Category: Debt & Loans
The analysis published under this category are as follows.Thursday, April 26, 2012
Revisiting the Physical Risks of Debt / Personal_Finance / Debt & Loans
By: Ashvin_Pandurangi
One foundational piece of advice here at TAE as been to get out of debt and stay of debt - not only because the monetary costs of such debt will grow, but also because debt can be used as a means of physical repression and enslavement. It gives public (government) and private institutions the sufficient amount of leverage they need to take control of both your possessions and your body, with the latter being a much more pronounced risk during a period of credit contraction. Here are a few snippets about this issue from Our Depraved Future of Debt Slavery (Part II):
Thursday, January 05, 2012
UK Personal Loan Interest Rates Drop to Lowest Level / Personal_Finance / Debt & Loans
By: MoneyFacts
Rachel Springall, spokesperson for Moneyfacts.co.uk, commented: “Research by Moneyfacts has shown that 6.0% APR on a £10,000 borrowing amount over a five year term is the lowest loan rate on offer in four years. Previously the lowest rates for this borrowing amount and term were: 8.4% one year ago, 7.8% two years ago, 6.8% three years ago and 5.8% four years ago.
Read full article... Read full article...Sunday, December 11, 2011
My Guide to Dealing with Debt / Personal_Finance / Debt & Loans
By: DailyWealth
Mark Ford writes: I had my first serious run-in with debt when I was 30 years old.
My wife K and I were renting a condominium in Washington, D.C. Our landlady came to us with an exciting opportunity: We could buy the condo for $60,000 with no money down. For just $100 a month more than what we were already paying for rent, we would be paying a mortgage. It sounded like a great deal, so we took it.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Loan Interest Rates at Decade High / Personal_Finance / Debt & Loans
By: MoneyFacts
The average personal loan rate has hit its highest level for more than a decade.
Today the average rate on a £5,000 loan stands at 12.7%, the highest level since May 2000.
Read full article... Read full article...Wednesday, April 20, 2011
The Myth of Debt-Free Living, You Are Getting Stiffed / Politics / Debt & Loans
By: Gary_North
I have set up a free website for people who are deep in consumer debt.
I am a great believer in getting out from under the burden of consumer debt. But I am not a believer in getting out of debt. There is a reason for this. The only way to get out of debt is to die.
Read full article... Read full article...Friday, March 11, 2011
The Debt Trap: Are the Scavengers Stalking You? / Personal_Finance / Debt & Loans
By: Jack_Reed
You fought off your debts successfully last year. Today you are a happy man. You take pride in enlightening your friends about your debt story because you were never bogged down by it. It feels great because people now people come to you with their financial problems.
Monday, January 03, 2011
Stop Accumulating Additional Debt, 2011 To-Do List / Personal_Finance / Debt & Loans
By: Andy_Sutton
Many people I’ve spoken with over the past 6 months or so have expressed extreme dissatisfaction with their individual and/or collective ability to affect change in government. Sure, there have been some small victories here and there, but by and large our biggest problems continue to rage on unabated. For quite some time I shared in their frustration, and still do, but have realized that sometimes the actions of the masses need to take place on a different level to change the bigger paradigms. To use some old adages, we shouldn’t throw stones from a glass house, and we should certainly tend to our own backyard before criticizing that of our neighbor. On this last day of 2010, let’s take a look at what we can do in our own financial lives to improve our situations. Let’s call it trickle-up responsibility.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
OFT Warns 92% of Debt Management Firms Breaking Credit Law / ConsumerWatch / Debt & Loans
By: Submissions
The OFT has told 129 debt management firms that they face losing their consumer credit licences unless immediate action is taken to comply with its Debt Management Guidance.
The firms are required to provide independently audited evidence within three months that action has been taken to address identified concerns. If evidence is not provided, the OFT will instigate licensing action.
Read full article... Read full article...Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Tips for Finding Cheap Loans You can Rely On / Personal_Finance / Debt & Loans
By: Credit_Choices
If you see an advertisement for a cheap loan which seems too good to be true, it may well be. Here are some top tips for spotting the potential pitfalls of loan offers and finding the right cheap loan for you.
