I’m a Debt Counselor … and I Filed for Bankruptcy – Today, a debt counselor and financial adviser shares how, while solving his clients’ financial problems, he mismanaged his own money to the point of bankruptcy.

5 states with the highest foreclosure rates – Although the housing market is recovering in many regions, foreclosures reached a three-year high last year. Short sales and foreclosure-related sales — including sales to third-party buyers at public foreclosure auctions and sales of bank-owned properties — accounted for 16.2% of all U.S. residential sales last year, up from 14.5% in 2012 and 15.2% in 2011, according to the 2013 U.S. Residential & Foreclosure Sales Report, released Thursday by RealtyTrac, a real-estate data firm. What’s more, the number of homes sold in December 2013 fell by 10% year-over-year to 5.17 million.

This is How to Get the Lowest Mortgage Rate – Most consumers know there is a multitude of factors affecting a mortgage rate such as property occupancy, loan program and even property type. However, there are other factors that carry the most influence on securing that new mortgage rate than any other factor, despite economic conditions.