Money

When it comes to handling their credit cards, few Iowans are delinquent with their payments and the state has the lowest average “plastic” debt.Chicago-based TransUnion said 0.48 percent of Iowa credit card holders were 90 days or more past due on their monthly payments in the first quarter. Only North Dakota cardholders at 0.33 percent and South Dakota credit card users at 0.41 percent had lower    .. more …

TORONTO–(Marketwire -04/13/12)- Canadian households are taking advantage of record low interest rates and continuing to rack up large debt loads which they may not be able to manage when interest rates increase. Maple Leaf Debt Helpers recognizes the need for credit card debt reduction services in Canada and has launched their new Fresh Start Program designed to help consumers reduce their bills    .. more …

Dear Dr. Don, I am $10,000 underwater in a 4.8 percent mortgage. Is it worth it to refinance my mortgage loan so we can pay off $4,000 in credit card debt at 24 percent interest? — Kay Credit Dear Kay, No, it’s not worth it to cash-out refinance the mortgage to pay off $4,000 in credit card debt. Bankrate’s 2011 Closing Cost Survey has the national average for closing costs on a first mortgage    .. more …

Becoming debt free may feel impossible, but with a payment strategy you can successfully climb out of credit card debt . Now, all you’re going to need is determination and your credit card billing statements. We’re going to get you started with a couple of strategies.Now, here’s strategy number one. Pay off the credit card balance with the highest interest rate first. Take a look at all the    .. more …

Credit card debt is a personal thing. It causes tensions within families, and limits how people can spend their time and money.Statistics can’t capture the human impact of credit card debt, but it is important that statistics represent as closely as possible how the burden of credit card debt weighs upon family finances. For this reason, IndexCreditCards.com is now taking a new approach to    .. more …

So-called “robo signing” has become synonymous with the foreclosure crisis. After reports surfaced that big banks had cut corners on paperwork so they could more rapidly throw homeowners out on the street, banks like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America got slapped with a landmark $25 billion settlement filed in federal court this week.But according to American Banker this week, “robo signing” has    .. more …

Forget credit card debt. The newest problem is student debt.The Federal Reserve of New York released a new analysis that shows that student debt reached $870 billion in the U.S., according to the Chicago Tribune . Credit card debt is at $693 billion, which is $177 billion less than student loans.But the student debt total isn’t because of an increase in students.Recent data reveals that nearly 80    .. more …

*Note: This was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Do you have a personal finance story that you’d like to share? Sign up with the Yahoo! Contributor Network to start publishing your own finance articles. I am a regular person living an ordinary life, but I am extraordinary in a way that makes me different than most Americans. I am debt free, expect for my mortgage. I have no car payments, student    .. more …

Credit card debt in the U.S. has dropped by 8 percent to $6,069 per person in January from December’s total, showing that many Americans are trying to pay down holiday spending, according to Bankrate.com .Average credit card balances dropped in nearly every state, with Arkansas, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota and West Virginia dropping debts by upwards of 15 percent.The credit portion of the    .. more …

But during a divorce, any and all assets and liabilities amassed during a marriage are generally subject to equitable distribution. “Just as you have a right to share in the value of all the assets acquired during the marriage, whether the same were amassed in your husband’s sole name or in joint names, you will be burdened with a share of all debt amassed during the marriage, whether the same was    .. more …