Are you planning on applying for a loan anytime soon? If yes then here is something you might want to consider: when you go to meet with the loans officer make sure you are in a relaxed mood and have all the documentation and numbers that might come up on the course of discussing the approval of your loan. Going through the loan aplication process can be quite stressful and if you are prepared then it will go much smoother and you will have a better chance of recieving a personal loan or mortgage. You must also remember that whomever is responsible for approving your loan will be working from a general set of financial critera but they also have their own job performance on the line and don’t want to be responsible for approving a loan that might be defaulted on.

The number of Americans filing for consumer bankruptcy increased by nearly 40 percent in 2007, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute.  In a report released Thursday, the ABI said that the number of overall consumer bankruptcy filings reached 801,840 last year, compared to 573,203 in 2006.

“The roughly 40 percent spike in consumer bankruptcies during 2007 presages] even higher filings this year, as the heavy consumer debt load is made worse by the home mortgage crisis,” predicted ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano.  A statement echoed by others in the industry.

However, the report also showed that the number of bankruptcy filings declined 7.5 percent in December from November. And Chapter 13 filings - those available to individuals with regular income whose debts do not exceed specific amounts - also showed a decline from November to December.  It appears that bankruptcy has become a method of doing business.

So the world of low interest rates is finally starting to catch up with me. Because of the low rates over the past few years I kept applying and getting approved for every new “low rate” introductory offer available. Now a year later all the interest rates are jacked up and I really have to figure out how to get my credit cards in order, or find someone that offers 0% credit cards! The best way to keep your finances healthy and your credit card debt affordable is to do credit card comparision shopping, find the lowest rates that last longer than 3 months.

There are specific times in your life when you must seriously consider getting different types of insurance. Of course we all remember our first car and calling around to compare car insurance rates hoping to get an affordable price. When you get married that is the time to start looking into life insurance and when you finally get your first home most mortgage providers insist on home insurance. Just make sure to do all your research so you get the best value for your money.

Last week I finally had to have that talk with my accountant, to get a loan or not. No matter what type of loan you are applying for, personal loans, home improvement loans or even if you are just looking to consolidate debts you must make sure you have up-to-date financial information available so as to make the entire process quick and painless, sort of like pulling a tooth.

Getting a loan can be stressful but if you are prepared then your chances of success are greatly increased. Remember to your research and even if you have to pay your accountant or personal financial adviser a few bucks it will be worth it by saving you money and trouble in the long-run.

I have finally found the solution to my mounting credit card debt. Besides cutting up and disposing of three of my five credit cards I also decided to look into getting a loan to pay them off. By getting an unsecured loan I was able to consolidate my credit cards into one payment at a much lower interest rate. If you debts are large you might have to go for a secured loan but it is still worth it because the interest savings over-time are huge! Finding the loan that is right for you can be a challenging task but if you do your research and compare loans then you should end up with much lower montly payments and a peice-of-mind.  Be sure to check around for the best rates because over the term of your loan you will end up saving a lot of money.

A federal appeals court upheld the conviction of former Cendant Corp. Chairman Walter Forbes Monday for leading the largest accounting fraud of the 1990s.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York upheld Forbes’ conviction on conspiracy to commit securities fraud and two counts of making false statements. Forbes was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison and ordered to pay more than $3 billion in restitution.

Forbes was involved in a fraud that inflated revenue by more than $500 million at Cendant’s predecessor, Stamford-based CUC International, to drive up the stock price. The fraud was reported in 1998, causing Cendant’s market value to drop by $14 billion in one day.  The fraud cost the company and 119,000 investors more than $3 billion.

The appeals court concluded that prosecutors’ use of the term “$14 billion fraud” in their opening statement was not misleading and prejudicial. They also said the District Court correctly ruled that references to the company’s decline in stock price and investor losses were permissible.  Last year, Cendant stockholders changed the company’s name to Avis Budget Group (Charts, Fortune 500) to reflect its Avis and Budget vehicle rental brands.  It is well known that he attempted to use offshore banking to hide assets.

The Cendant case was among the first in a series of corporate accounting scandals that sparked outrage from investors in recent years.  The case was tried after two previous juries deadlocked.  Forbes, who testified during the trial, has argued he knew nothing about the fraud. His co-defendant, former Cendant Vice Chairman E. Kirk Shelton, was convicted in 2005 of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud and making false statements to the SEC.  Shelton was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay $3.27 billion restitution to the company.

Forbes was chief executive officer of CUC and Shelton was president before the membership marketing operation merged with the travel and real-estate services company HFS Inc. to form New York-based Cendant in December 1997.  Not very suprised at this outcome as the guy is a dirty as a pig rolling in it’s own shit.