Archive for the ‘debt management’ Category
When writing a debt negotiating letter, a person should tally up what is owed, come up with a reasonable amount that can be afforded, and be specific on when a payment can be made. Avoid putting oneself into greater debt by trying to make too large of a payment with help from a business analyst in this free video on financial planning and debt management.
Expert: Terry Kuykendall
Bio: Terry Kuykendall is currently a budget analyst for the military in Washington. She is an accountant who has worked at firms helping people deal with personal and business debt.
Filmmaker: stephen kuykendall
Duration : 0:1:8
Consolidate credit card debt by taking out a personal loan or doing a credit card balance transfer. Consolidate credit card debt with tips from a consumer credit counselor in this free video on personal finance management.
Expert: Maria Enomoto
Contact: www.gotdebt.org
Bio: Maria Enomoto works as a credit counselor for Consumer Credit Counseling services in San Jose, California.
Filmmaker: Bing Hu
Duration : 0:2:20
Free debt consolidation and debt management Help. Get Answers Here…
Duration : 0:1:29
Handling creditors when unable to pay bills is done by contacting them and letting them know what can be paid and when. Keep creditors from calling with constant communication with insight from a certified public accountant and credit counselor in this free video on debt management.
Expert: Jerrie Guthrey
Bio: Jerrie Guthrey has been a certified public accountant and credit counselor since 1992.
Filmmaker: Jack Guthrey
Duration : 0:2:23
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
http://www.debtwarriors.com: There’s a truly Free Credit Report some people don’t want you to know about. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act [F.C.R.A.] you are allowed to get a free copy of your credit once every 12 months via email. This video shows you what you may not know about getting your truly Free Credit Report.
Don’t Go To Court Alone! Hire an affordable Attorney in your state. For more info call 866-576-4996 – or go to www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/jeromeford
Duration : 0:1:31
I am considering entering a debt management program because I am way over my head in credit card debt. I know it may not be the best solution but it seems I keep putting it off, getting no where paying down my debt. Does anyone have advice or comments?
Debt counseling is the best way to go instead of debt consolidation (which simply means one borrows more to get out of debt).
Here is a link to the FTC approved agencies. Some may charge a small fee and may not (depends upon your situation).
This will give you breathing time to catch up
http://www.usdoj.gov/ust/eo/bapcpa/ccde/cc_approved.htm
Govt approved credit counseling agencies.
Good luck and hope this helps.
I am going to be starting a debt management plan with CCCS this month with a payment due on March 20th…should I pay my credit cards for the month? I am not sure I can afford the credit card payments and a debt management payment in the same month without skipping payments on utilities but I don’t want to ruin my credit either. Any help is appreciated!
Call CCCS and ask your counselor how this should be handled.
If you enter a debt management plan with a bank that you have credit card debt with, will it affect your credit report and credit score?
If you are considering a debt management plan, make sure you use an NFCC member. These are legit, non-profit companies that offer debt management programs for a nominal fee. http://www.nfcc.org/.
While in a debt management program, it is noted on your credit report and will adversely affect your credit. However, once you complete the program, that notation is removed and you will have decent credit.
Frankly, if your financial situation is so bad that you need a debt management program to deal with your debts, you are in no position to take on any new credit. Better to stop obsessing over your score and concentrate on ways to pay off the debt faster.
With the major parties announcing their manifestos this week, debt management has been at the forefront of many peoples’ minds.
Here are some of the stories which made the news.
Labour plan to end the exploitation of bank customers by making account-switching easier to do. They also aim to provide compulsory personal finance education and ban credit card companies from introducing stealth taxes.
The Tories are also looking to ease the nation’s finance problems by letting the public decide tax levels and allowing them to control how public money is spent.
They also plan to introduce the Consumer Protection Agency to help prevent people from getting in debt caused by store cards.
Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats aim to end excessive overdraft charges and accused the business world of “ripping people off”.
On top of this, their “manifesto for consumers” includes bringing in new energy tariffs to help those with financial problems.
Away from the election, Tony Hobman has taken over as chief executive of the Consumer Financial Education Body. The new service lets people speak to money experts who can help them with their financial problems.
Duration : 0:1:11