editor, Author at National Debt Relief

How to Pay Off $15,000 Credit Card Debt in a Year

April 20, 2013 by editor

Unless you’re a professional athlete, cardiac surgeon or industrial magnate, you know that $15,000 is nothing to sneeze at. It takes the average American at least three months to earn $15,000. If you owe this much money to your credit card lenders or other unsecured creditors, you’re probably sick of feeling trapped in a cycle of debt. Fortunately, you can plan your escape without radically altering your lifestyle.

If $15,000 feels like a lot of money to you, the idea of paying off such a debt burden in a single year might seem downright impossible. After all, you’re probably barely making ends meet as it is. Siphoning hundreds or thousands of dollars from your household budget into a debt repayment plan each month might seem crazy.

Before you begin your year-long quest to pay off $15,000 in credit card debt, take a moment to assess your situation. In order to make your plan feasible, you’ll need to do several things at once. As with any prudent investment, these things will require a sizable commitment of time, energy and discipline.

For starters, you’ll need to trim the fat out of your household budget. You can accomplish this in any number of ways. The path of least resistance may involve reducing the amount that you spend at the grocery store and controlling your utility costs.

To do the former, conduct your next weekly shopping trip as usual. When you get home, take a look at your receipt and determine exactly how much you’ve spent on brand-name items that have perfectly adequate generic analogs. For instance, you may have spent an extra dollar per box of brand-name pasta. If you bought four boxes for the week, you would have unnecessarily deprived yourself of $4.

On subsequent shopping trips, take care to purchase generic pastas, breads, sauces and other staples. Chances are good that you’ll notice the savings right away.

When it comes to reducing your utility costs, common sense rules the day. Be sure to unplug unnecessary appliances that aren’t being used and turn off the lights in empty rooms. To save water, take shorter, cooler showers and run larger laundry loads. Depending upon the size of your family, you could save several hundred dollars per year by streamlining your home’s utility outlays.

You may also need to find a steady stream of extra income. Even if you have a decent full-time job, it may not be enough to pay the bills. Consider taking on a part-time job in the weekends or evenings. Even an unglamorous position at a local department store or call center might net you an extra $150 or $200 per week. Over time, this inflow could provide a sizable boost to your bottom line.

In addition to your new-found second-job income, you may need to find some novel ways to earn extra spending money. If you live near a college or university, sign up for a few research studies each month. These procedures typically aren’t embarrassing or invasive and may require just an hour or two of your time. In return, you could receive $30, $50 or even $100 per study.

Alternatively, consider tackling some freelance or consulting work in your area of expertise. As long as this work doesn’t conflict with your current job, this could turn into a permanent side gig.

Finally, you’ll need to come up with a sensible method of paying down your existing credit card debts. This strategy could take many different forms. Many borrowers choose to follow Dave Ramsey’s “debt snowball” strategy and pay down their smallest bills before tackling their larger obligations. Others prefer to pay off their high-interest debts as soon as possible. If it’s employed correctly, this strategy could help you avoid paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars in interest charges.

With a little bit of faith and a lot of hard work, you can pay off $15,000 in credit card debt in a single year. Using the strategies outlined above as well as your own well-placed ideas, you could turn the next 365 days into one of the most consequential years of your life.

How to Save for Retirement When Drowning in Debt

April 17, 2013 by editor

Retirement feels far away for millions of Americans bruised by the ongoing economic slowdown. A recent survey by the Consumer Federation of America finds just one in three American workers willing to bet that they’ll be able to retire by age 65. Over 30 percent believe that they’ll be working well past age 70.

These sorry statistics are the product of several disturbing developments. According to the U.S. Federal Reserve, the average household’s net worth has dropped by nearly 50 percent since the housing crisis began in earnest. Wage growth has stagnated as well. These days, the average American has less wealth than at any point in the past 20 years.

Even as household net worth has plummeted and wage growth has failed to keep pace with rising rates of inflation, consumer debt has remained stubbornly elevated. Since 2007, the average household’s debt burden has decreased by less than 1 percent.

Worse, any apparent decline in total household debt can be attributed to falling home values. As the average size of a new mortgage continues to shrink, the new homeowners who use them may appear to be wealthier.

