Archive for April, 2010
I see alot of advertisements for debt settlement where a company charges you a fee but then gets your unsecured debts settled for partial of what you would have to pay them off as. Is it morally wrong to default on your cards for three months then have a debt settlement for less than what you would have to pay if you are way, way in over your head?
I would ignore all the hype and what ifs, and go talk to a bankruptcy attorney for legal advice. Then he/she can guide you to what may be best for your situation.
Good Luck!
I have about 3,000$ in credit card debt from using unsecured credit cards to pay for my schooling and now I think I am going to use Consumer Counseling Services debt management program so I can afford the payments while still in college? My question is I wanted to rebuild my credit ASAP while still paying these debts off by monthly payments and I was wondering if the BOA unsecured credit card was the way to go??
https://www3.bankofamerica.com/creditcards/application/index.cfm?requesttimeout=500&offer_id=ECOMM090XFEQ00400800121983EN001&newapp=y&adlink=000305005z8600FAB2MH
If you were born with common sense you can do it yourself. I will try to help.. READ CAREFULLY !!! If you have any cash or savings account call the credit card company you owe and offer to pay them $2500.00 to settle your account…
If you do not have the money then call them and tell them you will pay (give them a figure that you can afford to pay each month) until it is paid out… ask them to defray any more interest and you will pay it sooner. If you can do this they will probably go for it. THEN, when that is paid off. DO NOT CHARGE ANYTHING AT ALL. Pay yourself first (that means set up a savings account someplace and DO NOT TOUCH IT) begin paying cash for things you NEED only!!!! Do not buy things you DO NOT NEED. Now is NOT the time for what you would like to have ONLY what you MUST have. Soon you will have a savings account that you will not believe… ONLY USE THAT SAVINGS account for dire emergencies.. If you will apply these efforts to your life you will be much happier and. WORK A JOB YOU LOVE AND LOVE THE JOB YOU WORK. heres a great clue: work hard, go in early, stay late, and your employer will soon notice you and you will be among the first to get a promotion… Set good examples for those around you.. Change your life.. Get to know God well. God Bless
Just had a major surgery and racked up some major credit card debt while being out of work. Just looking to see where I could start now that I am going back to work.
If you are able, take out a home equity loan. Pay off the credit card bills with the proceeds. Then pay off the home equity loan as quickly as possible. This is a win-win situation. You get the credit card bills paid off, plus the interest on the home equity loan is a tax deduction.
Or, you could line up the credit card bills by 1)interest rate, 2)highest amount owed to lowest amount owed, or 3)lowest amount owed to highest amount owed. Whatever way you line them up, start paying them off.
I preferred the lowest amount owed to the highest amount owed. I paid the most money to the lowest balance, then paid the remaining bills just above the minimum required. As the lowest bill was paid off, I then applied that same amount plus the minimum to the next highest bill. As that bill was paid off, I then applied that amount plus the minimum to the next bill, etc.
Now Susie Orman would disagree with this method, but I found great satisfaction in seeing the bills disappear more quickly than if I had paid off the highest interest rate bill (regardless of balance) or the highest balance bill first. Plus, I think when you have big bills hanging over your head, you need to see progress as quickly as possible. It really gives you a boost to see those bills drop off the face of the earth.
Good luck!
If anyone has any experiences with good or bad in dealing with a debt consolidation company let me know. Would it be a good idea to have one help me if I have about 4,000 dollars in debt?
Try this site
http://Best-Financial-Consultation-USA.info
Here you can find the best debt settlement specialist that available in your area for free
I have about $23,000 in credit/medical credit card bills. I tried personal loans with 2 different banks, but I didnt qualify because it was it was considered "too much unsecured debt".
I am not sure how you managed to do that
but here is a site which should have what you are
looking for:
http://credit—card.org/
hope it helped, good luck
I work in debt settlement for an extremely ethical, 100% above-board company who work to assist our customers with legally, legitimately getting out of (unsecured) debt so they can move on with their lives. Yes, legislation is needed to regulate the industry to ensure that all Debt Settlement companies have clearly defined requirements that protect consumers, but our government is trying to villify the industry as a whole, exemplifying contempt without genuine investigation.
The current arrogant administration is vilifying anything they have difficulty controlling.~.
Briefly here is our situation:
-our daughter had some medical problems & we got behind
-through the Hope Line, our mortgages are caught up
-we completed Consumer Credit Counseling classes and are currently enrolled in the debt management program. Several credit cards have been very difficult about accepting the proposals & have consequently dropped our credit scores dramatically.
-our scores range in the low to mid 400’s
-we have a 1st with Citibank for around $165,000 at 5.75% and a 2nd with Bank of America for around $54,000 at 9.95%. The payment on our first (insurance & taxes are escrowed- includes PMI) is $1710 and the payment on the second is $528.
-Together my husband and I bring in a little over $4050 a month
-the purchase price on our home was $171,000 and it is now worth around $250,000 – $270,000.
I need to combine both mortgages & have a lower pymt. I realize the rate will be higher.
