Did you know that there’s currently $1 billion-worth of dollar coins piling up in Federal Reserve vaults? It’s true! It’s an on-going mystery that has yet to be solved.
So instead of waiting for the government to figure out what to do with the coins, we thought we’d take the matter into our own hands and ask some of our favorite personal finance bloggers what they would do with the piles and piles of coins. And, boy, they sure did get creative!
Here are our favorite responses:
Circulate ‘em!
That’s an interesting question. So coins cost 30 cents to product and last 30 years and bills cost about 10 cents and last about 4 years—so in the long-term, we would save money. My solution is simple: for every dollar bill that the Fed takes out of circulation, replace it with a coin. Lower
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New federal rules regarding risk-based pricing go into effect today, which means that more consumers will now be getting their credit scores for free.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Federal Reserve Board (FRB) recently amended risk-based pricing rules to incorporate requirements of the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act and the Consumer Protection Act.
As of July 21, 2011, creditors and lenders are required in certain circumstances to provide consumer applicants with credit scores and related information that were used in the decision-making process.
For example, creditors and lenders must now provide a consumer with free access to his/her credit score if he/she is denied a new credit card or declined for a new mortgage loan.
In addition, creditors will now have to provide credit score data and related information when they provide credit to an applicant with less-than-favorable credit terms than other consumers.
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It seems like everywhere you turn on the internet these days, there’s a blog post warning of all the dangerous places to use a credit card. While there certainly are shady businesses out there that you should be wary of handing your precious plastic to, it’s summer and thus a great time to focus on the positives.
For every business that may have a negative impact on your credit history, there are countless more that remind us of the joys of using credit cards. Here are just a few of the best places to savor every swipe.
It happens almost every time a group of friends goes out to a meal. The final bill arrives, and what used to be an eating space suddenly transforms into a finance summit where everyone has their own complex agenda and preferred method of payment. The
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In June 2010 student loan debt was $833 billion,pared to credit card debt of $826.5 billion. This was the first time student loan debt surpassed credit card debt, and it has not slowed down since. Credit card debt was $790.1 billion in April 2011 and has been declining since September 2008. Finaid projects that student loans could reach $1 trillion this year. According to Finaid, total student loan debt is increasing at a rate of about $2,853.88 per second.
CreditKarma study
CreditKarma conducts a monthly study on credit scores and trend data titled “U.S. Credit Score Climate Report.” In their recent April 2011 study, the average student loan debt per consumer was $29,572, an increase of six percent since April 2010. Sixte
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Cash strapped borrowers are using cash and debit cards rather than credit cards because of expensive payment fees, according to new research by the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
The trade association claims that credit card transactions fell by 12.9 per cent in a year, while the proportion of debt card transactions rose by 15.8 per cent.
Unjustifiably high credit card processing fees forced retailers into paying 659million last year for payment processing and cash collection.
BRC director-general Stephen Robertson called on the banks to reduce their charges so they genuinely reflect the actual costs involved.
He said: Unjustifiably-high payment charges are still being taken from retailers. The question is should this money be going into increasing banks’ profits or to keeping shop prices down for customers? <
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Chapter 7 bankruptcy is legal protection from your creditors. It’s for individual consumers and is also known as “liquidation”, because the debtor has to sell assets to pay off debts. The assets not exempt from bankruptcy are luxury items, household items, real estate, cars and boats. The debts not discharged are child-support and alimony back payments, criminal fees, federal taxes, government student loans, and mortgage liens. Any loans that have a cosigner may be liable for the debt.
Qualification for Chapter 7 is based on ie, which must be less than your state’s median ie. It is calculated by a “means test” using ie and expenses and is fairlyplicated. Usually a person selects chapter 7, because they don’t have any assets to lose or has little property except the basics such as furniture and clothing. They have very little or no money remaining after paying for the basic expenses. The main reasons people file for chapter 7 bankruptcy are unemployment, large medical expenses, overextended credit, marital problems, and large unexpected expenses.
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— Margie D. Smith @ 10:37 pm — 
July 19, 2011