Euro vs. the Dollar

We are getting hosed. Check out the rates from Halifax on savings accounts. These guys were all over the airwaves. I only get just a hair over 3% on my savings at HSBC Direct. Some of these accounts pay over 7%. I might consider opening an account over there. Keep in mind that you will lose about 3% of your value as a commission to convert from dollars to euros.

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Truth in Lending

The truth in lending is that the banks make a crap load of money off of you. If you have a $100,000 and you pay back $330,000 on over 30 years, where is the 6%? Well the truth is that you pay back thousands of percent in the first few years of your loan. I'm not saying that borrowing from a bank is bad, it is what it is. We wouldn't have the lifestyle in our country if money wasn't readily available.

The other truth is that most loan officers don't know how to fill out the form. So the intended use of the TIL or truth in lending is not even met in most cases. The idea of the TIL is that a consumer has the ability to compare mortgage rates side by side with different lenders. It really doesn't work the way it is set up now. You really need to do your homework and compare when you are looking for a mortgage.

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The Fed Rate Cuts wont help you

Yeah the Federal Reserve lowered their rate again. That's good news for the bank and not necessarily good news for you. The Fed lowered its rates by 75 basis points yet mortgage rates only dropped by .25%. The banks make out on this. They will make more money. Also be wary of slick marketing telling you that rates have really tanked, they haven't. It's just slick advertising.

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