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Despite aggressive interest rate cuts by the Federal Government to maintain jobs and even a stimulus package sent out to assist with finances, consumer confidence is still lingering around its lowest level in close to two decades. With everything much more expensive now and the dollar still staggering to keep up against to the Euro, consumers are more likely to remain pessimistic about the economy and market landscape until at least sometime next year, and this fact is something that hurts the housing market the most more than anything else.

Indeed, a combination of the mortgage crisis and weak consumer confidence will cause the real estate market to suffer extensively throughout the year, hitting the industry with a double blow that squeezes it from both ends. The mortgage mess has led to an enormous number of foreclosures that have brought thousands of homes to the market, while a weak response from consumers means that these homes won’t be sold anytime soon.

Lynn Franco, leading director of the Consumer Research Center of TCB, or The Conference Board, has commented on the issue and said that consumer confidence is at the weakest it has been in 17 years. The Conference Board is recognized as producing the Consumer Confidence Index, a representation of the optimism consumers feel towards the economy which is measured by their activities of spending and saving.

In regards to the latest CCI evaluations, Franco believes that the current values look troubling in terms of where the economy is heading overall, and especially in regards to the housing market. She says that what with the way consumers are feeling apprehensive towards the market, not only concerning current circumstances but also future possibilities, they will most likely put off such an enormous purchase until they start to believe that things are at least a little more stable in the economy.

There was a report by the CCI in early 2007 that recognized a swelling of consumer confidence at the time, something that influenced economists to predict that the rest of the year would witness a turnaround for the real estate industry. However, this never happened, and in fact, consumer confidence went down considerably for the remainder of the year.

Inflation has had a considerable impact on consumer spending too, and especially in regards to real estate. With the cost of fuel prices and food at the level they are currently, very few people are willing to commit to the opportunity of buying a home, seeing it as a risky maneuver that can significantly burden them financially. Furthermore, employment is seen as something that is at risk for people across the nation, with job layoffs a very real threat currently for hundreds of individuals. When taking these aspects and seeing the big picture, it comes as no surprise that the housing market is suffering through one of the toughest times in decades.

Even though homes may been cheaper now than they have been in years, buyers are sitting on the sidelines still because they fear that their credit scores aren’t good enough to warrant finding a loan that can purchase them a home. Others are simply waiting it out and wanting to see how low prices are going to drop until they feel there’s a good enough opportunity to take the plunge into purchasing a new home.

Joe Kenny writes for Rebuild.org, offering home equity loans, they also have some great offers on home refinance for any homeowners looking to release equity.

The exceptionally low interest rates of the early and mid-2000s and the continual bailing out by Alan Greenspan of any Wall Street player that got into trouble created enormous temptations to speculate with borrowed funds and throw caution to the wind, completely ignoring risk. Why worry about risk when it’s not your money and even if you get into trouble you can get bailed out? This problem is called moral hazard.

The derivatives speculated by Wall Street players do not have near the value they led us to believe they had. Now we are left in a frantic pursuit to de-leverage in spite of the cost. Unsurprisingly the buyers have thinned out and institutional investors do not want to add to the already puffed up package in their portfolio; particularly now that the real value is evident. So now we are finding ourselves in a liquidity emergency to the extent of which we have not experienced since pre World War II.

Commercial as well as investment banks are sitting on overvalued assets such as mortgages and private equity loans they cannot sell due to being packaged with derivatives of very questionable value. This is a nice way of saying that Wall Street lied about the value and has overpriced them by billions of dollars. Basically this means that they do not have the cash to make new loans and this is killing our credit based economy. For banks and brokers to make their balance sheets stronger by de-leveraging the banks would need to reduce the number of loans on their books. Doing this would overwhelm the economy and turn a bad recession into a long lasting depression.

Hence the bailout by the Fed, in the form of longer-term financing at the discount window. What else can they do? Let the entire financial structure of the world completely freeze up? The Federal Reserve is lending cash to financial institutions while taking as collateral the subprime mortgages and related securities of highly questionable value that cannot be sold in the open market. The Federal Reserve is becoming the buyer of last resort. This is highly inflationary. The financial middlemen are supposed to take the cash borrowed from the Fed and lend it back out again, this time to higher-quality borrowers, but this is not happening. In theory, the way this would work would be a trickle-down effect.

