Given this is a post-election blog, I thought it would be appropriate to ask, can’t we all just get along? No, I don’t mean republicans and democrats – come on, let’s get real! I mean debt and savings! These two financial instruments seem to be at odds with each other, both in the minds of [...]
Many would have you believe that Americans should not be in debt. Well, with consumer debt totaling $3.778 trillion in the 3rd quarter of 2018, it looks like a lot of people didn’t get the memo! Debt, including revolving lines of credit and installment or personal loans, is not inherently bad. In fact, it’s been [...]
You would think that since consumer financing is numbers-based – a loan amount, length of term, and interest rate equals a monthly payment – it would be considered science. In the words of coach and ESPN College GameDay analyst, Lee Corso, “not so fast!” Things are often described as being either art or science, mainly [...]
Most of us have used a phrase from the past that has stuck with us years later. The phrase, “You can pay me now or pay me later” is one many of us remember and use. It’s from the FRAM oil filter commercials in the 70s and 80s. The implied meaning of the phrase in [...]
I continue to be amazed by retailers who hide the fact that they have consumer financing programs, as if it’s shameful. They should join Credit Providers Anonomous! If there were such an organization, and I may just start it up, you would find retail owners sitting together confessing about how they can’t admit they have [...]
The reports of snail mail’s death have been greatly exaggerated! Why? Just look at all those offers for credit or personal loans that show up. You can also turn on Sirius XM radio and get a steady dose of commercials touting online lending offers. While most are legitimate and can actually help, some are traps. [...]
It was bound to happen. For many years, we’ve been benefitting (unless you’re a saver) from low interest rates the Federal Reserve has engineered to help prop up the economy following the Great Recession. Low interest rates meant low borrowing cost. But, what goes down, must go up (take that Sir Isaac!) If you applied [...]
In the good ‘ol days, we had a nice neat hierarchical order to the credit lending – a prime lender, near-prime lender, and subprime lender. Well, those days are gone! Consumer finance (and even patient finance) lending has morphed and the lines have blurred. Today, you see traditional prime lenders “digging deeper” or approving lower [...]
Let me be clear - In no way are you a dummy! But, how credit decisions are made by a bank or lender can make you dumbfounded. While every person’s credit report has similar data categories – credit limits, account balance, monthly payments, credit inquiries, etc. – what a bank looks at when considering issuing [...]
The phrase, “Color of Money” is most commonly synonymous with the 1986 movie starring Paul Newman and Tom Cruise, but is considered to be a phrase used way back when to see what type of money someone actually had – that they were good for whatever the need was. Money comes in many forms. What [...]