This decline in mortgage debt is more than offset by a steady uptick in consumer debt. Unsecured debts like medical bills, personal lines of credit and high-interest credit cards represent a growing slice of the average consumer’s portfolio of debts.

All of these trends point to an unsettling new economic reality in which low wages and expensive debts feature prominently. If you’re wondering how to save for retirement while you’re drowning in debt, you’re not alone.

Your financial planner may have some answers. According to the Consumer Federation, just one in three Americans has a forward-looking retirement plan under active management. Most Americans simply entrust their surplus funds to savings accounts with microscopic effective interest rates. Financial experts agree that savings accounts are not suitable investment vehicles.

The Consumer Federation’s survey shows the benefits of careful financial planning. More than half of the consumers who actively manage their retirement portfolios express confidence in their abilities to make sound financial decisions.

Most “planners” also feel confident that they’ll be able to retire with sufficient funds to maintain their living standards. By comparison, most “non-planners” express doubts that their retirement plans are on track.

Before you can begin building a nest egg for your retirement, you may need to boost your bottom line with part-time or freelance work. If you’re drowning in debt and can’t possibly afford to make meaningful contributions to your savings or retirement accounts, some extra income may be just what you need.

If you already work 40 hours a week, consider picking up a low-impact extra job on the weekends or in the evenings. You could start a side business as a consultant in your current area of expertise or branch out and learn a new skill.

If you’re computer-savvy, you may even be able to make some money as an online freelancer. As the Internet continues to expand, demand for competent programmers, designers and content generators shows no sign of letting up.

You don’t have to be the only member of your household who takes on a part-time job. Encourage your teenage kids to enter the world of employment with a job at your local supermarket or warehouse store. They’ll learn the value of a dollar and may never have to ask you for spending money again.

You should use your supplementary income streams to stay current on your outstanding unsecured obligations. After all, you can’t begin saving for retirement without first paying down your current debts.

If you’re still struggling to make ends meet after talking to a financial planner and taking on extra work, talk to one of our certified debt relief counselors. Fill out the online form or call today to learn more about the debt settlement process and start planning your escape from debt.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: drowning in debt, save for retirement

Debt Relief – Compare Your Credit Card Debt Solutions

November 25, 2012 by editor

It’s no secret that debt settlement offers benefits that other methods of managed debt relief can’t match. The process is regarded as a viable alternative to bankruptcy precisely because it can produce superior results in a relatively short period of time.

Debt settlement is also more cost effective than other forms of debt relief. For instance, debt consolidation loans can take years to repay and may actually end up working against the folks that use them. Over the years, these credit facilities have driven thousands of borrowers into bankruptcy.

Since they’re liable to carry high rates of interest and demand long terms of repayment, some debt consolidation loans actually cost more than the credit card balances and medical bills that they seek to replace. This comes as an unpleasant surprise to the borrowers who thought that these loans would help them pay down their debts.

Most debt consolidation loans also come with strict repayment plans that allow little room for error. Even a single missed payment on one of these loans might cause ruinous rate spikes that negate the loan’s promised savings. In short, debt consolidation loans clearly come with too many strings attached and fail to produce optimal results on a consistent basis.

The primary alternative to this sub-standard form of debt relief is debt settlement. While the benefits of this process might be obvious to anyone who approaches the subject with an unbiased mind, debt settlement is shrouded in uncertainty and cheapened by rumors. If you know that you need professional help to put your debts to bed and aren’t convinced that a debt consolidation loan is right for you, read on for some key bits of debt settlement advice.

First, debt settlement works differently than other forms of debt relief. Unlike credit counseling and debt consolidation loans, a debt settlement workout can reduce your debts’ principal balances. This reduces your overall debt burden far more quickly than interest-rate reductions.

It produces more savings in the long run as well. Most debt settlement programs need just 24 to 48 months to work. While you’ll take an immediate hit to your credit upon signing up for your program, you’ll be able to start rebuilding your financial identity as soon as you’ve paid off your debts in full. That’s a powerful incentive to start saving and stop using credit.