So why don’t we try a trickle-up effect? The bailout will cost at least $1,000,000,000,000. Not sure of that number? That would be one trillion dollars! Instead of giving one trillion dollars of newly created money to the Wall Street players to continue the financial problems we already are facing, why not give that money to the people of America? It will then trickle-up to the Wall Street by stimulating the economy. By giving around $3,200 to every individual in America we may be able to get the money flow back in the right direction. This would mean a family of five would receive $16,000.

Why can’t we do this to help all of America in this way instead of a few Wall Street fat cats? This would help all of America individually as well as the economy. First time home buyers would actually have enough for a down payment, thereby helping the real estate crisis at the same time. Why is it Wall Street should be given a trillion dollars of new money to throw around like they have in the past?

J Stromsteen has many years experience in the finance, real estate, and insurance industry. Besides her own website, Cheap Auto Insurance, she contributes to the website Bush’s Depression as well as first time home buyer to provide up to date information on the unfolding real estate and financial crisis.

Whether it is a nose, a breast, a chin, or an ear, cosmetically altering any part of the body is expensive. So expensive, in fact, that many resort to financing their procedures in order to achieve perfection. As is the case with any type of financing, the borrower should be diligent in doing their homework and as this article points out, borrowers should be certain that cosmetic surgery financing is an expense they can live with or if it would just be easier (and cheaper) just to live with their appearance just the way it is. — DH

So you were thinking, undergoing a cosmetic surgery will make you break the bank and therefore you just scrapped the idea of getting an improved look and a new life?

Well, before dropping the idea altogether, just consider this: $12.2 billion —-that is precisely the figure that the Americans have spent last year on improving their appearance. Nearly 12 million cosmetic procedures have been performed last year in several parts of the USA. So how do you think they managed to cope with the high expenses of a cosmetic surgery? After all not all of them can be millionaires. There must be some way to manage the financial side of the procedures and when you learn about them, you will not give it a second thought whether or not to opt for a cosmetic surgery.

Making a budget prior to taking up any project helps a lot. It helps you to learn about several hidden costs, some of them can be well avoided with prior information. So before jumping into decision, learn about all the expenses you may expect from the surgery:

First of all you have to consider the estimated fees of your surgeon and they charge different fees for different cosmetic procedures. As for example, where a Botox injection may cost you somewhere in between $350 to $400, a rhinoplasty may set you back by good $ 3, 500 to $ 4000.

In addition to that you have to pay the fees for anesthesia, operating room facilities or other related expenses and that may add to 50% to 100% more than the surgeon fees.

In certain cases you may also calculate the post operative medication costs and other related costs. And then only you get the right picture of the total cost of the surgery.

Now you have to plan well to handle this expenditure and we assume that you don’t want to be put up with high credit card bills or can not afford an up-front large cash payment. An average man in this situation has to find himself a proper arrangement of financing. Let’s see what options can he avail?

Insurance: We all know that cosmetic surgery is largely a personal lifestyle choice and is generally not covered by insurance. But in some cases you can make a claim. As for example some part of you rhynoplasty expenses will be paid if it is done for correcting breathing troubles. Same way some expenses of eyelid surgery will be covered, if it has been taken up for correcting some vision problems. In any case, most of the insurance companies will cover the hospitalization costs including the anesthesia bills.

Financing: Search the internet and you will find a number of financial institutions offering plastic surgery financing programs on easy term. You surgeon can also be a good source for giving you information about some lucrative financing schemes. If you have good credit ratings, you will be entitled to very low interest rate.

Now the cost of cosmetic surgery has many aspects and if you can deal with these aspects separately you will be able to save a lot of bucks in the long run. As for example, you can cut back some expenses by being flexible about time and venue of the operation. Because of the varying amount of taxes, and prices of implants etc, surgery cost varies in different parts of the country. You can save by taking up the operation in a city where it costs less. Then if you have to undergo several procedures, you can request your doctor to get them done on same day and that will save you lot of money and in such cases the surgeons also offer significant discounts.

Cosmetic surgery is expensive; but it is a good investment. A good planning and research can help you save significantly on the total cost of the procedure without making you tied up to a debt burden for fulfilling your dreams.

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Plastic Surgery info online.
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Like so many other things in the personal finance world, loans come in many different shapes and sizes. Knowing the nuances can make a big difference for lenders as this article by Peter Kenny points out. — DH

If find yourself in the process of searching for a personal loan, you have many factors that you need to put under consideration. Not only are there various types of loans, but each type is designed primarily to deal with specific financial matters or targeted to meet certain objectives. Each loan comes with its own particular issues that you will have to determine. You will be making decisions about repayment options, interest rates, risks, and protections. With all of these choices before you, knowing where to start can be confusing. Thankfully, there is a logical place to begin. Which type of loan is better: secured or unsecured?

