People think they can join the FHA mortgage loan programs or get help from loan modification companies and their financial problems would be solved. Well, there is still the matter on how to repair bad credit score. Let us make one thing clear first. Strictly speaking, there is really no known quick fix available for a bad credit score. At best, we can just correct the mistakes that credit reporting agencies commit in order to increase our FICO score. But in any case, here are some of the best things that you can do along with the things that you should be aware of when you are in a credit rut.

First principles for a healthy credit score
Never be late with your payments. Let me repeat that. Never be late with your payments. Late payments are the leading cause of bad credit for many people. This is the leading cause of bad credit score. Neither the FHA programs nor the loan modification companies can help you with this bad habit. And besides, this triggers increase in interest rates which makes it harder for you to pay on time.

Keep your balance low
The second largest impact on a person’s FICO is how high the credit balance is. Try to keep it on or just under 29% of your credit card limit so that you can ensure a healthy score. If you have various credit cards with balance in them, make sure to bring the ones with highest balance to the thirty percent range.

Tax Liens, Judgments, Bankruptcy, and Foreclosure
If there are any monsters that can really gobble up your good credit score, then these are it. When dealing with tax liens, judgments, bankruptcy, and foreclosure, you are dealing with things that would bring your credit score down for a very long time. Avoid them as long as you can. If you have foreclosure problems, consult with fha programs for a fha mortgage loan or seek help from reputable loan modification companies. But if you do have them, you will have to make extra effort. The only real way anyone knows how to repair bad credit score in these cases is to demonstrate a revitalized payment record.

Defaults for student loan
If you have defaulted on your student loan, do not fret. There is a chance for you to remove it. You need to speak with your creditor in order to find out what you can do to get your student loan out of the default status. People can usually pay for some months worth of payments and then their student loan can be go back to the current status.

So there you have it. People will likely try to look for more solutions. FHA programs, FHA mortgage loan, loan modification companies can only help you so far. Most of the work on how to repair bad credit is in your hands.

Everyone needs a break from the pressures of work and the President of the United States of America is no exception to that. After all, despite being the leader of one of the so-called “super powers” of the world, he still has all the rights to take a much-needed holiday just like the rest of us, mere commoners. On the other hand, jeers and controversies about his 10-day vacation in a $35,000 weekly worth of stay at Martha’s Vineyard cannot be avoided because at the end of the day, he still is a very important public figure having a very delicate obligation to fulfill in public office. Aside from his supposed splurging while the rest of the American population is trying their hardest to make sense meet, his untimely vacation during a time when Obama bailout and health care issues are being debated over, is now under fire.

The Obama bailout plan and health care program are the government’s proposed solutions to the ballooning economic problem in the country, which are heavily opposed by many (especially coming from the opposition wing) because both heavily rely on people’s taxes. Aside from that, the programs also sound a bit too ambitious considering that the government is already scraping whatever resources they can find to fuel these plans. Some think that these are just economic glitch quick fixes the government did not study thoroughly. The controversies are more pronounced that the man of the hour is missing in action. Like the famous adage says, “When the cat is away, the mouse will play.”

Critics of the Obama administration cannot be helped from taking this as an opportunity to bash the current activities of the government while the President is away from the oval office. Some also see it as a chance to spread false and fabricated information about loopholes of the Obama health care programs. To make matters worst, there are also a lot of parties who scrutinize the cost and expenses of the President during his time out from office with his family and cook up issues that these expenses were shouldered by the people of the United States of America.

The issues about the President’s 10-day vacation are uncalled for and truth be told, most of them are also baseless. Tying them up with the Obama bailout plan and the health care program is also pointless. I think that the media is just creating so much hype about this and such act is not in any way helpful in solving the economic problems at hand. What the country needs now are not speculations or baseless controversies. What we need are solutions, feasible solutions to save our dying economy.

Americans – the hoi polloi’s, banking institutions, economists, and politicians alike – have diverse opinions about Obama’s loan modification program. Although many have been rooting for the President’s mortgage glitch fix, some are still unconvinced whether this plan would really work to the advantage of the American populace. Needless to say, banks and lending institutions were the first to dispute this plan. According to them, it would only temporarily put a cap on the rising foreclosure rates and that in the end, it would just bring a double-edge effect to the whole mortgage practice in the US.

Lenders are saying that the loan modification program unveiled by the government would not be the solution to the mortgage crisis. As a proof to support that statement, they cited the trial run that the government did during the first quarter of the year. The run yielded many modified loans, but 50 percent of these went bad again after only a span of 6 months. In a nutshell, lenders are saying that if it did not work on a smaller scale, the mortgage restructuring plan would definitely bog down once implemented on a national level.

Lending institutions are also saying that the government is pushing the envelope too far in using its legislative powers to force unyielding lenders to modify loans. According to the plan, if banks and lenders would not agree to modify loans, courts in each state could make a verdict that would pave the way for reinstituting mortgages. Lenders also maintain that although the government is giving cash incentives for every loans they agree to modify, said incentives would still not cover probable financial liabilities that the mortgage process would involve.