To get the most out of debt settlement, you need to understand how it works. It’s a hands-on process that involves lots of back-and-forth negotiations between your debt settlement provider and your creditors. The trained negotiators at your debt settlement provider make settlement offers to each of your lenders and apply targeted pressure to increase the likelihood of acceptance.

Unfortunately, your creditors aren’t required to agree to settle your debts. While most eventually will acquiesce to your debt settlement provider’s demands, there may be some suspenseful moments along the way. You’ll want to do everything in your power to increase the chances that your creditors will accept your provider’s offers.

You can start by treating each lending organization respectfully in the months leading up to your debt settlement case. Even when it becomes clear that you’ll be unable to pay off your debts, continue to make a good-faith effort to pay. This shows your creditors that you care about your reputation and your integrity.

Likewise, don’t let any organization to which you owe money goad you into losing your temper. This can be especially difficult with collection agencies: These outfits thrive on disrupting the good humor of borrowers everywhere and seem willing to do anything to get their targets riled. If you take the bait, you could seriously complicate your case and reduce the likelihood of its reaching a successful settlement.

Your kindness should have its limits. For instance, you must remember to stop making payments on your debts once you sign up for your debt settlement program. Although your creditors would love to keep receiving monthly checks from you during the negotiation process, you’re under no legal obligation to continue to make your payments once the process begins.

In fact, you should use the negotiation period to save funds for your final settlement payment. To minimize confusion and ensure that you’re on the same page with your creditors and debt settlement provider, make sure to get this settlement agreement in writing.

When it’s used correctly, the debt settlement process offers tremendous promise. To learn more about reducing your debts without declaring bankruptcy, call today or fill out the online contact form.

Filed Under: Debt Relief Tagged With: debt relief

How To See The Light Out Of The Dark Hole Of Debt

November 1, 2012 by editor

Consumers get into debt for all kinds of reasons. For instance, many folks took out mortgages worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase homes during the housing bubble of the mid-2000s. When home prices collapsed just a few years later, they found themselves saddled with home loans worth more than their actual houses.

Unable to sell their properties at a profit, they stopped making their monthly mortgage payments and walked away from their homes. In the process, they devastated their credit ratings and wiped away much of their net worth. Many were forced to do the unthinkable and declare personal bankruptcy.

Others find themselves in debt through no fault of their own. Millions of Americans either can’t afford health insurance or choose not to purchase it, leaving themselves and their families vulnerable to ruinous medical bills stemming from unforeseen illnesses or injuries. Costs for lengthy private hospital stays may run into six-figure territory, forcing the afflicted to take out risky personal loans or open unsecured revolving credit lines once they’ve burned through their savings.

No matter why you find yourself in debt, it can be a frightening experience. You may feel powerless in the face of growing balances, spiking interest rates and increasingly insistent telephone calls from your creditors.

Pulling yourself out of your dark debt hole won’t be easy. In fact, it may not be possible without the help of a debt relief professional. Nevertheless, you owe it to yourself to try to solve your debt problems on your own before calling in the cavalry.

Even if you’d like to think that you’re fairly smart with your money, there’s probably a surprising amount of fat remaining in your household budget. Begin your one-person fight against debt with a frank look at your day-to-day expenses.

Start with your grocery bill. Each week, you make dozens of important decisions at the supermarket. Taken individually, these choices may not add up to much: The difference between a $2.29 box of name-brand pasta and its $1.69 generic counterpart may seem trivial at best.

Then again, the decision to purchase a slightly more expensive product becomes more noticeable when it’s repeated 20 or 30 times in a single shopping trip. You’d probably jump on the chance to shave $10 or $15 from your weekly grocery bill simply by changing your brand loyalties.

Changing your diet by degrees can have an equally dramatic impact. Unless you’re lucky enough to live in a warm climate in which it’s possible to procure low-cost fresh produce at any time, you’ll save hundreds of dollars per year simply by eschewing fresh fruits and vegetables in favor of flash-frozen varieties. Studies suggest that frozen beans, peas and other types of produce retain the bulk of their native nutrients when they’re packaged shortly after being harvested.

Pair these incremental budget cuts with an aggressive debt-repayment plan. In the beginning, devote the bulk of your financial energy to paying down those cards and loans that carry high rates of interest. Work your way down the interest-rate ladder until you’re left only with low-interest or secured credit facilities.

