Have a student loan, home loan, or personal loan? Have you ever wondered exactly how your lender calculated your monthly payment on the day you accepted the money? Sure, there are interest calculators and other available resources online to help you figure out just how much you will be paying back at the end of a loan, but sometimes it’s useful to figure it out for yourself.

Assume you are the proud owners of a new home and you need to finance a total of $250,000 over a 30 year fixed mortgage rate of five percent. Do you know what your monthly payment will be? Do you know how much money you are going to pay over the course of the full 30 years? Sadly, the numbers are probably a lot bigger than you think, but I’m going to show you just how to calculate this information on your own.

The formula for figuring out your own monthly payment on a principal loan is as follows: [...]

For the first three years of my post-college life, I had this nagging, troubling pain in the pit of my stomach at the end of every month. Will I be able to pay rent this month? Can I pay my credit card bill?

I came out of college with no personal finance experience and had no idea how to control my money. I quickly found myself in a pile of student loan, credit card, and car loan debt. It didn’t take me long to realize I hated that awful feeling in my stomach and wanted to get rid of it. I knew that I needed to do something about my debt, and I wanted quick results.

Here is how I got out of debt, using a little “tough love”. If you’re struggling with debt, perhaps it can help you, too. [...]

A few weeks ago I was listening to a financial radio show on a day when every other caller wanted to know if they should file bankruptcy.

One man was dealing with estranged spouses (yes, plural), a failed business, and hundreds of thousands in debt. It was no surprise he was considering bankruptcy. From there, however, callers’ reasons for wanting to file bankruptcy grew far less convincing. One caller even wanted to know if her 24-year old son should file bankruptcy over a $15,000 credit card debt.

Bankruptcy in this country has its place. Ideally, bankruptcy serves debtors who are in such a hole that there is truly no other way out. Unfortunately, however, many Americans see bankruptcy as the “easy way out” of debt—just like we snatch up diet pills and a lotto tickets.

If you’re struggling with a frightening amount of debt (or know somebody who is), here’s a quick reminder of why bankruptcy should still be avoided and only used as a true last resort. [...]

Stories of credit card companies raising interest rates on just about everybody—even customers with perfect credit, no debt, and no late payments—continue to roll in.

That’s because the CARD Act takes effect this winter and will restrict credit card companies’ ability to raise interest rates on existing customers. If you thought credit card companies were committing usury in the past with APRs of eighteen, or twenty percent; you ain’t seen nothing yet. Cardholders are seeing their rates go as high as 29.9 percent; there’s even a story of man who received a credit card offer at 79.9 percent APR!

How do you know if your card is raising your interest rate? What can you do about it? [...]

At some point during my freshman year of college, I vaguely remember attending a mandatory 45-minute meeting in the financial aid office and signing some paperwork that had to do with my student loans. And I remember receiving notices about nine months after graduating that it was time to start repaying my loans, which I’ve been doing faithfully ever since.

But like most people I know, that’s about the extent of the time and energy I’ve invested in understanding my student loans and student loan debt. [...]

It’s common to graduate with four, eight, or even a dozen student loans from a handful of lenders. Even if most of them are from the same two or three service companies, each loan may have a different interest rate and due date. Talk about intimidating!

And then you get a mailing or a phone call. Consolidate all those student loans into one low payment! Student loan consolidation sure is tempting. But is it wise? [...]

In the past year, we have seen banks cut back credit lines, raise interest rates, and limit new loans to only people with immaculate—and I mean immaculate–credit histories. That means it’s become difficult, if not impossible, for well-meaning borrowers to consolidate debt or transfer their debt to a lower interest rate through a traditional bank.

Fortunately, however, there’s another way: A peer-to-peer loan through either Lending Club or Prosper.

Lending Club and Prosper are social lending networks that bring together investors and creditworthy borrowers to provide personal loans at rates that are generally better than those offered by traditional banks. Here’s how they work:

• Borrowers apply for a loan with an online profile
• Lenders (people like you and me, not bankers) choose whether or not to lend you money.
• If enough lenders invest $25 or $50 each, your loan is funded
• You make monthly payments to the network, who distributes your payment to lenders

Who Can Get a Peer-to-Peer Personal Loan?

To receive a Lending Club or Prosper personal loan, you must be a US citizen or permanent resent, at least 18, and have a valid bank account and social security number. For the time being, residents of a few states are excluded (check on their site to see the status of your state).

Lending Club also specifies some minimum credit requirements. In order to qualify for listing a loan request with Lending Club, you will need:

• A FICO score of at least 660
• A debt-to-income ratio (excluding mortgage) below 25%
• At least three years of credit history
• No current delinquencies or recent bankruptcies (seven years)
• No open tax liens, charge-offs, or non-medical collections account in the past 12 months
• No more than 10 inquiries on your credit report in the last six months
• A revolving credit utilization of less than 100%
• At least three accounts on your credit report, of which more than two are currently open

Prosper does not specify minimum credit requirements to list a borrower application, although you can expect them to be similar to have a good chance of getting your loan funded.

How To Apply for A Peer-to-Peer Personal Loan

Think you’ve got what it takes to score a lower rate and consolidate your debts with a Lending Club or Prosper personal loan?

You’ll create an account (email address and password), select an amount and purpose of your loan, and enter your contact information and credit and employment specifics. The network will check your credit, ask for any additional information, and list your loan. If your loan is funded, you’ll have the cash deposited in your bank account within a few days of your listing ending.

• Lending Club: Learn more about Lending Club or apply for a loan
• Prosper: Learn more about Prosper or apply for a loan

Many people live paycheck-to-paycheck. Income goes into your checking account, and all of it’s gone before next payday. That’s scary.

Even scarier? Living credit card-to-credit card.

In other words, using credit cards that already have balances to make most of your monthly purchases. Then, when you get paid, you use most of your paycheck to “clear room” on your credit card balance so you can do the same thing next month. I was guilty of this tactic long, long ago, and have known others. I got out. One friend declared bankruptcy. Some are still trapped. [...]

Credit card issuer Chase rolled out a new feature today—called Blueprint—that will allow consumers to divide credit card charges they want to pay in-full or over time. Blueprint will enable Chase cardholders to pay everyday charges in-full each month interest-free, even while paying other purchases off over time. [...]

This question often comes up among first-time home buyers: What percentage of my monthly income can I afford to spend on my mortgage payment? Does that percentage include property taxes? Private mortgage insurance (PMI) or homeowners insurance? [...]