Entries from June 2011 ↓

Pay off your Debts in the Fastest Time Possible

With debt at an all-time high, many North American households are turning to bankruptcy as a last resort. The economic downturn has made many homeowners feel helpless and powerless. As a result, low interest credit cards have been maxed out, mortgage payments have been missed and paycheques are never enough. Thankfully, with a bit of planning and self-discipline, you can be on the road to debt-free living, without having to claim bankruptcy or even get involved with a debt consolidation company. Here are some practical tips.

Amber Tate is a professional blogger who writes for a myriad of publications in the insurance industry. She has recently renewed her life insurance policy, which has saved over $200 a year.

  • Keep track of your expenses for one month: For one full month, write down every single penny you spend; this includes coffee on the way to work, gas, gift cards, the coffee fund at the office; don’t miss a single penny.
  • List what’s coming in and what’s going out: At the end of the month, list all of your expenses, and all of your income. Include inheritance money, dividend income, trusts, etc. You should have two columns: Income and Expenses.
  • Start with your most expensive debt first (i.e. highest interest rate): Usually, your credit card will have the highest interest rate, and therefore is the most expensive. To start, pay the minimum payments on all your debt, and put an extra $25 or $50 on your most expensive debt. Keep doing that until that credit card is paid off.
  • Then go to the next one: Let’s say you were putting $50 extra plush $20 minimum payment on that first card; now that it is paid off, take that $70 and put it towards the next highest debt; and so on and so forth, until you have eliminated all of your credit card debt. The key is to not use the cards while you are paying them off.
  • Never spend more than you make: This is what gets people into so much debt. Do you really need those new shoes or that new necklace? Learn to save for what you want and pay cash.
  • Keep credit cards for emergencies only: When your car breaks down, or you need a new furnace, you can use your credit card. When you use them for every day purchases, you will enter into a never-ending cycle of debt and despair.
  • Build up your savings: Get into the habit of saving at least 10% of your income and putting into a savings account. This way, you’ll have a nest egg that you can choose to leave in the bank, use for your child’s education, or invest for a greater return.

Getting out of debt is not easy, and it will not happen overnight. You may even find that you need to increase your income by getting a second job, at least on a short-term basis in order to decrease your debt load. You will also need some self-discipline; leave your credit cards at home when you go shopping, and make a list when you go to the grocery store. You can save even more money by clipping coupons and buying in bulk.

Get relief from debt

Amber Tate is a professional blogger who writes for a myriad of publications in the insurance industry. She has recently renewed her life insurance policy, which has saved her over $200 a year. Compare quotes today at Kanetix.ca!

Cell Phones: Bad Credit Service Contracts

Many folks are looking for cell phone contracts for people with bad credit due to the current economic climate that many individuals are finding themselves in. This is particularly the case for folks who may be able to pay their bills on time, but simply have had one or two credit snags that have prevented them from getting more traditionally based cell phone contract service. The good news is that there are number of cell phones bad credit options for these types of folks that extend not only beyond getting prepaid cell phone plans, but also ways that they can get a traditional contract while also improving their overall credit score.

The first and clearly the most obvious way that people get around the whole bad credit issue when it comes to cell phones is to simply go to prepaid cell phone plan which can come in number of different forms. One of the most common forms of people often get these particular plans in is a prepaid or pay as you go cell phone plan. You can also opt to go with a flat rate monthly plan which is commonly offered by many of the major national carriers in addition to the local regional service providers.

Another option for those of you who have a bit more discretionary money to spend, can choose to not only provide or purchase a whole new cell phone at retail price, but then you can also opt to pay a fairly substantial down payment, depending on the service provider you’re dealing with. With this down payment will effectively do is allow you to gain access to their network and sign up for a traditional cell phone contract. Essentially the money that you’re putting down acts as a type of collateral against your poor credit, or lack of any real credit at all. The benefit to doing this particular route, as not only do you get the phone and network that you want, but you will also get a chance to improve your overall credit score by making your payments on time every month.

How to Get Bad Credit Car Financing

Finding your local car dealership that is willing to work with your poor or bad credit may seem like a very arduous task if you don’t know where to look. By knowing the business perspective of bad credit financing you should be able to avoid a bad deal that will put you even further in debt. I was able to find several credible car dealerships in my area searching for car dealerships in Oklahoma City that was willing to speak with me in person about my credit history. By talking with someone face-to-face you have a much better opportunity of getting financing from a reputable car dealer. By knowing what to expect from a dealership offering poor or bad credit car loans you should be able to manage much of the debt risk involved with financing a brand new or used car.