Depending upon the severity of your debts, this disciplined approach to debt relief may be enough to pull you out of your predicament. It may also fail.

If it does, don’t blame yourself or your creditors. Instead, seek the help of a trusted debt settlement specialist to learn more about a process that may significantly reduce the size of your outstanding obligations.

Unlike credit counselors or debt consolidation lenders, debt settlement firms negotiate with your creditors to cut your actual debt balances. The debt settlement process does more than trim a few percentage points from the exorbitant interest rates on your debts: It encourages your creditors to accept a reasonable settlement and saves you thousands of dollars in the process.

If you’re interested in learning more about reducing and potentially eliminating your debts in just a few short years, call a debt settlement specialist toll-free or fill out the no-obligation inquiry form today.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: credit cards, debt, mortgage

How to Make Money Online To Pay Off Debt

October 10, 2012 by editor

Macroeconomic trends that affect people and places thousands of miles beyond the United States’ shores may seem remote and irrelevant. Unfortunately, the recent global slowdown has triggered a financial domino effect that continues to plague ordinary American households. With worldwide demand for American products and services chugging along at depressed levels, many firms see no need to take on new workers or bump their existing employees’ pay. As a result, recent job and wage growth figures have been anemic.

The situation is even worse than it may appear. In the years leading up to the financial crisis, credit was easy to come by. Banks practically gave away low-interest mortgages and no-questions-asked refinancing loans. Meanwhile, credit card companies extended high-limit cards with low teaser rates to nearly anyone who could fill out a credit application.

The recent financial crisis abruptly ended the era of easy credit. Overnight, the interest rates on outstanding loans and other credit facilities shot up. While banks continued to lend, they did so far more cautiously than in the past. In historical terms, it’s now fairly expensive to borrow money in the United States.

If you’re in the same boat as millions of Americans who have been forced to supplement stagnating or declining wages with expensive personal loans or credit cards, you may be searching for answers to your growing debt problem. One thing is for certain: You can’t continue to make timely payments on your high-interest debts with just one meager stream of income.

Fortunately, there are plenty of ways in which you can supplement your current income. The Internet has created countless at-home money-making opportunities, some of which are shockingly effective. After a few months of online hustling, you may begin to think seriously of “going career.”

Legitimate online money-making opportunities fall into one of several broad categories. Affiliate marketing is perhaps the best-known of these. While established affiliate marketers come in all shapes and sizes, your nascent operation should exhibit a few key characteristics.

First, you’ll need to market products from established vendors. Trawl the web for well-established companies that sell easy-to-understand products or services and sign up for their affiliate marketing program. You’ll have to place banner ads, logo graphics or other promotional materials on your own site as a condition of the program.

Secondly, you’ll need to generate content for your new client. If your blog already promoted products and services similar to those offered by your client, continue producing quality content to promote them. If not, you must deftly weave plugs and pitches into your existing content stream to avoid alienating your current audience.

Most affiliate programs offer cash rewards or product discounts for bringing new affiliates under their umbrellas. These can be significant: Many companies that use affiliates offer referring parties upfront bonuses plus kickbacks of 12 percent or more on any sales generated by newly-referred affiliates. Keep this in mind as you build your reputation as an online marketer. If you’re successful, you can earn life-changing amounts of money in this business.

A lesser-known but related trend involves promoting people and ideas rather than products. Sites like ReferEarns and WiseStep have created dense social media webs that allow qualified individuals to promote their friends, colleagues and peers to prospective employers. Unlike better-known professional networks like LinkedIn, these sites has successfully monetized the employee-referral process.

In a sense, ReferEarns and WiseStep function as headhunting services for entry-level and non-executive workers. The best part is that they pay well: If your referral is hired, your payoff will range from $30 or $40 up to several thousand dollars. The size of your payoff is determined by the depth of the employer’s pockets and the referred employee’s level of specialization.

You may even be able to earn a decent second income by engaging your visual creativity online. The stock-photography industry is booming like never before, and dramatic recent improvements to digital-camera technology have melted away the space’s barriers to entry. If you have a knack for framing images, grab your camera and start snapping photographs of nature scenes, still-life close-ups, and small clusters of people. Spend a few hours trolling the web sites of reputable companies to get a sense of which types of stock photos sell. When you’re ready, bring your wares to popular stock photography sites like iStockPhoto and ShutterStock.

