While the predatory lending bill introduced into the House earlier this week does, in fact, show some promise in curbing some of the practices that led to the subprime lending crash, it is somewhat low on education.
Even though mortgage lenders and other creditors, such as credit card companies, do deserve some of the blame for the current credit crisis situation, some of the blame does rest on us. After all, we were the ones that bought into the idea of easy money that can help us get what we want now.
The bottom line is that more education is needed in …read more

By now, it should be fairly obvious that global finances are inextricably related. I mean, the subprime lending crash here in the U.S. triggered all sorts of investing snafus all over the world. And the IMF has come out with a financial stability report. Check this out. It diagrams the twisty path from subprime to bust:

This whole subprime lending mess has brought to light some very real problems with our society. This whole idea of “buy now, pay later” has really caught up to us. So, even though it is possible to use credit cards to your good, it is important ONLY to buy what you already have money for. Too often we see credit cards as “extra” or “free” money. It is important to remember that yielding wealth is about getting more money–not throwing it away on interest payments to credit card companies.
This YouTube video of an SNL skit totally killed me. And it …read more

The word is out. Ben Bernanke’s famous “contained” statement about the subprime lending crash from not too long ago has been considered way wrong, and now rumors are flying of an emergency Fed meeting. The “shoddy” lending practices espoused by banks and brokers for the last decade have finally caught up with the U.S. economy. And in a big way. But how will the subprime lending crash affect you? Well, it depends on where you are standing.
Sure, lending standards are going to tighten. But on the other hand, mortgages rates have dropped already. And if the housing market and the …read more

There are many opportunities for yielding wealth and using good personal finance sense all around. One of the most recent opportunities in disguise is the subprime lending crash.
There are many lessons to be learned from the subprime lending crash. One of those is that you should be carefully of what kind of mortgage loan you get. Another is that good credit can be invaluable.
The fact of the matter is that if you have good credit, there you can still get a house, despite the tightened lending standards. And, you can take advantage of lower mortgage rates, since the mess …read more