Angel Credit Repair can help you with your 2015 goals!

Angel Credit Repair can help you with your 2015 goals!

Buy a Home with a 580 Credit Score with a $7500 Gifted Down Payment

FHA just lowered it's Credit Score requirement! This does NOT mean if you have a 580 you automatically get approved though! Angel Credit Repair can help you remove the late payments that would stop you from getting approved!

If you want to buy a home, let ANGEL help get you approved! We have a step by step Program that if you follow, works EVERY time!

Click the link and fill out the form and an specialist will contact you!

http://goo.gl/7kJfTU

4 Things You Never Want to See on Your Credit Report

Because a credit report is like a report card that basically says to lenders “here is how good I am at repaying my financial obligations,” it is something you need to have in order. Roughly one-in-four consumers have a “bad credit score” credit score that’s below 600. But in spite of any past financial troubles, no matter how severe, you can clean up your credit report with time and a little TLC. 

This list contains items you don’t want to have on your credit report. If you have any of these marks on your file, it’s a good idea to work towards improving your credit sooner, rather than later. Although these marks generally stay on your credit file for a long time, you can still improve your credit if you focus on paying your obligations on-time from this moment forward.

1. Charge-offs

When you go a long period of time without making a payment on a credit account, the creditor may end up charging-off the debt. This usually occurs after around six missed payments and this simply means that the company does not think they are going to receive payment from you. So, for tax and accounting purposes, they have decided to cut their losses.

This usually does not benefit you, however, with the option of simply avoiding the debt forever. Not only do you generally still owe the debt, you now have a really bad mark on your credit report that you may not be able to get rid of for quite a long time.

In most cases, the best course of action is to pay the debt and also, improve your credit by paying your other obligations as scheduled, keeping your utilization on any other credit cards low, and ensuring you don’t have any charge-offs in the future.

2. Collections

This type of mark on your credit file is pretty straightforward -it means your account has been sent to collections. What can you do about this? Unfortunately, this type of negative mark may be stuck on your credit file for quite a long time (up to 7.5 years) as well.

Paying the account is often the first step to improving the situation as the account will then go from an “unpaid” collections account to a “paid” account. Although paying the account may not have a significant impact on your score, it may look better to a lender who’s reviewing your credit history and also potentially stop the collection agency or creditor from suing you. Also, according to Credit.com, the new Vantage Score 3.0 ignores paid collections accounts.

If a creditor does take legal action, they may obtain a judgement, which is another mark you don’t want on your credit file. Depending on the nature of the judgement and where you live, this may result in wage garnishment or another undesirable method of collecting the debt.

3. Tax Liens

We can’t run from taxes because sooner or later, they’ll catch up in a big way. A tax lien occurs when the tax man lays claim on some (or all) of your property because you didn’t pay the property, income, or other taxes you were supposed to. These liens can come from the IRS, state, or even local government.

Like most public records, these liens can stay on your credit file for a long time (seven years or so), and the best way to move forward is to pay the tax debt or, if possible, work out an arrangement with the tax man and stick to it.

4. Foreclosure

Nearly 1 million foreclosures were filed in the U.S. during the year 2013. Many people build credit history in hopes to buy their dream house. But, if they are unable to make payments on that house, they may end up losing their home and being stuck with a foreclosure on their credit file. This makes it more difficult to purchase a home in the future.

After a foreclosure, Freddie Mac suggests finding an affordable place to live and placing focus on rebuilding your credit. You may also want to talk to a credit counselor or financial adviser about how to improve your financial situation.

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Boomerang home buyers are coming back

Millions of Americans who lost their homes during the foreclosure crisis are now poised to become homeowners again.

That's according to a new report from RealtyTrac, which estimates that 7.3 million so-called "boomerang buyers" will return to the U.S. housing market over the next eight years.

Foreclosures and short sales skyrocketed after 2007 during the darkest years of the financial crisis and Great Recession. But with the economy gaining momentum and hiring picking up, many foreclosed on homeowners are in a position to buy again.

Half a million home buyers: Homeowners can recover from foreclosure in as little as three years, but seven years is the "conservative" amount of time it takes to rebuild a credit score, according to RealtyTrac. That means many homeowners who lost their homes in 2007 should be able qualify for a new home loan this year.

More than 500,000 people will fit this description in 2015, according to RealtyTrac. The number jumps to 1 million next year, peaks at 1.3 million in 2018, then tapers off by 2022.

A home in Vegas: RealtyTrac identified several markets with the most potential for boomerang buyers.

They include cities that were hit hard by the foreclosure crisis, but now have home prices that are affordable for the median homebuyer.

Las Vegas is arguably the epicenter for boomerang buyers. Several hard hit cities in California, such as Merced, Stockton and Modesto, are also prime candidates.

Retirement cities: Boomerang buyers are likely to be from either Generation X or the Baby Boom generation, according to RealtyTrac.

So cities that attract people nearing retirement age, like those in Florida, or metro hubs with jobs such as Chicago and Atlanta are on their list. 

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10 tax breaks for retirement savers

Saving for retirement can decrease your tax bill or boost your refund. But there are also penalties if you take money out of retirement accounts too early or too late. Here's how to minimize taxes on your retirement savings.

