Wednesday, May 24, 2006

 

Debt Consolidation and Debt Reduction Madness

Don't you feel like yelling ..."Stop the Madness!" I did. So I decided to do something about it.

When I was younger I learned a valuable lesson about taking back control. I had a boss that would tell when things aren't going your way, get involved and give direct work orders. What he meant is specifically tell people what you wanted them to do.

What does this have to do with debt consolidation?

Simple, you have to get involved and take action so you can correct your situation. Easier said than done, I agree but very necessary. Ok, so how do you do that?

It's easy once you understand the concept, because in reality it is the same with any situation that you are faced with.

Here's is a plan to follow:

1. First and foremost you have to know what your current situation is. Sounds simple right? You'll be amazed at how much people don't know about their personal circumstances. Make sure you sit down and right down a how much you owe and to whom. Include the interest rate, the monthly payment as well as the total due.

2. Do some research and come up with a two-pronged attack. The tools available on the internet these days are very helpful. You'll find plans, articles, free tips and resources to help you formulate your plan and more importantly execute against that plan. Make sure you spend the time doing research. Do searches with your favorite search engine under the terms, debt consolidation, credit repair and debt reduction. Initiate a plan to not only determine a debt consolidation loan but also find the tools to work on your debt with out a loan. You need to do both.

3. Find help. Once you find a great resource with a lot of articles, tips and resources, add it to your favorites and spend time each day reviewing new information. The more informed you become the easier it will for you to initiate a debt reduction plan that works for you and your family.

Following these steps will put more control back into your life and the you'll be able to truly stop the madness.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

 

Finding a Debt Consolidation Solution to Fit Your Needs

When you look around at your finances and decide what the right debt consolidation solution is for you it must be tailored to your needs. Maybe your cousin, who has equity in his home, decided that it was best for him to take a home equity loan in order to, consolidate his debt. But even if you have equity in your home, that may not be the best solution for you. You have to look at your own personal situation and decide what is best for you.

Various programs exist for debt consolidation, and they are individualized to the needs of each person. For the person who just needs to get rid of some credit card debt, debt management programs may work best for you with a reduction in interest rates to help alleviate some of the interest and allow you to pay the bills off earlier. Or maybe your circumstances may only warrant debt counseling, especially if all you need is a way to learn to budget your money and get your credit card payments under control.

Of course, if you have a problem with too many credit cards and high interest rates, you may want to consider a consolidation loan through the bank if your credit can substantiate it and you have collateral to back it. If you are able to proceed that way, you'll reduce your interest rate and payments, however, you will also have to condition yourself not to go right back and run up the credit card bills all over again.

Debt counseling may work if your bills are not completely out of control, but you have been unable to adjust yourself to living within a budget so that you can not only pay the payments, but attempt to pay off your debt. You have to be careful, though, that the company you choose knows exactly what you want to do and doesn't try to talk you into other services that you don't need.

Of course, if you've gotten out of control, debt management may be your only solution, but you do want to be sure that you don't get pulled into a company who is going to try to convince you to make a settlement instead of paying off your bills in full. This type of company will hold onto your money until the creditors really get upset, then release the money under the contingency of accepting just pennies on the dollar in repayment. This program can cripple your credit record, and if you have had to proceed to that level, you may as well file bankruptcy and have some of the debt expunged.

Tread carefully and know with whom you are dealing. Check the Better Business Bureau for any complaints, and be sure to read all of the fine print in the information that is provided. Do not allow them to pull you into a program that is not what you need or want. Be wary of those who try to sell you an interest rate that is lower that one you have been quoted by your bank based on your credit history.

Saturday, May 13, 2006

 

Break free from debt: got bills? Four women show how to pay off creditors and achieve your goals

After 31-year-old Michelle R. Phillips of Dallas graduated from law school in 1999, she watched many of her colleagues at the law firm where she worked adjust to their salaries by spending lavishly on wardrobes, traveling, and pampering themselves. But Phillips couldn't participate in the spending sprees. She was still struggling to pay off the $12,000 in credit-card debt--spread over ten cards--she had accumulated in college. "At one point I was unable to pay even the minimum amount due, and I wasn't applying anything to the principal," she says.

