You’re worth more than you think!

A great number of people have spent a great deal of human and financial resources calculating the composition of, prior to the decomposition of, and the worth, or worthlessness of, the human body.

When we total the monetary value of the elements in our bodies and the value of the average person’s skin, we arrive at a net worth of $4.50!

This value is, however, subject to change, due to stock market fluctuations. Since the studies leading to this conclusion were conducted by the U.S. and by Japan respectively, it might be wise to consult the New York Stock Exchange and the Nikkei Index before deciding when to sell!

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By Jeanne Sahadi, CNNMoney.com senior writer

Fallout from the mortgage mess and lower home prices may have started to creep into the credit card arena, judging from July payments and some initial moves by issuers to tighten the screws on cardholders.

After falling for three consecutive months, delinquent payments on credit cards — defined as more than 30 days late - increased slightly in July, to 4.64 percent from 4.62 percent in June, according to CardWeb.com. A year ago, the delinquency rate was 4.18 percent.

The amount of credit card debt consumers are paying off, meanwhile, has fallen. The portion of outstanding balances paid in July slipped to 18.3 percent from 18.4 percent a month earlier.

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A subprime lender is one who lends to borrowers who do not qualify for loans from mainstream lenders. Some are independent, but increasingly they are affiliates of mainstream lenders operating under different names.
(taken from "Subprime Lenders Defined")

Subprime lenders
Wikipedia

To access this increasing market, lenders take on the risks associated with lending to people with poor credit ratings. Subprime loans are considered to carry greater risk for the lender due to the aforementioned credit risk characteristics of the typical subprime borrower. Lenders use a variety of methods to offset these risks. In the case of many subprime loans, this risk is offset with a higher interest rate. In the case of subprime credit cards, a subprime customer may be charged higher late fees, higher over limit fees, yearly fees, or up front fees for the card. subprime credit cards customers, unlike prime credit card customers, are generally not given a "grace period" to pay late. These late fees are then charged to the account, which may drive the customer over their credit limit, resulting in over limit fees. Thus the fees compound, resulting in higher returns for the lenders.

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Recently, starting in 2007, many new subprime credit cards have begun to emerge in the market. As more vendors have emerged the market has become more competitive and issuers have been forced to make the cards more attractive to consumers. Interest rates on subprime cards now start at 9.9% but in some cases still range up to 24% APR.

Subprime credit cards however can help a consumer improve poor credit scores. Most subprime cards report to major credit reporting agencies such as TransUnion and Equifax. Consumers that pay their bills on time should see positive reporting to the agencies within 90 days.
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5 Quick Steps You can Do Today That Will Lead To Better Credit

If you are like most people, you have been hearing about the importance of a good credit report since you were able to hold a dollar inyour hands. One of the best things that you can do for yourself is to keep a good watch on everything that has to do with your credit.

The better your credit is, the better the chance you have to get good rates on loans, credit cards and so forth. There are several steps thatyou should take in order to go through the process of building a good credit report that you can be proud of.

As long as you pay attention to all of your accounts as well as all of your expenses, it should be fairly easy for you to build a good credit report.

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Anatomy of A Credit Dispute Letter The Fair Credit Reporting Act

or FCRA of 1970 has recently been strengthened in order to allow anyone to dispute negative disputes on their credit report. This can be done with a letter of dispute and in turn the credit bureaus must either delete the listing or verify it. The key to repairing bad credit is to write a properly formatted letter of dispute to one or all of the credit bureaus and send them out via registered mail. Always keep a copy of your correspondence and the receipt from your registered mail letter for further reference. It is also important to make copies of your credit report to include in the letter, not originals.

The article How To Write A Credit Dispute Letter is a step-by-step guide to writing a letter of dispute to get rid of those black marks off your credit report for good.

These days, the use of computers and database in place of paper filing system has made social security numbers a major class of verification of each person’s identity. However, the rapid increase of computer-related crimes and cases of identity theft call for more vigilant measures from everyone especially in the United States.

Why is your social security number so important? Gaining access to this number enables anyone to assume the identity of another person who owns the social security number. This means he can illegally retrieve and use your bank accounts, credit accounts, utilities records, and make other transactions in your name. All your personal information that is private and confidential will be put in the wrong hands, and yes, these ruthless criminals can and will use these information against you.

Continue reading  How to Protect Your Social Security Number