401(k)

Employees can defer paying income tax on up to $18,000 they contribute to a traditional 401(k), 403(b) or the federal government's Thrift Savings Plan in 2015. Income tax won't be due on this money until it is withdrawn from the account.

IRA

You can defer income tax on up to $5,500 by contributing to a traditional individual retirement account in 2015. IRA contributions aren't due until April 15, so you can make a contribution shortly before filing your taxes to reduce your tax bill or boost your refund.

Roth IRA

Roth IRAs have the same contribution limits as traditional IRAs, but the tax treatment is different. Roth IRA contributions are made with after-tax dollars, but withdrawals in retirement are tax-free.

Roth 401(k)

Roth 401(k)s don't offer a tax break in the year you make a contribution, but your savings grow without the drag of taxes, and you won't be taxed for withdrawals in retirement from accounts that are at least five years old.

Catch-up contributions

Workers ages 50 and older can contribute an extra $6,000 to a 401(k) and $1,000 to an IRA as catch-up contributions to boost their retirement nest egg and realize even bigger tax savings. However, you can no longer contribute to a traditional IRA once you reach age 70½.

Saver's credit

Workers with adjusted gross incomes below $30,500 for singles, $45,750 for heads of household and $61,000 for married couples in 2015 can claim the saver's credit in addition to the tax deduction on their retirement account contributions. The credit is worth between 10 percent and 50 percent of the amount saved in a 401(k) or IRA, up to $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for couples, with bigger credits going to people with lower incomes.

Avoid the early withdrawal penalty.

Retirement account withdrawals before age 59½ typically trigger a 10 percent early-withdrawal tax. But there are a variety of ways to avoid the penalty if you use an IRA withdrawal for certain purposes, such as college costs, buying a first home, paying for large medical bills or purchasing health insurance after a job loss.

Remember to take required minimum distributions.

Withdrawals from 401(k)s and traditional IRAs become required after age 70½. Required minimum distributions are typically calculated by dividing the account balance by an IRS estimate of your life expectancy. Those who fail to withdraw the correct amount face a stiff 50 percent tax penalty on the amount that should have been withdrawn.

Delay 401(k) withdrawals while working.

If you remain employed after age 70½ and don't own 5 percent or more of the company you work for, you can delay withdrawals from your current 401(k), but not IRAs or 401(k)s from previous jobs, until you actually retire.

Time your retirement account withdrawals.

If you accumulate savings in traditional and Roth retirement accounts and taxable investment accounts, you will have some control over how much you will pay in taxes each year because you can time your withdrawals from each type of account. While you will owe income tax on withdrawals from traditional 401(k)s and IRAs, your Roth IRA distributions will provide tax-free retirement income.

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ID thieves stealing tax refunds still a big problem, IRS says

You may not be the only person trying to get your tax refund from the IRS this tax season.

Identity thieves are stealing people's Social Security numbers and other key pieces of personal information in order to file a fraudulent tax return and claim a refund, the IRS warned Monday.

The scammers typically file the fraudulent return early in the season, beating you to the punch. And when you file, that may be the first time you learn your identity has been stolen.

If you're owed a refund and have had your identity stolen, you will have to wait until your case is resolved before the IRS can cut you a check. That typically takes about four months, according to the IRS.

The agency, however, has been taking several steps to prevent fraudulent returns from being paid out. It said it has stopped 19 million suspicious returns since 2011, protecting more than $63 billion in fraudulent returns.

Identity thieves can get your personal information in a variety of ways, the IRS said. While you can't protect yourself entirely against identity theft, you can take certain precautions to reduce your odds of being victimized.

"Taxpayers should protect their computers and only give out their Social Security numbers when absolutely necessary," said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen in a statement Monday.

More specifically, the IRS recommends that you do not carry with you either your Social Security card or any documents with your Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) on them. And just because a business or doctor's office asks you for those numbers doesn't necessarily mean you have to give them. (Here's guidance from the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse on when you should not share your Social Security number.)

Protecting your computer from being hacked by using firewalls and anti-virus software can help, as can updating security patches and frequently changing your passwords to all of your online accounts.

Checking your credit report once a year, as well as your annual Social Security earnings statement, will offer some indication whether anything unusual has been reported in your name.

And do not give out personal information over the phone, by email or on a Web site, unless you've initiated the contact and know who you're dealing with.

The IRS has more information here on how to protect yourself against identity theft, how to spot the signs of whether your identity has been stolen and the steps you should take if it has.

To prevent Identity Theft, Angel Debt Solutions has partnered with Kroll Advisory Solutions to provide our clients with Identity Theft packages as low as $14 a month* To enroll, call us today 616-730-2164.

*in most states.

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7 Ways to Trick Yourself into Saving More Money in 2015

These simple strategies can help you squeeze more out of your budget -and end the year with a lot more cash socked away than you started with.

If your New Year’s resolutions included growing -or starting- your savings, you’re already ahead of the pack.

Only about a third of Americans recently surveyed by Fidelity made any kind of financial resolution this year; and of those who did, just over half were aiming to stash more cash.

Kudos to you for taking this important step toward financial security.

Want to make sure your good intentions aren’t derailed before the month is out? The key is taking initial actions that will make repeating good habits easier.

