Hurricane Recovery: Financial Institutions Step It Up We have all heard the stories of financial institutions exploiting consumers with shady practices such as exorbitant interest rates, hidden fees, and the like These accounts anger us and, rightfully, those that practice these deeds should be exposed Fortunately, not all reports are bad as evidenced in the way many companies are treating their customers in light of recent disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita LetÂ’s take a look at how some ...

The $10,000 Credit Card Challenge Thinking about conquering your mountain of debt but too scared even to give your debt much thought? Read this real-world scenario of how one person erased $10,000 of credit card debt within a few years Ever wonder how some people deep in credit card debt manage to come out on top financially? This is the hypothetical but realistic story of Emily, one person who dug herself out of $10,000 in credit card debt in just a ...

Your Credit Card Payment Is Rising: Warning Tips Summary: Did you know your minimum credit card payment is rising? A new government program working to get Americans out of credit card debt is pushing credit card issuers to raise minimum monthly payments Will you be able to make the higher monthly payment? Here are some tips for getting by If you're an American, your minimum monthly credit card payment may soon be doubling If you're only paying the minimums now, you'll ...

Instant Cash Loans – Avoiding High Fees You have heard the stories of people taking out a cash advance only to owe more in finance charges than in principal You can’t help but ask – how did this happen? Will it happen to me? You can avoid such situations if you shop wisely for a cash advance company and pay your loan on time Rolling Fees Cash advance lenders charge on average $15 for every $100 borrowed If you were comparing APR, ...

Financial Security through Structured Settlements Structured settlements have become a natural part of personal injury and workerÂ’s compensation claims in the United States, according to the National Structured Settlements Trade Association (NSSTA) In 2001, life insurance members of NSSTA wrote more than $605 billion of issued annuities as settlement for physical injury claims This represents a 19 percent increase over 2000 A structured settlement is the dispersement of money for a legal claim where all or part of the arrangement calls ...

Budgeting Through Elective Utilities Telephone, Internet, and television service are all examples of elective utilities These utilities, though many times necessary, are not essential to basic living standards in the United States like gas, electricity, and water Elective utilities are no less important to a household budget When budgeting elective utilities, the trick is to find a company offering the same service or better for a lower rate This may sound like a statement from Captain Obvious, but it is ...

7 Quick Cash Fixes To Recover From A Money Emergency When you are desperate to raise emergency funds, it usually doesnÂ’t take very long for you to realize who really cares about you, who is truly a friend be they family or not Here are a few emergency budgeting tips: Budgeting Tip 1: The first thing you want to do is prioritize to get back on track very quickly If that means letting your credit card bill go for a ...