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  • Fewer willing to take on holiday credit card debt

    Fewer willing to take on holiday credit card debt The number of consumers who are comfortable taking on credit card debt this holiday season fell significantly even as Americans say they plan to spend more on gift shopping.

    The amount the average consumer plans to spend on holiday gift shopping has increased 22 percent from 2010, up to a total of $751, but at the same time, fewer are willing to take on credit card debt that they can't afford to pay back in full at the end of the month, according to the latest CNBC All-America Economic Survey. In all, just one in five consumers say they're planning to carry their credit card debt into the new year. Instead, they plan to rely more heavily on cash, checks, their debit cards.

    The consumers groups most eager to avoid running up their credit card debt are those in the Midwest, those who are between 35 and 49, those who have a high school education or less, blue collar workers and African-Americans, the survey found.

    Consumers have recently been increasing the amount they borrow on their credit cards, but spending hasn't even begun to approach pre-recession levels.

  • Consumers borrowed more on credit cards in October

    Consumers borrowed more on credit cards in October The amount of credit card debt consumers carried nationwide increased once again in October.

    Americans' credit card debt climbed 0.6 percent in October, just as it did in September, according to the latest monthly statistics on consumer credit from the U.S. Federal Reserve Board. At the end of the month, consumers owed lenders a total of $792.3 billion, up from September's total of $792 billion. This was also the highest total observed in several months.

    At the same time, consumers seemingly felt more comfortable dealing with other types of debt, such as student or auto loans, the report said. The amount of money borrowed on this type of loan – known as nonrevolving credit – rose 5.3 percent to a total of close to $1.67 trillion.

    In general, Americans have been feeling better about their finances in recent months and consequently may believe that they are also in a more advantageous position when it comes to dealing with debt. However, experts recommend that consumers carefully review all aspects of their finances before obtaining new lines of credit.

  • Community Action Partnership of Orange County – Get Involved

    Community Action Partnership of Orange County – Get Involved

    We believe that not one person can do everything, but everyone is capable of doing something. How are you giving back over the holidays?

    Throughout the year we choose various local non-profit companies to lend a helping hand to. This holiday season we chose Community Action Partnership of Orange County, an amazing community organization that is working to protect and empower the low-income families that are often overlooked. We adopted a family this year and are proudly sponsoring them over the holiday season. For ways you can help, or get involved in your own charity work over the holidays, please visit their website.

    Happy Holidays from Debtmerica!

  • PHP & Debtmerica Relief

    “PHP & Debtmerica Relief – Teaming To Help Americans With Their Credit Troubles”

    Debtmerica Relief welcomes People Helping People!

    You are invited to attend an informational Webinar covering the topic of Debt Settlement and the alliance between PHP and Debtmerica.

    Register for a session now:

  • Register for Tuesday, June 25, 2013 at 5:30 PM PST

    Please note that all scheduled times are based on Pacific Standard Time. Please adjust time accordingly.

    Once registered you will receive an email confirming your registration with information you need to join the Webinar.

    System Requirements

    PC-based attendees

    • Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

    Macintosh®-based attendees

    • Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer

  • WFG & Debtmerica Relief

    “Partnering to Resolve Debt and Tax Problems on Main Street”

    Debtmerica Relief welcomes The World Financial Group!

    You are invited to attend an informational Webinar covering the topic of Debt Settlement and the alliance between WFG and Debtmerica.

    Register for a session now by clicking a date below:

    Monday, Sep 29, 2014 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM PDT

    Wednesday, Oct 1, 2014 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM PDT

    Once registered you will receive an email confirming your registration with information you need to join the Webinar.

    System Requirements

    PC-based attendees

    • Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

    Macintosh®-based attendees

    • Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer
  • Consumers ring up credit card debt on Cyber Monday

    Consumers ring up credit card debt on Cyber Monday

    If Cyber Monday’s over-the-top spending is any indication, consumers are pulling out the plastic again … and adding to their credit card debt.

    While they’re worried that they’re going over budget for the holidays, it isn’t stopping them from putting their purchases on their cards, according to a post from livescience.com.

    “After several years of declining use, credit cards are poised for resurgence,” Beth Robertson, director of payments research at the global financial service industry research firm Javelin Strategy & Research, says in the post. “Despite the nation’s very rocky economic recovery, consumers appear to have halted their belt-tightening, and bank incentives to use credit cards rather than debit are gaining appeal.”

    It’s driven by online spending, livescience.com says.

    Javelin estimates online spending will rise by 16 percent this year — to $309 billion. By 2016, that could reach $444 billion, the company figures.

    The likely result: More consumer debt.

    Which, in turn, will mean more people looking for ways to consolidate their payments and negotiate their bills.

