My Personal Finance Blog

They have been large drops in the shares of the banking, property and major companies, which have reflected the pressure of the credit crunch and unstable economic future.

As lenders look to be stricter with under writing policies a person could be labeled a high credit risk and adverse because of a minor financial error in their past.

Lending standards are tightening significantly, the tipping point is not yet at hand so far, credit worthy borrowers do have access to credit. But lending policy is reducing high loan to values, increasing credit checks and rejecting more high risk business.

Currently stricter credit controls for borrowers should reduce the pool of potential buyers liquidity and affordability factors may stop some customers from closing, while others may find it more difficult to sell their existing properties.

High borrowing levels and high house prices are now finally beginning to turn.

This has had an effect to banking shares, that have recently dropped sharply to reflex the current market. Banks are nervous about lending each other money and this has greatly effected some bank systems for example Northern Rock. Their system relied heavily on other banks borrowings
Late payments, arrears and defaults among adverse borrowers, who have poor credit or high levels of debt, are at a 10-year high in the US.

Lower house prices continued to affect many areas of the USA as defaults continued to rise across all mortgage product categories, including good clean borrowers with acceptable credit histories.
This is due to very bad lending where risk was too high but sidelined. Those customers now are struggling to refinance due to tighter controls and many are to be repossessed.

Also UK’s smaller businesses are potentially facing collapse as a result of the credit crunch, leading groups have warned, as lenders take back profit by charging the highest rate of interest on business loans since the late 1980s.

The New Year has come in with icy weather. Even Florida has been enjoying a little cool air – not so good for the oranges, of course. Natural gas prices have been rising so, where this is the source of heat, household budgets are under pressure. The law of supply and demand has kicked in with crude oil back above $80 a barrel. During the warmer months, the refineries focus on gas to keep us on the move. But as Fall turns into Winter, the need is for oil to keep us warm. This year, the cold spell is forcing the refineries to increase the focus on heating the home. At the pumps, the $3 gallon for premium-grade gas is here again. It’s around $2.70 for unleaded. The prices are higher this week than at any time during 2009. And the bad news is set to continue. The economists are saying the commodity prices are going to keep rising. If unleaded hits $3 a gallon, this could be a real tipping point for us all. Sure this is still less than the highs of the $4 gallon we saw in 2008. But the recession has been biting us hard. More of us have been cutting down on spending and paying down the debts. As the costs of basic household necessities rises, priorities change. Just think how much we buy in the stores comes in a truck that burns gas. If gas gets more expensive, those stores will pass on the additional shipping costs to us. That means less retail therapy. If we buy less, we don’t need the same manufacturing capacity. More jobs are at risk. The risk of a double-dip recession is all too real.

In the face of all this economic doom and gloom, we are left to make the best of how we live our lives. Those of us out in the boondocks of the exurbs are caught in the need to commute everywhere for most of what we need. Sure, the houses look pretty come the Spring sunshine, but where do we work? Where are the schools and shops? Even living in the suburbs is getting more difficult as owners give up the unequal struggle and shutter their stores. Trying to survive without a vehicle is only really possible in the cities where public transport manages to offer a basic service to key points around the central area. Even where commuting distances are short, the greenest of environmentalists is disheartened by the statistics showing the number of cyclists mown down by drivers. Where he still alive, Darwin would note the failure of the two-wheeled species to survive.

All of this combines to force us to search for ever cheaper car insurance. Assuming you don’t want to risk driving uninsured, the threat of the next premium instalment should be a real motivator to get into a routine of using the online search engines. They are all completely free and allow you to find the really cheap auto insurance quotes for all makes and models of vehicle on the road. There’s no obligation to buy but, if you do see a real possibility of saving enough dollars, you can make the change. Remember, insurers always make attractive initial offers to get you interested. In this, always remember to check the small print in your existing policy. Some insurers try to lock you into your policy for a minimum time and impose penalties if you terminate early. There are always traps for you to watch out for in the cheap car insurance market.