Posted August 10, 2009 - 12:00 by Philip Brewer
Personal Finance
Especially for things people often buy on credit, like a car or a house, there's a tendency to divide the ownership into two periods--while the loan is being paid off, where the item is expensive, and after the loan has been paid off, where the item is free. This is a fundamental misunderstanding of capital costs.
full story
Posted July 21, 2009 - 08:25 by Xin Lu
Real Estate and Housing, Consumer Affairs
If you are in the process of buying a new primary residence or second home, or considering refinancing a loan, a new set of federal consumer protection rules taking effect on July 30th, 2009 may affect you. These rules are a part of the Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act of 2008, and they are designed to give consumers more disclosure of the cost of a loan and also more time to make a decision.
full story
Posted July 2, 2008 - 12:38 by Andrea Dickson
Credit Cards
Have good credit? A low APR on your credit cards? Always pay your bills on time? That's not going to stop your credit card company from jacking up your rate whenever they feel like it.
full story
Posted May 11, 2008 - 14:04 by Jabulani Leffall
Personal Finance, Investment, Consumer Affairs
There is a burgeoning form of Islamic fundamentalism and it has nothing to do with hate speech or bombs -- Shariah-compliant financing. These loans, based on the premise that there is no production value in credit and that loan issuance must be based on tangilbe assets and require tight debt levels, are not only growing exponentially in use but are available to non-Muslims and well, kind of make sense in some cases.
full story
Posted July 29, 2007 - 17:22 by Andrea Dickson
Cars and Transportation
Last August, I decided to purchase my first new car ever. I had only ever owned used (and entirely paid-for) vehicles prior to this. I researched the type of car that I wanted and settled on a 2007 Mazda3. It's a sexy little hatchback. It's sporty, zippy, and has all the trimmings. Problem is, it's busting my budget. I decided to ask three of my favotire personal finance bloggers for advice on whether or not to sell.
full story
Posted June 14, 2007 - 13:48 by Julie Rains
Entrepreneurship, Small Business Resource Center
I have a business and offer writing services so, on occasion, I have been asked to write business plans. Those making such requests are generally very eager, convinced of their no-fail ideas, and are being held back only by a lack of funding. Bankers do want to make loans but they also want to avoid loan defaults, so the would-be lenders ask for a business plan.
full story

What would you do if you were about to lose your home? What would you be willing to do to keep it? Is it even possible to keep it once you've missed a few payments?
Continue reading "How to Avoid Foreclosure"
Permalink | 9 comments
This Valentine's Day, share the love around the world!
Kiva.org allows anyone with at least $25 dollars to spare to provide a loan to an entrepreneur in the developing world. These entrepreneurs are pre-screened by organizations in the developing country, which means that the recipients of the loans are known to be hard-working, honest people who need (what seems to us) a little extra money to improve their business.
Continue reading "Share the love!"
Permalink | 7 comments
All comments