 4-6 months it seemed. I actually still get money lending offers from them, even years after I paid them off.
You have to be careful with the “get it now, pay for it later” mentality. Keep in mind, this has been the same mentality that has gotten so many other Americans in trouble that they find very hard to get out of.
Try to really stick to it if you’ve paid off a significant loan or credit card. You’ll find that after a while, you REALLY do pay these things off, and they don’t come back to haunt you any more. If you need to seek out a lower interest rate loan or credit card to help you out in paying things off faster and more efficiently.
President Bush signed a new bill just this past Thursday, which negates a rule which required borrowers who have all their federal student loans with one lender to consolidate only with that lender.
Under the new law, borrowers will now be able to consolidate their student loans with any lender, it does not have to be the original lender they got the student loan through in the first place.
This couldn’t come at a better time, and was actually precisely timed as a sort of “emergency measure” for students who had taken out loans, since as of July 1st, the interest rates on federal student Stafford loans will raise to 7.1%, up from 5.3%.
Those borrowers who consolidate the student loans that they have already begun to repay, they can lock in a rate of 5.375% for the lifetime of their loans. This is huge, since this can add up to thousands of dollars in saved interest for many student loan borrowers, especially those that took out larger sums of money.
Supposedly the tax return anticipation loans that H & R Block, the tax preparer services company offers, has been litigated by several former clients charging that the company took advantage of lower income families desperate for money by charging very high interest rates on these “courtesy loans”. What is the pre-tax return anticipation loan?
Well, I’ve actually had my taxes prepared by H & R Block before - only once because my experience was less than stellar - and they tried to get me to sign up for one of these loans. Luckily I wasn’t in dire need of the money I would be receiving in my tax return, so I turned down the loan offer and just waited for my money from the government.
But not so many people are that lucky, and have complained that the rates charged on these courtesy loans were too high and took advantage of them out of financial desperation. I guess the company has recently settled millions of dollars in damages over this..
A lot of women and men are seeking credit cards or credit lines - or loans, for the purpose of getting plastic surgery done. A lot of these types of loans and lines of extended credit, which specifically advertise that they are expressly for “plastic surgery” or self improvement, may have high interest rates, so one should probably be careful when searching for a loan specifically for plastic surgery.
Some of the most common loans taken out for plastic surgery are for women’s breast implants. Women are getting these loans on a more frequents basis with the increasing popularity of this plastic surgery, especially younger women.
There are even a couple websites for financing plastic surgery - specifically breast implants that will help you get the loan you’re looking for, to be able to afford getting the cosmetic improvement you’ve been wanting for years. Just be sure you’re not getting in over your head, and the interest rate is not astronomical.
A lot of the loan companies that will give loans for plastic surgery know that the borrower is more apt to get a higher interest loan without caring, because we all will do almost anything to make ourselves look better.
There are also some excellent deals for financing plastic surgery out there too, so just be sure to shop around a little.
I just heard an ad on the radio for Blue Hippo, which is a computer distributor who apparently doesn’t care about your credit history, and just wants to sell you a computer.
They advertise that they will not run a credit check, and even people with bad credit can finance a top of the line computer - flat screen and all through the Blue Hippo service.
This kind of stuff kind of worries me though. I’m wondering if their finance charges are really high?
I guess the only way you know is if you get a computer financed through them. I believe it’s through mail order that you purchase the computers through them…..
Forecasts for the Prime Rate - which is the best going rate you can possibly get in a given time period, are usually given by financial forecasters and banks about once a month. Yep, the Prime Rate changes that often.
It just goes to show the true volatility and dynamics of the financial and lending industry. Below you will see the most recent forecasts - which means they are estimates.
Why Knowing the Prime Rate is Important
Knowing what you’re getting into, and what the rate is that you would be getting a great deal at is important because it allows you to go into the lending game as a knowledgable consumer who knows a good deal when they see one. Basically, it helps prevent you from getting a raw deal on your loan.
Prime Loan Interest Rate Forecast for the Next Few Months in 2006
May 2006 - 8.0
July 2006 - 8.0
August 2006 - 8.25
September 2006 - 8.50
October 2006 - 8.50
We all know that in order to get the best loan rates, mortgage rates and general loan rates including car loans, you need to have good credit and be deemed a good risk so that the lender will place a higher value on your business (they know you are more likely to pay them back, and in a timely manner if you’ve established a good credit history).
So, the next few posts are going to be on what you can do to establish and maintain good credit, so that you pay a lot less in the future for both long term and short term loans, mortgages and credit cards. I have to admit, I’m going to have to do a little investigating, as my knowledge in this area is just about the same as the average joe on the street.
There are some ways to building good credit that aren’t all common sense, or common knowledge for that matter. We’ll discuss those in the coming days.
According to financial reports and speculation, student loan rates are going to get jacked up starting July 1st, because the rates are adjusted every year, dependent on what the 3-month Treasury yield is at the end of May.
What one financial advisor I read about was suggesting was to refinance, or consolidate, your variable rate federal student loan before June 30th, to save on the impending increase in the interest rate.
The expected increase in the student loan interest rate is expected to jum about 2%, which can be a considerable increase in the amount of cash paid out for some larger student loans. It is also the highest jump in the history of the federal student loan program if it does go down that way.
Students who start paying off their student loans right after college graduation, or withint the six month grace period typically allowed, after graduation, they will be paying a lower percentage for that period of time, so it may be in the person’s best interest to try to pay as much in that time span as possible, to avoid paying more at a higher rate later.
In a process that is going to span a few years, and take place in increments rather than all at once, the Federal Reserve, under the new chairman Ben Bernanke who replaced Alan Greenspan, will take the rate hike in increments, with meetings in between to determine the next step and next interest rate hike.
What does this mean for us?
It would mean an increase in interest rates on borrowed money for millions of consumers and businesses as commercial banks make the same adjustment, which is a quarter-point jump in the prime lending rate, pushing it to 8 percent.
Some economists and financial experts believe the Federal Reserve will stop with the funds rate at 5 percent, which is significantly higher than the forty six year low of 1 percent, which was in effect before the rate increases even began.
Hello everyone. I’m glad you’ve found this site. I have put this weblog together because almost everyone I know is struggling with debts that seem to be out of their control, and credit card companies just seem to be increasing interest rates, as well as loan rates and mortgage rates. With all of this against us, how can we ever get ahead?
That’s what this weblog is all about. I’ll share with you my personal journey from drowning in credit card debt to getting every cent of that debt cleaned up and paid off. Also I’ll share with you how to find the best credit cards with the best interest rates, and how to also budget your spending and strategic ways to pay your bills so you pay yourself first - not the mortgage companies, credit card companies and loaning banks.
So welcome, and I hope you learn a little something here!