Debt is a major factor in your credit score. If you have
too much of it (or none at all) or if you have trouble repaying your debts on
time, your credit score will plummet. Keeping your debts reasonable and paid,
on the other hand, will do more than almost anything else to improve your
credit score. Here are a few tips that can ensure that your debts actually help
you boost your credit score:
Money doesn't have to be boring! Each week, CreditBloggers.com takes a look at the lighter side of the personal finance world in a series called Funny Money Friday.
I'm in the middle of planning a vacation for next fall...and the timing could not be worse. The dollar has fallen to a 3-year low against the yen and the weakest ever point against the Euro. If this continues, it won't be long until a dollar will get you twenty cents and a smirk. So, savvy travelers need to start thinking of creative alternatives to that trip to Paris:
Turkmenistan - The average hotel room in this dessert oasis is around $50 a night. Pay no attention to the reports that it serves as a "transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and Western European markets" and that border areas may present an "unstable security situation and the presence of landmines."
Bulgaria - Croatia was the new Greece last year. Now Bulgaria could be the next Croatia. Some former Soviet quirks and elements of "social and economic chaos." But very affordable!
South Dakota - What the heck. America is one of the best travel bargains in the world right now. And South Dakota? Well...Mount Rushmore is there? And they've got buffalo?
Have a great weekend!
Emily Davidson – A former TransUnion insider and a member of Credit.com's expert team. Emily writes about credit reports, credit cards, loans and personal finance as the CreditBloggers.com editor.
A couple of years ago when I started writing about the potential effects of profligate lending, everyone was caught up in the hoopla about "expanding homeownership opportunities." Home values were soaring and everyone associated with subprime lending was making obscene amounts of money. No one wanted to hear negative news. Even my letters to HUD never got a response.
Let's be charitable and say that their attention was elsewhere, but regardless, I know how the operators of the radar station on Oahu felt on the morning of December 7th when they called headquarters to warn of the incoming Japanese planes and no one paid any attention to them.
What is bizarre is that even people in positions of regulatory power like the Comptroller of the Currency whose agency regulates the Nationally Chartered banks, the ones with N.A. after their names, didn't do anything even after they recognized the problem. For example, in December 2006 John C. Dugan, head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, gave a speech where he warned that Option ARMs, the time-bomb loans with the artificially low payment rates, were dangerous for consumers.
Well, they were dangerous for lenders too, as we have now found out. The question is, "Why didn't he use his regulatory power to stop or slow it?" Indeed, what's the purpose of having power if you don't use it?
Today, we have a different situation. Every day the papers have articles on one aspect or another of the subprime mortgage-credit crisis-foreclosure problem. Now it's hot news.
The government has come up with several programs to help rescue people in trouble, yet after a little time has passed, it seems as if each program helps only a disappointingly small percentage them. They are not soloving the problems!
There are a couple of new proposals on the table and we'll see how they go through Congress. One would be a revision of the Bankruptcy Act that would allow judges to modify mortgage loan terms, a power they do not now have.
Another one which I particularly like would provide relief to otherwise creditworthy people whose homes have gone down in value to the point where the loan balance is higher than the value of the home. These people are "untouchable" in the current market. They can't get a normal loan even though by every measure other than LTV, they are excellent borrowers.
We'll just have to watch to see how this unfolds but I sure hope that people move more quickly in implementing programs. There is no sense coming up with a solution after everyone is dead!
You might be interested in seeing a map that shows the concentration of subprime loans. When you look at it you are likely to note a strong resemblance to bomb craters. Many borrowers and lenders will agree with you. CLICK HERE