While your second income won’t erase your debt problems overnight, it may make a significant difference. Consider pairing one or more of the above online money-making ideas with a program of debt consolidation. Your new streams of income may enable you to escape your obligations through debt settlement in less time and with less effort than you ever thought possible. What’s more, you can continue to build your online business presence even after you’ve shaken your debts for good.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: freelance, make money online

What To Do When Your Credit Card Interest Rate Goes From 7% To 19% And You Can No Longer Afford The Monthly Payment

October 1, 2012 by editor

The past few years have been tough for many lenders. In fact, many weaker banks, investment firms and credit card companies have gone belly-up since the financial crisis of the late 2000s.

Those that remain are looking for any excuse to pad their bottom lines. Unfortunately, that often means that they’ll raise their clients’ rates at the slightest provocation. Whether your rate shot up because you missed a payment, exceeded your spending limit, or suffered an unrelated setback to your credit score, you may be stuck paying higher interest rates for years to come.

If your interest rate increased because of a sudden decline in your credit rating, you won’t be able to repair the damage overnight. However, there are a few steps that you can take to offset your poor credit score.

First, avoid missing any more payments. This is easier said than done: When you’re spending nearly all of your after-tax income on household necessities or debt payments, you’re bound to face some tough choices at some point. However, it’s absolutely essential. When they calculate your credit score, all three major credit reporting agencies give tremendous weight to your ability to make your payments on time.

Next, begin de-leveraging. In the long run, carrying excessive credit balances may hurt your credit score even more than missing an occasional payment. If a sudden drop in income or life-changing event does force you to use more credit, don’t charge all of your new expenses on the same card. Spiking balances are a major red flag for credit reporting agencies. Instead, apply for an entirely new line of credit. At the same time, start devoting more of your disposable income to paying down your existing balances.

Even as you take these prudent steps to improve your credit score, you’ll need to begin reducing the size of your debts. If you’re like most borrowers, you simply can’t afford to pay 19 percent interest on credit card balances of any size.

First, stop using the offending credit card and switch to cash or debit. If you must continue to charge certain purchases, use a less-expensive card. Don’t make any new credit requests unless they’re absolutely necessary.

Next, do everything that you can to pay down your balance in short order. To avoid delinquency, you must continue to make the minimum payments on your other cards. The rest of your income after accounting for taxes and household necessities should go towards taking care of your problem card. Depending on the size of your balance and the card issuer’s willingness to refrain from further rate increases, you may begin making headway in short order.

Unfortunately, you may not be able to climb this debt mountain on your own. If you feel like you’ve tried everything and still find yourself paying an exorbitant interest rate on a balance that won’t seem to shrink, don’t panic. Debt settlement may be the answer to your problems.

Debt settlement is relatively affordable and highly effective. Unlike bankruptcy, which may affect everything from your credit score to your job prospects for a decade or more, debt settlement enables you to begin rebuilding your credit as soon as you’ve wrapped up the process.

Unlike some other debt relief options, it’s also brutally effective at reducing the actual amount that you owe your creditors. With debt settlement, you’ll be able to say goodbye to your 19 percent interest rate as well as a significant portion of your card’s outstanding balance.

Call or fill out the no-obligation form today to learn more about debt settlement and start looking forward to a debt-free future.

Filed Under: Credit Card Debt Tagged With: credit card, interest rate, monthly payment

Can you still buy a home if you have bad credit?

August 27, 2012 by editor

Even if you have filed for bankruptcy, have bad credit or have had a foreclosure doesn’t mean that you can’t buy house. In fact, the answer to the question can you buy a house if you have bad credit is yes. But you will have to pay a higher interest rate than the person who has good credit. frustrated with credit card debt

How long to wait after a foreclosure or bankruptcy?

If you file for bankruptcy it will stay in your credit file for ten years. However, the experts say that if you want a better conforming rate, you need to wait at least four years after your bankruptcy before applying for a mortgage. The FHA guidelines are such that you could get a mortgage in just two years after you’ve had a foreclosure, meaning you might be able to get by with a down payment of just 3.5%.