We tend to revert to our long-run tendencies, To effect real changes, you have to make some structural change in the environment.

With that wisdom in mind, the seven life changes that follow will help you save more money this year.

1. Use Inertia to Your Advantage

Research has shown that people are victims of inertia: If you aren't used to saving money with regularity, it’s likely going to feel like such a chore to start that you’ll never bother -or, you’ll quit after one account transfer.

But when your money is already being saved automatically, inertia works in your favor, since it’ll take more effort to stop saving than to do nothing. That is why a growing number of 401(k) plans offer automatic enrollment with a default monthly contribution rate.

Still, you may need to stick a hand in the machine if you want to have financial freedom in retirement, since the default rate (often around 3% of salary) won’t get you far in your golden years. Most planners recommend saving at least 10% of income.

Even if you set up your own plan, you probably haven’t touched your contribution rate since; more than a third of participants haven’t, according to a TIAA-CREF survey.

You can benefit from another relatively new feature called “auto-escalation.” Offered by nearly half of companies, auto-escalation lets you set your savings rate to bump up annually at a date of your choosing and to an amount of your choosing.

For other savings accounts, harness your own “good” inertia by setting up automatic transfers on payday from checking to savings (if you don’t see the money, you won’t get attached to it). Better yet, ask your HR department if you can split your direct deposit to multiple accounts.

2. Keep Your Eye on One Prize

Setting up automatic savings works well if your income and expenses are predictable; but what if either or both aren’t set in stone? You can save money as you go, but you’ll be more successful if you narrow your objectives.

Research from the University of Toronto found that savers often feel overwhelmed by the number of goals they need to put away money for -a stress that can lead to failure. Thinking about multiple objectives forces people to consider tradeoffs, leaving them waffling over choices instead of taking action.

One solution? Prioritize your goals, then knock out one at a time. If you know you need to contribute $5,000 to your retirement funds this year, focus on completing that first. Once it’s done, move on to saving for that dream home.

Another strategy is to think about your goals as interconnected; participants in the Toronto study were also able to overcome their uncertainty about saving when they integrated their objectives into an umbrella goal. So, for example, if you are saving for both a car and a vacation, consider setting up a “road trip” fund.

3. Focus on the Future

A part of what keeps people from saving is that we don’t connect our future aspirations with our present selves, research shows.

One way to get around that is by running some numbers on your retirement using a calculator like T. Rowe Price’s. When participants in a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research were sent exact figures showing how retirement savings contributions translated into income in retirement, they increased their annual contributions by more than $1,000 on average.

Another easy trick? Download an app like AgingBooth, which will show you how you’ll look as a geezer. One study showed that interacting with a virtual reality image of yourself in old age can make you better at saving.

This trick can work for more than just retirement. Another study found that when savers were sent visual reminders of their savings goals, they ended up with more cash stored up. Consider leaving photos of your goal (e.g., images of your children or dream home) next to the computer where you do your online banking to cue you to put more away.

4. Ignore Raises and Bonuses

As Harvard professor Sendhil Mullainathan has said, the biggest problem with getting a bonus is it’ll likely make you want to celebrate and spend it all -plus some.

The windfall creates an “abundance shock,” which gives you a misleading sense of freedom.

The simplest solution to this problem is to pretend you never got the raise or bonus in the first place, and to instead direct that new money into savings right away. (Remember the 401(k) auto-escalation tip? Set your contribution to bump up the week you get your raise.)

The same goes for when you return an item to a store for a refund or get a transportation reimbursement check in the mail. The faster you put extra cash into savings, the faster you’ll forget about spending it.

5. Make it Contractual

Carrots and sticks work.

One study asked smokers who were trying to quit to save money in an account for six months; at the end of the period, if a urine test showed them free of nicotine, the money was theirs. If not, the cash was donated to charity.

Surprise, surprise: People who participated in the savings account were more likely to have been cigarette-free at the six-month mark than a control group.

If you’re the type who responds to disincentives, enlist a buddy who can help you enforce upon yourself some kind of punishment if you don’t live up to your savings goal (e.g., you might promise a roommate that you’ll clean the bathroom for six weeks).

Maybe you respond better to positive feedback? Simply having a supportive friend or relative to report to on a set schedule may help you achieve results, as many of those who have participated in a group weight loss program like Weight Watchers can attest. Or you might look for some (non-monetary) way to reward yourself if successful.

You can use the website Stickk.com -inspired by the aforementioned study on smokers- to set up a commitment contract that involves incentives or disincentives.

6. Keep Impulses from Undoing Your Budget

Setting aside cash is only half of the equation when it comes to saving more: It’s just as important to keep spending under control.

Most people know to shop carefully -and early- for big-ticket items like cars or airline tickets (which are cheapest 49 days before you’re due to fly). But the premium for procrastinating on smaller items can also add up: Studies show that people spend more on last-minute purchases partly because shopping becomes a defensive act, focused on avoiding disappointment vs. getting the best value.

So give yourself plenty of time to research any item you’re planning to buy. And always go shopping with a list.

When you see an item that tempts you to diverge from your list, give yourself a 24-hour cooling-off period. Ask a sales clerk to keep the item on hold. Or, put it in your online shopping cart, until the same time tomorrow (chances are, that e-tailer will send you a coupon).

