Thanks to a government rebate, a check might be coming your way.
Now what? Treat yourself to an iPhone?
Not so fast.
As the dollar plummets in value vs. a myriad of foreign currencies, don't be caught by surprise at the ways it could affect your everyday life.
In this time of high home foreclosure rates, the growing sector of foreclosure-rescue companies is rife with scam artists, say experts.
Debt consolidation plans look good, but the question is whether they really work.
You've seen the ads on television or on the Internet promising to help you get out from under the mounds of credit-card debt you've accrued over the years. While their flashy images and promises to get rid of your debt are hypnotic, credit-strapped consumers need to look beyond the hard sell before signing up.
No longer are credit unions simply mom-and-pop operations.
Increasingly they are becoming full-service financial providers with product portfolios that can compete with banks. And more people have access to their services: many now serve communities rather than specific company employees.
Lenders keep trying to suck my family into a vortex of debt.
We're standing firm.
Few things affect your quality of life more than financial literacy.
The basics go well beyond being able to open up a bank account or get a job. They entail knowing how to make a wide variety of financial decisions throughout your life.
According to the complaint, the company claimed it would teach their clients how to manage their money for no upfront fee. AmeriDebt allegedly took their clients' first monthly payment as a fee instead of distributing it to creditors. By the time creditors got any type of payment, the client was already behind and at risk of having their credit damaged even more.
Unless you have pristine credit, it's no longer a sure thing that you'll snag a decent interest rate on a mortgage -- or even qualify at all, for that matter.
Mortgage refinancing is rising in popularity again -- and in light of today's emergency 0.75 percentage-point interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve, it may look like an even better move.
