Feb
12
2009
Credit counseling helps you to lower your monthly payments through a payment plan that fits into your current budget. Credit counseling will help you to meet the minimum monthly payments on your debt, while still allowing you to remain inside your budget. This is a very common alternative for people who do not qualify for a consolidation loan. With a debt payment plan, you make one payment each month that typically is lower than your current payment. It provides you with an “expected” timeline to follow in eliminating your debt. This alternative typically can cut your bills by 30% or more, so if you are behind in your bills or are severely in debt, this option may be for you.I personally know several people that have successfully used credit counseling firms to develop a debt payment plan. If you decide to go this route, only deal with legitimate companies that have been around for a while and have reasonable fees. Make sure that they evaluate all of your debts and create a debt payment plan that works for your unique financial situation. This way you can be assured that the money you send them will actually be used to pay down your debt. Good luck!
Jan
26
2009
If you’re in debt, you’ve got to fight for your rights. You’ve got to do everything in your power to get out of debt and one really great way to eliminate some of your debt is to negotiate with your creditors. In this article, I will provide you with tips for negotiating debt reduction. Are you ready, let’s get started.
- Know the amount of debt you owe. Before you can consolidate you have to figure out how much debt you owe and how much you can afford to pay each month.
- Contact your creditors. Next, you’ll need to contact your creditors and ask them to work out a debt settlement plan with you. Tell them the amount of money that you can pay each month and ask them to reduce your interest rate or perhaps knock off some of the principle.
- Once you get an agreement, you need to get everything in writing. This includes the payment terms as well as the length of the agreement.
- Pay everything as agreed. Pay your funds as agreed. Not only does this demonstrate good will but it also demonstrates good will, character, and commitment to getting your debt paid off.
In conclusion, by following the above tips for negotiating debt reduction, you can receive better payment terms and get your debt paid off quickly. Good luck.
Jan
15
2009
Many of you may be wondering if you can use a credit card for debt repair. Well, my answer is, it depend on you, your situation and the credit card you’ll use for debt repair. For instance, let’s say that you have a credit card that has 19.8% interest and you get an offer in the mail for credit card debt repair with an interest rate of 9.8%. Well, of course, in this instance it would make sense to use the lower interest credit card to pay down the higher interest card.
However, if you are just planning on paying the higher interest credit card down and then charging it back up then that doesn’t make any sense at all because this transferrance could get you in even more debt. So for someone like you, that would just be downright dumb.
So, my advice about credit card debt repair |is to only use it if you are really going to follow through with the plan and work diligently to pay off the transferred debt instead of just letting it sit there and costing you money. If however, you are tempted to only charge it off then don’t do it.
In addition, here are a couple of more credit card debt repair tips:
- Make sure that you understand the terms of the transferred debt. For instance, how long will it last? Is if short term or long term?
- Negotiate with the higher interest credit card. Use the offer to negotiate for a lower rate with the higher interest card. After all, you may even get a lower rate than the offer and then you won’t have to worry about transferring the balance at all.
Jan
08
2009
If you’ve been tempted to purchase one of those services that promise to increase your credit score don’t. Those places are a total and complete rip off and will do nothing but take your money and complete minor tasks that you could have done yourself. In fact, some off these credit companies are actually scammers and will suggest that you get a new social security card and other illegal things.
Well, don’t do it. Instead, keep your money and follow these tips for increasing your credit score. Not only will this save you money but it will prevent you from doing something illegal.
Here are some tips:
- Pay your bills on time. Yes, don’t be late with payments.
- Don’t take out any more credit or even apply for more credit. Every time you do your credit score gets lowered.
- Don’t close out accounts. Also, don’t closeout accounts because longer credit histories actually help you.
- Pay off collection and delinquent accounts. Do this right now. Don’t hesitate. Collection accounts really put a ding on your credit and you absolutely don’t want this.
- Pay down debt. Do what you have to do to pay down your credit right away. The more you pay it down, the better your credit improves.
- Dispute erroneous information. If you find errors, report them right away and if the reporting agency finds the case in your favor, you will get the informationWell removed.
