The government’s historic bail-out of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should bring some much-needed stability to the mortgage crisis. But the move may not help all homeowners. Those who are already behind on their payments or who owe more than their homes are worth may still be in trouble. Those who have been “holding on” and hoping for some relief may be in luck.

Foreclosure rates in 2008 have hit record highs as homeowners who couldn’t make their payments walked away from their homes not knowing what else to do. But if you’re in financial distress, foreclosure isn’t your only option.

If you can’t make your payments, don’t wait until it’s too late to look for help. If you own a home, that’s your first priority. A foreclosure will stay on your credit report for years and Fannie Mae has already announced that it won’t back or guarantee a loan for you for five whole years from the time to default on your current mortgage. If at all possible, keep making your house payments! Your home should be your first priority and refinancing or renegotiating your mortgage may be a possibility with the bail-out.

The down-turn in the economy is affecting millions of Americans and if you are one of them, we have options for you. At First Rate, our highly qualified financial consultants can help you with your home loans, credit card debt, and help you find the program that will get your finances back on track. If you have excess credit card debt, we can help you pay it off for a fraction of what you owe and getting rid of that debt may be just what you need to save your home. Contact our experts today for a free evaluation.

We all love credit cards. The ease, convenience, and to a certain extent the protection it provides in making a purchase. But with the good can also come the bad if you’re not careful. It’s far too easy to end up with too many cards and making too many purchases. Here are some revealing facts about credit card spending and habits in the United States.

There are roughly 1.2 billion credit cards in use in the United States.

About 24 percent of all personal expenditures in this country are made with credit and debit cards.

A typical credit card purchase ends up costing 112 percent more than if cash were used.

A $1,000 charge on an average credit card will take almost 22 years to pay, and will cost more than $2,300 in interest ($3,300 total) -- if only 2 percent minimum payments are made.

About 60 percent of active credit card accounts are not paid off monthly.

This may all be getting worse for Americans as some credit card companies are actually raising interest rates to many of their customers increasing the minimum payments due each month and extending the time it will take to pay off the debt.

If any of this sounds familiar to you and you might be struggling to pay off some of this debt, there are options available. No one intends to get themselves into debt and certainly not to the extent that they cannot pay it off in a reasonable time, but it does happen. If you want to get out of debt and get your finances back on track, debt settlement can help.

How many credit cards do you have? Chances are, more than you actually need. You probably have one that offered you “miles”, one that offered you discounts at their store, and several others that “offered” something appealing at the time. Millions of Americans receive "pre-approved" credit card offers in the mail every day. If you have less-than-perfect credit or are swamped in debt, you probably still get the offers in the mail. And if you are in debt, they may seem like the answer. But more than likely, they are the problem.

On average, Americans receive eight credit card offers through the mail each month regardless of his or her credit history. It has become a trend for creditors to offer their cards to all consumers, especially those with credit and debt problems. They know that poor credit habits in the past will cause the consumer to spend more money with their card. Only after the consumer has amassed an enormous balance do they realize that they can only afford the minimum payments. This will in turn accrue plenty of interest charges and other fees, making huge profits for the creditor. Last year, the credit card industry took in over $43 billion in card fees.

But you can break the cycle and get yourself back on track. Using your Visa to pay your Mastercard (or vice-versa) is not the answer. Getting your debt under control is.

The average credit card debt among people who have at least one card is $9,205 -- triple what it was in 1990. People using credit cards in fast food restaurants spend up to 50 percent more than when they pay cash. The average interest rate on credit cards is 18.9 percent and the typical American family today pays about $1,200 annually in credit card interest.

If you are finding it increasingly harder to pay your monthly credit cards bills, it's time to take action. First thing is to stop using your cards while to try to pay down your balances. Take all your credit cards but one out of your wallet and use that one ONLY for emergencies. It will take some discipline but it's important to stop charging while you try to pay down your balances.

But if you have too many cards and your payments are too high to manage or pay off on your own, debt settlement may be exactly the program to help you get out of debt!