Speaking before Congress last week, newly-installed HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan had this to say:

“As is the case with other mortgage market participants,”  said Donovan, “currently FHA is experiencing elevated defaults and foreclosures and with it, losses that exceed prior estimates. In contrast to the subprime sector, where unsafe loan features and poor underwriting made those mortgages risky from the start, for FHA, the primary reason for defaults and foreclosures continues to be loss of income combined with low or negative home equity, economic factors present in today’s environment. Although this is a challenging time for all entities in the mortgage market, FHA is unlikely to face the catastrophic losses borne in the subprime sector. FHA loans continue to substantially outperform subprime loans: only 7 percent of FHA loans are seriously delinquent (greater than 90 days delinquent or in foreclosure) compared to more than 23 percent of subprime loans.”

Debt collectors are int the business of collecting unpaid debts, they are highly trained individuals.  Often times they resort to threats and intimidation, in order to get individuals to pay the debt.

They will do or say just about anything, they will verbally harass you until they can find your weakness and then use that weakness to coerce you into paying them.  A great deal of collectors completely ignore regulations designed to protect consumers from unfair debt collection practices.  Most consumers are not ware themselves of the rights afforded to them under the FDCPA “Federal Debt Collection Practices Act” and the FCRA “Federal Credit Reporting Act”.  It is far more profitable for a collection agency to ignore the rules, than it is to play by them.

With the struggling economy, debt elimination scams are on the rise. These companies prey on the needy, they understand that financial troubles are emotional for people and they take advantage of consumers that are barely getting by. There are many tactics these debt elimination companies deploy, most will try to convince consumers that the fees Banks and Credit card companies charge are unconstitutional. In other instances these unscrupulous companies convince consumers that they have a secret way to make debt disappear.

When preparing to file your federal tax return, don’t forget your contributions to charitable organizations. Your donations could add up to a sizeable tax deduction if you itemize on IRS Form 1040, Schedule A.

Here are a few tips to ensure your contributions pay off on your tax return:

1. Contributions must be made to qualified organizations to be deductible. You cannot deduct contributions made to specific individuals, political organizations and candidates.

2. You cannot deduct the value of your time or services. Nor can you deduct the cost of raffles, bingo or other games of chance.

If you do not know what a credit report is, you are in a world of trouble.  A clean credit file can save you thousands on interest rates,  can help you obtain the job of your dreams.  Nowadays it is hard to rent a home with a blemished credit file, companies assume that if you mismanaged your credit then you will not be a good employee or a good tenant for that matter.  Now more than ever it is important , to understand your credit file.

With the economic turmoil, maintaining a high Fico score is more important than ever. Just about everyone understands if you pay your bills late or skip a payment all together, your credit score is going to be lower than someone’s who always pays everything before it’s due. We also understand that a lower utilization of our available credit will increase our Fico Score.

There are some other financial mistakes that may not be as well known, but that will also cause a lower credit score. When talking about your financial situation, what you don’t know really can hurt you here are some financial mistakes you need to avoid:

What is debt settlement?

Obtaining credit is getting increasingly difficult for Americans. Banks are extending very little credit, regardless of your Fico credit score. As our economy worsens, consumers are finding themselves without jobs. People are making conscious efforts to reduce the amount of debt they have. In these tough economic times, more people are turning to debt settlement companies.

secured credit card is offered to an applicant who may not be approved for an unsecured credit card, by the credit card company. A secured credit card is a form of credit that requires you to back your credit line with a cash deposit. For example, if you transfer $500.00 to a secured credit card from your bank account, the credit card company will extend you that much credit on the credit card. Many banks will pay interest on he money deposited to guarantee the credit line.