Read full article... Read full article...Monday, September 20, 2010
107 MPs Call for Lending Interest Rate Caps to Rein in Legal Loan Sharks / Politics / Debt & Loans
By: Submissions
Landmark gives fresh impetus to the campaign ahead of meeting at Number 10
The 'End Legal Loan Sharking' campaign has received the backing of over 100 MPs ahead of a meeting with Number 10 next week. EDM 660,a parliamentary motion calling for a cap on the cost of credit has now been signed by 107 MPs. MPs from the Conservative Party, Labour Party, Liberal Democrat Party, Democratic Unionist Party, Plaid Cymru, Scottish National Party and Social Democratic and Labour Party are all supporting the EDM.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Pay Day Loan Shark Outfits Hook £1.2 Billion to the Financially Illiterate / ConsumerWatch / Debt & Loans
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Consumer Focus reports that over a million UK borrowers have been forced to take out more than £1.2 billion from Pay Day loan outfits as high street banks refuse to lend, up more than 40% on the preceding year. Pay Day loans typically charge customers APR's of over 2,000% and are targeting those desperate for short-term credit which usually means the financially illiterate.
Read full article... Read full article...Monday, February 01, 2010
UK Loan Rates At Nine Year High / Interest-Rates / Debt & Loans
By: MoneyFacts
Risk continues to be the focus in all lending activity, but with no guarantees on the debt being repaid, unsecured personal loans have seen some of the sharpest increases.
Read full article... Read full article...Friday, January 08, 2010
The History of Money, Credit, Debt and Banking, Financial Lessons of the Ages / Economics / Debt & Loans
By: Doug_Wakefield
Rather than rigorous study, which would help us connect the explosion of debt that has occurred in the last century (particularly since the early 1970s) with the financial markets, the majority of the financial industry and the investors who depend on their experience, have instead relied on simple slogans like, “the market always goes up over the long term” or “invest according to your risk tolerance.” And as long as the public believes that up markets mean the elixir of capitalism is working and we are getting better and that down markets are only temporary, these trite sayings will suffice. Human nature being what it is, I suppose we would rather seek “advice” that allows us see things the way we want them to be, rather than address how unsustainable debt and corporate and political corruption could impact our collective future.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
The MicroCredit Just Another Scam / Politics / Debt & Loans
By: Jeffrey_A_Tucker
The hysteria about the glories of microcredit must have been another illusion created by the economic boom, but somehow, there for a while, it was hard to talk sense into anyone on this issue. Somehow, all the world came to believe that the key to lifting people out of poverty was to grant everyone loans that they then had to service out of some income stream that they didn't have.
Read full article... Read full article...Wednesday, September 30, 2009
FSA to Get Tough Against Bankster Payment Protection Insurance PPI Scam / Personal_Finance / Debt & Loans
By: Nadeem_Walayat
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has finally decided to get tough with the bankster's for scamming customers by means of Payment Protection Insurance charges that many customers are forced to take on when borrowing despite the fact that exclusion clauses in the agreement usually mean that the premiums paid were worthless when it comes to attempting to make claims, that and they way the products were mis-sold by adding the charges as though they were a requirement rather than an option thus confusing customers into literally paying double the interest rate on the loans if the PPI was included in the AER interest rate figures stated.
Read full article... Read full article...Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Marlin Financial Services Dispatches Debt Recovery Bad Practice, Harassing Debtors / Personal_Finance / Debt & Loans
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Channel 4 Dispatches programme " Undercover Debt Collector" earlier this week (available on 4oD) showed clear and repeat systemic breaches of the office of fair trading act in misleading and harassment of debtors by Marlin Financial Services.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Lenders Shy Away From Unsecured Borrowing / Personal_Finance / Debt & Loans
By: MoneyFacts
Latest figures from Moneyfacts.co.uk show a 37% drop over the last two years in the number of lenders offering unsecured personal loans.
Barclaycard is the latest lender to pull out of the market, but loans are still available through Barclays Bank.
Read full article... Read full article...Friday, June 12, 2009
Credit Card Debt Help, Increase Your Direct Debit and Cut Your Debt Sentence / Personal_Finance / Debt & Loans
By: MoneySupermarket
Being faced with a chunky credit card bill is a daunting prospect and if you only ever make the minimum repayment it could take you a long time to get back in the black.
