Archive for the credit Category

Whitney Houston’s Estate is not BROKE!

By on March 9, 2012

Many reliable sources on the internet have label Whitney Houston’s estate as BROKE and in a financial bind.  Sources say that Whitney Houston was already on the brink of a financial calamity even facing bankruptcy.  Music Industry Insider Wayne Russo gives a full break down of Whitney’s liability to Sony Music Group, and why it may be a long time before her Estate would reap any of her music royalty wealth. (Read article here) But music royalty wealth is only one piece of a very big pie that heirs of Whitney Houston can profit from to continue her legacy.

Postmortem Riches

Celebrity wealth in death is not a new topic, and until Michael Jackson’s death in 2009, Elvis Presley reign as the highest paid dead celebrity.   Keep in mind that the bulk of wealth that is deriving from Elvis Presley is not music royalties.  Presley’s postmortem earnings come from Graceland admissions, licensing and merchandising and a Cirque du Soleil.  Licensing and Merchandising is a billion dollar industry and the advisors to these dead powerhouses know it; that’s why Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. (not to be confused with his estate) gross proceeds for 2011 were in the billions.

Whitney Houston’s Legacy & Deja Vu

Although the Estate of Whitney Houston maybe in debt to the Sony Music Group, for music royalties. Nothing is stopping the heirs in creating a new company that will continue to keep Whitney Houston’s legacy alive and bring in some of those postmortem riches. Let us not forget that when Michael Jackson died, once again reliable sources on the internet said is estate was in debt to AEG for $30-35 million, fast forward  2 1/2 years later, Forbes listed him as one of the highest paid dead celebrities in 2011.

© 2012, Lorillia Brown-Phillips.  All Rights reserved.

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Creating a 5 Step Financial Makeover in 2012

By on January 6, 2012

It’s now 2012, and if you’re still procrastinating with making a financial leap, then you don’t want to put it off any longer.   Procrastination is never a good thing, and why have your personal finances suffer in the meantime.  If you need a financial makeover, it takes a mental commitment; one that will allow you to stay the course until the end of the year.  Here is a quick 5 step checklist that can assist you in staying committed to a financial makeover in 2012.  Read the rest here.

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8 Steps to Keep your Holiday Season Debt Proof

By on December 6, 2011

Borrowing money for the holiday season is no misnomer for many American families.  American families are constantly being bombarded with retailer’s advertisements of buying, and fighting the buying temptation can be difficult.  Statistics show that nearly 1 in 10 families borrow money to spend on Christmas gifts and those same families are unable to pay their bills at the end of month in December.  Read the rest at Your black world

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This entry is filed under budgets, Business owners, coupon, credit, debt, family, holidays, saving, shopping and tagged , , , , , , , .

Dealing with Financial Stress and Anxiety during the Holiday Season

By on December 2, 2011

In these economic times, many individuals are going through some rough financial pressures.  For example, the lost of a job, home foreclosure, or unmanageable debt that keeps accumulating.  Studies have shown that people who are struggling financially during the holiday season experience a much greater burden of stress and anxiety than any other time of the year.

Many individuals who are experiencing this type of stress and anxiety do not realize it’s not because of lack of money.  More money will not change your financial situation if it did, why do 9 out of every 10 lottery winners who become millionaires go broke within 5 years?  What changes your financial situation, is your mindset.   Changing your mindset will allow you to live the life you were destined for, it will allow you to eliminate a mindset of lack and develop a mindset of financial abundance.  Listed below are 4 principles one must master in order to reap the harvest of becoming financially secure:

1.  Learn to embrace the concept of being an abundant thinker

2.  Learn how you can become an abundant thinker

3.  Educate yourself on why the recession has nothing to do with your finances

4.  Learn how to stay motivated in any economy, so you can become recession proof

These concepts may seem esoteric and out of the box for some individuals, but if you’re in a place where you’re hurting financially.  Consider learning something new, it was Albert Einstein who said “Doing the same thing and expecting different results is Insanity”.

 

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This entry is filed under credit, debt, family, holidays, income, motivational, positive thinking, prosperity, saving, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , .

4 Tips for Protecting your Finances Online on Cyber Monday

By on November 27, 2011

Cyber Monday has been called the most profitable online shopping day for retailers since 2005.    Online retailers have been rallying to get Black Friday shoppers to continue their shopping frenzy until Monday, with hopes that this year will be even more profitable.  But consumers who are planning to shop on Cyber Monday, to score big on sales for the holidays.  Here are 4 tips to consider when shopping on Cyber Monday.

Read the rest on Your Black World

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This entry is filed under budgets, credit, debt, Financial Literacy, holidays, shopping and tagged , , , , .

Do you know the difference in Original Creditors, Collections Agency(ies) and Junk Debt Buyers? Book Excerpt

By on June 28, 2011

I recently decided to write a book and here is an excerpt from my upcoming book, take a look let me know what you think.  This is just a rough draft.

