Thursday, February 19, 2009

Brian Lehrer Show--Your Questions, 2/19

Hi everybody, thanks for listening!

[3] sophie from manhattan:
Chapter 11 bankruptcy is for businesses. Chapter 7 and 13 are for individuals. If you earn more than the median income in your state, it may be difficult to declare Chapter 7 and fully discharge debt. You may have to negotiate a payment plan instead under Chapter 13. You need to pay a fee, typically $300, and find a lawyer who will help you file, and appear in court. Also, bankruptcy typically stays on your credit report for 10 years--not 7.

[4] John Eiche from Queens
: Yes, the mortgage plan is targeted to help people who are paying more than 43 percent of income on the mortgage.

[5] Tony from San Jose, CA: Yes, they could close it, more likely is that they would lower your credit limit or send you increasing solicitations to charge more (like a "cash advance" check). You might want to apply for another card if you are worried about it.

[6] Scott from Cambridge, MA: Yes, go to annualcreditreport.com to get an idea of your credit record before you take out loans.

[7] Mike from Long Island: That sounds screwy because 783 is a very high score. Maybe you should get your other 2 credit scores (Experian and Equifax) as well as your credit report and see if they agree. If not you may need to correct some errors on your report.

[8] FranciL from NYC: Yes, might as well keep it open. The amount of available credit is part of your credit score; so is the length of your credit history, which may be affected if this extra card was opened before your other cards.

[9] Edward from NJ: Frustrating! But I don't think this should affect your credit score. What could ding it was if you were shopping around for a home equity loan and made a lot of loan applications at the same time.

10] Suki from Williamsburg: It sounds like you have a healthy attitude towards credit, but I dont understand why you would have a bad credit score if you are paying off the card on time every month. It could be because you are maxing out the one card or you just don't have a long enough credit history. If the former is true, it may not be a bad idea to open another card. Or just stick to cash!

[11] C from Manhattan, NY: I am a fan and a member of Mint.com. They make money by referring customers to bank products (the Ways to Save section)--these offers are vetted to make sure they are really saving you money, but it is a paid product placement. The rest of their information is very reliable and they have been free of security concerns so far. I think it's a good tool.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

hi anya, i'm really interested in hearing you speak. when and where will you be on bowdoin's campus tomorrow? i can't seem to find any information.

Anonymous said...

hi anya, what time are you speaking at bowdoin tomorrow and where? i live in portland, but would love to check it out. please let me know. thanks.

Anonymous said...

oops, blogging is new to me. i didn't mean to post that twice. sorry.

Anya said...

my speech is at the Kresge Auditorium, Visual Arts Center, at 12 noon. Hope that helps!

Tanuja said...

Any chance you can comment on [25]? :)