Personal Loans & Relief with Goat’s Milk

Goat’s and Sheep’s Milk; Yum, Yum!

Personal loans can get me up and running and so can 2% milk. I read an article a few days ago by Leon Moss, another writer on Personal Money Store’s blog. His article, It’s sheep’s milk cheese that gets my blood flowing inspired me to consider my milk intake very carefully. It seems like I run to any available bathroom just a few hours after drinking milk, and it could be just a small amount from my breakfast cereal.

I often tell myself that I’ll slack off drinking as much milk, but before I know it, I’m drinking a glass of warm milk, pouring too much milk in my mashed potatoes, or dribbling just a tad of 2% milk into my soups. Alas, this doesn’t seem as grueling to my stomach when I first drink it. However, a few hours later and my stomach is moaning and groaning something awful.

A Trip to the Library

It was on a nice and sunny day that I decided to go to the library with a couple of friends, CJ, Patrick, and DF (Doll Face). CJ and DF had reports they needed to write up for school and Patrick and I joined along for moral distractions… or, ahem, support.

We’re not considered the quietest bunch when we’re all together. From one of my friends making farting noises with his armpit to the other singing the Star Spangled Banner like they’re filthy drunk, we keep the excitement and entertainment flowing around us. Librarians see us coming and place signs on the available computers and check-out desks saying, “Shut Up!” or “Remain quiet as a mouse… or we’ll squash you like one!” I believe the signs are a tad aggressive, and when I asked the librarians about it, they told me the signs were advertisements for a new movie coming to theaters. I thought to myself, the movie industry is getting a little lax with the movie titles now-a-days.

Bubbling

With all of the noise my friends make, I was sure that I could eat a bowl of cereal before meeting them at the library. If I did have gas and needed to let one rip, they wouldn’t hear it. And sure enough, not too long after drinking the last drop of milk in my bowl (2 hours earlier) my stomach began to tumble and rumble. There was only one dilemma with today’s scenario: my friends were quiet as church mice.

Something had shifted in the atmosphere. The librarians were actually smiling at us when we walked past their desks to use the restrooms. The security officers waved at us, instead of the usual flicking us off that they do. Oh, and my stomach felt as if it would pop or explode. I had to let a couple sounds out of me, and I wasn’t sure that my friends, or the friendly employees of the public library, wanted to hear it.

“Thierry,” CJ said to me, “You look like you’re in pain. Is everything okay,” she asked.

“Oh, yeah,” I responded, lips puckered as if I were sucking on a sour candy. I was dancing around ever so softly, knees joined together and my stomach muscles were clenched tightly.

The Need for Personal Loans

I was sure that the library would need to get personal loans to fumigate the area after the damage I’d cause. I didn’t know whether I should have worn a diaper or just left for home. I kept thinking of how embarrassed I’d be if I passed gas out in the open of the library, or worse, if I had an accident.

“They might need a few personal loans,” I told my friends. They asked me what I was talking about, never noticing the pained expression on my face or the way my body was doubled over in pain. “They might be able to use them (personal loans) to invest in an outrageous air-freshening campaign.” At that moment I let my secret escape my body, embarrassment now a thing of the past. Conversely, I couldn’t help remembering Leon Moss’ article on goat’s milk, and making a promise to myself: I’ll never drink 2% milk again!

Credit Cards: We're Still Lovin' 'Em

Last year, incomes were at record lows and unemployment rates were at all time highs. However, the big question is: how did consumers manage to pay down their credit-card debt just in the last year? Because credit-card debt dropped significantly last year, a new MoneyNews article suggested that Americans aren’t giving up their love for credit-cards any time soon. And get this, the meat of the decrease resulted from charge-offs and not from payments. Once debt is 180 days past the due date, Banks and credit-card companies will most likely charge-off debts. The Federal Reserve doesn’t separate debt payments from charge-offs when reporting national figures of credit-card debt reduction. According to online sources (CardHub.com) who analyzed and studied a survey, the lion’s share of the $92.3 billion drop in card balances was due to lenders that charged off a record-breaking $82.37 billion of credit-card debt last year.

Lender charge-offs are main reason for debt reduction

As of January 2010, according to government reports, credit-card balances have been declining for 15 consecutive months. Referring back to the CardHub.com survey, 2009’s first quarter was the main time during the 15 month time-span when consumers actually paid their credit card balances down. Believe it or not, the consumers paid down their card balances by 45.8 billion, with lenders charging off a added $17.95 billion. Preceding the initial quarter of 2009, world-wide card balances either remained the same of increased.

Credit-card debt is paid down, but not quite down yet

Continuing with the CardHub.com survey, they suggested that the record-braking lender charge-offs for the past several months was evidence that the financial pressure face by many Americans is too palpable to ignore. Consumers have not been paying down their credit-card debt after all. In the third quarter of 2009, credit-card debt charge-offs were a record high of 10.1 percent. In the last quarter, the rate was somewhere lower, and the situation is predicted to become much worse. MoneyNews states that Moody’s Investor Service predicts the charge-off rate will climb to 12% in 2010. Conversely, in the fourth quarter of 2006, just a year before the country’s economic misfortune, the charge-off rate was a small 4%. Does anyone want to time travel now?

Not a Big Surprise

The underemployed and unemployed Americans are still financial “busted” and leaning on the aide of credit cards and emergency cash loans for assistance. And with an added ripple effect in the pond of this recession being due to increased charge-offs by lenders, there’s no wonder the financial stress hasn’t let up yet… Well, isn’t it?

Your Personal Loan can Yield a Low-Interest Rate

When getting a mortgage, or any type of personal loan, the advantages that you receive are greater compared to the other options people who need a loan are subjected to. Why? Because they offer lower interest rates with longer payment terms. While it can be difficult to qualify for a low-interest personal loan, because it’s not a guarantee that you’ll qualify and any bad credit you might have will likely get you rejected.

Your greatest solution to fast cash is a personal loan

Personal loans are usually cheaper than other types, and they could require collateral, which is also required with a secured loan. When any payments are missed, collateral can be taken out at any time. However, a person who maintains a clean financial record, and tries to clean up the messy ones they have, they could enjoy low interest rates by following the loan’s requirements. At any rate, the chances of an individual getting this type of loan depends on the trust between both the borrower and the lender. No collateral personal loans, or unsecured loans, are less stressful, but on the flip side, require that you stick to more strict guidelines, such as a shorter repayment term and a higher interest rate.

It’s a Give and Take: Getting a good low-interest personal loan

Payday loans, which provide a greater acceptance rate, are nothing like low-interest personal loans that require you prove you are able to pay back the money you borrow on time. Don’t be surprised if they look into your credit and employment history, calculating all of any prior loans that you have gotten with the lending company. For example, if you are currently paying off a loan, then they (the potential lender) will make sure that you have met all of your payments on time and in full. It’s a good idea to do business with a bank or even credit union that you have worked with in the past, as long as you hold a decent track record with them.

While loans for individuals with bad credit may be more difficult to come by, a personal loan is still available. The only difficulty is that you will not benefit well from low interest rates. This means that regardless to whether you need to borrow money for bills or school, or you just want fast cash, all bases are covered. Also, taking in and practicing wise money management skills is a good idea. When taking out a low-interest personal loan, the key to your success is following your shopping habits and making all of your payments in a timely manner.