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Parenting is never easy, and in a time of growing economic crisis, teaching your child financial responsibility is even harder. So hard, in fact, that your adult child may someday come to you, asking for help out of a sticky financial situation. If that day comes, MSNBC has a few tips on how (and if) to help an adult child with debt: (more…)

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If you’re swimming in a sea of debt and you can’t see the shore, now is the time to look for help. In fact, the answer is always “now,” because the sooner you take control of debt, the faster you will take control of it. (more…)

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There have been a few scary stories going round recently about borrowers with excellent credit ratings who have still ended up struggling to pay for their homes or even defaulting on the mortgages. It just goes to show that you have to make sure you’re incredibly well-informed, even if you think you’re financially under control. (more…)

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It’s a pretty ironic outcome of a Bankrate survey that people with debts make the best savers. The results showed that 84% of Americans who had debts like car loans, credit cards or student loans (the survey excluded mortgages) are regularly saving a proportion of their income. The people who didn’t have a non-mortgage debt had a regular savings rate of only 63%.

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In even more depressing news for the United States housing market, experts believe that it will become incresingly more difficult to get a traditional mortgage, even for those with a good credit record.

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Everybody has a credit card, and everybody knows the basics of how it works. But there are a few lesser known facts that could cause you problems. They’re not secrets, as such – they’re public knowledge, often found in the small print of your credit card contract – but they’re facts that you should be aware of to avoid getting into trouble with your credit card.

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So you’ve blown the budget, spent more than you could really afford, or life’s changing circumstances mean that you’ve accumulated more debt than you want to deal with. Sometimes it might feel like a pit that you can’t get out of, but here are three basic steps to get you back on your way to financial success: (more…)

credit: SqueakyMarmotIf you’re heavily in debt and looking for a way out, it’s quite appealing to hear someone saying they can help you get your debt reduced or canceled. Unfortunately, there are a number of illegal debt reduction and cancellation scams being operated these days, and you can end up owing more money and having a worse credit rating.

Basically, the rule of thumb is that if it is too good to be true, then it just can’t be true. Debt scammers generally use a few particular tricks, including: (more…)

credit: Joshua Davis (articnomad)With all the bad financial news in the press today, filling up your local news and the front page of your favorite paper, you’re bound to be wondering how bad the shape of the economy is. MSNBC’s John Schoen says that though a storm is on the horizon, it’s hard to say how bad it’ll get.
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credit: Kanou HirokiIt seems like most finance news is bad news lately, and unfortunately this is no different: In February 2008, the national foreclosure went up 60%, compared to foreclosures in February 2007.
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