Or you could try this trick that MONEY writer Brad Tuttle uses to determine whether an item is worthy of his dough: Pick a type of purchase you love -in his case, burritos- and use that as a unit of measurement. For example, if you see a $120 shirt you like, you can ask yourself, “Is this really worth 10 burritos?” Likewise, you could measure the cost of an item in terms of how many hours of work you had to put in to earn the money to pay for it.

Also, since gift-shopping procrastination undoes a lot of people’s budgets, you might think about starting a spreadsheet where you can jot down ideas for presents year-round. That way, someone’s birthday rolls around, you can shop for a specific item on price rather than spending out of desperation.

Finally, remember that “anchor” prices can bias us to be thrifty or extravagant. So when you are shopping for products that range widely in price (like clothes or cars), start by inspecting cheaper items before viewing pricier ones. That way your brain will stay “anchored” to lower prices, and view the costlier options with more scrutiny.

7. Force Yourself to Feel Guilty

Surveys show that about a third of people don’t check their credit card statements every month.

That’s a problem, and not only because vigilance is your best defense against extraneous charges or credit card fraud. Seeing your purchases enumerated can also help reign in spending by making you feel guilty -one of many reasons people avoid looking.

Another perk of staying up-to-date with your bills: It makes you more aware of paying for redundant services, like Geico and AAA car insurance or Netflix and Amazon Prime and Hulu Plus.

Keep in mind that shaving off a recurring monthly payment gives you 12x the bump in savings. So a few of these expenses could boost your annual savings by a few hundred bucks. That’s a lot of burritos.

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Top mortgage sources if you have bad credit

Are you looking to buy a home, but your credit isn't as good as you'd like? Having bad credit is going to make getting a mortgage tough, but it doesn't have to mean you're out of options. 

Before you can get approved for a mortgage, you'll need a credit score of at least 640 and a history of positive credit. Also, your debt-to-income ration should be under 43% of your gross monthly income. This is where Angel Debt Solutions comes in. At Angel, we help people like you get your credit back on track. We can even help you with your finances, creating a debt management plan. If you have some past debts or creditors you owe money to, that's OK too. We'll get those settled for pennies on the dollar. The important thing is figuring out the best way to help each client in an honest and ethical manner. 

What if your credit isn't quite good enough to get a mortgage? There are two options to consider. 

FHA Loan

The Federal Housing Administration, or FHA, is part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The FHA helps home buyers purchase a home without meeting the stringent requirements of a conventional mortgage. Because many such buyers aren’t financially able to pay the sometimes high upfront costs of a mortgage, an FHA loan often comes with lower down payments –as low as 3.5%– lower closing costs and lower credit standards.

The FHA doesn’t make the loan, however. The agency partners with banks and insures part of the loan. If you were to default on the loan, the FHA will pay the guaranteed portion, allowing banks to take a risk on borrowers who may not otherwise qualify.

You may be able to qualify for an FHA loan with a credit score as low as 580, but lending banks still make the final decision and don’t have to approve applicants with a score that low. Most will require a 640.

Since the mortgage crisis that was blamed for sending America into a recession in 2008, lenders have tightened their standards considerably but don’t let that keep you from applying for a loan. At Angel, we're here to help you, the client. Not the banks. One of the advantages of doing business with us is that we can get you an attorney that will review your mortgage contract for free, and help you understand what you're signing. 

Rent-to-Own

Maybe your credit score is just too low to qualify for a loan, or a 3.5% down payment isn’t something you can afford. Homeowners who can't sell their home at the price they want might consider a Rent-to-own option.

Rent to own, also called lease to own, simply means that part of your monthly lease payment is going toward buying the home while the rest is a rent payment. This option may give you time to save for a down payment, rebuild your credit history, and try out the home before committing to purchase.Lease-to-own contracts often last two to five years and have an option to walk away from the home under certain terms.

You likely won’t find many homes with a lease-to-own option but if you work with a realtor, he or she can do much of the research for you. For more ways to locate one, contact one of our specialists today. 

The Bottom Line

Sometimes life events send your credit score plummeting. You didn’t plan for it to happen but you’re in the situation nonetheless. If that’s the case, you might have to rent until you can rebuild your financial picture.

If you can qualify for a loan, expect the interest rate and other terms to be less favorable than if your credit score were higher.

Before applying for a mortgage, spend some time with a debt specialist and get a game plan established. Clean up your credit and get your debt under control. Sometimes that can take anywhere from six months to a year but that path is one you're sure to stay on. 

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Why Paying Off Your Student Loans Could Actually Hurt Your Credit

When you make that last student loan payment, there are so many things to celebrate. First, you're free of an expensive debt that has soaked up much of your income since entering the job market. Second, you now have extra room in your budget for whatever goals you want to reach next, whether that's saving more for retirement, buying a house or upgrading your transportation.

Generally, paying off education debt is a great thing, but there are some negative side effects. They don't outweigh the good that comes with getting out of debt, but you should be prepared for what's coming once your student loan account closes.

