A Debt Reduction Program That Can Work For You

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Do you find yourself going to bed at night thinking about your debt? Do you find thinking and dealing with your finances overwhelming? Is your relationship suffering because of money? If you answered yes to any of these questions you may be in need of a good debt reduction program. Debt reduction programs will not eliminate your debt overnight, but this one will help you know where you stand, help you find out how you got there and get you back on your feet and on the road to debt freedom.

The first step in the process is to list your bills. When people start experiencing financial difficulties, they often go into a state of denial. They a lot of times will stop opening their bills. People experiencing financial problems, ususally do not know exactly how much they owe and if they do, they are in most cases hiding it from their spouses’.
Begin by listing all of your bills. Include the balances, minimum payments and interest rates.

The next step is to find out where your money is going. A lot of us do not realize how much money we spend each day on small things and don’t even give it a second thought. Do you buy bottled water, soda out of a machine, cigarettes? How much do you spend on eating out each week? In order to pay your bills down, you are going to have to find extra money. This can be accomplished by tracking your spending for a month. If you can find an extra $10 a day, this will give you an extra $3600 a year for paying your bills. You will probably find this step very enlightening.

The third step is to optimize the use of your credit cards. Call your credit card companies and ask them to lower your interest rate. You can also transfer your balances to a credit card with a lower interest rate. There are several credit card companies that will offer an introductory interest for a year and sometimes longer. This can save you hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars. Try to pay two times the minimum payment, if possible. If you are carrying more than $5000 in credit card debt, this will drop your repayment period from thirty years to less than 3 years.

The step that will get you out of debt the fastest is the final one and that is to stop spending. Do not carry your credit cards with you and start paying cash. Decline credit line increases. Make only one visit to the ATM weekly and most importantly, make your credit card payments on time. Late fees and overlimit fees can become very expensive and they will also lead to your interest rates being increased.

Do not put off getting started on the path to debt freedom. The sooner you change the way you handle your finances, the sooner you will be able to sleep better at night and see the stress in your life decrease.

Debt Settlement–How it Can Help You

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Debt Settlement–How it Can Help You

Debt settlement can be a way out for people that have considerable debt ($10,000 or more). If your payments are several months past due or your debt has been written off, debt settlement is an excellent alternative to bankruptcy. Debt settlement, sometimes referred to as debt negotiation, can have you out of debt in less than two years.

Here are a few facts about debt settlement:

Debt settlement is not a debt consolidation loan or a Consumer Credit Counseling Service.

Debt settlement reduces your current outsanding balances, sometimes by more than 50%.

Debt professionals negotiate payoff amounts with your creditors and you no longer have contact with your creditors.

Most debt can be settled in less than 36 months, with average debt taking 18-24 months with a lower payoff than any other debt alternative.

With the change in the bankruptcy laws, debt settlement is your best bet for quick debt relief and there will be no bankruptcy listed on your credit report.

4 Signs That You Might be in Denial About Your Debt

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Someone once told me the word denial stands for “don’t even know I am lying.” I see it as refusing to acknowledge the existence of a problem. Money is a major area of denial in today’s society. We do a lot of spending while we are looking the other direction.

In most cases of overspending, the money is being spent to a fill a void in that person’s life. Money gives people the feeling of power and control. Spending money helps people temporarily forget about things that they are trying not to think about. In most cases, incurring debt brings a whole new set of problems.

The following are some signs that you may have a problem with financial denial. The statements were taken from the article, “In Denial Over Money? Yes You Are�, by MP Dunleavey.

• You encounter the same financial pitfalls on a regular basis and you can’t figure out why (always short of cash, repeated late payments, etc.).
• You find yourself spending money when you had made the decision not to (charging another pair of shoes, eating out when you had made the decision to cook at home, etc.).
• You find yourself stuck and you can’t figure out how to get ahead (unable to reduce your debt, or the minute you do, you’re right back in it again).
• You find yourself using stupid rationales to explain your compulsive spending.

If you see yourself in some of the behaviors listed above, you may want to think about getting some debt counseling. These counselors are experiences at helping people with debt problems. They can develop a debt management plan that will help you get your debts paid off and they will also teach the principles of staying debt free.