Despite all of the technical aspects, nuances, and legal ambiguities that are associated with obtaining a personal loan, you may be surprised how important the choice between an unsecured or a secured loan is. In fact, the answer to this question is significant because of what effects it can have on how much you ultimately pay for your loan. More importantly, if you choose a secure loan you need to understand what impact this might have on your property or home, either which may be used as collateral. This makes the choice that much more serious.

Unsecured loans, which include things like credit cards, student loans, or bank notes, differ from secured loans because they are not backed by collateral. For some time now, this has made them more popular because most people are leery of putting their house, car, or property up as collateral. Yet, this popularity is not necessarily an indication of whether an unsecured loan is better than a secured loan. An unsecured loan usually includes higher interest rates than secured loan. Another disadvantage to a unsecure loan is that you are limited on how large the amounts you can receive, such as with credit limits and the danger of using too much is that you may never be able to pay back the principal since you are paying on excessive interest.

Secured loans are gaining more popularity as people are realizing that the long-term benefits really do outweigh the short-term ones of unsecured loans. Secured loans have far better interest rates and you can negotiate different types of repayment terms, even extended repayment. Those who get a secured loan actually have more financial flexibility than those who get an unsecured loan since there are different payment options, variable interest rates, and the ability to hold off payment for a certain period of the loan term.

There are several types of secured loans like home equity loans, home equity credit lines, second mortgages, debt consolidation loans, and more. These types of loans are more accessible to people even if their credit ratings are not the best or if they have bad credit since they are often granted based upon the availability of collateral.

It may not be so much about whether one is better than the other is. Rather, it is more about what the advantages will be for you, the individual. Only you can decide which will be more beneficial for you.

Peter Kenny is a writer for The Thrifty Scot, please visit us at Secured Loans and Unsecured Loans
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According to a post on The Swamp, credit card interest rates aren’t the only thing Clinton and Obama are proposing pointing out that

Clinton also noted that the Ohio cities of Dayton, Toledo, Akron and Cleveland are among the nation’s top 20 cities for home foreclosures. She has called for a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures and a five-year freeze on adjustable rate mortgages for troubled homeowners.

Clinton used the home foreclosure issue as well as her support for a mandated universal health insurance program to contrast herself with Obama. Obama has called for tougher penalties for predatory home lenders. On health care, he has proposed a plan to mandate coverage for children, which he contends would help make all insurance more affordable.

There are many other economic areas in which the two are promising reformation, but in the short run, if they can get the feds to clamp down on credit card interest rates, that will be a great help for the many American families suffering from our country’s present economic malaise.

Read the full post on The Swamp.

Now of course, if your finances are such that you are about to lose everything for being charged up and mortgaged up to your eyeballs, then debt consolidation is a wise choice. A good DMP can give you the time and space you need to get a handle on your financial situation and avoid disasters like closed accounts, foreclosure, and having your credit score tank. The flip side, however, is that you lose your ability to charge new purchases and establish new lines of credit. Furthermore, your credit scores do go down for a period until a consistent repayment pattern has been established.

With that said, the most prudent approach to consolidating your debt is to make a plan. This concept was outlined well in a post on Prosper.com titled Prosper Debt Consolidation Lo - Tips for Potential Borrowers that organizes the whole ‘planning process’ and helps prospective borrowers determine a) if they need to take out a debt consolidation loan in the first place and b) if they do, which debts should they have included as part of the plan. Many people erroneously believe that since they are consolidating anyway; why not include all of your debts? According to the article, that could be a bad idea for the following reasons

1. Lower amounts fund quickly. You are more likely to get funded if you request a small amount. It will take fewer lenders to fully fund a small loan. Also, its going to seem less risky for them. They want to see a monthly payment that you can definitely handle. Plus you’ll have a lower DTI, that helps too.
2. More likely to get funded at a higher rate. If you’re credit is less than perfect, you can not expect a low rate. By selecting only your highest interest debts for this loan, you can reasonably ask for a rate that will save you money.
3. Gain leverage with the credit card companies. As soon as my balances were paid in full, Chase and Discover began to see the light. Credit limit increases and great balance transfer deals started flying my way in no time. APRs were dropping like flies. For example, Chase offered me a fixed 5.99% balance transfer with no fee. That is a great deal. I was able to use that on my next highest interest credit card account for additional savings. I would have lost the opportunity to take advantage of that if I had consolidated all of my debts at once. You might also want to stay on the lookout for 0% transfers for some of your remaining balances. No loan on Prosper will ever beat that deal!

