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By Jamie Wagner, Ph.D. In short—it really doesn’t. Not directly that is. In an emergency meeting on Sunday, March 15, the Federal Reserve (the Fed) decided to cut rates to 0. But what rate exactly did they cut and what does that mean for you and for your mortgage?...
Car Buying Options A car is a big purchase, and you have multiple payment options. You can lease it by making monthly payments but never own the car. You can buy it with cash and not have to worry about making monthly car payments. You can also get an auto loan...
By Jamie Wagner, Ph.D. What is Debt to Income Ratio (DTI)? Debt to income ratio (DTI) is the ratio of the amount of debt you owe compared to your gross income. Or, to put it in slightly different terms, the ratio is a comparison of all of the debt you have compared to...
By Jamie Wagner, Ph.D. Understanding Debt If you read or hear much about debt it tends to be portrayed in a negative light. We talk about how much debt Americans have or the student loan crisis. I even wrote a post highlighting many negatives about debt here. However,...
By Jamie Wagner, Ph.D. Checking Your Credit Score with a Credit Bureau You’ve probably seen commercials advertising different products that allow you to check your credit score. What you may not know is how to accurately check your credit report from the three major...
What is Predatory Lending? Predatory lending is a practice where lenders take advantage of borrowers for their own gain. Lenders often act deceptively through unclear terms and conditions. Borrowers are convinced to carry loans that have high interest rates and...
Understanding Credit and Credit Cards Credit is borrowed money used to purchase goods and services often with a finance charge attached. The most common forms of credit are installment loans (auto, mortgage, personal or home equity) and credit cards. There are pros...
Mortgage Loan Dream The American dream - the house with a white picket fence and two children. At one point in our country's history, the American dream was the ideal to strive for. While the definition of this dream has changed over the years, home ownership is still...
Student Loan Statistics It's no surprise that as the cost of higher education increases so does student loan debt. The average tuition cost of a four-year private university is $34,750. For a public university, in-state tuition on average costs $9,970 and out-of-state...