TWell, that’s it. Now follow these tips for increasing your credit score today and watch your credit improve.
Dec
28
2008
Many folks ignore the warning signs and don’t think that they’re in any danger because of their credit cards. What they don’t realize is that any debt is too much debt and way too much debt can be bad for your health and happiness. But, how can you determine if you’ve got too much? It’s easy really.
Here is the test:
1. You can’t pay more than the minimum monthly payments on your cards.
2. You’re robbing Peter card to pay Paul Card.
3. You spend more time scrounging for new deals instead of making more income.
4. You’re considering taking out a payday loan or car title loan to pay your bills.
5. You’ve had to borrow money from family members to cover credit card bills.
6. You hide your credit card debt from yourself or your spouse.
7. Your credit report is the pits or you are scared to look at it because you know you owe way too much.
If you answer yes to any of these, you’ve got to get a handle on your credit. You’ve got to get in control of your finances before they wreak even more havoc on your life.
Some tips for getting out of this mess are to:
- Figure out how much debt you’re in.
- Use cash only and don’t take on any more debt.
- Devise a workable plan and pay off your debt by paying more than the minimum, negotiating for a lower interest rate, consolidating your debt, etc.
- Pay your bills on time.
- Keep older credit card accounts (even if you rarely use them open) However, if you can’t keep from using them, it may be better to close them out altogether.
- Have faith, you can get it paid off if you work your plan.
Dec
25
2008
Hey, did you know that if you have bad credit, you don’t have to have bad credit forever? Yes, that is right. You can significantly improve your credit score history. You don’t have to hire expensive credit repair agencies or others to improve your credit. No, you can do it all by your lonesome.
Now, it isn’t necessarily easy to improve your credit score. In fact, it will take a bit of discipline and hard work but if you stick to my plan, you will see your credit score history improve. Here’s a few tips:
- Understand your credit history. Get a copy of your credit report from the 3 major reporting agencies and review it for accuracy. If you notice anything that looks out of place, contest it with the agency. By filing a dispute, they will have to check on it. If the reporting company can’t prove that you actually owe the money, it will have to be removed from your credit report.
- Don’t rack up more debt. Every time you ask for more credit or incur additional debt, your credit score is affected negatively. Therefore, don’t rack up any more bills. Pay cash.
- Pay your bills on time. Don’t miss any payments and get current with everyone. Not only will this help you reestablish your credibility but it will improve your credit score history.
- Pay down your debt. Do what you can to pay down your debt. Even if you have to take on a second job then do it. Get that debt paid off fast and don’t let anything stand in your way. By doing this, you will improve your credit score history.
Yes, this is a lot of hard work but if you follow my advice, you can significantly improve your credit score history. Good luck!
Dec
14
2008
If you have a bad credit score and desperately want to increase your score, I hear you. Bad credit scores can cause you a lot of problems from high interest rates to stress. However, the good news is that you can repair your own credit. Yes, it is true; you don’t have to pay an expensive credit card repair company to help you raise your credit score. Instead, you can take the do-it-yourself approach to increase credit score. This method works every time. Here are some tips:
1. Remember that you have the power. You can increase credit score by paying your bills on time, not putting yourself further in debt and paying down the debt that you already have. All of these will increase credit score significantly.
2. Understand that credit repair companies are typically scammers. o one can erase bad credit history. The only thing that can be removed is something that is erroneously reported. Therefore, companies that claim to repair credit are basically scamming you.
3. Use cash and do not take on more debt. By using cash and not getting more cards you can also repair your credit. You see, credit scores are based on a range of things but debt to income ratios are one. So, if you owe more money than you can realistically pay off, I have news for you, your credit score will go down.
4. Refuse to open any new credit. You see, every time you open a new card or someone inquires about your credit, your credit score goes down the tubes.
In essence, if you really want to repair your credit, you can do it yourself. Although you might find credit repair companies that offer to repair your credit for you, the truth of the matter is that only you can truly make a difference in your credit. And that is the truth!