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1). Lemon Law Lawyer Could Be Useful Since the first lemon law was passed in 1982, all fifty states have enacted some form of consumer protection for owners of defective automobiles. The laws vary greatly from state to state, but the premise is the same - people who buy new, defective vehicles are entitled to receive a replacement or a refund. This works well on paper, but in practice... 2). Certified Used Cars May Pose Risks for Buyers With the price of a new car getting higher and higher each year, many buyers choose to buy used cars instead. The price of a new car can easily equal a year's pay for many people, so buying a used car makes sense. But there are risks associated with buying a pre-owned vehicle. What if is defective? What if it is a lemon law buyback? Once should alw... 3). Internet Car Auctions Can Take You For A Ride The Internet has provided the public with a useful and convenient tool that makes it easier to do all manner of things than it used to be. One of these things, oddly enough, is the sale of motor vehicles. It seems strange that cars would sell well on the Web, as one would think that buyers would want to "kick the tires" before making a purchase. Th... 4). Payday Loans Target Military Personnel It's tough being a soldier, especially in a time of war. Being a member of the military during wartime means long time away from your home and your family. For those that aren't overseas, there is the constant concern that combat may soon be in your future. Being a soldier is a difficult and stressful job and most Americans have tremendous respect ... 5). Option ARM - The World's Most Dangerous Mortgage Home prices have reached record levels, and in many parts of the country, homes have become nearly unaffordable.Real estate has replaced the tech stocks of the late 1990's as the hot investment, and everyone has sold their stocks and jumped into investment property.Real estate prices have increased at a far greater rate than salaries, and the lendi... 6). Buying a home? Consider Hiring an Attorney The most expensive thing most people will buy in their lifetime is the house in which they live. In addition to being expensive and taking decades to pay for, the purchase of a house also represents one of the more complicated legal transactions most people will ever encounter. Despite the need for contracts involving bankers, city, state and count... 7). Selling Your Home is Easier if You Prepare First Selling a house is a complicated thing to do. It involves a lot of paperwork, a lot of meeting with people and most of all, a lot of time. That being the case, it helps to prepare ahead of time. There are a few things that anyone who wishes to sell a house should do prior to putting the "for sale" sign in the front yard. The sooner these things are... 8). Credit Card Introductory Rates Can Bite You The credit card industry is a competitive one; all you have to do to see that is open your mailbox. For many consumers, pre-approved credit card applications can be found every week in the mail, often accompanied by offers to let you transfer an existing balance from another credit card at a low interest rate. Sometimes these rates, known as "tease... 9). Credit Card Shopping Easy if You Know What to Look For It's hard to get by in society today without a credit card. There are times when they are convenient, such as when you have just enjoyed a nice meal but don't have $100 in your wallet, and times when they are essential, such as when you want to rent a car. Unless you are in the habit of walking around with a suitcase full of cash, renting a car wit... 10). Car Title Loans Offer Risky Cash Payday loans have received a lot of negative press lately as states and municipalities try to regulate an industry that legally lends small amounts of money at interest rates that can reach a breathtaking 1000% per year. A less well-publicized variation on the payday loan is the car title loan, which requires the borrower to provide his or her auto... 11). High Gas Prices and Ways to Save With Memorial Day around the corner, the great American travel season is here. During the summer, most Americans take at least one extended vacation, and four fifths take that trip by automobile. Unfortunately, this year, the price of gas is at record highs, and no one likes to spend their vacation money on gasoline. While there is little to be don... 12). Work At Home Scams Thrive on the Internet The ability to earn a living from home is one that millions of people would enjoy. No one likes being a slave to a time clock, and no one enjoys working for a difficult boss. The notion of working from home is appealing to everyone who has ever had an unpleasant job, and thousands of Americans try their hands at it every year with varying degrees o... 13). Four Dangerous Words - "You Can Refinance Later" Buying a house is an expensive proposition. It's the only thing most people will ever buy that will take decades to pay off. As such, it is not something most buyers enter into lightly. The financial demands are significant and the payment has to be made each and every month for the next thirty years or so. Adding to the complexities of the process... 14). Debt Consolidation with Free Government Grants? Just another scam. Have you ever seen a commercial or an ad promising "free government grant money?" According to these ads, the government and other organizations give away nearly one half a trillion dollars each year and all you need to do is apply! The ads go on to state that the money can be used for anything, including debt consolidation, student loans, a yacht ... 