FinancialDominance.com

UPDATE

I added direct links to the videos below:

Over a Thousand Miles from Wall Street…
How the unlikely state of South Dakota became the place where America’s credit card industry first began to really take off

A Closer Look at the Industry’s Best Customers
The big profits come from the 90 million who don’t pay off their credit card debt. The industry’s success has also been shaped by the genius of financial innovators.

Credit Reporting Agencies/Traps in the Fine Print
Why it’s important to understand your credit score and how it is compiled and also to read your credit card agreement — hard as it may be to decipher.

More Complaints Than Any Other Industry
Consumers’ banking/credit card complaints increase. But the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which regulates the national banks, has been engaged in what some call a “turf battle” with the states’ regulators

The Efforts To Get Reform
Sen. Chris Dodd has introduced a credit card reform bill that would curb industry practices. But Dodd’s many previous attempts to reform the industry have all failed.

Memorable Quote: “The issuer can change the terms and conditions at will . You could be offered a 0% or 5 % interest rate today… and two months later that interest rate could be 30%”
In “Secret History of the Credit Card,” FRONTLINE® and The New York Times join forces to investigate an industry few Americans fully understand. In this one-hour report, correspondent Lowell Bergman uncovers the techniques used by the industry to earn record profits and get consumers to take on more debt. Secret history of the credit card: watch it online

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Most Americans have little experience with financing a home, and even fewer have specific knowledge of an FHA Loan, versus various conventional loans. The initials FHA represent the Federal Housing Administration. This government corporation was established in 1934 for the sole purpose of helping Americans fulfill their dreams of home ownership.

A lot of hard working people, dream of owning a family home but simply don’t qualify for the loan or can’t afford the purchase with a conventional bank loan. The FHA is helpful because it caters to people who cannot afford a conventional bank down payment or otherwise do not qualify for PMI insurance. Through an FHA home purchase, the down payment may be as low as just 3% of the total purchase price. Plus most of the closing costs and fees can be included in the FHA backed loan.

The FHA does not extend the actual loan, but rather it insures the loan. Your local private bank may be the actual lender, but that loan if further backed by the FHA, which allows the bank to offer more advantageous terms. Since the rate and terms are set by the actual lender and not the FHA, comparison shopping for the loan is very important.

Some of the more beneficial features of an FHA Loan are the terms which allow a single or multi-parent household to purchase a home. The FHA Loan can also provide options for fixing up your existing home such as remodelling, home repairs or energy-efficient improvements and including the additional renovation costs in the loan. The FHA has provided some excellent avenues middle income or low income Americans.

Traditionally, FHA loans have gone to lower income Americans and have enabled many families to purchase a home they would not otherwise have been able to afford. After all, this program did originate during the time of the great depression when foreclosures were common, and cash was scarce.

Today, the FHA is a part of HUD U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. FHA loans typically offer low down payments, low closing costs and easy credit qualifying.

Important to the mortgage lending process, the potential lender assesses the prospective home buyer for risk. That analysis of the home buyer’s debt to income ratio enables the buyer to know what priced home they can afford. Other factors, such as payment history on existing debts, are considered and used to make decisions regarding eligibility and terms for a loan.

The FHA even offers a Reverse Mortgage. If you are at least 62 years old and live in your home which is paid off then the FHA Reverse Mortgage might be right for you. An FHA Reverse Mortgage allows you to take equity out of your home. It allows the home owner to turn his equity into monthly cash for living. In August of 2007, the FHA even added a new refinancing program to help borrowers hurt by the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis. That refinancing program is called FHA-Secure.

Want to experience the joy of home ownership but need a loan? The Federal Housing Administration has been helping people fulfill their dreams of owning a home since 1934. For more information on the this topic you can visit FHA Mortgage Limits page. This page allows you to look up the FHA mortgage limits for your area or several areas, and then list them by state, county, or Metropolitan Statistical Area. You can also learn more at FHA Loan Refinancing.

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Welcome to our first post in the category “Must Read 10 Times Per Month”. Within this category I’ll be posting links to useful articles I want to read almost everyday.

Here we go:

The Top 10 Mistakes People Make When Starting A Business

How to Make Yourself INSANELY Useful

How to Make a Million - Strategies for saving at age 25, 35, 45 and 55.

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A guest post by Mark J. Smith. Want to be a guest writer on Financial Dominance ? Contact Marcel

People may fail to properly plan for their retirement needs because they focus exclusively on money. Retirement goals aren’t just financial. Knowing the lifestyle you want during retirement is the beginning of a successful wealth management plan. Do you want to tour in an RV, live in a beach house, or move closer to your children and grandchildren during retirement? By starting at the beginning—writing down and sharing your retirement goals with your financial team—you will ensure a completely customized retirement savings plan.

With a retirement goal set you are now ready to determine funding and should consider the following factors:

• In the past thirty years the average life expectancy increased from 73 years old to nearly 80. (Center for Disease Control) We need to plan for seven more years of life than our grandparents did.
• The U.S. inflation has increased 2.57% in the last seven years. (Inflationdata.com) When you retire the cost of living will be higher and each subsequent year of your retirement will require more money to maintain the same lifestyle.
• You can’t depend on Social Security to sustain you during retirement–even for necessities. We recommend that your Social Security checks be used for things you want in retirement, not things you need.
• Delaying retirement savings could hurt you more than you think. If a 25- year-old saves $4,000 per year for 10 years and has an eight percent annual account interest rate, at age 65 her retirement account will total $640,120. Waiting until she is 35 years old and saving the same amount annually with the same interest rate for 30 years, her account will total $408,534 when she is 65. Waiting 10 years to start saving for retirement causes a loss of over $200,000 in this case, even though she saved for 20 extra years! This hypothetical illustration is not intended to reflect actual performance.
• Mortgage vs. savings – Because of the compounding nature of a liquid investment portfolio as compared to the equity in your home, you may ultimately net more money by increasing your savings first than you would if you chose to pay off your home and save afterward. We typically recommend that your net worth consist of approximately 25% in home equity and 75% in retirement savings. Of course, each person’s situation is different.
• Retirement cash flow is a major concern. Make a list of things you will need in retirement—housing, food, insurance, transportation and healthcare. Then make an additional list of things you want to have in retirement—a second home, entertainment or providing charitable donations. Fund at least some of the things you want, in addition to all of the things you need.

Other factors may contribute to a retirement age, including what investments you have made, the stability of your investments, and the sequence of your investment returns. Please contact a financial advisor if you have questions about your retirement planning.

Mark J. Smith CFP®, CPA/PFS, CIMA®, was named one of the top 10 financial advisors in the U.S. by Registered Rep magazine; named the top-ranked independent advisor in Colorado and number 22 in the U.S. by Barron’s; and the Winner’s Circle, an independent advocacy organization, named him one of the top financial planners in the country. Visit www.mj-smith.com for more information on Mark J. Smith and his Colorado-based firm. Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC.

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