Debt has become a deadweight on an increasing number of African-Americans, according to "Costly Credit," a recent report by the public-policy organization Demos. The study found that nearly 20 percent of credit-card-indebted Blacks who earn less than $50,000 are in debt hardship, which means 40 percent of their income goes to debt payments.

But Phillips was determined to set herself free. She and three other now-debt-liberated sisters share their strategies for achieving financial freedom:

TAKE IT ONE STEP AT A TIME. Phillips began reading books on debt reduction and called her creditors and negotiated better terms. She had taken part-time jobs while in law school and put herself on a strict budget. "When people invited me to go places, I'd say no," she recalls. "I would grocery-shop instead of eating out. And I made do with the clothes in my closet." With the money she freed up from cutting back, she tackled the cards with the highest interest rates first, often tripling the minimum payment. She made a list, and when she paid off a bill, she'd cross it off and apply that money to the card with the next highest rate. It took Phillips six years to get out of the red. Now she uses one credit card for major purchases and is having her first home built. "I changed my philosophy because being in debt felt like being in prison," she says. "Today I feel free."

Friday, May 05, 2006

 

How to Reduce And Eliminate Your Debt?

Easy access to money means people are borrowing more money. Borrowing more and more money eventually leads to a situation of unmanageable burden of debt. People's spiralling debts have given rise to a new and growing industry.

Consolidate all your debts into one. The debt consolidation service combines all your debts into just one debt as illustrated by Mr & Mrs James case:-

1)Credit Card debts $4,900 @ 27.5% apr

2)Personal loans $9,700 @16.7% apr

3)Arrears on mortgage payments $3,300 @ 5.5% apr (house may get repossessed due to these arrears)

4)Store Card bill/debts $2,300@33.34%

5)Gambling debts by Mr James $13,500@22% apr

6)Work Credit Card $1,600@18% apr.

7)Bar Bill (at a local bar) $490

Total monthly payments in respect of the above came to $2,900 per month plus household bills including food costs. Mr James brought home $4,200 per month and almost all of that money went on paying for debts and arrears. They could not live on the measly amount which was left.

Mr & Mrs James's total combined debt came to $35,790 at an average interest rate of 20.51%. On the basis of average interest rate, over five years the repayments will be $1208.21 per month. There is also the mortgage payments of $890 per month.

The critical issues.

The gambling debt needs to be paid within the next 3 months. The gambling company is going for foreclosure so the risk of losing their home is eminent. Additional costs of food, gas/electricity, fuel for their two cars meant that they need just about $2,000 to meet their living costs.

The family home is at risk of being repossessed. There are proceedings being instituted both by the mortgage provider and the company responsible for collecting Mr James gambling debts.

The debt consolidation solution.

Mr James bought his house 5 years ago for $172,000. He has built up some equity in his investment. A re-valuation priced the house at $265,000. The immediate solution proposed by the consolidation service was to release some of that equity to clear these debts. Mr & Mrs James agreed to live within their means. They had to surrender their cards; in total they had 10 cards between the two of them, and they both agreed never to use them again. With the help of Bank of America, the debt consolidation service released 85% of the equity in their family house and raised $53,250 with the intention of clearing all their debts. The debts were all cleared. Mr & Mrs James paid $750 per months for their new mortgage because of a discounted deal which was negotiated & secured on behalf of Mr & Mrs James.

Mr & Mrs James went through a real ordeal which nearly cost them everything they worked for. As a direct result, they have now set up a debt advise help line to help other American families become debt free. Additionally, they have devised a help yourself guide packed with practical ideas for people to get out of debt first of all and then to remain debt free. Their suggestions and recommendations are:-

1)Don't be afraid to ask for help. The sooner you ask for help the better for you. Because they themselves kept deferring their own decision to seek help, they simply got deeper into debt.

2)Only spend cash from your earnings. Do not use credit cards as an alternative. Apart from James's gambling debts, most of our other debts were from credit card use. Bad idea and bad move. Don't do it.

3)Talk to your partner about the problem and look for a solution. Mr & Mrs James did not talk about it nor did they try to find a solution. A lot of our debt problems could have been pre-empted had we spoke about our concerns and issues.

4)Talk to your creditors, explain the problems to them and ask them for help too. If you propose a sensible solution to reducing or eliminating your debt to them they may agree to it and stop charging you more interest.

5)We did not know about the extra equity in our house until the debt consolidation service suggested that option as a possible way out for us. So, talk and look for solutions by examining all possibilities.