15). Payday Loans are the World's Most Expensive Cash If someone told you that they would lend you $500 today if you repaid them with $5000 a year from now, would you take it? What if the repayment amount were only $2500? Would that strike you as a good deal? This may sound like an insane amount to repay on a small loan, but that, in effect, is what thousands of consumers do every day when they take o... 16). Structured Settlements - Should You Sell Yours? In recent years, it has become more common for victims of accidental injury who accept a settlement from the at-fault party to accept a structured settlement instead of a lump-sum payment. With a structured settlement, the injured party receives payments over an agreed-upon length of time - five years, ten years, or even a lifetime, rather than rec... 17). Buying a Car and Saving Money Aside from their home, most Americans will spend more money on their car than on anything else they will buy. And yet, when it comes time to buy that car, most people spend far more time researching the engine, the stereo and the moon roof than they will the finances of the purchase. By failing to do a little homework on the finances, many people e... 18). Latest Work From Home Offer Just Another Scam Many Americans would love to work from home. The reasons vary; some people may not wish to commute and some may simply not enjoy working in an office environment. Others may have small children at home and would prefer not to have to enroll them in day care. Whatever the reason, companies that offer to provide people with an opportunity to work fro... 19). Debt Management Begins with Paycheck Management This is an exciting time of the year for many American consumers, as tax time approaches. No, most people are not too excited about filing their income tax return, but most people receive a refund each year, and this year that refund averages out to a little more than $2000. That windfall is usually quickly spent on a new TV or a vacation or as a d... 20). Debt Consolidation Loan Possibilities Abound Debt has a way of piling up in a sneaky way. Many consumers think that they are wisely managing their money until the day comes when they realize that they are way too deep in debt. The average U.S. household has nearly $10,000 in credit card debt, and that debt is often distributed among multiple accounts, each of which has its own minimum payment... 21). Credit Cards From Oil Companies Are No Bargain The number of consumers with oil company credit cards, good for gasoline purchases, has increased dramatically during the last ten years. The two main reasons for this growth are the general easing of qualifications for such cards and the growth of pay at the pump. It is simply much easier and faster to buy gasoline if all you have to do is stick a... 22). New Credit Score System Supposed to Simplify, Not Confuse A lot has been written in the past few years about the importance of both credit reports and credit scores. The credit report is a listing of all significant financial transactions by a consumer and whether or not those transactions were completed on time and as agreed. The score is a distillation of everything contained on the credit report, boile... 23). Home Improvement is Great If You Know How to Finance It With housing prices at an all time high, homeowners who have outgrown their existing home or feel that it no longer meets their needs have a dilemma. It would be great to move to a larger house, but the prices of larger houses are higher than ever. What to do? The savvy homeowner might consider remodeling. You can add an extra room, convert a garag... 24). Credit Repair Scheme Promises Fast Score Increases But May Be Illegal Establishing a good FICO credit score isn't all that difficult; all you have to do is pay your bills on time. But if you have a bad credit score from a history of not paying your bills promptly, repairing your score and building it up to a level where you can get competitive loan rates can take time. It can take several years of paying your bills o... 25). Mortgage Costs and How to Reduce Them Few people will ever pay more for anything than they do for their home. The prices of housing are continually escalating; the median price of a house in the United States is now more than $215,000. Adding to the expense is the mortgage interest. Over the life of the loan, most homeowners will pay approximately twice the cost of the house in interes... 26). Home Equity Line of Credit - Do Rising Interest Rates Spell Trouble? A home equity line of credit is one of the most useful tools that a homeowner can have in his or her financial arsenal. A line of credit is a financial tool that is always there, allowing a homeowner to borrow money when needed for such emergencies as job loss or illness. It also comes in handy for financing any one of a number of things, with home... 27). Free Credit Card Bonuses Are Pricey if You Fail to Pay Your Bill The credit card business is a competitive one. It is also a very profitable one and the combination of the two explains why you seem to find a pre-approved application in the mailbox just about every day. A new customer is worth a lot to the companies that issue credit cards; most consumers will spend thousands of dollars in interest during the tim... 28). Home Foreclosures and Big Profits? Just Another Myth Everyone would like to find a way to make a lot of money without doing a lot of work. Getting rich quickly seems to be the American dream. And if you watch a lot of late night television, you might think that you have found the ticket to fast riches by investing in foreclosed homes. There are advertisements that offer to tell you the "secrets" of b... 29). Credit Reports -- Your Free Report Could Cost You The growing prevalence of identity theft and increased concern about good financial health has led many consumers to seek copies of their credit reports online. Doing so is certainly laudable; the more you know about how potential creditors and lenders see you, the more prepared you can be when it comes time to apply for a loan or credit. An added ... 30). Mortgage Tips for First Time Buyers A home is the single most expensive thing most people will ever purchase. In addition, paying off a home loan can take as long as forty years and will involve paying an amount of interest that exceeds the cost of the house itself. In short, buying a house is not something to be done without a lot of forethought. With the average American living in ... 31). Can You Negotiate with Your Credit Card Company? The average American household has nearly $10,000 in credit card debt, and many people are only able to make the minimum payment of 2% of the balance. Even 2% is $200, and by paying the minimum payment, you could be paying on the balance for decades before you finally pay it off. Since new legislation will make it more difficult to file for bankrup...