Debt, debt, debt

From twitter fans, I learned about this incredibly informative blog entry by James Quinn, "The Great Consumer Crash of 2009." It's long but definitely worth a read. Scroll down to check out the graphs he included that provide valuable visuals that reveal what's happening.

Mortgage rates lowest in 37 years

30-year mortgage rate falls for the ninth week in a row...
"The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.10% for the week ending Dec. 31, down from 5.14% last week and 6.07% a year ago. The mortgage rate hasn't been lower since Freddie Mac started the Primary Mortgage Market Survey in 1971."

Time to refinance? Perhaps. If you save more than 2 points or 2 percent of your mortgage loan, it's worth it. For instance, on a $150,000 mortgage, 2 points is $3,000 ($150,000 x 2% = $3,000). If your reduced monthly payment adds up to $3,000 over the next three years, it's definitely worth it.
Read more here.

New credit card rules coming Thursday

Banks and consumers brace for new credit card rules

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. credit card industry, harshly criticized for imposing surprise fees and interest rate hikes on consumers, may face a day of reckoning on Thursday.

The Federal Reserve is to vote on credit card reforms that may bring some relief to customers who face a variety of ways for being hit with late fees, universal defaults, shorter payment periods and confusing payment allocations for different balances.

Credit card users likely also would see easier-to-read tables in their monthly statements as a result of the changes.

Also in this report: "In 2007, Americans were using an estimated 694.4 billion credit cards with Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover logos, according to the Card Industry Directory."

Additional news sources following this story:

• Washington Post - "Fed Drafting New Credit Card Rules"
• New York Times - "Agency Seeks New Credit Card Rules"
• CreditCards.com - "What the new credit card reforms may mean for you"

And a quick link to some helpful advice:
The Motley Fool at Fool.com - "60-Second Guide to Managing Your Credit"