The Financial Crisis and Bad Credit
by Steve Cypher on Monday, August 2nd, 2010The latest survey conducted for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling finds that some Americans have made positive changes to their financial lives
What we do
At Auto Credit Express, it’s our job to help consumers with credit issues reestablish their auto credit with a bad credit car loan. This can be an expensive process, since most auto loans for bad credit carry with them much higher than normal interest rates. But for most people in this situation, its one of the few avenues they have in which to raise their credit scores while, at the same time, giving them the means to get to and from work and earn a living.
That being said, we sometimes wonder how many of our customers got into this situation in the first place. Lately, the economy can certainly be considered a big reason: reduced hours, salary cuts and even layoffs have impacted many people’s lives. But even in the “good times”, our business is still brisk. So we got to thinking, what might be more of an underlying reason why so many people get into financial trouble? Some answers might be found in the results of this year’s financial literacy survey conducted by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling – and conducted annually by Harris Interactive.
2010 Consumer Financial Literacy Survey
Here are excerpts from the topline report of the survey:
Financial Literacy:
A greater proportion than last year gave themselves high grades on their knowledge of personal finance, suggesting an increase in adults’ self-perceived level of personal financial literacy. In 2009, 41 percent graded themselves as C, D or F, with only 34 percent falling into that category in 2010. Interestingly enough, even with this increase, nearly four in five adults (78 percent) agree that they would benefit from advice and answers to everyday financial questions from a professional, and nearly one-third (31 percent) strongly agree.
Budget:
Showing improvement since 2007 (39 percent), more than two in five adults (43 percent) now keep close track of their spending. However, more than half (56 percent) still do not have a budget, and more than 11 million adults (5 percent) do not monitor their overall spending and don’t know how much they spend on food, housing, and entertainment.
Debt and Credit Cards:
28 percent, or nearly 64 million adults, admit to not paying all of their bills on time. Among minorities, this number is at 47 percent for African-Americans and 42 percent for Hispanics. Though a majority of adults (67 percent) say they pay for most purchases with cash or a debit card, about two in five (41 percent) report that their household carries credit card debt and more than 11 million people (5 percent of adults) say they carry $10,000 or more in credit card debt from month to month.
Credit Score:
In spite of it being free, nearly two-thirds of adults (65 percent), or nearly 148 million people, have not ordered a copy of their credit report in the past year. And nearly one-third (31 percent) do not know their credit score.
The Bottom Line
Given these facts, perhaps it’s not so surprising that many people experience financial problems. Most of these issues are hard enough to deal with during normal economic times. Given the slow recovery from the current recession, many more Americans may have to deal with rebuilding their credit.
At Auto Credit Express we have helped thousands of people with bad credit buy a car and reestablish their car credit at the same time. Our national network of affiliate dealers specializes in bad credit auto loans and, since our inception, we have processed over 2 million applications and our dealers have closed over $2 billion in auto loans. Unlike other sites, our toll free number is listed on every page in case you have any additional questions.
So if you are serious about getting your credit back on track, why not begin a new chapter in your life by filling out our bad credit car loan application now.
Tags: auto credit, Bad Credit, car credit, credit, credit card, credit counseling, credit report, credit score, credit scores, national foundation for credit counseling
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Somehow, between my husband and me, we have managed to gather over 20 thousand in credit card debt. We can’t seem to find a way out. We have tried to budget, we have done research, and we have even cut out alot of fun stuff in our lives. I think it’s time for me to get a full time job. If we can’t pull this off, we may have to declare backruptcy.