Smart Borrower Blog

Archive for July, 2010

Poor People Pay for Rich People Credit Card Rewards Programs

If you are not using a credit card to fund most of your purchases you are essentially subsidizing the rewards programs for those who do. At least that is what a recent study from the Boston Federal Reserve says. And it also says that it is the poor who are funding the programs for rich. […]

Could Small Banks See More Lending Opportunities In The Near Future?

An article on Bloomberg.com reports on an Obama initiative for small business lending that passed the house last month and could go to vote this week in the Senate. President Obama is once again pushing to get more money into the hands of small business owners in hopes of boosting the sluggish economy through job creation. The Obama administration claims that there are approximately 30 million small businesses in the country, meaning that they employee less than 500 employees. The employees in these small businesses account for about 64% of all new jobs that are created.

Low Rates Finally Make Mortgage Loans Palatable

Even though long-term mortgage interest rates have been at all-time record lows for weeks, very few borrowers were taking the bait. At least until this past week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Last week, home loan applications rose by 7.6 percent based on the MBA’s seasonally adjusted index. Home purchase applications rose for the […]

Changes to the Income Based Student Loan Repayment Program

As of July 1st, there are some changes that you should know about if you are a college graduate that is carrying federal student loan debt. Beginning last year income based repayment became available for student loan holders. The program capped the amount loan holders had to pay, depending on the amount of their loan and their income. Your monthly payment, if eligible, is no more than 15% of your income. If you make $16,000 a year or less you can completely defer your payments. The program was put in place to help keep loan payments manageable for those loan holders who do not have high incomes.

The Credit Gap is Widening

The rocky economy is polarizing our nation’s consumers when is comes to credit scores. The latest study from FICO Inc. found that there are more and more Americans with really poor credit scores and really good scores, but fewer and fewer people with scores in the middle. There are now 25.5 percent, more than a […]

Federal Reserve Chairman Calls for More Small Business Lending

Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve Chairman is calling for small businesses to get the help they need financially so that they can create new jobs. He is urging regulators and banks to find ways to lend to small businesses, saying that the economy needs this boost to help restore employment. He feels that to date not enough has been done to help financially secure small business owners who could play a major role in turning around the economy and unemployment.

Top 10 VA Loan Myths Debunked

VA loans are a top benefit of military service, and with good reason. They are the last traditional loan program to offer 100% financing and refinancing on mortgages and have the most flexible credit guidelines available. But even though the program has amazing things to offer, many veterans are unaware of the full magnitude of […]

Is Is Time for More Stimulus?

A Nobel-prize winning economist, Paul Krugman, has advocated recently for the infusion of more stimulus from the U.S. Government. “We are looking at what could be a very long siege here,” Krugman told a Bloomberg Television reporter. “We really are at a stage where we should have a kitchen-sink strategy. We should be throwing everything […]

Sallie Mae Cuts Jobs and Moves Headquarters Delaware

Sallie Mae, until July 1, was the largest holder of federal backed student loans in the country. Today, they are being forced to shift gears as they are no longer able to offer such loans since the federal government takeover on July 1st. Last week they announced that they would be moving their headquarters from […]