A Federal Reserve Report put out late last month shows that consumers have been turning around their savings habits and reducing their reliance on credit over the last year. But what effect will this have on the economy?

They say the recession is coming to an end, and its about time. Chances are that not one individual or household can say that they will be able to get out of this recession completely unscathed.

Attention all delinquent credit card holders! Now's the best time to settle your bill. If the financial industry and the auto industry had their respective bailouts late last year, this could be the time for ordinary consumers to be given some leeway in their debts, particularly credit card bills.

Predicting how many Americans will have problems in paying their credit card bills used to be easy. The banks simply look at the unemployment rate to gauge the level of risk they need to face in the near future. This isn’t accurate anymore. Previously, job loss meant inability to pay. Nowadays, losses are outpacing the unemployment rate.

The mortgage crisis may not be a thing of the past but at least steps are already being taken to address the problem. But while that is being done, yet another seemingly smaller in value but equally serious financial catastrophe looms ahead: credit card debt. Yes, the numbers were bad in 2008, but financial analysts are forewarning of an even worse 2009.

From the Previous Posts: Step 1 - Calculate Your Debt to the Decimal Point Step 2 - Lower Your APRs Step 3 Transfer Balances Balance transferring enables you to put more money back in your pocket by transferring balances from a card with a high APR to a card with a 0% introductory APR. In Step 3, Oliver is going to shop for a credit card that offers a 0% APR on balance transfers and ideally no fee for providing the balance transferring service. Ideally, he would obtain a card with a 0% APR on balance transfers for at least a year and a low APR after the introductory rate of 0% expires.

There are many warnings out there about the legendary Freshman 15. Most common are the Cosmo features warning high school girls to take heed and avoid the fast food denizens of temptation that lurk on ever corner of the college campus. More recently are the headlines geared to incoming freshman about a different but ultimately weighty Freshman 15 -- Credit Card Debt.