The Obama administration is obviously under pressure to find quick fixes to the economic downturn. The loan modification program is not the only drastic measure that they are trying to implement this year. There are the credit card bill and the highly controversial health care bill. These laws and government programs seem to be enacted quite hastily, which resulted to a lot of uproar from different sectors. Although the main end of these would be to help the American populace rise above the downturn, there are still some loopholes that were not addressed by the administration.

In the end, Obama’s loan modification program would only work towards saving America from drowning in the sea of mortgage dilemmas if the government would ensure its proper implementation. The government should also intensify its campaign to get the support of lending institutions by thinking of ways to make it fair to them, as well, because at the end of the day, without the support of this sector, the program would only yield a plethora of modified loans gone bad.

At first, I was a cynic to the power of compassion and massive volunteerism, but when I got to join Gawad Kalinga Foundation and its pool of volunteer workers, I finally understood what it meant to become a person for others. Since that first encounter with GK, I have devoted myself to the work of a Philippine volunteer.

The whole idea of “self for others” did not come easily to me. In fact, I used to be one of those who only participates site building events and other projects for the sake of attendance. That whole “what’s-in-it-for-me” mentality changed when I became attached to a beneficiary family in one of the GK villages in Quezon City. I was so moved by how the movement changed their life and their attitude about poverty. Looking at them, you would never see a trace of hatred or ire for being poor. I thought it was because of the love and compassion surrounding them and I felt quite lucky to have been one of the individuals who have made it possible for them to live a better life.

Being a Gawad Kalinga Foundation Philippine volunteer requires a lot of work, but to tell you honestly, the amazingly good aura felt in the community makes me forget the long days of working. It is fulfilling to see improvements and developments not only in the structural side of the community, but also in the lives and attitudes of people there. I guess what Tony Meloto said about those living in the slum areas of the country is true. He once said in a speech that poor people are victims of their situation. I agree because it is really hard to find hope in your heart when you cannot provide enough food and proper shelter to your family. It is hard to be good to others when you don’t see goodness in your life. Those living in the shackles of poverty need to feel hope in their hearts for them to have the drive above the hard-knock life they have been enduring for so many years.

I used to have this messianic dream of changing the world and I did so many things just to achieve that goal. I studied hard, earned so much money, built a business, but never did I think that focusing on the improvement of others instead of only myself is the best way to achieve happiness.

Working with Gawad Kalinga Foundation, an organization that strives to help the poor is not only a moving, but also a learning experience for me. By devoting myself to the plights of the poor, I discovered many things about life and myself. It is an amazing feeling to go home at night knowing that you have been part of a grand revolution that could not only change the Philippines, but also the world.

GK Foundation
For those who don’t know Gawad Kalinga or the Gk foundation is a charitable organization that started in the Philippines. Its aim is to build decent self sustaining communities for the homeless in the country. This program or brand is one of the most successful.

Lack of Organization
Right now, there is a lack of organizational structure in Gawad Kalinga. The project blew up to unexpected heights. They perhaps did not expect things to go this way. Now, Gawad Kalinga has partnerships with well to do Filipinos all over the world. The organization also has the participation of the biggest industries in the Philippines. It now has partnership with the two major mobile telecommunications services in the country. The problem of GK in organization is that there are so many far flung cells around the country managed by local GK volunteers. It is also a little complicated for those who want to volunteer in the GK foundation. This is especially true if you are just a small group or even individuals that want to help out. GK usually uses pools of volunteers from schools, companies, and other large groups. They cannot handle small numbers of sporadic volunteers.

Voncore Solutions and Gawad Kalinga
The GK foundation is partnering with an outsourcing company called Voncore Philippines in order to address its organizational problem. Voncore will provide software solutions for GK in order to nip the organizational nightmare in the butt. Websites will be set up in order to standardize and organize the process of volunteering for GK as well as donating money to the organization.

New Vision
The new vision of GK is to eradicate poverty in the Philippines, then after the Philippines, to eradicate poverty in the world. Already there are small GK foundation communities in places in Asia, Europe, and Australia.

Carrie Prejean is the most controversial beauty queen in America today. From her so-called biblically correct opinion about gay marriage to her scandalous and risqué photographs sprawled all over the web, Prejean has been heavily scrutinized by the media and her recent release from the duties and responsibilities as Miss California is the aftermath of all the fiasco.

The decision came out on June 8, 2009 in an official press release of Keith Lewis and Donald Trump. Apparently, aside from Prejean’s undisclosed modeling gig with a male magazine featuring racy pictures of her, the former Miss California added fuel to the fire by not honoring her obligations as the pageant winner. According to Trump, she was given a second shot at fulfilling her duties, but still failed to live up to the agreement. Trump added that they had no choice but to strip Prejean off her crown.