When Having No Student Loans Hurts

Student loans are installment loans, meaning you make payments over a set period of time, and once the loan has been repaid (with interest), the account is no longer active. One of the main factors determining your credit score is your mix of credit accounts, and a combination of installment and revolving accounts will help your score. (Revolving accounts, like credit cards, allow you to repay your balance and borrow up to a certain limit over and over again.)

If student loans are your only active installment loans, paying them off will change your account mix. This category of your credit score shows how good you are at managing multiple accounts of varying structure at the same time, and without different active accounts, there's no recent information supporting your ability to do so.

"If that student loan is really the only installment loan experience, by virtue of having no more active installment loans, that's certainly going to be factored in," said Ethan Dornhelm, principal scientist of the Scores Development Group at FICO.

The Positive Effect of Student Loans

Because going from having an active installment loan to having none is the most drastic result of paying off a student loan (as far as credit scores are concerned), that's probably where you'll see a hit to your credit score.

Still, you can't lose sight of the positive impact student loans have on your credit. If you made your payments on time throughout the life of the loan, that positive payment history will have built up your credit over time and will continue to help as long as it remains on your credit report. At the same time, if that student loan has delinquency in its history, that mistake will continue to hurt your score. Isolated incidents of late payments won't do damage for long, and all negative information on that account will age off your credit reports after seven years.

Then there's debt usage, which usually refers to how much of your available credit you're using. While keeping your credit card balances as low as possible is crucial to boosting your credit score, installment loans have an impact in this area, too.

"There's this amount owed category, and it's roughly 30% of your FICO score," Dornhelm said. "There is a factor that goes into the score of amounts owed in installment loans."

Obviously, when you pay off a student loan, your amounts owed goes down. Because most people pay off their loans bit by bit, the subsequent positive impact on your credit score will be gradual, but if you pay off a large chunk of debt at once, the boost may be more immediately significant.

Paul Cape, owner of Angel Debt Solutions, notes another positive side-effect of paying off your student loans: "Your debt-to-income ratio improves, which helps many of our customers with getting a mortgage."

Even if you're not applying for a mortgage, there's nothing bad about having less debt.

Because credit profiles are unique, it's impossible to predict exactly how paying off your student loans will manifest in your credit scores, but you can get a free credit report summary every month from Credit.com and see how you're faring in each of these categories. That should give you an idea of how paying off your student loans will affect your credit, but keep in mind that your credit standing is constantly changing. The best thing you can do is regularly make payments on time and keep your debt levels low, because building good credit takes time.

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Some Lenders Are Offering Free Credit Scores

It has been more than a decade since the Fair Credit Reporting Act was amended to make each of the three major credit reporting companies -Equifax, Experian and TransUnion- provide people with a free copy of their credit reports once every 12 months.

And yet, I'm frustrated that things haven't progressed far enough to give consumers the same right to their credit score, the three-digit number that can mean the difference between great credit deals or more expensive ones

Ahead of our competitors, we have always offered free credit scores to our customers along with a free debt assessment and consultation. 

Last week, President Barack Obama, in a speech at the Federal Trade Commission about privacy and how to better protect consumers from identity theft, specifically congratulated and gave a shout-out to several lenders -JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, USAA, the State Employees' Credit Union, Ally Financial- for deciding to also offer free credit scores to their customers.

This means, Obama said, "that a majority of American adults will have free access to their credit score, which is like an early warning system telling you that you've been hit by fraud so you can deal with it fast. And we're encouraging more companies to join this effort every day."

JPMorgan Chase said that in the coming months, it plans to offer FICO scores at no charge to about 10 million Slate cardholders. "Our Slate customers have told us that information related to managing their finances, such as access to their credit scores, is very important, and we want to empower them with that information," said Paul Hartwick, a Chase spokesman. Customers with other types of Chase cards (Freedom, Sapphire, for example) will not receive FICO score access at this time, Hartwick said.

Bank of America and the State Employees' Credit Union also plan to offer FICO scores. Ally said its effort to provide FICO scores would begin with a pilot program in February and a full launch this summer. Scores will be available to Ally's auto finance customers. USAA said it would fully implement its free credit score program to credit card holders by March and provide the Experian VantageScore.

As good as this news is, there's something missing: consistency. Not everyone is going to get a free credit score, and for those who get them, there will be variations. In the meantime, our customers always get their free credit score as well as a way to monitor that score without it causing a drop in their score. We also offer Identity Theft protection for a very small fee. 

Scores provided to consumers through other competitors —either ones they get free or buy— can vary from those generated for lenders. Even the scores under the FICO brand can vary. FICO has updated its scoring model several times. But this does not mean the lenders use the latest versions. So even within the FICO scoring system, the score you get free could be different from the one a lender eventually pulls when you apply for credit. To avoid this headache, Angel Debt Solutions offers only trusted programs with an excellent rating with the Better Business Bureau. 

If your score is excellent, small variations won't matter much, if at all. For this reason, we recommend Credit Karma for a close estimate based on the Transunion algorithm. For an accurate score, ask about our credit monitoring and Identity Theft programs. This way, while we're helping you with your credit and debt issues, we can keep accurate and up-to-date scores to match what the lenders are looking for to keep you working toward your goals.

