Making Home Affordable Q & A

Posted by Madison on May 6, 2009

People have more questions than answers about the new Making Home Affordable program. A reader, Laura, recently sent me an email looking for help since all she could find was general information. Unfortunately, I’ve found that many of the details aren’t on the general MakingHomesAffordable.gov site. Instead they are buried in supplemental directives written for […]

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Making Home Affordable Second Lien Program

Posted by Madison on April 30, 2009

Earlier this week, the Making Home Affordable program was enhanced to include a second lien program. The government has determined that even if you receive a loan modification on your first first mortgage, having an unaffordable second mortgage could still put your at risk of going into foreclosure. Second Loan Modifications Here’s how the second […]

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Would You Take a Loan Modification?

Posted by Madison on March 24, 2009

Ever since the Making Home Affordable Program was rolled out I’ve been very intrigued with the plan. Do we need a loan modification? No. Would it be nice? Sure. In a weird twist of events, it looks like we qualify (on paper) for the loan modification program. Home Affordable Modifications To find out of you […]

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I’m always on the lookout for free credit scores! Since it’s Free Money Friday, I thought it was the perfect time to highlight another one. Lazy recently told me about Credit Karma, which offers you free access to your credit score daily. How to Get Your Free Credit Score Enroll at Credit Karma. Verify your […]

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Making Home Affordable Program Launched

Posted by Madison on March 5, 2009

The details for the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan were released yesterday. The new title of the program is “Making Home Affordable.” There are two components for home owners, refinancing and loan modifications. Participation is voluntary and the lender has to choose to participate. Details of both plans are below. Home Affordable Refinance Borrowers who […]

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Get Out of Emotional Debt

Posted by Madison on February 24, 2009

Finding creative and inspirational ways to help you repay your debt can keep you motivated and moving the the right direction. One of the sad things I found when helping my brother-in-law get out of debt, was that he couldn’t even remember where he spent most of the money. Without knowing where the money went, […]

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Gettin’ Out of Debt: Part II

Posted by Madison on February 3, 2009

Five years have passed since I helped my brother-in-law on the path to get out of debt. He’s learned to only spend what his paycheck brings in and is considering buying a house. Because his credit report was trashed from late payments, collections, and settlements, he wanted me to check into the statute of limitations […]

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Gettin’ Out of Debt

Posted by Madison on February 2, 2009

I recently got an email from a reader, Brenda. She’s worried about her family members who found themselves under a mountain of credit card debt. Originally they were able to keep them current and had good credit ratings. Unfortunately, when the husband lost his job last summer, they fell behind on the credit cards and […]

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10 Step Plan for Debt Elimination

Posted by Madison on July 10, 2008

I recently asked readers how to help my friend payoff his debt. I highlighted some of the responses in 7 Ways to Payoff Credit Card Debt. Here’s the situation that he is dealing with (see the story for all the details): Personal Line: $3,500 balance @ 15% – $7,000 limit Credit Card #1: $2,300 balance […]

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7 Ways to Payoff Credit Card Debt

Posted by Madison on July 3, 2008

Last week I brought up the story of a friend that needed help paying off debt. There were lots of great responses with different ways to get rid of the debt. A recap of the situation (see the story for all the details): Personal Line: $3,500 balance @ 15% – $7,000 limit Credit Card #1: […]

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