Thursday, January 19th, 2012 at
5:23 pm
3 Ways to Consolidate Your Debt
If you want to consolidate your credit card accounts and other debt and you have a history of bad credit, there are presently many options online to help you do so. Here are three of the services that you can find online.
First is to obtain an equity loan. This loan is ideal for debt consolidation for as long as you have a home that you can use
the equity or the maximum appraised value to obtain the money that you need.
Second is to apply for an unsecured loan. This type of loan does not require any collateral and does not have plenty of requirements. However, because you have a bad credit, expect this loan to have higher interest fees and not so flexible payment terms.
Third is not to take any form of loan but look for companies offering their financial
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services to assist you in managing your debt without the need to use a loan. Oftentimes, these companies will request for a fee to help you negotiate to your creditors to lower your interest rates and monthly dues. This technique is usually effective in bringing down or completely getting rid of your debt.
There are still many other ways to find a service that will help you manage your debt. Whatever choice you make, just make sure that the company you entrust your credit with will truly help you. There are many companies that will just go after your money and scam you to spend more. These companies will put you in a much worse debt situation so you have to be very careful. Thus, look for legit companies before making your choice.
Debt consolidation is a good solution that can help you manage your bills to be able to pay them on time. You just need to carefully look for the right service and choose the best deal before finalizing your decision to consolidate your debt.
Thursday, January 19th, 2012 at
5:04 pm
Financial Options Aside from Taking a Payday Loan
When you are just beginning with your life as an adult, you have to make the right decisions financially. A lot of people embark in the real world without having the right financial knowledge. Because of this, they end up making the wrong decisions that have a long term effect on their life. Some of these include being trapped in debt caused by taking out certain loans that becomes too difficult to pay. To avoid suffering in the long run because of your poor financial choices, you have to know your financial options that will not put your financial status in danger. Here are some of them.
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1.) Credit Union Loans- this is a small, short term loan offered by your local credit union if you are a member.
2.) Small Bank Loans- this is a small loan offered by traditional bank lenders.
3.) Cash advance from employers- some employers provide this loan. You can ask them to give you your paycheck in advance instead of seeking for a payday loan that will charge you with high fees and interest.
4.) Borrow from friends and family- Do not allow your pride to stop you from borrowing money from close family and friends. But, when you do obtain assistance from them, know your limits and set your expectations straight so that you will not end up destroying your relationships.
5.) Start an emergency fund- You must start building up your savings to reach an amount that can pay up for your six months worth of expenses. This is what you call your emergency fund. If you do not have this now, start it. This will help you avoid taking out any type of loan in the future.
6.) Use your credit card for emergency only- If you have a credit card to turn to, you do not need to obtain a loan just to pay for emergency expenses. Use your card for emergencies or only if you know that you can repay the balance of your card as soon as possible. Doing this will not only help you prevent payday loans, it will also allow you to maintain a good credit rating that is truly beneficial for your financial future.
Monday, December 19th, 2011 at
11:14 pm
Reasons why Debt Negotiation is Difficult
With the bad economy, limited income opportunities and evaporated real estate equity, many people are having difficulties paying off their debts. An increasing number of families are forced to make a difficult choice of either paying their mortgage or their other debts like credit cards and medical bills. Because of this, it comes as no surprise that many people are holding on to the slightest hope that they can get out of their debt situation. The truth is having unsecured debts like credit cards will be very difficult to pay. Some still try debt negotiation, but oftentimes, it doesn’t work for everyone. Here are the reasons why:
1.) Unrealistic expectations. Most people seeking to pay their debts have the expectation that they can easily do it because they heard that their neighbors did. They easily assume that seeking the help of a lawyer will be the solution that they are looking for. But, most people who want to negotiate debts do not have the capacity to deal with the settlements that may be offered to them.
2.) Money is required to bargain settlements. Being unemployed and not having enough money to pay regular bills like rent, mortgage, transportation, food and other day to day necessities will make it very challenging to negotiate other bills because there is no remaining cash left to use for the negotiation.
3.) Unsecured debts. Usually, most people with serious debt challenges have plenty of unsecured debts. They do not only have one but more. This won’t work with debt negotiation. Enough cash flow is needed to make a negotiation or settle them. Otherwise, the process is bound to fail. It is not helpful to negotiate several debts and only end up having the debt creditors bring them to court.
4.) Debt negotiation takes time. Even with the representation of a lawyer, it is not impossible to get sued and have a court judgment in the middle of the negotiation. This happens all the time.
There are some successful people with debt negotiation. They are able to settle debts with creditors and pay their debts on time in a certain number of months and years. However, their credit rating is affected and the debts will not reflect as “fully paid.” Instead, it will only show as “settled.” Yet, this does not free them completely. More money is required and any forgiven debt may be taxed as income.
Monday, December 19th, 2011 at
10:26 pm
Irrelevant Factors in a Credit Score Computation
There are many wrong notions about credit scores. There are people who believe that their area of residence and race affect their score. There are those who believe that several other factors do influence the credit rating that they obtain. This article presents what does not matter in the computation of your credit score.
About one in every six individuals think that their race and gender affect the credit rating that they are given, according to a study conducted by Visa that was released during the previous month. The results showed that many people have mistaken thoughts about their credit scores. Moreover, the results reveal that 42 percent of Americans do not check their scores regularly. But, these thoughts must be corrected and is worthy of understanding because the credit score literally affects your ability to obtain a car or home loan as well as a job, low interest credit card and even a life insurance.
Stacy Johnson, founder of Money Talks News shares some of the biggest misconceptions about credit scores. In the survey that Visa conducted, here are some of the top factors and the number of people who believe that these affect their credit ratings.
1.) Employment History 59.9%
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2.) Debt Interest Rates 58.7%
3.) Age 38.6%
4.) Assets or Savings 53.1%
5.) Nationality 21.6%
6.) Place of Residency 25.3%
7.) English Speaking Abilities or Fluency 21.6%
8.) Race 15.7%
9.) Gender 17.2%
However, none of these factors really have even the slightest impact on your credit score. It would be unethical more so illegal for Fair Isaac, the country’s most popular company that computes for your FICO or credit score, to account for these factors in their calculation.
This however does not mean that work history and income does not matter. In fact they do. They matter more to a landlord and a loan officer. But when it comes to your credit score computation, they are considered irrelevant.
Tuesday, December 6th, 2011 at
9:28 pm
Increasing Student Loan Debt Pose a Huge Burden
College tuition fees are costly and difficult to afford. Because of this, students have an additional burden to carry aside from the classes they take and finishing school.
The amount of debt from student loans is now greater than the total debt from credit cards in the entire United States. This means that before even graduating, students have already created a hole and a burden in their finances.
According to the associate professorof Ohio University, Deborah Thorne, the problem is partly due to the bad economic condition.
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She said that when the economy goes down, more people go back to college hoping that they will have better work opportunities. Consequently, an increasing number of people go back to school. However, more than this, the bigger aspect that contributes to the problem is the unaffordable tuition rates that are not proportionate to the income.
She said that around 30 years ago, tuition costs were less than $200 every quarter. During that time, the parents of college students can work over the summer and can already afford to pay for their child’s education.
However, the situation is different today since there are students who need to go back to their homes since they cannot find work. Huge student loans are also causing other setbacks as well.
Thorne says that high debts in student loans can affect people during their entire lifetime. It will lead them to postpone their plan to have a family or purchase a home. They will also be forced to decrease the amount they contribute to their retirement account. Some may not even be able to send their kids to college since they were not able to save enough money to settle their personal student loan.
Thorne added that the average debt in student loans is about $25,000.