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Should you refinance your mortgage? Five rules to help you decide

Mortgage rates have been at the lowest levels we've seen in the past year and a half. If you can save money by refinancing your mortgage but you've been putting it off, you owe it yourself to explore your options. First, here are five considerations to help you weigh whether a refinance is worth it.

1. The 1% Rate Reduction Rule

Most finance experts recommend that you don't refinance your house unless you can save 1% or more on interest rate. This might make sense for most people, but it's not a one-size-fits-all approach. Many can still benefit by refinancing their house for a less than 1% reduction in their interest rate. Consider these other factors that play a role in determining whether you would really benefit from refinancing:

• Private mortgage insurance: If you have this fixed expense built into your mortgage payment, dropping this cost by refinancing with a less than 1% in rate reduction can give you a significantly lower payment.
• Lower financed loan amount: How much you've paid off your original loan amount, thereby putting at you a lower loan amount, is also a factor. Financing any amount lower than your original loan amount with a lower rate and the same term will reduce your monthly payment.
• Loan term: This one is a biggie. The spreading interest rate on 15-year versus 30-year loans at this time is approximately 0.75%. Consider this: If you have a 30-year fixed rate loan you are two years into at say, 4.25%, and you know you can afford a higher mortgage payment, switching to a 15-year mortgage at 3.5%, knowing the loan will be paid off in 180 months, very well could make financial sense, depending on your income and equity objectives.

2. Re-Starting the Clock

This is probably the No. 1 concern before signing off on refinancing, and it's something you should ask yourself to be sure you're not throwing good money after bad. Here's why: When you take out a fixed-rate mortgage, the loan is based on an amortization schedule so the loan is paid off in full with interest, based on whatever terms the loan is set for — 180 months or 360 months, for example. Each time you refinance your home, the clock does start over on a new loan term. Say you're paying a 5% rate on a mortgage you are five years into, assuming a 30-year fixed-rate. Why refinance to start over for 30 years for a lower rate, say at 4%, when it will take you five years longer to pay it off?

The key to making this work: Even though the new loan comes with a lower payment, continue to make the same payment amount on the new loan that you made on the old one. Doing this effectively prevents the clock from starting over, while saving you substantially on interest over time (compared to the higher rate loan being refinanced away). The difference in the payment savings generated by the refinance goes directly to principal in this strategy and in doing so, you'll accumulate more equity over time.

3. Break-Even Point

The most common way to break even on your refinance closing cost fee would be to take the monthly payment savings generated by refinancing, and divide that figure into the costs required to complete the loan.

For example, if closing costs to refinance are $2,700 in exchange for saving $200 per month, that will take you an impressive 13.5 months to recapture. Generally, if you can break even in two to three years by refinancing, it's a good deal for you.

4. No Fees

You can refinance with no fees by taking an interest rate that's slightly above the current market rate in exchange for the lender providing you a credit below, equal to, or above the amount of your closing costs. This is ideal if you can avoid the fees and still reduce your rate. Say you have a 4.375% 30-year fixed rate mortgage and your lender can do a refinance for you reducing your interest rate from 4.375% to 4.0% and you don't pay any of the closing costs, and you get a lower interest rate in the process, that is a win-win situation.

5. Prepayment

I've seen some homeowners take this approach when deciding not to refinance: "I just stay with my current loan because I'm x years into my loan, despite my rate being above market. I will just start making a larger principal prepayment each month, that way I don't have to pay the extra costs through the refinance process."

Now, if you can't qualify for a mortgage refinance, then yes, this is a good way to continue chipping away at your loan balance. However, if you can qualify, it would be dramatically faster for you to pay off your house with a lower interest rate, and the additional savings created by the refinance, coupled with your fastidiousness in already making a principal balance monthly prepayment. If you can reduce your interest rate in this scenario on a no-cost mortgage or a measurable short-term refi recapture mortgage, it usually works out in favor of the homeowner.

If you're looking to refinance, it helps to have good credit. It's important to be aware of where you stand before you enter the process. To find out your credit score and to get help navigating lenders, Angel Debt Solutions is here to help. Call to speak with a specialist today at 616-730-2164 or find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/angeldebtsolutions

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Side Jobs That Can Supplement Your Income

Whether you're struggling to get by or want to put money away for a wedding or vacation, extra cash flow never hurts. Here are five ways to supplement your income without doing a ton of extra work. 

We all like a little extra money, don't we? Whether you're struggling to get by or want to put money away for a wedding or vacation, extra cash flow never hurts.

Because of this, there's no shortage of ways to easily earn money on the side. Everyone wants to earn more without doing a ton more work.

It should be addressed: there are some not-so-great side job options out there, and while I won't go into detail on what to avoid, I will say this: They're pretty easy to spot, like the unscrupulous "earn $100K from home" sign halfway duct taped a roadside telephone pole or the sketchy-looking person hanging around a college campus handing out pamphlets on how to earn $30 an hour selling cutlery.

1. LegalShield

As a side job that can earn you tons of extra cash, LegalShield is the rebranded Prepaid Legal. For $20 a month a client can get unlimited consultations to a reputable lawfirm. To become an Associate is to pay an upfront fee of around $100. That's it. As you sell memberships, you get promoted like any other job. In fact, LegalShield is regulated and structured exactly like Life Insurance. For more information on LegalShield and to find a local training site, email contact Paul Cape at legalshield.pcape@gmail.com

2. Dumpster-Diving On College Campuses
When I was in my early 20s, I was living in San Diego. At the end of every semester, I would Dumpster-dive at the local dorms on move-out day. I would load my truck up with stuff from UCSD, SDSU, and USD and then throw a massive garage sale. I made a killing every single time.