After Prejean’s release, The Miss California USA organization tried to clean up the mess left by the former beauty queen by passing on the crown to Tami Farrell, first runner of the said pageant. Other beauty queens were also invited to make the appointments that Prejean failed to attend.
 
Amidst the controversies, Carrie Prejean says the she is now ready to move on and pursue other interests, which includes writing. But despite news about her so-called “moving on after the incident”, the press and gossip mongers are still having a field day with nude pictures of her spreading all over the internet. 

Blink 182 are back and are performing for the first time since 2005 and Mark Hoppus feels that this is the most artistic the band has become. This is because for the first time, the band is incorporating rehearsing on their tour!

According to their official site, Hoppus said that "This time, we want to be more artistic. We want to use the entire arena as a lighting rig and a stage. We're being as ambitious as possible."

Here is the list of the tour dates and the places where you can see the band live:

7/24 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint
7/28 – Vancouver, BC @ GM Place
7/30 – Calgary, AB @ Saddledome
7/31 – Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place
8/1 – Saskatoon, SK @ Credit Union Center
8/2 – Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre
8/4 – Milwaukee, WI @ Marcus Amphitheater
8/6 – Boston, MA @ Comcast Center
8/7 – Quebec City, QC @ Colisee Pepsi
8/8 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
8/9 – Wantagh, NY @ Nikon Theater at Jones Beach
8/12 – Hershey, PA @ the Star Pavilion
8/13 – Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
8/14 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Post Gazette Pavilion
8/15 – Chicago, IL @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
8/16 – Omaha, NE @ Westfair Amphitheater
8/18 – Minneapolis, MN @ Xcel Energy Center
8/20 – Indianapolis, IN @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
8/21 – Buffalo, NY @ Darien Lakes Performing Arts Center
8/22 – Detroit, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
8/23 – Toronto, ON @ Molson Amphitheater
8/25 – Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
8/27 – Saratoga, NY @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center
8/28 – Camden, PA @ Susquehanna Bank Center
8/29 – Hartford, CT @ New England Dodge Music Center
8/30 – Washington, D.C. @ TBD
8/31 – Wantagh, NY @ Nikon Theater at Jones Beach
9/2 – Cleveland, OH @ Blossom Music Center
9/3 – St. Louis, MO @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
9/4 – Kansas City, MO @ Capitol Federal Park at Sandstone
9/6 – Denver, CO @ Fiddlers Green Amphitheater
9/7 – Salt Lake City, UT @ David O. McKay Events Center
9/10 – Seattle, WA @ White River Amphitheater
9/12 – Sacramento, CA @ Sleep Train Amphitheater
9/13 – Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheater
9/14 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Santa Barbara Bowl
9/16 – San Diego, CA @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheater
9/17 – Irvine, CA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
9/19 – Phoenix, AZ @ Tempe Beach Park
9/21 – Albuquerque, NM @ Journal Pavilion
9/23 – Dallas, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
9/24 – Houston, TX @ Superpages.com Center
9/26 – West Palm Beach, FL @ Cruzan Amphitheater
9/27 – Tampa, FL @ Ford Amphitheater
9/29 – Atlanta. GA @ Lakewood Amphitheater
10/1 – Charlotte, NC @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
10/2 – Virginia Beach, VA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
10/3 – Atlantic City, NJ @ Borgata Events Center

There are many reasons why you as a Christian should get good Christian magazine subscriptions. However, magazine subscriptions don’t go well for me. They just end up pilling up in the garage. A lot of paper is wasted since sometimes I forget to read the magazine. But what can I do? Sometimes I just don’t have the time to read. And once you do a subscription it is out of your hands. There are times too when I have to go out of town for a long time. You usually can’t stop the flow of your subscription so that’s another way to waste paper. So this is why it is sometimes better to get online Christian magazine subscriptions instead of the regular kind. Not only are you helping nature, you will also get a very convenient deal.

Online magazine subscriptions are more flexible. In most cases, you pay per view of a page. So if you find something you like, you can just click and type in your preferred online payment and you are all set. Online magazines are also cheaper than the regular kind. They don’t have to go through all the trouble of circulation and printing. All they need is to set up a website and have people access them through their pc, laptops, or smart phones. Online Christian magazine subscriptions are also perfect for people who love to travel. You can get your regular dose of Christian articles on the go or at least wherever there is wifi connection available which, nowadays, is not really a problem. What place is not wifi enabled anymore?

As a Christian, it can be hard to keep the faith going. Sometimes, for people like me who are constantly on the go, the temptations and anxieties of the world can really seep in unnoticed. Plus, there are times when I am surrounded by atheist or non-Christians. I have no one to talk about my faith issues with and to keep me grounded on the faith. This is why Christian magazine subscriptions are important for me. They keep fresh perspectives on the Christian way of life that keeps me exited and reminds me of the lessons that one can easily forget in the world.