Debt consolidation

Debt consolidation is a form of debt refinancing that entails taking out one loan to pay off many others. This commonly refers to a personal finance process of individuals addressing high consumer debt but occasionally refers to a country's fiscal approach to corporate debt or Government debt. The process can secure a lower overall interest rate to the entire debt load and provide the convenience of servicing only one loan.

Overview

Debt generally refers to money owed by one party, the debtor, to a second party, the creditor. It is generally subject to repayments of principal and interest.Interest is the fee charged by the creditor to the debtor, generally calculated as a percentage of the principal sum per year known as an interest rate and generally paid periodically at intervals, such as monthly. Debt can be secured with collateral or unsecured.

Although there is variation from country to country and even in regions within country, consumer debt is primarily made up of home loans, credit card debt and car loans. Household debt is the consumer debt of the adults in the household plus the mortgage, if applicable. In many countries, especially the United States and the United Kingdom, student loans can be a significant portion of debt but are usually regulated differently than other debt. The overall debt can reach the point where a debtor is in danger of bankruptcy, insolvency, or other fiscal emergency. Options available to overburdened debtors include credit counseling and personal bankruptcy.

Debt

A debt generally refers to something owed by one party, the borrower or debtor, to a second party, the lender or creditor. The lender or creditor can be a bank, credit card company, payday loan provider, or an individual. One country can also lend money to another country. Debt is generally subject to contractual terms regarding the amount and timing of repayments of principal and interest. The term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value. For example, in Western cultures, a person who has been helped by a second person is sometimes said to owe a "debt of gratitude" to the second person.

Terms

Interest

Interest is the fee charged by the creditor to the debtor. Interest is generally calculated as a percentage of the principal sum per year, which percentage is known as an interest rate, and is generally paid periodically at intervals, such as monthly or semi-annually.

Many conventions on how interest is calculated exist – see day count convention for some – while a standard convention is the annual percentage rate (APR), widely used and required by regulation in the United States and United Kingdom, though there are different forms of APR.

Chris Hogan

Christopher "Chris" Hogan is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and comedian, most notable for his membership in the recurring cast of comedians on MADtv and for the character of Aubrey Pitman, one of Dick Solomon's students, on 3rd Rock from the Sun.

Early life

Hogan grew up in Eastchester, New York and went to Trinity College, in Hartford, Connecticut graduating in the class of 1985. While at Trinity, he was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, where he advocated cross dressing.

Career

MADtv

Hogan joined the cast of MADtv in 1997, as a repertory performer, for the third season. He is remembered for playing characters who could only wrestle the infamous response, "He looka like a man" from Alex Borstein's Ms. Swan, whether it would be a fast food clerk, a police officer, or his Fox Mulder character. Hogan's other characters included Miguel O'Reilly (New at Six), Vonda Parker (Parker Sisters), and public accountant Milton Cladwell. However, Hogan is most remembered for succeeding David Herman as the colorful El Asso Wipo from the Superstars of the Mexican Wrestling Federation Theatre. El Asso struck fear into the hearts of many with his famed one line threat, "I will break like so, WITH MY KNEE!" After one season on the show, Hogan left MADtv at the conclusion of season three.

Suze Orman

Susan Lynn "Suze" Orman (born June 5, 1951) is an American author, financial advisor, motivational speaker, and television host. Orman was born in Chicago and pursued a degree in social work. She worked as a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch. In 1983 she became the vice-president of investments at Prudential Bache Securities. In 1987, she founded the Suze Orman Financial Group. Her program The Suze Orman Show began airing on CNBC in 2002. In 2006 she won a Gracie Award for Outstanding Program Host on the The Suze Orman Show on CNBC. She has written several books on the topic of personal finance.

Early life and education

Orman was born on the South Side of Chicago in 1951 in a Jewish family. Her mother worked as a secretary for a local rabbi, while her immigrant father from Kiev worked in a chicken factory and managed a delicatessen in Hyde Park.

She attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and received a B.A. in social work in 1976. In 2009, Orman received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.