I had a friend who would make $3,000 to $5,000 a year by Dumpster-diving outside of the math and engineering buildings on campus. People who wrote textbooks would send them to the department heads to be reviewed and hopefully purchased for the next school year. If teachers didn't like them, they would throw those books out, and most likely a different school would be using those exact textbooks so he'd sell them on Amazon for a fee that would benefit both him and the student.

3. Dog Walker
Dog Walking can make around $300 a month for a one-hour walk five days a week off of one dog. You can charge more, but I would not charge more than $20 a walk.

4. Reselling Thrift Store Items
Go to thrift stores and yard sales to pick up anything you think you can flip on eBay for a profit.
A couple examples: I bought a scanner for $20 at a thrift store that looked high-tech, and it turned out to be a photo negative scanner that retailed for about $2,500. I flipped it on eBay for $600. Another good one was when I found most of a sterling silver dining set mixed in a huge bin of cutlery. It took me a while, but I looked at every piece in there and bought all the sterling pieces for around $5 total. In today's bullion market, I picked up about $250 worth of silver.

When I was doing this in full force, I made around $10,000 a year extra. It does take a lot of work with packaging, sending things off, answering questions, and providing customer service when something isn't right. Sometimes you have to take a hit on an item -eBay feedback is decently important for small sellers like me. The effort you put in is what you get out.

5. Odd Job on Craigslist
Look at Craigslist odd jobs section. You can help people move and do yard work, etc., with no schedule necessary and make some money on the side.

6. Donate Blood Plasma
Donating blood plasma can net $250 to 350 a month if you go twice a week (or whatever the limit is). Typically takes three hours total per week.

Tax season here. 7 changes for 2015 (and 9 of the weirdest deductions)

The deadline to file your tax returns is still a few months off, but it’s time to begin gathering documents and figuring out what you need to pay –and, more importantly, what you can write off. To help you fill out your 2014 returns and plan for 2015, here are few tax changes, big and small, for 2015. Plus, as a bonus, we've included nine of the most peculiar deductions allowed by the US tax code.

1. Affordable Care Act: Increased penalty, PTC credit

Compared with last year, when the Affordable Care Act took effect, there are relatively few major changes to income taxes this year. But like 2014, the two biggest changes for 2015 tax filing come thanks to Obamacare. The first is an increase in the penalty for not having health insurance. When they file returns this year, taxpayers who didn’t have proper insurance coverage in 2014 will pay a fine of 1 percent of their household income or $95 per household member (whichever was higher). If you aren’t insured for 2015, the fine on your 2015 returns will jump up to 2 percent of household income, or $325 per person. If you want to avoid getting socked with serious fines in the future (over $1,200 for a family of four) the deadline to sign up for coverage this year is February 2015.

If you have coverage, all you have to do is check a box on your tax return. You may also qualify for an exemption to the penalty: the list of exemptions from the IRS can be found here.

The second big change is the debut of the premium tax credit (PTC), a refund available to families who get their health coverage through state-run exchanges. You qualify, generally, if your household income is between 100 and 400 percent of the federal poverty line and you don’t have access to an employee-sponsored health plan. The amount of the credit varies, but you can either claim it with your insurance company to lower your monthly premiums, or you can claim it on your yearly tax return.

2. FSA limits

If you use an employee-sponsored flexible spending account (FSA) for setting aside pretax money to pay for certain medical and care expenses (examples: eyeglasses, day-care for a child, certain forms of physical therapy), the maximum amount you could contribute in 2014 was $2,500. For the 2015 tax year, it has gone up $50 for a total $2,550. There’s also been a change in rollovers for FSAs. Beginning in 2013, over $500 of a previous year’s FSA could be rolled into the next year. But beginning in 2015, if you carry over $500 of an FSA into the next year, you are ineligible to participate in a general services Health Savings Account (HSA). These are slightly different from FSAs, so you would still be able to carry over money for specific expenses, like at-home care for a relative.

3. Bitcoin

Last year, the Treasury Department declared that Bitcoin, the wildly volatile virtual currency, doesn’t qualify as an official currency, but rather as a tradable good. But it still counts as payment, as far as the IRS is concerned. If you received any income in bitcoins in 2014, include the estimated market value in your taxable income.

4. 401(k) limits increase

The maximum annual amount employees under age 50 can contribute to a 401(k) or 403(b) retirement savings account for the 2014 tax year is $17,500. Workers over age 50 can contribute an additional $5,500 or a maximum of $23,000. In the 2015 tax year, those annual limits rise $500 to $18,000 –with an additional $6,000 contribution for workers over 50. So if you’re a few years away from retirement, you can boost those savings a little more than before.

5. Adjusted tax brackets

As they often are, income tax benchmarks have been adjusted for inflation. For example, married couples filing jointly with a 2014 household income of under $18,150 will qualify for a 10 percent tax rate when they file their 2014 returns. For the 2015 tax year, the tax bracket will rise to $18,450. For the full table, see page 5 of the IRS’ revenue procedure document.

