credit card debt, debt management, credit card financing

Credit Card Debt Consolidation Or Bankruptcy?

Posted by on May 20, 2011 No comments

Although credit cards can help you enjoy a better quality of life, they can as easily get you into trouble if you consistently spend more than you earn. Eventually, you may reach a point when you are overwhelmed by debt and make an active effort to consult with a certified expert in debt management.

When trying to decide the best strategy for debt management, debtors are often offered two choices when faced with overwhelming debt: they can either get a credit card debt consolidation loan or declare bankruptcy. Both methods clear debt completely, offering a fresh start, but which is the best solution?

By looking at each solution in turn and then comparing them against each other, it’s possible to determine the best choice.

Debt Consolidation

Fortunately, there is an alternative, another legal way of getting clear of your creditors and your mounting bills. You can get a secured or unsecured loan that is of lower interest than your credit cards. This loan can be used to pay charge cards, leaving you only with the loan to pay off. Besides paying off your debts in full, your credit scores will have to reflect that you have “paid as agreed.”

All you have to do is provide reasonable proof that you have a steady income and can pay back the loan in a timely manner.

Bankruptcy

This should be considered the choice of last resort. The effects of a personal bankruptcy are long lasting. Although after declaring bankruptcy a court rules that you’re no longer held to your financial obligations, your credit report will show this for ten years. During that time, you can’t apply for a car, a home, and even life insurance. Sometimes, too, it prevents you from getting a job.

The Best Debt Solution

Although both forms of debt management provide the same outcome: a legal release from indebtedness, they do this in completely different ways. With bankruptcy, a court order frees you from further obligation to your creditors. With debt consolidation, a blanket loan frees you from further obligation to your creditors. Bankruptcy ruins your credit report and a debt consolidation loan saves it from ruin. A debt consolidation loan is better provided you can provide proof of regular work. Otherwise, if you have no income coming in and no way of obtaining employment in the near future, then a personal bankruptcy may have to be filed.

Credit Card Debt Eliminators, Are They For Real?

Posted by on May 12, 2011 No comments

If you have excessive credit card debt, then you have probably not only seen the ads but been tempted to look into them. These are the ads that say you can terminate and wipe out your credit card debt legally. Before you buy into these companies, there is some information you should have that will probably help you to steer clear of such advertised services.

These credit card debt elimination companies will tell you some things that are not entire true. For instance, many of them will claim that your credit card debt is the responsibility of your bank. They will tell you that when your credit was established and the limit on the card set, that the supporting bank was taking responsibility for the debts in much the same way as a co-signer would on any other loan. They will tell you that the credit card company may call you or even report you to a debt collector, but that they will not sue you for the amount. The problem with their theory is that if it were true, wouldn’t most people solve the problem of credit card debt by just not paying? Also, why would the banks even take the gamble on the cards with the huge risk out there that you won’t pay them?

Another way these companies will draw you in is by claiming that you can erase credit card debt through the use of hidden or obscure laws. They will tell you that they understand certain loopholes that protect you from having to pay the banks that you’re your credit. In the end, though, they are not willing to make any guarantees, so the process of credit card debt elimination starts to sound a little less credible.

However, if you get that far and still haven’t hung up on them, these credit card debt elimination companies will hit you with the big one: a program they want you to buy. Now, the program will supposedly be sure-fire, but they are also going to want their money up front (perhaps in case the sure fire debt eliminator isn’t so sure fire). So they will tell you that it doesn’t cost anything, except for what you are paying them for all of this top secret information they have.

So before you consider getting rid of your credit card debt through one of these debt elimination companies, take some time to educate yourself and to think about what they are telling you. For one, wouldn’t you think that most lawyers would be aware of these loop holes? If so, then you would probably save money by talking to your attorney first in a consultation. Also, would credit card companies be so prevalent if it was so easy to get out of what you owe on your cards? Probably not, since they are absolutely counting on you to make any money at all. The thing to remember is that if something sounds too good to be true, then there is a good chance that it is. That goes for debt elimination [http://www.dixiejournal.com/category/finance-news] as much as it does for any other scam you see out there. So, before you go forward with anything that is going to affect your finances, you may want to take some time to ask a lot of questions, research for yourself, and make sure you are completely comfortable with the entire process.