The credit repair process can be a daunting task and before you anxiously decide to go pay an outstanding debt, that you have either notice on your credit report, or you may have received a letter in the mail.  It is important that you understand who are the key players and their role in the credit repair process.  It is important to know the difference between Original Creditors, Collection Agency(ies) and Junk Debt Buyer.

Definition of Original Creditor and the Collection Agency(ies):

Original Creditors are the credit card companies that issued you (the debtor) the credit card to make purchases.  For example those cards maybe American Express, Discover, VISA, Mastercard or department store cards (eg. Macys, Lord & Taylor, Sears etc.)

Collection Agency(ies) are companies that buy unpaid debts from Original Creditors.  These unpaid debts are charged off by the Original Creditor because the consumer has not paid on the debts for as long as 90-120 days.  This also includes attorney offices that collect on debts as well.

Junk Debt Buyer is another name for a collection agency these companies specialize in purchasing old collection accounts from credit card companies that are older than 120days old.  These debts may be auto loans, telecommunication accounts, or retail accounts.

These Junk Debt Buyers buy these accounts in bulk for pennies on the dollar, which is why they can offer the consumer discounts off their outstanding bill.  For example, if you have a charge off balance of $3,500 that was once owned by American Express the JDB will purchased that debt for .20 cents on the dollar which means the JDB paid only $700 dollars.  Now you see why collection companies can offer you a discount off of what you owed.

Here is a list of widely know JDB that may have called and harassed you:

  • Allied National/Interstate Risk Management Aternatives(RMA)
  • Asset Acceptance (AAC)
  • Asta Funding
  • CAMCO (Capital Acquisitions & Mgmt Co)
  • Cavalry Portfolio Services
  • Collins Financial Services
  • Encore Capital Group
  • Excalibur
  • First Select Corporation
  • JBC & Associates Arrow Fin. Svcs. RJM Acquisitions
  • NCO Group
  • Oliphant Financial Corp.
  • OSI Portfolio Services
  • Phoenix Asset Acceptance
  • Portfolio Recovery Assoc.
  • Pressler & Pressler
  • Sherman Acquisitions/Sherman Financial Group/Alegis
  • Unifund Group

Again it’s just a rough draft but there’s more to come.  Stay tune.

 

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The Credit Amnesty Program: Don’t believe the Hype!!!!

By on April 26, 2011

With just a few days left until the end of the month, as well as April being Financial Literacy month.   I thought it was very ironic to hear a recent radio advertisement announcing that certain individuals should take part in a great program being given by creditors; it’s called “The Credit Amnesty Program”.  This advertisement was encouraging people who have credit scores as low as 480, to come and apply for INSTANT CREDIT no one is turned down.  Lie!!!!!, this is the biggest gimmick and it’s been around for years it just has a new name, but the financial shackles are the same for individual with bad credit.  Why because the people who buy into these tactics are given interest rates as high as 18% or higher, the debt these individuals accumulate is designed for them not to pay if off which in turn many of these people will default on their debt.  I recently did a webinar regarding “What impacts Your Credit” during this webinar I showed the cost comparison of a credit worthy consumer and an unworthy credit consumer.  Take a look:

Examples of Credit Profiles

Here is an example of the cost of a $20,000 car loan over 5 years:

Prime 680 or higher score – Interest rate 7%, Payment $405, Total Cost after 5 years $24,300

Sub prime 500 – 619 Interest rate 14%, Payment $477, Total Cost after 5 years $28,620

Jilted 500 or below – Interest rate 21%, Payment $557, Total Cost after 5 years $33,420

As you can see in this example there no advantages of being an unworthy credit consumer, you may be able to buy material purchases but the consumer with bad credit pays a big price at the end.  Don’t buy into the hype, educate yourself.

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This entry is filed under credit, debt, education, Financial Literacy.

Football and Finances

By on December 24, 2010

    What do Football and Finances have in common, a finance app created by the NFL and Visa call Financial Football.  To promote the need of financial literacy the NFL and Visa have teamed together and have created an app that asks a series of questions on all aspects of financial literacy from credit management to retirement.  The game can be found in the App store for the I-phone did I mention that the app is FREE.  Don’t worry if your knowledge of football is sub par, the game will walk you through all the steps.  You can pick your team the opposing team, and just follow the steps.  Depending on how well you answer the questions on financial literacy will determine your football advancement in yardage, field goals and points on the board.  There is no need to be intimidated by the app you can pick what level you want to start at easy, medium or hard.  If don’t know knowledge on financial literacy you can go through the Lessons module which is the app’s version of Financial Training Camp.  The Financial Training Camp skills categories are broken into saving, spending, budgeting, credit, debit and prepaid cards.  Check it out maybe you will enjoy the app as much as I did.

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This entry is filed under credit, debt, i-phone.