Talk about getting bit by the hand that feeds you!! What a novel idea! Force a bank to buy two companies to help them survive… give them billions of dollars to bail them out… and now, years later, sue them for an amount almost equal to what the bailout was for… AFTER they have pretty much paid you back!! It’s getting really hard to figure out who the “bad guy” is in this story. (Thanks to Frank & Brian of TBWS)

Let me know what you think about all of this.

Those of us in the mortgage world are always focusing on reducing debt, but with Christmas now behind us and a new year soon to come, we should all be focusing on reducing debt.  I ran across this segment on the Today show and thought I’d share.  I’ve successfully been able to trim thousands of dollars from client’s monthly cash flow.  If the below video piques your curiosity, don’t hesitate to contact me.  I’m more than happy to give you the time.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

From Fox Business… Many people make some very simple, and well meaning, mistakes that can have major implications on their credit score and, adversely effect their ability to purchase or refinance that home!  Click the link below to get more information on 5 of these mistakes…

FIND 5 COMMON MISTAKES THAT CAN CRIPPLE YOUR CREDIT SCORE

The mortgage world is constantly changing and it seems almost impossible to catch up at times.  With the dramatic importance of good credit and credit scores, it would make sense to be ever vigilant of the changes in credit cards as well.  The Wall Street Journal did a very good job of summarizing some of the tricks that banks are playing in order to try to recapture some of the lost revenues that recent changes in credit card laws have thrust upon them.

See the story by clicking on the link below…

A Consumer’s Guide to the Latest Credit Card Traps

Having worked for B of A for 13 years, while I find this segment funny, I also find it quite disturbing!

In recent weeks, I have discussed the glut of new guidelines and their effect on the consumer’s mortgage application.  I have also discussed some of the adverse effects that credit cards and their rule changes have had on the consumer’s flexibility in obtaining a mortgage.  Well… there are a few new changes that are coming that actually might benefit the consumer and there’s actually been a bit of advance notice, for once.

There will be some key changes that you can look forward to from your credit card company and they will be enacted on February 22, 2010.

Two of the biggest changes to expect are:

• You must be notified within 45 days prior to any increase in interest rate.
• There must be some form of disclosure as to how long it will take you to pay off your balance, given certain payments made.

There will be more changes occurring in August of 2010… I’ll go into those in the future.

If you’d like to read more about some of the changes coming on February 22, please click here.  This will lead you to the website for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

Have a great day!