Personal Finance Articles - Page 1

Thousands of people come to ThinkGlink.com for financial and personal finance help. If you are in need of financial help and you are on a budget, here are some tips that might help you. You can also think about your financial future and use the information on our site to help you out. You can visit…

Obama’s Making Home Affordable Mortgage Loan Modification Program is helping some but delinquent mortgages are still on the rise. Delinquent mortgages are on the rise as loan modifications are taking longer to complete. Delinquent mortgages, those that are 30 and 60 days late, have usually had a…

How long does bankruptcy stay on your credit report? Depending on what kind of bankruptcy you filed, a bankruptcy can stay on your credit report for 7 or 10 years. The longer it has been since your bankruptcy, the less your bankruptcy will affect your credit score. To see if your bankruptcy is still…

Once you pay off your debt and you want to raise your credit score and improve your credit Report and history, try to negotiate with the credit card company to report your debt as "paid as agreed" and remove any negative information from your credit report.

If you inherit an IRA account, you have some choices with what to do with the money and the tax treatment you receive from teh IRS. In some cases, if you do nothing, your money will be subject to federal income taxes. If you roll the money over into a new IRA account you can avoid paying taxes right…

Your credit report will show your overall payment history, not individual credit card purchases. Your credit report will show any credit accounts you have, your payment history, if you have been late on payments, if the account were closed or if the credit company charged them off. You need to work…

Person-to-person lending is rising in popularity among Americans looking for a new way to get personal loans, business loans and student loans. Part of the appeal of p2p lending is that it doesn't need to involved a bank--p2p loans are made on the Internet. When dealing with the web, whether you are…

Person-to-person or peer to peer loans are becoming more popular, but since the whole process of p2p lending happens online you have to make sure you are on the right sites to ensure that your money is protected. “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Person-to-Person Lending” mentions nearly a dozen of the…

Person-to-person lending, or p2p lending, is becoming a popular way to finance loans. As people are having trouble with traditional banking institutions they are turning to online p2p lending as an alternative for personal loans and college loans. Borrowers and lenders alike are using p2p lending…

Online financial planning tools like Mint.com, Quicken Online and Equifax's new Debt Wise can help keep your personal finances on track. How do these online financial planning tools work? What features do they offer. A review of Equifax Debt Wise, Mint.com and Quicken Online explains the financial…

A woman’s husband has an addiction problem that is taking a toll on the family’s finances. If the husband doesn’t put his family before his addictions, the wife cannot try to save their marriage. A divorce attorney may be in order to help this woman get her life back on track.

A homeowner lives in an area where it’s tough to keep up with his wealthy neighbors. A big part of making smart personal finance decisions is being well-grounded and understanding that life isn’t a competition. You can live a rich life simply by having enough money to purchase what you need.

As your loved ones get older, discussing estate planning and the “what-if’s” is crucial to putting everything in place. Estate planning involves writing a will, establishing trusts and discussing what would happen if a person is not able to make decisions on his or her own. An estate attorney can…

How do you make decisions on investing or spending an inheritance? Is it better to receive an inheritance or a gift? How can you ensure your inheritance is protected? We answer questions about what to do when you've received an inheritance.

A bank has offered a low interest rate on a personal loan. Many personal loans have rigorousness repayment requirements and many dangerous details in the fine print. If you're looking to a personal loan to help pay off debt, consider using the equity in your home instead.

You can pay off mortgage quickly by arranging bi-weekly payments. This allows you to prepay your mortgage and pay it off sooner. Prepaying your home loan not only allows you to pay off your mortgage more quickly, it allows you to save money.

Is an index fund the best way to invest in a Roth IRA for a teenager? Ilyce says index funds are easy investments to maintain within a Roth IRA. But in order for a teenager to have a Roth IRA, he must have a job so he can invest his earnings, because the retirement account takes after-tax dollars.

If you already have a 401(k) and want to get another retirement account, should you invest in a Roth IRA or a traditional IRA. Ilyce explains the difference between the Roth IRA, a traditional IRA and other retirement accounts. One of the main differences between a Roth IRA, traditional IRA and…

What kind of personal and finance information is a seller required to disclose to their real estate agent? A seller wants to file a complaint about a real estate agent who has not been returning her calls. The seller says she did not tell the real estate agent that she was getting a divorce, but…

It is possible to rebuild your credit after bankruptcy. But, once your bankruptcy is discharged, you must continue paying back your loans on time, in order to rebuild your credit and improve your credit report. One bankruptcy is discharged, it's easy to slip back into old habits instead of…

Should you renew a contract with a home security system and pay the extra fees for a service agreement. Ilyce suggests adding the service agreement to the contract because even with the fee, the new service agreement costs less than the old agreement.

All credit counseling agencies are not looking out for you - even some of the non-profit ones may be a scam. Just because a credit counseling agency claims the non-profit label, doesn't mean it's not out to scam you out of money and make your credit score worse. Get safe budget counseling from…

You can keep your good credit history while co-signing a home loan for a family member with bad credit. The key to keeping your good credit history is to set up parameters with the family member you co-sign the loan for. Just because your family member has begun rebuilding their credit history, that…

Credit card balance transfers can be worth it, if you read the fine print, the new interest rate is worth it and it helps your credit score. But it's important to keep the old credit card account open, even without a balance, because the longer you have a credit account open, the better your credit…

Can non-traditional methods, like income from rental property actually pay for college tuition? Income from a rental property - not just CDs and stocks can help you save money for your child's college tuition. After paying college tuition, the income from rental property can be saved for retirement…