    We understand how it feels.

    The prospect of devastating credit-card balances arriving in the mail along with this year’s holiday greeting cards is enough to sap anybody’s spirits.

    But don’t despair — the holidays are still a joyous time. 

  • College Students Seeking Debt Relief

    College Students Seeking Debt Relief

    Do you have a kid getting ready for college or already enrolled? Well then, class is in session. Sit down, face forward and pay attention… Today’s average college student is going to graduate with a loan debt of $25,250; that’s up a stunning 5% from last year and will cause many to seek debt relief in the future. This shocking trend is only gaining momentum with reports indicating that roughly two thirds of the class of 2010 had to borrow to cover their college expenses.

    Headlines were recently made across the country as government, banking and private sources all concurred that America’s student loan debt now weighs the country’s credit card debt. When we view these debt figures alongside our country’s unemployment rate, it would seem that graduates are going to have a tough time finding the right job that will allow them to tackle their student debt.

    Mark Kanrowitz, of FinAid.org told USA Today, “Students who borrow too much end up delaying life-cycle events such as buying a car, buying a home, getting married (and) having children.”

    This increase in student loan debt has caused the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to take notice and start asking for public feedback regarding issues borrowers may be having with private student loans. This feedback will be used to create a report to Congress about private student lending due in July 2012.

    In a recent article by Business Week, Raj Date, an official with CFPB, stated that the private student loan market is one of the least understood in the consumer credit market. Date was quoted as saying, “Shedding light on this industry will benefit students, lenders, and the market as a whole.”

    It is important to note that Private Student loans issued by banks do not come with the same guaranteed protections as U.S. Department of Education issued loans and these bank loans tend to have higher, variable interest rates.

  • Who will take advantage of balance transfer day?

    Who will take advantage of balance transfer day? Millions of consumers across the country are struggling to keep their credit card debt under control and would like to do anything they can to reduce debt quickly. Fortunately, a new movement might be able to help them achieve that goal.

    An online movement has dubbed December 11 as "Balance Transfer Day," an event to encourage consumers to seek out and take advantage of the more generous balance transfer offers now being offered by the nation's top credit card lenders, according to a report from Time Moneyland. Because of increased competition among major issuers for consumers with strong borrowing histories, many have significantly beefed up their introductory offers for balance transfers.

    Some lenders are offering teaser interest rates of as low as 0 percent for as long as two years to the most qualified borrowers in an attempt to woo customers away from competitors, the report said. However, these deals typically also come with an up-front balance transfer fee, usually of about 3 percent.

    To truly take advantage of these more generous offers, consumers must also be prepared to increase the value of their monthly credit card payments so they can get out of debt more quickly.

  • Consumer issues with credit card issuers laid out in report

    More than 5,000 complaints were filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau between July and October. Thousands of complaints have been officially provided by consumers to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which released a report detailing specific credit problems they have had when speaking with issuers.

    According to the CFPB's analysis, billing disputes were the most complained about to the agency. The report shows 681 complaints, or 13.1 percent of all complaints, were filed about issues with billing.

    Additionally, 556 complaints were directed at annual percentage or interest rates, while 546 grievances were issued regarding identity theft, fraud or embezzlement – both of which accounted for more than 10 percent of the total number of complaints submitted.

    "After careful analysis, the bureau will determine how best to address these issues through a variety of means ranging from consumer education and engagement to new regulatory policies," Raj Date, special advisor to the Treasury for the CFPB, said in the report.

    Jennifer Howard, a spokesperson for the agency, told MSNBC consumer confusion with credit card companies and the terms these issuers place on their products.

  • Black Friday card transactions increased significantly

    Black Friday card transactions increased significantly Consumers continue to feel better about their finances, and when combined with seasonal increases in spending brought on by the holidays, that leads more Americans to take on credit card debt.

    Consumer use of debit and credit cards to pay for purchases on Black Friday increased significantly on a year-over-year, according to data from First Data's SpendTrend analysis of Black Friday sales figures. In all, the number of transactions using these accounts jumped 7.3 percent over last year's totals, and the value of those purchases rose 6.3 percent. The latter fact may have come as a surprise to experts, as there was a significant increase in purchases seen last year as well.

    The holiday gift purchasing continued throughout the weekend as well, as consumers took advantage of the deals offered by online retailers as part of Cyber Monday promotions, the report said. In all, dollar volume on ecommerce purchases made throughout the weekend surged nearly 20 percent over last year's totals.

    Consumers tend to make more purchases using their credit cards during the holiday season, which will make it harder for them to reduce debt for some time. There are typically seasonal increases in credit card delinquency seen near the end of the year.