5
Dec

Consumers ‘desperate’ about debt

   Posted by: admin   in Personal Finance

Excerpt from the East Valley Tribune newspaper December 1, 2008.  From Staff Reports

“As the upheaval in the American economy continues, more and more Americans are becoming desperate to find a solution to help them get out of debt,” said Jack Craven, president of Debt Settlement USA.  Furthermore Craven remarked, “The current economic crisis and America’s addiction to credit has created a perfect storm in which consumer credit delinquencies will be the next crisis to hit the economy.”  According to Debt Settlement USA’s 3rd quarter Consumer Debt Index the mortgage delinquency rate is up almost 16 percent from the previous quarter and nearly 87 percent from the 3rd quarter 2007!

In other news Friday, December 5th, the Labor Department reported 533,000 jobs were cut in November, the most in 35 years and unemployment is at 6.7%, the highest in the past 15 years.  Additionally 1 in 10 homeowners are delinquent on the mortgages or are in foreclosure as of September.

Lenders appear to be on track to initiate 2.25 million foreclosures this year, up from an average annual pace of less than 1 million during the pre-crisis period, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said this week.

“Things are going to get worse before they get better,” said Northern Virginia housing economist Thomas Lawler.  Most troubling, he said, is that the mortgage bankers’ report reflects conditions before October’s stock market plunge and the resulting economic fallout.  Lawler went on to say, “The number of homes that are in the foreclosure process is so high — right before the economy has fallen off a cliff.”

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12
Aug

About Jeff Polhill

   Posted by: admin   in About

I am a Harley Davidson motorcycle enthusiast.  In 2005, during one of my midlife crisis’s, I decided that I really needed to own a motorcycle and that motorcycle needed to be a Harley.  Now I didn’t just go out and see and purchase the same day.  In early July 2005, I visited the Chandler Harley Davidson dealership.  Talked with a salesman and learned about the different models and went home to reflect on the saneness of riding a motorcycle in the heavy traffic of the Phoenix, AZ metropolitan area and spending a bunch of dollars on a Harley.  The last time I hopped on a bike was at the California salt flats several years earlier on a dirt bike, and did any amount of riding was in the 70’s while commuting to Arizona State University on a Kawasaki 300.  Come July 31st I was back viewing the different models and stressing over the costs.  But in the end I just couldn’t walk out without a Harley, even though during the negotiations the salespeople weren’t so sure.  So I happily took home a new 2005 Road King, which I ride as much as possible and is very possible with our fine year-around weather in AZ.

I am a recently retired banker, whose passion, besides riding my Harley, is helping people eliminate debt as quickly as possible so that they can have financial freedom and be able to enjoy a stress-free life and more free time to spend with their family, take more and better vacations and do whatever they are passionate about.

My blogs will speak mostly about my two passions, and also health and physical fitness - I work out at LA Fitness four times a week - get a 90 minute massage monthly and see my chiropractor once a month for a tune up.

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