The most important thing to realize regarding no credit check necessary car loans from car dealerships is the true nature of their business strategy. These large dealers make most of their money through individuals with bad credit desperate for a car. By offering customers guaranteed approved financing these dealers can charge extremely high interest rates on the loans. For this reason much of the money made by these dealers come from the high interest rate loans that they offer to customers who most likely will take a long time to pay the loan off. The extended period of time it takes to pay off a high interest rate loan the longer the car dealerships makes a ton of money. Believe it or not, there are honest car dealerships in your area. I was able to find one in my area searching Ford dealerships in Oklahoma City. By understanding the real business strategy of car dealerships offering no credit check or bad credit car financing you can better protect yourself against questionable deals in your area. Make sure you ask the right questions to a sales representative in your area and really get to know where their true interests are.

Questions to Consider Before Claiming Bankruptcy

Many people are having problems with money in today’s society. After all, financial education is not always taught to everyone. But there is no need to be ashamed of that fact. If you aren’t sure about how to handle your finances, there will always be help out there for you.

If you having problems with debt and want to escape by claiming bankruptcy, take a good hard look at your financial status before you make a decision. Filing for bankruptcy is a major decision, lasting from seven to ten years on your credit report, it really is only to be used as a last resort, and not as a get out of jail free card. Seek advice from financial advisors and bankruptcy consultants and see if you can change your situation by changing your financial habits instead. Ask your consultant about the necessary paperwork and any questions you may have. Here are some examples of questions to ask your bankruptcy consultant.

Are you a U.S. citizen and have you ever claimed bankruptcy before? How much debt and assets do you have? Which debts are unsecured and which are secured? Are you a homeowner? What is the value of your property and how much is your mortgage balance? Do you have any savings or inheritance? Did you know that alimony, student loans, and child support can’t be removed under a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy claim? Did you know you must complete a credit conseling course before you can be applicable for bankruptcy? Did you realize that claiming bankruptcy is not an overnight process and it can be very expensive in the long run?

These questions and more are simply guidelines that you need to be aware of before you start your first bankruptcy consultation. Be prepared to take notes and learn more about the process before you choose to continue. Since there is a vast amount of information, it is easy to forget, so don’t forget to review the information periodically.

How to Obtain 0% Interest Card

In these harsh economic times, a number of people are opting out of financing options that have interest factored into the total cost. Instead, a number of these people have realized the benefits of obtaining 0% interest credit cards as these cards come without any limiting interest. However, the repayments must still be repaid within the set period for if one delays past this period, the interest rates skyrocket to standard APR rates which may see one pay quite a huge sum of money that they need not to if they had paid they repayments on time.

0% interest credit cards allow one to borrow money for spending without having to worry about interest accruing on the borrowed sum. However while there is no interest, the repayments may vary and some institutions may place higher or lower repayment periods on their cards. Thus, it is crucial that one understands the proper way on how to obtain 0% interest credit cards.

The first step is searching for the best deal on the 0% interest credit cards. This is easily done on the internet. One can easily find a number of deals from different free online quotes given by the different lending companies. Once one has found their ideal credit card, the next step on how to obtain the 0% interest credit card is rather simple.

One only needs to fill in an application form requesting for the card. This application can be filled at the local branch of the bank. More conveniently, a number of lending institutions offer one the opportunity to fill in the form directly from the comfort of their very own home through a secure online form. Common information that will be required include personal information including one’s name, date of birth, place of residence, etc. Moreover employment information as well as bank account information will be required. One also has to have a valid social security number so as to obtain the 0% interest credit card.

Drastic Debt Reduction During the Global Crisis

Times are difficult, perhaps even more so than in the recent past. The worldwide economy still hasn’t fully recovered from the global crisis that hit a few years back. Its repercussions are still being felt today by pretty much everyone, and it can be said that there aren’t really any exceptions to it. From the biggest businesses to the most ordinary consumer who earns a minimum wage, the effect is still quite evident. People are experiencing worse financial trouble than usual, and that is definitely a sure sign of the times we are in. They are forced into economic situations that are not considered to be ideal. This is true when people are constantly borrowing money, getting themselves into debt, and are spending more than what they are actually earning.

Being in debt is certainly not ideal for anyone. You would want to be out of it as soon as possible and get going with your finances and try to improve it. Reducing debt, or totally eliminating it, is not that easy though. It takes a lot of planning, careful planning, in order to do it properly. So if you want
extreme debt reduction, you have to take some pretty extreme steps as well. You could the following:

Eliminate unnecessary spending – This could practically be considered a no-brainer, since this is one of the first things that has to be done top eliminate any and all debt. If you are planning on buying yourself or your wife a new car, better it is to just scrap that plan immediately.

Get another job – This is a very good option for you to increase your revenue and therefore have the means to pay off any existing debt, and also avoid getting into any more debts in the future.

These are just two of the many ways to extremely reduce debt, and should I add that both are also safe ways of doing so. You do not need to take additional risks by getting into questionable schemes like the John Cummuta scam in order to get away from debt.