6. IRA rollovers: One per year

An IRA rollover involves taking money from an individual retirement account, receiving a check from your IRA custodian, and putting it into either another IRA or back into the same account. The process is tax-free if the money is deposited back within 60 days, and it’s popular to use such withdrawals as short-term personal loans, without any interest or tax consequences. But in the 2015 tax year, the IRS will only allow one such rollover every 12 months, starting from the date of the rollover. Direct transfers aren’t affected by this rule, so IRA holders can move their savings straight from account to account as many times as they like.

7. Standard deductions rise

The standard deduction is the flat amount that filers can subtract from their income. For the 2014 tax year, it's $6,200 for single filers and $12,400 for married couples filing jointly. For the 2015 tax year, it goes up $100 for single filers and $200 for married couples filing jointly –to $6,300 and $12,600, respectively.

8. Deduction: Pet moving

The most-tax savvy are probably already aware that you can often deduct moving expenses, but did you know that includes shipping your pet?

Yes, Fido and Whiskers can each deduct a sum from your taxes if you choose to move your animals across the country, as they are considered personal effects. Just be sure to throw your pets an extra bone as a thanks for saving you a couple of bucks on your taxes. 

9. Deduction: clarinet lessons

Famed English clarinet player Acker Bilk once said, “I look at my clarinet sometimes and I think, I wonder what's going to come out of there tonight? You never know.” Though this may be true for the sound of this reedy instrument, you can now know for sure that a clarinet can yield surprising financial and dental benefits. 

A clarinet and lessons can be considered tax deductible if a doctor has recommended playing the instrument as a method of correcting an overbite. 

This isn’t the only strange medical write-off however: others include support stockings, wigs for those who have lost hair due to a disease, and many more, according to IRS publication 502. 

Not tax deductible: earplugs for parents of children taking clarinet lessons. 

10. Deduction: whaling equipment

Whale hunting is essentially banned in the United States, but it remains a protected trade for a small group of indigenous Alaskans. After 2004, that protection extended to taxes: Whale hunters can write-off up to $10,000 on whale-related expenses, including boat repairs, equipment, harpoons, and crew food.

Though you would think this would inspire an uptick in indigenous Alaskans pursuing bowhead whales in freezing waters, whale hunting is still limited to a seasonal, sacred tradition in which only a few whales are killed.

11. Deduction: deer donation

South Carolina may be the only place where “meat processing plants” and “charity donations” occupy the same tax form. Any meat packer, butcher, or processing plant in the state can get a $50 rebate by donating a processed deer carcass to a charity, which will use it to feed the hungry.

None of the meat may have been used previously for commercial purposes, and meat providers must “skin, cut, bone, grind, package, or perform any butchering tasks necessary to prepare the meat for distribution and consumption” before it can be donated. This deduction is only available to professional meat processors. 

So if you’re in the venison business, want to do a good deed, and get a break on your taxes, it looks like South Carolina is your state.

12. Deduction: bingo

Yes, bingo can be deducted from your tax bill: Bingo-playing taxpayers can deduct the amount lost in a given year, up to the amount that was won. This deduction requires a detailed diary of winnings and losses.

The Internal Revenue Service allows taxpayers to deduct losses for other types of wagering, too. They must keep a detailed diary of the kind of wager, where they placed it, who they were with, and how much they won or lost.

13. Deductions: uniforms

Work clothing must meet two conditions to qualify as deductible: It must be worn as a condition of employment, and it must not be a suitable substitute for everyday clothing. Examples cited by the IRS include the garb of delivery workers, firefighters, health care workers, police, transportation workers, letter carriers, and professional athletes. But this isn't a LeBron James tax break –high profile professional athletes generally have their uniforms paid for by team owners and sponsorship deals. 

14. Deduction: business gifts (under $25)

The IRS is fine with giving gifts, as long as they aren't too lavish.

You’re allowed to deduct up to $25 in costs spent on business gifts for any individual person. You can also widely distribute gifts under $4 that have your name on them –examples listed by the IRS include pens, desk sets, and bags– the sum total can be deducted, even if it's over the $25 limit. 

15. Deduction: wigs (but not hair transplants)

Don’t like that widening bald spot? The good news is it may lead to a tax deduction. The IRS allows patients with hair loss traced traced to a disease to write off the cost of a wig, if a doctor recommends buying one.

The bad news: Deductions for hair transplants are a lot harder to get. Regardless of the reason for the hair loss –age, illness. etc.– the IRS categorizes hair transplants as cosmetic surgery, which is usually nondeductible. Taxpayers can only write off cosmetic surgery if it is directly related to certain circumstances, such as injuries. 

16. Deduction: weight-loss programs

Some people who enrolled in weight-loss programs last year can deduct the money they paid in fees, according to the IRS. But not everyone qualifies: to be eligible, taxpayers must have enrolled to treat specific conditions diagnosed by doctors. Even when recommended by a health care professional, the cost of dance lessons, swim lessons, and health-club dues are not deductible, according to the IRS.

Except in very limited cases, diet foods are also non-deductible.

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