This is an example of the great information that the article outlines in the following steps

1. Examine Your Budget
2. List Debt Obligations with Interest Rates
3. Determine a Cut-Off Line
4. Determine a Good Rate

So, if you are in the process of designing your debt consolidation loan strategy, follow the steps this article prescribes and make your decision to consolidate your debt a smart one.

Read the full post on Prosper.com.

Debt settlement companies are not regulated by the state, but debt management companies are.

With a debt settlement company, consumers usually pay a service fee and the company sets aside money in an escrow account. Then, the company pays off one creditor at a time… The debt settlement companies also sometimes negotiate with a creditor on a lower settlement amount…

With a debt management company, consumers pay monthly and the company also pays the consumers’ creditors on a monthly basis. Debt management firms also can help to cut the consumers’ interest rates…

So let this serve as a ‘debtors beware’ sort of consumer warning. If you are in need of debt intervention, be sure you are clear on which of the two, debt settlement or debt management, you are getting involved with. In either case, be even clearer on the terms of the contract and how your arrangement will impact your finances and credit score moving forward.

Read the full article at mLive.com.

According to the website

The Rapid Debt Reducer is a “smart money manager” that identifies areas of unnecessary spending and teaches consumers how to use this money to crush their debts. As strategically paid debts are eliminated, the software shows how to use the freed money to eliminate more debt, repeating the process until the last debt is gone.

While most of us have heard that advice 100 times over on Oprah or other shows, the hard part is actually figuring out the numbers. The Rapid Debt Reducer is a perfect tool that does the ‘figuring out’ for you and allows you to take the most appropriate and effective actions toward your goal of being debt free.

For more information visit The Rapid Debt Reducer website.

This idea of regaining financial control through the vehicle of faith is one that is attractive to many people who are drowning in debt, so much so that crusades have been cropping up from coast to coast. This phenomenon is not so surprising, however, when you consider that anywhere from 7-21% of the population is vulnerable to ‘excessive’ buying. As the extreme of this is ‘compulsive’ buying, which is a psychiatric disorder, it is not a stretch to see how something psychological could be rooted out in the complexly psychological realm of the church. The second thing that would make sense is that the church is a safe haven for people who are struggling financially and likewise vulnerable to the many unscrupulous debt management companies who promise the stars and the moon, but only leave the hapless debtor worse off.

So what is it that causes this need in people to shop and spend money to the point where it damages their lives? According to Talen,

“They’re feeling a kind of knowing emptiness and they don’t know why. So they keep buying more and more, trying to fill the hole in the soul. We say: Stop shopping and start living.”

This is a good point as most addictive behavior emanates from that same process of trying to ‘fill a hole in our souls’. In this case, Talen and others like him simply equate such a ‘hole’ to that proverbial ‘God-sized’ hole that people in recovery often reference.

Reverend Billy’s partner April Benson, founder of Stopping Overshopping, offers three practical Rules for Soulful Spending.

1. Thou shalt not shop alone. Bring a friend who can talk you out of making rash decisions.
2. Thou shalt take a break. Each time you approach a checkout counter, pause awhile.
3. Thou shalt be efficient. Limit the number of trips per week by planning ahead.

Whether or not God floats your boat, these three ‘commandments’ are certainly sound advice for anyone who is one purchase away from the poorhouse. Read the entire post at CNNMoney.com.

• Reviewing the strategy that failed
• Setting reasonable goals
• Re-evaluating your definition of reasonable

The post is actually a reflection on author MP Dunleavey’s own journey to being free of debt. Through her humorous candor, she reveals concrete ways to approach the task while encouraging us to reflect on the times we have made this goal in the past and what happened as a result.

It all calls to mind the journey of someone trying to quit smoking. The experts say that the average smoker usually ‘quits’ five or six times before it finally sticks. Well, the same can be said of people who affirm and re-affirm to be debt free year after year. It is okay to not succeed the first few times, but it makes the final time a lot easier if you go into it with the wisdom of your past experiences.

Dunleavy says it best when she states

It pays to know your financial demons when you’re aiming for long-term progress. Rein in those little devils, and nothing will get in the way of you getting where you want to go.

It’s good advice that I, personally, intend to take to heart by following her prescription for becoming debt free by 2009. I will keep you posted on my progress!

Check out the full article at MSN Money.