Hard-money lenders

However, the lenders called “hard money” lenders might make you a loan after just six months since you filed for bankruptcy or went through foreclosure. But they will require 20% to 30% down. You will have a very high interest rate and terms that are not as favorable. Many of these will be adjustable rate mortgages and will include prepayment penalties. Also, you can no longer get a 100% financed loan through a subprime lender.

Improving your ability to get a conforming loan

First, get a major credit card. Despite what you might think, it is fairly easy to get one even after you’ve had a bankruptcy. There are three reasons for this: First, a bankruptcy gives you the ability to start fresh. Second, the lender will know you now don’t have any debt. And the third, the lender will know you won’t be able to file for bankruptcy for another seven years.

You need be able to show continual employment on your job for one to two years, earn a steady wage or salary, have at least a 10% down payment and continue to pay your bills on time.

How your interest rate is affected by your FICO score

If you have a low FICO score, you will have to pay a higher interest rate. For example, if your FICO score were 600-640 you would have to pay 1.625% over the prevailing rate (as of this writing). On the other hand, if your score were 540 to 599 you’d have to pay 3.425% over the prevailing rate. This means a borrower with good credit would be paying 5.875% but you would be paying 9.3%.

If you have a really bad FICO score

People with FICO scores under 500 would have to pay 6.25% over the prevailing rate. So while borrowers with good credit would be paying 5.875%, you would be paying 12%. This means if you could get an amortized $200,000 loan at 12%, you would be paying a staggering $2,057 a month.

Seller financing

If you’re not happy with the terms that you’ve been offered by a regular lender, you might try to find a house that you could buy where the seller would provide the financing. This is called a land contract and can be a good alternative. For example, a land contract normally does not require that you qualify. Plus they usually come with a lower interest rate, a smaller down payment and can be closed quicker.

Fix your credit first

If you haven’t gone through a bankruptcy but have serious problems with debt, there is a way to avoid having to pay 5% or 6% over the prevailing rate for a mortgage. It’s called debt settlement and this is where we can help. Our experienced debt counselors can negotiate with your creditors to get your debt reduced as much as possible and to help you develop a credit plan that can get you completely debt-free and 24 to 48 months. Call us today or fill out the form on the right side of this page to get a free quote.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Can you still buy a home if you have bad credit?, FICO scores and credit, reduce debt

Consolidation Loans With Bad Credit Score?

July 17, 2012 by editor

There are several ways to handle credit card debt problems when you have bad credit. One of the things that consumers can take comfort in is the fact that many people with credit card debt problems do have bad credit. That is why there are options available for people who have credit score issues. But are there consolidation loans available with a bad or poor credit score?

While there may be many options available, there is only one option that makes sense. People choose debt consolidation loans as their preferred way of handling overwhelming credit card debt. But there are several reasons why you should avoid consolidation loans and go with the better alternative of debt negotiation.

- The Problem Remains Intact

Debt consolidation takes your credit card balances and moves them from several accounts into one account. The step that is missing is the step that addresses the actual balance that you owe.

With a consolidation program, you do not start reducing your debt until you start paying on it. With debt settlement, the first step is negotiating payoff amounts on your credit accounts and lowering your debt to a fraction of what you owe.

- Credit Check Required

A debt consolidation loan is a standard loan that requires a credit check before you can get approved. If your credit is bad, then you may not get approved for a consolidation loan at all, or you would get approved for a loan with a very high interest rate (25 – 35% APR). Neither one of those outcomes works to your benefit.

Anyone can use a debt settlement program as there are no credit score requirements. A debt negotiation program is the ideal solution for people who have bad credit because your credit score has nothing to do with the way in which your plan is structured. The debt settlement professional is only interested in your credit card accounts and how they can be reduced.

- Costs

Any debt relief program is going to cost you money. But with debt consolidation, you will wind up paying loan processing fees, high monthly service charges and you will continue to pay interest on your credit card debt. If you add up the charges you pay on a consolidation loan, you may start to see that you are paying more to have the loan than you did to carry the separate credit card accounts.

