Fargo Wells Financial

Fargo Wells Financial | Federal Student Loans

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What Loan company will take over my federal student loans when the loans are in forbearance so I can go back to school?  Is this something that Wells Fargo can help with in their financial departments.

My loans are government loans from Saillie Mae. I owe them under $5000.
I heard about this company that will take over your school loans from them but I don’t know the name of the company. Not Sure whether this is Fargo Wells Financial though?

No one will “take over” your loans. You will still owe the money to your lender when you are in forbearance. They will simply add interest every month while you are making payments.

If you are asking about defaulting the lender will just contract out with a collection agency to start calling and hounding you to mail them payments. If you make 6 to 12 months worth of willing and reasonable payments you can ask your lender to “rehabilitate” your loan. This is when you are issued a new loan and pay off the one in default so you can get federal fin aid again. Again, rehabilitation can only be done after you have made 6 to 12 months of payments.

How many credit cards should you have to rebuild credit?

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I am trying to rebuild my credit after ID theft, a couple of problems that were mine and years of basically not having any credit reported. (I primarily use my debit card and pay cash for everything). I make good money now and am trying to rebuild in order to purchase a condo in the next couple of years. My good accounts (rental, club, cable, cell, etc.) have not reported my good credit. So how many cards should I take out that will help boost my credit score but not hinder my credit. Thank you!

I would take out no more than 2. I would start out with a secured card. Granted you would have to put a deposit upfront to secure a line of credit, but the deposit would also garner interest while you're proving your creditworthiness. You could start out small, like $200-300 or larger like $1000-2000. Either way, I strongly suggest you to continue to use your debit card and pay cash like you've been doing, and make small purchases that you can pay off in full every month (around $20-50). I would only use the credit card in dire emergencies. After the secured card becomes unsecured, then you could receive offers for other cards, but chances are just the one card could work just as well. Be sure to dispute anything that was involved in the identity theft and make sure that you have a POLICE REPORT. Your "good accounts" (rental, club, cable, cell, etc.) CAN be reported through this reporting agency called PRBC. (http://prbc.com/default.php?) This is for REAL. You can have your good credit reported and complied in a scored report that can be considered with your traditional credit reports. It's become increasingly popular and I'm certain that it will help you out immensely.

Save Money by not Using Credit Cards

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Save money by not using credit cards is an option if you are on a budget and finding yourself in debt. Credit cards often come with steep interest rates, which if you roll over your payments to the following month additional interest are added. In addition, most credit cards charge fees for using the cards, or will charge you interest on each purchase you make.

You can save money by not using credit cards. In the event your bills are due and you have no money, you can use your credit cards to pay the debt and avoid late fees, yet it is wise to payoff the amount as quickly as possible so that the interest rates do not increase.

We all want extra money to spend. If you save money by not using credit cards, you will have that extra cash each month to pay bills, buy groceries and perhaps take your family out to dinner. Imagine the amount you can save if you do not use your credit cards.

Having plastic often triggers people to buy what they want. You can save money by not using credit cards if you become aware of those triggers and avoid spending money for items unnecessary.

Tips for saving money: MasterCard’s and Visa’s are handy if you purchase the cards that you can add money to, since it helps you to budget and monitor your, spending. Yet, if you have credit cards, you want to payoff your debt each month. If you spend $20 for an item and make minimal payments, the interest will roll over and eventually you will pay double the amount for the items you purchase.

Avoid cash advances to reduce debt:

You want to avoid cash advances also. When you take cash advances against your credit cards the interest rates almost doubles. Since cash advances on credit cards do not have grace periods, often the interest accrues instantly.

If you are in debt save money by not using credit cards and avoid credit companies that claim, they can get you out of debt. Look for reputable companies instead.

If you are seeking credit cards and thinking of the pre-approved cards, think twice since most of these are hoax that begs you for upfront fees, especially those offering low interest rates and do not request annual fees. Likely, you will lose.

Also, avoid stapling your checks to vouchers for credit card payments. You could risk paying late penalties. Lastly, you want to avoid accepting additional protection on your credit cards. Many credit card companies will offer you additional protect, yet what most people do not know is that the government protects users of credit cards already.

Save money by not using credit cards is the best solution to help you stay debt free and to avoid getting in debt over your head.

Paying with plastic : a study of credit card debt.

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Paying with plastic : a study of credit card debt.

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How many credit cards is too much to affect your credit score?

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I am going to ask another question regarding which CC should I add to my credit card profile to add to my rewards. I have excellent credit, pay my balance in full each month, and I use my CC to pay for everything I can to rack up points/miles etc.

I am at a point where I want to increase my points and miles so there are some options. The question is, what is too much. I basically share a VISA with my wife, and have an older VISA that i keep. I realize that you should keep older credit cards for history. I want to add at least one AM/EX either the Starwood points, or the Delta Miles. I also might switch our Cap1 card to the signature to get 2 points for every $1 spent, instead of 1.25 for $1. That is a new card, not a switch. And recently, I have received letters for UNITED miles (20,000 bonus) and AA Miles (21,000 Bonus). I would love to use those just to add to my miles on those flights. Could I add 3-4 cards without hurting my excellent credit? I will not rack up debt.

You could have 50 cards and as long as you kept them in good standing, low utilization, no lates, etc. they won't hurt your scores – you would take small dings for inquiries though.