I need to combine the first & second to get a lower
Perhaps you may want to start by getting financially educated. How $$ works. Take it for some one that’s being there, a different loan may not be the solution. It only will transfers your headaches from one place to another, at a higher interest rate.
Do you know what if you divide 72 among the interest you pay, you can find out how many times are you doubling some one’s money (the lender).
You can get off debt on your own, make payment arrangements, tight budget, increase cash flow and still have extra to make sure you meet your goals, if you take just a few hrs. to learn how.
Citinet offers free financial education, no investment, no buy books cds or none of that bs. just straight forward education in how r u to handle your situation to your advantage. I talk by personal experience.
They’ll expose for you the loan programs how they work how they make money on you and what can you do to choose the best, on your own. What can you do with your fico they way it is. They do this open to the public, they have offices across the us.
I am told that I should immediately stop paying my credit card bills to get the attention of the lenders, so they will be more open to negotiations. And I should refer all contact to the debt settlement company. Is this normal?
I’m not behind on any bills right now, but it’s looking likely that I will be in a short time.
NO! NO! NO! This will destroy your credit! You don’t need these idiots! You can do it yourself.
Please do not consolidate. It is not free, they will lower your payments by increasing the length of time until you are debt free, and you will take a hit on your credit score. Or they negotiate your debt down after telling you not to pay for awhile adding another hit to your credit score. There is a better way.
A. Have a garage sale and sell anything that you no longer need or want.
B.Get a temporary part time job, if you have one, get another.
Here is a plan that can help you. If you work the plan, the plan will work for you:
1. Make a budget. Make the budget a week before you get paid. A budget is not a punishment! It is a tool which will free you from ever having to worry about money again. Put everything in your budget. Especially those annual, biannual, or quarterly bills like car registration, insurance, etc. Give every dollar you are going to bring home the name of where it is going. Add an "emergency fund" category to your budget for 25 dollars and save up until you have 1000-1250 dollars. Your emergency fund will help keep you from getting into new debt because of an emergency. If you can, set up a direct transfer to a savings account for your emergency fund. That way it moves automatically and you don’t even have to worry about it. You must cut your spending and live on less than you make.
2.First get current on all of you debts and make no more late payments. Stop using your credit cards immediately. Do not take on any more debt. Credit cards are like quicksand only the death is much slower. Make a list of all of your debts in order of highest interest rate to lowest interest. Use cash only for your spending from now on.
3.Pay the minimum due on all of your debts and then put your extra money towards paying off the highest interest one first. After you get that one paid off, you put the money you were paying on debt #1 (the minimum payment and the extra payment) towards debt #2. That will pay debt #2 off faster. When that is paid off, you put all three payments towards card #3 and that one will be paid off pretty quickly. As an example:
To start :
Debt #1 (highest interest): minimum payment+ extra payment
Debt #2 (middle interest): minimum payment
Debt #3(lowest interest): minimum payment
Debt #1: paid off
Debt #2: minimum payment from Debt #1+ Minimum payment from Debt #2 +extra payment
Debt #3: minimum payment
Debt #1: paid off
Debt #2: paid off
Debt #3:Mimimum payment from card #1+ minimum payment from Debt #2+ minimum payment from Debt #3+ extra payment.
That way, you will get them all paid off, on time, and pay the least interest. It will also help towards rebuilding your credit since you will no longer have any late payments. This works no matter how many different debts you may have.
4. After you get all of your debts paid off, add to your emergency fund until you have 6-12 months of income saved up. Put that emergency fund money into a liquid money market fund or into a Bank of America no-risk CD so that if you need the money you can take it out without penalty.
5a. When you have your emergency fund in place, add a category for "fun" to your budget. Save for a holiday, a vacation, a big screen, or dinners out, whatever goal you want. Remember to enjoy your life.
5b. When you have your emergency fund in place, start saving for your retirement. Join the 401(k) plan at work and contribute the maximum. Your employer probably matches at least part of your contribution so why give up free money? Open a Roth IRA and contribute the maximum on a monthly basis. If you start saving for your retirement now, you will probably retire a millionaire.
5c. When you have your emergency fund in place, start saving for your next car. Only buy cars, or other things that depreciate, with cash. Save up for a nicer car. That way you get the interest instead of paying the interest.
You can do it and it isn’t as hard as you think. Just follow the plan
I am not referring to a consolidation loan, I am refer to the services that take your bills and lump them into one monthly sum. If you have had a good experience, which company did you use?
Oh my god, are you going to get some spam on this question… Consumer credit Counseling is a non-profit. They are very good…They have contracts with all of the credit card companies that provide much lower rates.
Avoid the companies that state that they will negotiate your balances down, they will ruin your credit and will take much longer. Plus the credit card companies will still come after you anyway….
By the Way…..Jesse K and October G are examples of the spam I was reffering to…..
I have $7,000 in debt and I have heard about debt consolidation. Does this negatively affect your credit rating? Do you get to choose how much you pay monthly or is there a set amount they make you pay? I live in Canada, if that matters.
Try this site
http://Best-Financial-Consultation-USA.info
Here you can find the best debt settlement specialist that available in your area for free