When you find the right debt settlement company, you will only pay for the service when it is successful. Aside from a low monthly service charge, your monthly payment is based on your payoff balances. There is no extra interest added on to your balances, and you do not have to pay any loan processing fees.

- Time

One of the reasons why people with bad credit scores prefer debt consolidation loans is because debt consolidation companies spread out the loan payments over several years, up to 10 years and help lower the monthly payments. The problem with that plan is that you wind up paying interest charges on up to 10 years of consolidation loan payments.

A debt settlement program administered by an experienced and professional organization will take anywhere from 24 to 48 months to complete. If you apply some of the money you are saving every month by having your debt lowered, then you can pay that balance of on an even more accelerated schedule.

- The Full Process

A debt consolidation process consists of grouping your debt together, determining how much money you will need to borrow to pay that combined balance down and then shopping around to get you a loan. The debt consolidation organizations leave the possibility of the debt returning open by doing nothing to address the core debt and spending issues.

A debt settlement organization is a professional debt relief company that is experienced in helping people to get their debt under control and develop good spending habits. It is not enough to just move debt around and then add more interest to that debt by putting in into a loan. That does not help your process. With debt settlement, you get a full debt relief process that lowers your debt and teaches you how to avoid it in the future.

When people have bad credit scores, they sometimes feel forced to take bad deals with consolidation loans that have high interest rates and use high monthly fees. The truth is that debt settlement is a much better option for people with bad credit and a debt settlement professional can help you to reduce your debt in as little as 24 to 48 months.

We have experienced financial professionals on staff who are waiting to help you reduce your debt through the debt settlement process. Let our debt relief experts work with you to develop your comprehensive debt profile and develop a plan that will work. Pick up the phone and call us today to get started on the right debt relief program for you. Let us explain why consolidation loans with a bad credit score are not a smart way to pay down your unsecured debts.

Filed Under: Debt Consolidation Tagged With: bad credit score, consolidation loans

How To Pay Off A Personal Line Of Credit

July 14, 2012 by editor

If you are struggling to manage your personal expenses and debts, it is necessary to look into potential solutions that might make payments a little easier to handle. We offer solutions that will help your situation, particularly when your goal is paying off that personal line of credit so that you have one less high interest debt to worry about.

Options to Pay Off a Line of Credit:

Understanding the options available to pay off the personal line of credit is the first part of making a plan to get out of debt. While a few key options are available, three main methods of getting the situation under control are the most common solutions. The three options include debt management budgeting plans, consolidation services and settlement of the account.

The best method for any individual situation is variable, but in most cases,consolidation or settlement offer the best methods of getting the personal line of credit under control without serious financial consequences. When you are struggling with your expenses and debt payments, a budgeting plan is usually not enough to get back under control.

Budgeting Problem:

The problem with budgeting is that it will not change the interest rate or the principal payment. As a result, you will continue struggling to try keeping up with the unaltered payments. This is not an effective way to pay off the line of credit because it will take several years to get the situation under control.

Consolidation Solution:

Consolidation via negotiation services is one of the two best solutions to pay off the personal line of credit. Consolidating through negotiation means working out a reduced interest rate with the creditor. Some services strive to help you get a reduced interest fee on your personal line of credit so that the monthly payments are dramatically reduced.

Since monthly payments on a personal line of credit include interest charges, added fees and a small portion of the money owed, keeping the original payment plan will ultimately result in paying more than necessary for the debt. The interest and fees are the first priority of the lender, so the final payment is primarily the added charges on the account.

By working out a reduced interest rate , you will find that the total payment is ultimately a little easier to handle and more of the payment is going to the borrowed amount rather than extra charges. That will make it easier to pay off a personal line of credit at a faster rate.

Settlement Option:

Settlement is the second service that you could try. Like consolidation, settlement works through professional negotiation. The key difference is that our team of professionals strive to reduce the total amount owed to the lender and thus pay off the full amount of the loan within a short period of time.

Settlement negotiations start with determining how much it is possible to pay on your line of credit. We start with looking at the financial situation and determining how much is possible to save within the typical time period negotiations will require. Over that time, the savings add up to make the full payment of the settlement agreement.

After determining the maximum payment that is possible, negotiations with the creditor begin. Negotiators will make an offer for the settlement that is below the estimated maximum and wait for a response from the lender.