Eliminate Credit Card Debt Easily & Successfully

Posted by on May 4, 2011 No comments

Get your credit card debt paid off before it takes over your financial health.

The first step is to be true and honest with yourself about your debt and how much you have. If you are purchasing more than what you are making, then you need to stop. Do not add anymore to your debt. Cash needs to be used rather than credit cards. If you do not have the cash for your purchase then do not buy it.

The next step is to start paying off the credit cards. Start by paying off the card with the highest interest rate first. Each month pay the minimum on all the cards except that one.

Pay that one credit card’s minimum plus any additional amount that you can. When you finish paying off that highest interest rate card, then move on to the next highest interest rate.

Keep doing this until you have paid them all off one at a time. This will take some time and commitment but it can and will be done.

One other step you can take is lowering the interest rate on your current credit cards. Many times all it takes is a phone call to the creditor and the rate will be lowered just by asking.

You can also try to transfer balances from one card with a high interest rate to one with a lower or zero interest rate. This will save you money all around.

If you are honest with yourself, set a budget and make a commitment to paying off your credit card debt, it can easily and successfully be done.

Sebastian

Will Credit Card Debt Settlement Affect My Credit Score?

Posted by on April 22, 2011 No comments

Because settlement is not a magic solution and it happens in real life, it will definitely have an impact on your credit score. This should come at no surprise to people who have been around the financial world for a while. Every single little thing that you do can come back to haunt you on the credit report. The more comforting side of this is that every good thing you do will also show up on the credit report and it will contribute to a good credit score. Settlement is one of those things that many people don’t understand completely, so they often offer opinions on it that are simply erroneous.

Settlement does bring your score down some

Know that going into the process, settlement will bring your credit score down initially. When it is reported that you have settled, this will not escape the view of the credit reporting agencies. But how much of an impact will it have? That is the more important question and it is what people are asking more and more. Settlement will not have a huge effect because it also brings about some positive changes on your report that will counter the negatives. These changes have to do with total debt amounts and the ratios of available credit to credit used.

When you make settlement your chosen path, things even out to a point, because settling knocks off a monster amount from your credit report. Some people use the process to get rid of $10,000 or more in debt, so you can see how that might be a positive for your score. The creditors who use your report to gauge their risk will much prefer a person who has less debt, but has that little smudge on their credit report, over someone who still owes tens of thousands of dollars all over the place.

Credit card debt settlement provides a measure of finality, as well. It is something that will bring you to the point where you are able to move on and start all over. Starting new might seem like a good thing to so many people who have run into bad luck in their financial life. With no more collection calls and only good decisions in the future, rebuilding your credit score and starting out on a new path is a reasonable expectation. This will bring good tidings and top notch scores, as well.

The Real Secret to Credit Card Debt Settlement

Posted by on April 10, 2011 No comments

Being in debt, an already stressful condition to be in, can bring along with it a horde of other unpleasant side effects, like a phone ringing off the hook because of calls from collection agencies and a mailbox exploding with letters of credit card settlement notices. Even though these things can be miserable to experience, there is good news. These events mean that the creditor you are dealing with is showing that he is willing to accept less than the total amount of debt that you owe and is agreeable to allowing you to use a debt solution plan in order to get rid of your credit card debt.

Agree to a Single Part Payment

Some creditors will allow you to make a single part payment, but this must be done within a short amount of time. Creditors want to make as much as possible, so if they think that you may eventually not be able to pay them at all, it would be in their best interests to get as much as possible returned to them, even if it’s not the total that you owe. Fortunately, this could work well for you too.

Creditors typically opt for a single part payment only if your account has been delinquent for ninety days or more. If not, and your account has been active recently, they will not be open to this debt solution.

You should, though, understand as much as possible about credit card debt settlement to put yourself at an advantage before the process starts.

To begin with, remember that not all credit card debt solution plans make your entire balance go away. In some unique cases, the unpaid balance of your credit card debt may be sent to a separate collection agency to handle.

Also, keep in mind that unpaid debt whose amount is six hundred dollars or more is considered by the IRS to be income earned and is thus taxable. This amount appears on the 1099 tax form.

Lastly, be aware that even going with a credit card debt solution will affect your credit badly in some way. Credit reports that show an outstanding balance to be “charged off” are bad news for you. “Settled for a lesser amount,” however, is less damaging to your credit since you chose to do something about paying back what you owed.

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