Not too long ago, when shopping for an auto loan, you had the choice between a three, four, or five year loan. These terms would lock you into a loan, and make sure you were able to pay back the car quickly enough so that you did not owe more money than the vehicle was…
Total U.S. consumer debt was $11.65 trillion at the end of Q1 2014, up 3.7 percent from the previous year, according to the New York Federal Reserve. Let’s put this number in perspective: Just 40 years ago, the total amount of all U.S. debt—including government, business and consumer obligations—was only $2.2 trillion. It has become…
There are certain financial decisions that I will never make. For instance, I will never take out a payday loan; they just have way too many downsides. There are also financial decisions that I will never make again. For instance, I will never be co-signing a loan for a non-family member. The stress is…
Student loans are quite the hot topic lately. The Federal Reserve Bank reports that the total outstanding balance on student loans was $966 billion, at the end of 2013. That number is only growing larger. The biggest reason is that for many people these loans are not causing them undue grief. So instead of hurrying…
A structured settlement is a kind of annuity or a fixed sum of money decided to be paid to someone every year, possibly for the rest of his life or could also be arranged in monthly installments along with the annual arrangement. They are awarded as a compensation for personal injuries or legal settlements. Also…
With the cost of college continuing to rise each year, you may be wondering whether the once traditional route of going to one school for all four years is the way to proceed. According to CollegeBoard, the average cost of attending a public four-year school within your state is now just over $8,800. Add in…
It’s no secret that we as consumers have a bit of a debt problem. Not only did widespread over-leveraging help intensify the Great Recession, but we also racked up roughly $82.5 billion in new credit card debt during 2011 and 2012 and are on pace to add another $41.2 billion to our tab this year,…