After the lender makes a counter offer, the bargaining begins. Your personal line of credit can take 24 to 48 months to completely settle and the funds set aside for the settlement are then used to pay the entire agreed upon amount.

When settlements on the account are complete, the debt is considered paid in full and it no longer requires paying a monthly amount. This will ultimately result in helping solve your financial difficulties so that more funds are available for needed expenses.

Paying off the Line of Credit:

The final part of any negotiation service is actually paying the settled debt. In a settlement situation, the payment is made in full after the negotiations are completed. The funds are saved up through a payment plan according to the amount it is possible to put aside each month so that the final payment is possible.

In consolidation, a monthly payment is made based on the reduced interest charged. This will help the situation and ultimately leads to faster repayment, though it will take a couple of years in most cases to manage the full amount.

Repaying a line of credit is not always easy due to the high interest rates. Fortunately, you are not alone and we can help get your situation under control. Call us today for a free debt analysis or simply fill out the form to find out more information. We are ready to help you pay off your unsecured debts.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: line of credit, paying off debt

How Debt Settlement Companies Work

July 14, 2012 by editor

Many people are wondering how debt settlement companies work now that their unique and innovative approach to credit card management has become more popular. The initial details may sound shocking and aggressive to most inquirers. However, after you think about the situation, you should realize that creditors are getting much more than they often do out of other debtors. They also profit from the large sums paid out by debt negotiators. For the borrowers in trouble, debt settlement is a refreshingly straight forward and honest way out of debt that can actually leave them in better financial positions than any of the other debt relief options.

How to Contact a Debt Negotiator

To find out more about this process, contact a debt settlement company such as NationalDebtRelief.com. We can explain how debtors progress through the system and also help you distinguish this approach to debt relief from methods involving consolidation loans and declarations of bankruptcy. One of the most important pieces of information which we can share with you regards which loans qualify for debt negotiation.

How to Qualify

Not every debt can qualify for this special method of debt relief. The best candidate for debt negotiation is an unsecured debt. An unsecured debt might be a medical bill, credit card debt or several other types of personal loans that are not backed with collateral or threat of legal action. Such debts are known as secured debts. They include car loans, home loans, child support bills and others.

What to Do First

If the debt representative with whom you speak agrees that your debts qualify for this program, then you can get started almost right away. Debt settlement begins with a rather aggressive action. Borrowers who are behind on their bills are some of the best candidates for settling debts. It is most important that debtors refrain from communicating with these lenders. At this point, the debt negotiators will handle all communications with creditors. They are trained to deal with the harassment and tactics of collectors.

Passing the Years

It typically takes about two to four years for people to negotiate all of their debts away. During this period, their credit suffers significantly. However, this is also true of bankruptcy, another popular form of debt relief. However, bankruptcy can ruin your credit for as many as ten years. When your two to four years of debt negotiation are over, your credit rating will probably rise very quickly.

While you are unable to pay your debts, you are not completely off the hook for payments. Every month, you will make a single payment to your debt negotiator. Part of this payment will serve as a fee for the services that your debt advisers provide. Most of the money will end up in a special account that continues to grow through the years. Once the account reaches large enough size, your debt representatives will offer chunks of cash to your creditors.

These amounts are often much less than what you owe overall. Creditors will still be tempted to accept them in exchange for closing your account because they prefer taking these lump sums to harassing you for years and years. Once a creditor accepts this money, your account is closed and the remainder of your debt is essentially forgiven.

The End of the Road

Once your last creditor accepts a payment, you are officially debt-free. Your credit rating may soar very suddenly. Some people have reported receiving new credit card offers as soon as they finished closing their last credit account.

Many debt negotiators feel some responsibility at this point and try to counsel their clients about taking on debt again. It is important to change your spending habits if you want to stay permanently out of debt. The best way to celebrate your rescue from debt is to avoid ever incurring debts again.

Get Started Now

If you understand how debt settlement companies work and think that you may qualify for this program, then contact us right now. There is no point in waiting any longer. You only accrue more debt and make more payments if you put this decision off.

Filed Under: Debt Relief Tagged With: creditor, debt settlement, negotiate