- A small increase in monthly payment can make a big difference to the time taken to clear your debt.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Greedy Banks Increase Overdraft Interest Rates Despite Rate Cuts / Personal_Finance / Debt & Loans
By: MoneySupermarket
Most banks have counter-intuitively been increasing overdraft interest rates (Equivalent Annual Rates) even whilst the Bank of England has been cutting the Base Rate.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Borrowed Consumption: Opium of the Masses / Economics / Debt & Loans
By: Kurt_Kasun
My last commentary touched off a mini-debate between myself and Michael Pento, a proponent of Austrian Economics who gallantly defends his principles against the Keynesian economists and supply-side monetarists when he makes his appearances on CNBC's Kudlow & Company. I too attempt to follow the Austrian economic precepts laid out by Ludwig von Mises and I think that the bone of contention between us, in the "posted comment section" after my initial commentary, boils down to the following von Mises' quote: Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Choosing the Wrong Personal Loan Could Prove Costly / Personal_Finance / Debt & Loans
By: MoneyFacts
If your new year’s resolution is the tackle your debt by consolidation, tread carefully as you could be caught out by high interest rates and over priced insurance. Lisa Taylor, analyst at Moneyfacts.co.uk investigates:Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Poor Understanding of Monetary Value of 1% / Personal_Finance / Debt & Loans
By: Nationwide
Research from Nationwide Building Society reveals that 75% of people in the UK don't understand the monetary value a 1% difference in mortgage rates can make. A 1% difference in rates on a five year fixed rate mortgage deal could be worth over £4,000*. When given details of two five year mortgage deals to compare, the largest group of respondents (28%) said they thought the difference on a £120,000 mortgage with an interest rate at 5.6% compared to a rate of 6.6% would be between £500 and £2000. Another 23% said they had no idea at all. Only 25% of people correctly identified that the difference could be £4,000.Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Five Hot Tips To Get Out Of Debt Forever / Personal_Finance / Debt & Loans
By: Submissions
The financial and psychological burden of being in debt causes us and our families continuous emotional stress. That stress eats away at the quality of our lives and leaves us feeling powerless, angry, depressed and helpless.
But there is a way out – in fact, there are five simple and straightforward ways out of debt - and if you apply this five point plan to your life today you will have taken the first step on your personal road to debt free living for life.
Read full article... Read full article...Monday, June 04, 2007
Bankruptcy No Easy Way Out of Debt / Personal_Finance / Debt & Loans
By: Submissions
According to the latest report, 2007 was witness to a steep rise in the number of people having CCJs registered against them. Conservative estimate put the number at a rough 850,000. It seems that quite a lot of consumers see bankruptcy as the only way out.Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, May 28, 2007
My Two Cents - "The Complacent Consumer" / Economics / Debt & Loans
By: Andy_Sutton
For a long time now as I've watched consumers collectively dig themselves into debt-oblivion, I have wracked my brain trying to figure out why they are doing it. Recently, what I will call consumerism seems to be escalating as we have watched demand for gasoline defy the laws of economics. Instead of focusing on the product, I think it is appropriate to spend some time reflecting on the mentality behind recent behavior. No doubt, consumerism has already been responsible for a number of coming financial debacles, most notably the housing collapse, the negative savings rate in this country, record levels of debt, and rising bankruptcies. This week I am teaming up with a popular My Two Cents contributor CJH from Maryland to take a look at American consumerism....Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Are Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) Too Good to be True? / Personal_Finance / Debt & Loans
By: Submissions
Cheryl Corker writes - IVAs were introduced by the government in 1986 as a legitimate alternative to bankruptcy. Since then they have become increasingly popular amongst those looking for a solution to their debt problems. A key contributor to the popularity of IVAs is the fact that in some cases they can result in a significant part of a persons debt being written off completely.Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, March 24, 2007
UK Women Become Spendaholic with Unsecured Loans / Personal_Finance / Debt & Loans
By: Submitter
Women in UK incur huge debt through unsecured personal loans which they spend on shopping and fashion.As per the recent research on spending habits of women in UK by price comparison site Uswitch.com
Read full article... Read full article...