If you are adding 3-4 cards, and you already have a good card portfolio that has fairly good history, the inquiry dings should be small. After 6 months the inq's will be less of a significance on your scores and at one year they will have no impact at all.

Available credit is not debt.

I can see only one card that you currently have that is probably keeping your scores from actually being higher than they are now. That would be the Cap One card.
Cap One is notorious for not reporting credit limits, they only report high balance – that makes it look like you are over utilizing the account.

How to hack RFID-enabled Credit Cards for $8 (BBtv)

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A number of credit card companies now issue credit cards with embedded RFIDs (radio frequency ID tags), with promises of enhanced security and speedy transactions.

But on today’s episode of Boing Boing tv, hacker and inventor Pablos Holman shows Xeni how you can use about $8 worth of gear bought on eBay to read personal data from those credit cards — cardholder name, credit card number, and whatever else your bank embeds in this manner.

Fears over data leaks from RFID-enabled cards aren’t new, and some argue they’re overblown — but this demo shows just how cheap and easy the “sniffing” can be.

This episode is part of our ongoing series of interviews with some of the thinkers, hackers, and tinkerers at the O’Reilly Emerging Technology conference this year.

For more episodes of Boing Boing tv, visit tv.boingboing.net.

Duration : 0:3:23

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Best Credit Cards – How to Find the Right Card for you

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On question often asked is “what’s the best credit card available?” The truth of the matter is that there is no one credit card available that is the best for everyone. Choosing the right credit card for you has more to do with your credit card spending and repayment patterns than anything else.

In order to find out which credit card is best you need to think about your credit card usage. For example, do you pay the balance in full each month, do you carry debt over and incur interest and so on. See which of the statements below fits your credit card usage.

“I don’t pay by credit card bill in full each month”

If you carry a balance over from month to month, you need to look for the lowest rate interest card available. Some cards charge high rates of 18% and upwards per annum, others charge less than 10% per annum. The interest rate makes a huge difference to the monthly minimum repayment amounts and also the ease at which you can pay down debt. A low interest rate is more important than a rewards program if you are carrying debt.

“I only use a credit card occasionally and normally pay it off each month”

If you are a light credit card user and tend to pay it off in full each month then the most important factors to consider will be the cards annual fee and the number of interest free days on purchases. Many credit card issuers have cards with no annual fees. They tend to offer less in the way of rewards schemes but as a light user you are unlikely to benefit from such schemes. Look for cards with a low or no annual fee offering instant rewards and discounts. These are partner offers that can be used at any time without accumulating points.

“I buy most things with my credit card and then to pay if off each month”

If you do most of your spending via your credit card and tend to pay it off each month then you may benefit from a credit card offering a rewards scheme. Often rewards credit cards have higher interest rates or annual fees than other types of credit cards. However, interest rates are not important so long you pay the bill each month and the rewards could well exceed the card fee. Frequent flyer credit cards are the most popular type of reward card. A spend of around $2000 per month can earn the equivalent of 4 short haul return flights per year with many airlines.

Other factors to consider when choosing a credit card

Interest free days:

When looking for the right credit card for you, you will find that there are two main types of credit cards: those that offer interest free days and those that don’t. Generally, those that offer interest days charge a higher interest rate after the end of the interest free period or charge an annual fee to compensate. Many credit card companies now offer to up to 55 days interest free on purchases. Cash advances normally incur interest straight away and often at a higher rate than purchases.

Late payment penalties: When evaluating which credit card is right for you, it is important to consider the late payment penalties. If a late fee is charged, what is it? Is an increased interest rate also enforced as a penalty? Some companies more than double your interest charges if you pay late even by one day.

Customer service: It is also helpful to consider a company’s track record in looking after their clients. Why not phone the customer service lines of your short listed credit card companies? Who do you want to deal with? Are you kept on hold for an excessive length of time before someone takes your call or are you answered quickly? If you can’t get good customer service from a company, you should probably forget them. Another important consideration is whether they are using overseas call centres that have access to customer’s private details. If you don’t have a problem with this, fine.

Conclusion

If you intend to use your credit card to pay bills and will pay the complete balance each month, look for a credit card that offers the best value in terms of interest free days and rewards. However, if you are going to be in debt from month to month, look for the lowest interest rate, lowest annual fee and fairest calculation of penalties (because things can go wrong sometimes).

If you are juggling a number of credit cards of varying interest rates and have overall high monthly payments because of credit card debt, then consolidating your credit card debt on one low rate interest card could be the answer you are looking for. By consolidating your credit card debt on one low rate card, you will dramatically reduce your minimum monthly credit card costs and improve your ability to pay down debt.

Debt consolidation, using a low rate credit card, can also provide more flexibility than a personal loan. If an emergency occurs then the credit is still there to use. The obvious risk to this, however, is using the credit and never getting out of debt. Debt consolidation with a credit card requires discipline and commitment to get out of debt.

Best Credit Cards Summary – The right credit card for you

Carry balance over each month = Low interest credit cards

High levels of existing debt to pay off = Low interest / balance transfer credit cards

Pay balance off in full each month / low credit card usage = no annual fee credit cards

Pay balance off in full each month / medium-high credit card usage = rewards credit cards