6)Reduce costs and outgoings where ever possible. We spent a lot of money dining out when we could not afford it. When we looked at our goings we were amazed at how much we wasted dining out. So, we curbed our spending by cutting our unnecessary waste.

7)Look for problems in your life and in your relationship. James gambled to the tune of $13,500 because he was bored it came to light when we finally decided to face up to our problems. Remedy these problems as soon as you can.

Debt consolidation service has given us our lives back. We are not likely to be in situation again. We are trying to help others from being in debt and we would ask you in turn to help more people become debt free.

Thursday, May 04, 2006

 

Student Loan Debt Solutions

The figures for students opting for loans are only going higher as each year passes by. Not only that; with the escalation in the cost of tuitions, the amount borrowed is also at an all-time high. But despite that, the list of student defaulters is low. This is due to the fact that today there are many solutions for student indebtedness and students are better-informed of how to implement these solutions.

The wisest solution is that of loan consolidation. A student can bundle up all the federal loans that may have been borrowed during the educational period into a single loan, with a single rate of interest. When a student consolidates loans, then the rate of interest locks in at the current rate and hence, the student does not have to suffer the rising rate in the future. Consolidation also saves the student from having to deal with more than one creditor.

Consolidation is a seemingly viable option, but the student must do some research to find out whether it would really help. Sometimes with consolidated loans, the interest reductions are not much and the student must think whether it is worth making the effort to get the loans consolidated. The Student Assistance Act of 1965 has facilitated students with huge loans to extend their tenures of repayment up to as many as 30 years. But though this gives an ease of repayment to the student, it will pile up a tremendous interest for such a long tenure.

The best option seems to be debt forgiveness. There are several socially benefiting organizations that the student can work with to get the loans forgiven. Students may work as doctors, nurses, teachers, or may join the armed forces or work in voluntary institutions such as the AmeriCorps or PeaceCorps to get their loans forgiven. The amount of loan forgiven depends on the period of service the student provides. However, the catch here is that the student must think whether working for a higher paying institution may help to get the loan repaid faster.

There is also an option of rehabilitating loans. After 12 monthly payments to the lender, the student may request the lender to sell the loan off to someone else. Once this is agreed upon, the student has 9 years to repay the loan. Filing for bankruptcy is a possible, though very difficult, process. To be declared bankrupt, a court must be ascertained that the student will not have even a minimal standard of living for a major chunk of the repayment period, were the loan to be repaid.

Student loans cannot be completely eliminated. Hence, students must try to repay them as soon as possible. It helps to take up a job immediately after graduation. There are students who are still unemployed when the grace period is coming to an end. This is a catastrophic situation. In fact, lenders provide discounts to students who manage to repay their loans on time.

Students must learn debt management techniques. Becoming aware of the sticky situation they are in often helps to solve the situation.

Monday, May 01, 2006

 

A Passage to Debt Free Life

What! You are entrapped in a web of debt and there is no way to come out of it. Don't tear your head, take a debt consolidation loan and get out of the debt trap. A debt consolidation loan will provide you with the fund in a favourable manner with which you can sort out your debt problem.

When your debts will be paid off you can get rid of high interest along with the hassles of dealing with multiple lenders. Through the debt consolidation loan you can lower your interest rate and make your monthly repayment smaller. So it will be easier for you to manage the loan. Paying off the debts and managing the new loan will better your credit score also.

You can take a debt consolidation loan with or without collateral. If you offer collateral you will be given secured debt consolidation loan. Offering collateral will increase your chance of getting approval for the loan. At the same time you can avail some benefits like lower interest, smaller repayment, big loan amount and a longer loan period.

If you do not offer collateral you can take unsecured debt consolidation loan. Being unsecured it puts the lender in greater risk. So he may charge a comparatively higher rate of interest. But you can avoid risking your property and get a quick approval.

Your bad credit and not offering collateral may make some of the lenders reject your application. So it is necessary to search for those lenders who are not prejudiced about a bad credit. In this regard you will find the online lenders much helpful.


About the Author
The author is a business writer specializing in finance and credit products and has written authoritative articles on the finance industry. He has done his masters in Business Administration and is currently assisting debt-consolidation-for-the-stressed as a finance specialist.
For more information please visit: http://www.debt-consolidation-for-the-stressed.co.uk

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