Posts Tagged ‘Credit Checks’
Debt Relief
Debt Consolidation:
Your goal in debt consolidation is to lower your overall costs. To accomplish this, you must get the lowest interest rate possible. You also need a plan to pay off your debts in 3 to 5 years. It will not be instant. Remember, you did not get here overnight so plan on a realistic time frame.
If you have a good credit rating, you may qualify for a low interest credit card as discussed in the credit card debt section. When shopping for a new credit card, be careful not to apply to more than a couple because they will do a credit check and if too many credit checks shows up on your credit report, it will hurt your overall score. Once you get the new care, transfer balances from the high interest card to the new low interest card. Destroy the old cards so you won’t be tempted to use them. Close the accounts as soon as they are completely paid off.
A home equity loan is another way to consolidate credit. If you won your home and have some equity, you may qualify for a home equity loan. Talk with your mortgage company as there are several types of home equity loans. They may offer a loan for a fixed amount for a fixed time at a fixed rate. Meaning that you know how much your interest will be as well as how much your monthly payments will be and exactly how many months before the loan is paid. The second type is a home equity line of credit. Your mortgage company will determine the equity in your home and set up a pre-approved credit limit. Interest is usually variable and you can get money at any time if you have not reached the credit limit of the line of credit.
These loans can offer good rates and most of the time the interest is tax deductible if you itemize. Many mortgage companies offer low or no closing cost for this type loan. One word of caution, if you can’t repay the loan your home is at risk of foreclosure, so proceed with caution.
Talk to mortgage companies about refinancing your home and take the difference in the amount of the new loan and the amount you owe on your home and pay off your debts. Be sure your new monthly mortgage payment is within the budget you prepared at the beginning of this report. Make sure you understand the total cost of refinancing. When you pay off these debts, remember not to start creating more debt. The objective is to get out of debt. Strict discipline is necessary here.
If you feel uncomfortable in making decisions as to what approach to take, consider credit counseling. Credit counseling agencies help you get out of debt. They work with your creditors to come up with a plan and you make one payment each month to the agency and they actually pay your bills. Don’t be late paying the agency. Most require a automatic debit from your checking account each month, so make sure the money is in the account. These plans usually are for a period of 3 to 6 years. Be careful and check out the agency you work with. If they are not reputable and pay your bills late, or not at all, it is still your responsibility to pay the debt.
The focus on my business is teaching people to follow their dream by becoming debt free and remaining debt free. We should not be a slave to our bills or debt. Most programs deal with managing your money, paying the bills but remaining in debt, broke and unhappy. I have discovered some cool videos that is filled with FREE information that will train you to take £300 and turn it into £30,000 in 6 months. That alone could get you out of debt, but there is even more video training available that could put you in financial position to retire in 12 months. I know that sounds too good to be true, however it is possible. You must believe you can do it and work at it until it happens.
Get all 3 parts of this report by visiting my website.
Do You Have Too Much Debt?
How do you know if you have too much debt? Credit is a great way to get what you need when you need it, but many Americans are finding that credit can get out of control rather quickly.
Just look at the amount of advertising for refinancing, consolidation, credit counseling and credit cards.
You may not have any problem paying on your debts right now, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t have a credit problem.
Betty and John didn’t see it coming either. They lived as they liked, had several credit cards, two auto loans and a small mortgage that they were prepaying. They were able to make extra payments on all of their debts and thought they were doing well. If there was something they wanted, they just charged it and paid for it later.
Then Betty found that she was no longer able to work. A total surprise, they didn’t realize how much the second income really mattered until the monthly bills started coming in. Suddenly, they found themselves unable to pay their bills.
John and Betty were better off than most. They budgeted and used their savings to pay off all of their revolving debt in one year. Today, they are on the road to being completely debt free in less than a decade.
There are many Americans out there that are in worse shape before they realize that there is a problem. How do you know if you are facing a financial disaster due to debt?
If you answer no to one or more of these questions, you may be at the beginning of a potential debt disaster.
Do you have a savings account?
Do you make more than the minimum payments on your credit cards?
Do you reserve your credit cards for emergencies only?
Do you have plenty of income to pay off your debts?
Do you only have one credit card?
Does your credit card balance go down drastically every month?
If you answer yes to one or more of the following questions, you may already be in serious financial trouble.
Are you at or near your credit limit on your credit cards?
Do you write checks with the hope that they won’t clear until you can deposit something?
Do you know how much you owe towards all of your debt?
Do you pay bills with your credit cards?
Have you been declined when trying to make a purchase?
Have you been denied credit?
Do you bounce checks?
Do you avoid calls from collectors?
Do you lie to those around you about your spending or debt situation?
The first step to changing your financial situation is to realize that you have a problem with spending and/or debt. Once you know what the problem is, you can make a plan to fix it. Changing your financial situation isn’t easy. It takes persistence, patience and a lot of hard work and decisions.
There are companies out there that promise to fix everything for you quickly and easily, but they can’t. The only way to change your financial future is to turn your finances around and work at it. If you are motivated, committed and honest with yourself, it doesn’t matter how deep you are in debt, you will find your way out.
