Credit Cards For Less Than Perfect Credit

Consumer credit declines in May.

Consumers across America are slowly paying off their debt, continuing a trend has been exhibited in 18 of the last 20 months.

According to the latest report from the Federal Reserve [Board], the amount of money consumers owe to creditors declined at an annualized rate of 4.5 percent in May. That number equates to a drop of about $9.15 billion in consumer debt. The new national number for total consumer debt is $2.42 trillion. This was the fourth month in a row that consumer credit declined. Read the full post

Especially during the busy summer travel and vacation season, lots of credit card consumers will be faced with an often-perplexing question or choice. Should they go ahead and pay extra for auto insurance when renting a car, or decline it and hope that they are covered by their credit card membership’s insurance program?

Sometimes the cost of a daily rental car insurance premium is a huge additional expense that can escalate the cost of auto rentals into the stratosphere. But without it, if there is an accident, the renter could wind up owing a car rental company the price of a brand new car. So

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Americans may seen lower prices and savings at retail chains when new interchange fees go into effect

As the hot debate surrounding interchange fees begins to wind down in Congress, it looks as though retailers are poised to win a victory. As the House and Senate reached a compromise on a bill that will essentially lower interchange, or “swipe fees,” for credit and debit card transactions, consumers may be wondering how the new legislation will affect their wallets.

Once the bill is signed into law, merchants will feel some financial relief as the interchange fees – costs that the retailers must pay credit card issuers and banks for each credit or debit transaction – will decline. Read the full post

Report shows that both consumer spending and personal income increased in May

Americans may be slowly improving their financial situation, new data from the U.S. Department of Commerce suggests. According to a report released Monday, consumer spending – a key indicator of economic health – increased by 0.2 percent in May after giving a flat reading in April.

Consumer spending accounts for nearly 70 percent of the economy and is often used to determine the strength of economic recovery. After disappointing results in April, May’s rate suggests that Americans are showing slightly more confidence in both their personal finances and the economy. Read the full post

We all know by now – after feeling the negative impact of the recession, the credit crunch, and the high rates of unemployment – that it pays to be smart about how we use credit and manage our levels of debt. Right before the worst of the global recession and credit crisis hit, for example, the average American consumer was carrying such a large burden of debt that he or she was actually earning less each month that was being spent.

You cannot continue to balance your finances if you are spending more than a dollar for every dollar you bring home from work, but that is exactly what millions of Americans were doing. That

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Foreclosures are expected to increase as more Americans drop out of HAMP

The Obama administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program aimed at providing relief to distressed homeowners does not seem to be having its intended effects, according to the Associated Press. As more Americans are forced to drop out of the program, the number of foreclosures in the U.S. is expected to climb.

To date, the $75 billion program has seen nearly one-third of its 1.24 million initial applicants drop out or face disqualification, making the number of people that have left the program higher than the number of Americans that received permanent mortgage modification loans under HAMP, the AP reports. Read the full post