There is an alarming trend that shows more and more people are carrying their debts into retirement with them. Some of these people are intentionally increasing their credit card debt with no plans to pay them off. Their reasons vary from necessities of life to vacations and everything in between, but this leaves their loved ones with a question that needs answering – can family members inherit debt?
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Debt
Debt. It can be used wisely to help free up money to build wealth, but most of us struggle with debt. Take a look at articles that help you deal with debt and eliminate your bad debt.
Steps to Take to Avoid Retiring in Debt
National debt is a massive problem in our country and there’s no shortage of advertising reminding us that we need to pay off our personal debts. Sadly, statistics clearly indicate that the numbers of individuals who are retiring in debt are on the increase, so much so that over half of those who retire are in the red.
Earlier this year Newsweek reported that the golden years have been severely tarnished with mounting medical expenses, rising credit card debt, and little or no savings. Newsweek stated that a law professor at the University of Michigan found that individuals over the age of 55 now account for more than 20 percent of all bankruptcies in the U.S. CESI Debt Solutions, a nonprofit personal-finance firm, conducted a study and discovered that 56 percent of retirees carried outstanding debts with them as they left the workforce.
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What First Time Home Buyers Need to Know About Their Credit Card Balances
Many people who feel they are prepared to enter the real estate market by purchasing their first home have experienced a roadblock to good mortgage rates – their credit cards. Credit cards can play a positive, but also a negative role in the process of purchasing a home.
There is not a doubt that having a credit card can work highly in your favor when it comes time to shop around for your first home. If you have a consistent history of timely credit card payments this builds a strong credit rating. Having a high credit score not only will secure you a mortgage quickly, but one with very competitive rates.
Your credit card can be very influential when determining what mortgage you are seeking because the credit card payments are added to what the payments ‘would be’ on a possible mortgage to determine how much can be afforded.
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When is a Good Time to Consider Refinancing Your Mortgage?
For many of us who are mortgage holders from time-to-time we find ourselves asking, “When is a good time to refinance my mortgage?” Hardly a day goes by without noticing many lenders advertising tempting deals to entice you to refinance your mortgage. That temptation to refinance can be huge because depending on your situation, refinancing your mortgage can be beneficial in areas such as reducing the interest rate, shortening or extending the mortgage loan, and even by getting some extra cash flow happening by lowering the monthly mortgage payments. A word to the wise though, refinancing must be done with great caution because not every situation can have the desired benefits.
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Credit Card Delinquency on the Decline
Amidst all the negativity that sometimes shrouds credit cards there is some amazing news. For the first time in a decade, bank card delinquencies dipped below the 15-year average. Earlier this month, the American Bankers Association (ABA) released a report announcing this good news.
According to the ABA’s report, credit card consumers overall have done a better job in meeting their debt obligations in the fourth quarter of 2010. They indicate that this may be attributed to a slowly improving economy which allows consumers to better manage their debt. Another contributing factor is that for the first time in two years, over 200,000 jobs were created; therefore the unemployment rate dropped to 8.8 percent. [Read more…] about Credit Card Delinquency on the Decline
