The private mortgage insurance allows the borrower to acquire a mortgage in which the down payment is less than twenty percent. The borrowers pay the private mortgage out of their pocket. Now, the private mortgage insurance is tax deductible for US residents. Actually, the mortgage insurance is either government or private. Whether the mortgage insurance is government or private, the mortgage insurance is tax deductible.

To acquire the mortgage insurance is an alternative for piggyback second mortgage. The piggyback second mortgage is plain simply a second mortgage. The borrower acquires another mortgage on top of the first mortgage for down payment. (more…)

Women’s car insurance has been popping up all over the net and our TV screens lately. There’s a whole new class of insurers like Sheila’s Wheels and Cover Girl who offer car insurance for ladies only. They promise lower premiums for women drivers because, they claim, it’s cheaper for them to insure women. Women are better drivers so a lower risk, they say. They have fewer accidents, fewer driving convictions and when they do have an accident, the repairs are usually cheaper. So, is it really true, or is it just another marketing gimmick?

The answer to the question is both yes and no. Women only insurance companies are marketing to a specific niche - women drivers. Of course it’s a gimmick, but like the best marketing gimmicks, it is based in truth. Here are the facts about women drivers and insurance:

-92% of driving convictions are handed out to men. Those figures are changing, though, as women become more aggressive drivers. According to statistics gathered by the car insurance comparison site confused.com, 16.8% of male drivers have convictions on their driving record, compared to 9.8% of female drivers. That number is up from 4.8% of female drivers just three years ago.

-Men drive differently than women. A whopping 98% of dangerous driving convictions were handed out to male drivers last year. According to all the research, men tend to be more aggressive and competitive behind the wheel than women, and that naturally leads to more accidents. Women tend to drive more slowly - generally within the speed limits - and to drive shorter distances. All of those facts add up to fewer accidents that involve women. (So much for all those jokes about lousy women drivers. The statistics say otherwise.) (more…)

Prescription drug safety is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, but there are no rules on how much customers pay for prescriptions. As it turns out, the prices customers pay depends on the pharmacies they choose.

KXAN Austin News’ Matt Flener conducted price checks by calling local pharmacies and checking prices on the Internet.

Flener checked the costs of three name-brand and two generic drugs in three Austin ZIP codes, finding different prices for the same prescriptions.

At the Apothecary Shop Pharmacy in Northwest Austin, the prices come with personality.

“You’re a number at some pharmacies, and here you’re a person,” said Apothecary Shop customer John Monaghan.

“I am allowed flexibility, because I own the place, whereas they just have to put what’s on the computer,” said Apothecary Shop pharmacist Tom Schnorr.

Schnorr was referring to chain pharmacies, which ended up being some of the most expensive. (more…)

NEW YORK (AP) — The malaise in the mortgage market is starting to spread to credit-card and auto loans in what one analyst has dubbed consumer credit “contagion.” It’s an ominous warning signal for the economy. Many of the nation’s big banks and credit-card companies have begun acknowledging that they are seeing a shift in consumer behavior, including more people unable pay off their debts.

Things are unraveling faster than expected for some like Capital One Financial Corp., which on Tuesday boosted its estimates for credit losses next year to potentially above $5 billion in part because of elevated delinquencies on its cards.

No one is calling this problem the next debt-related land mine yet, but it is still important to watch what happens, especially as the holiday shopping season gets under way.

Much attention has been paid in recent months to the collapse in housing prices and the upheaval in the mortgage market. The initial trigger was people with shaky credit — known as subprime borrowers — increasingly defaulting on their home loans.

An added complication was that many Americans used their homes as piggy banks in recent years. When debt was cheap and easy to get and the value of their homes was surging, they borrowed against them. People used part of that cash to pay off other debts, but mostly to fuel a spending surge on everything from flat-screen TVs to new cars to vacation homes. (more…)

Closing costs are the actual expenses that the lender incurs in the origination of a new home loan. Some of the costs are related to your loan application, such as the expense of a credit report on all applicants. Other fees are related to the house itself, such as the property appraisal.

Others are payment to the lender for processing your application, such as the loan origination fee.

Unless the seller offers to pay them for you, these expenses are charged to the buyer and often runs between 2 and 3 percent of the amount being borrowed. Because different states have different fees and taxes that are a part of these costs, it’s impossible to generalize nationwide.

Common closing costs can include processing and underwriting fee, mortgage insurance premium, appraisal fee, the cost of a credit report, tax service fee, application, commitment, wire transfer fee, etc… (more…)

Debt is a burden most consumers struggle with on a daily basis. The approach we take in dealing with this burden is what separates us as individuals. Choosing the correct way is a personal choice involving, among other things; family discussion, best interest rate research, and visitation with a debt management or debt consolidation professional. There are two distinct ways to deal with consumer debt.

First, you may want to consider reducing the principal balance on a current loan, or even take this step with multiple loans. Paying a bit more than the minimum required and having that amount applied to the principal is one small way to reduce debt in the long run. It may be wise to look into the specific loans you have, take a close look at your budget, then see if there are ways to reduce the amounts owed on the various loans. (more…)

When it comes to finding low cost secured loans then you have the most valuable tool sat on your desk, your home computer and a connection to the internet can save you a huge amount of money and time when it comes to getting the best deal and the cheapest rates of interest. Low cost secured loans can be found, there are many lenders who specialise in just trading online and this is where you can make the best savings.

A secured loan means that you put up something of value such as your home and in return for this you get the cheapest rates of interest and the best deal, you should bear in mind though that your home is at risk if you don’t keep up the repayments. (more…)

It just is not any fun having a lot of debt. It does not take long before you get tired of not having enough money each month, and the bills just do not stop. Perhaps the collection agencies are already calling. When any of this starts to happen, it is time for you to consider consolidating your debts. Here are a few options that you have available.

A New Balance Transfer Credit Card

This kind of credit card will be useful to you if your overall debt is not very large. By getting a new balance transfer credit card, you can put balances on other credit cards on to the new one. You will want to find one with an introductory offer of 0% APR interest, which means you pay no interest for the length of the introductory offer. Some of these credit card offers last up to 15 months. You will need good credit to be able to get the lowest interest rates. Be careful not to make any late payments, or you may find that your introductory offer ends immediately. (more…)