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Tue, 13 May 2008 09:13:00 -0700

The distressing truth here in the United States is that the majority of our nation is wedged in debt one way or another. As of 2006 the regular American family was trapped over $10,000 in credit card debt alone. The reason this situation is so depressing is because the vast majority of consumers only make monthly minimum payments. The nuptials between monthly minimum payments and soaring interest rates is where debtors run into problems. This unforgiving financial position is known by many as being stuck on the credit treadmill. When stuck in this spot someone can expect to be there for 30 years maybe more and sacrifice tens of thousands in interest before it's all said and done. I would like to briefly review in the remainder of this writing on just a few of the benefits are to being free from the burden of debt.

The savings of funds will be to a great degree simpler when not on the debt treadmill. For an individual looking to consider themselves financially free saving is essential. And finding yourself trapped with large sums of secured debt and only paying the minimum amount owed each 30 days will catastrophically hamper your savings potential. So the first chief advantage of becoming free of debt is the ability to save additional money.

The next benefit of becoming free of the debt trap is interrelated to saving, and that is investing for future gain. Investing your money would otherwise be enormously hard to accomplish if you must pay your debt obligations each month. When investing your income you will make a return, however paying on debt you are almost always guaranteed to be losing money. So as you can see having monthly debt requirements is make investing never happen.

Last but not least a extraordinary advantage to not having debt requirements is having extra money each month. What would your life be like if you kept the cash you spent on debt requirements each month? What would you do enjoy a better social life or just simply have additional spending cash.

As you can notice there are numerous financially healthy benefits to living a debt free existence. For U.S. citizens trying to become debt free there are options that can be explored. One extremely well-liked procedure for debt relief is debt negotiation. The best debt negotiation companies can help lower someone's debt upto 50% of their current balance. One more alternative to running out of the debt jungle is credit counseling. Whatever route you travel please do something if you find yourself trapped in debt. Visualize what life would be like if you could do the things I talked about above, saving money, taking your money and investing it, or simply having more discretionary income.

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Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:05:53 -0700

Is Debt Settlement The Correct Choice For You?

For starters first I would like to identify which individuals are in need of debt settlement. One illustration of those in need are the people who pay only the minimum. Another reasonable applicant for debt settlement is the debtor who has already past due. The next consumer who is equipped for debt settlement is the homeowner with income who is sincerely thinking about filing for bankruptcy.

At this point you must be thinking what is debt settlement? Debt settlement is a process of saving enough capital to make a one time payment that is negotiated to a lower amount than the actual balance. The next issue that arises for many individuals at this point is, how in the world do you negotiate to a lower amount?. Well the answer is rather simple, you must fall behind on the bills owed. The reason being no credit card issuer in the world is willing to negotiate on a debt that is current. Which is understandable why would the creditors negotiate for less if they think you can continue to make their monthly minimum payments for the next two to three decades, earning them enormous amounts on high interest. So one must realize that in order to achieve a reasonable settlement you need to go past due on payments.

One might ponder how can I gain from doing the debt settlement process? The largest advantage of settling your debts is that of saving money. Which in turn connects with the next benefit, that of saving time. With the debt settlement process a debtor can foresee themselves saving around 50% of what is owed, and become free of the shackles of debt within three years.

When going to look for a establishment to hire for debt settlement one should do their research first. To make sure the establishment you will be working with is ethical and can get the job done correctly. A great place to start is too read up on the BBB, many good standing companies will be registered with the BBB. One More very smart measure to take when seeking out a company to do debt settlement is reviewing the Attorney General. Most states' Attorney General will give information on a company that is being investigated. Obviously any company being investigated would not be a good company to sign up with.

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Mon, 31 Mar 2008 09:57:15 -0700

Recent Bankruptcy Legislation doesn't Help Debtors!
by: Steve Bis
http://www.uscaonline.com/

Most debtors who have a hefty amount of debt that they are struggling to finish paying off, at one time or another have thought about the option of filing for bankruptcy. In this brief writing I am going to give you three very serious reasons why you should circumvent bankruptcy at all costs, if possible. A lot of people do not comprehend the devastating negative impact a bankruptcy can have.

1. A bankruptcy proceeding has an extremely negative effect on your credit and becomes a permanent public record!

Bankruptcy is one of the worst derogatory remarks that you could have put on your credit report. Thus making any additional credit you try to get extremely hard, and if you do obtain credit it usually comes accompanied with a seriously inflated interest rate. Plus, it will stay on your credit report for up to 7-10 years. Even once it is removed from your credit report it remains a public record for the rest of your life. So when you try for new credit at any point in the future, when they ask whether you have ever filed bankruptcy legally you must answer yes.

2. Brand New Bankruptcy laws in 2005!

In 2005, our government passed a law which forces anyone filing for a Chapter 7, which wipes the table clean of all your debts much more difficult. Basically if you have an income and a home than most likely you will go into a review to determine if you should do consumer credit counseling first for at the minimum 6 months. According to NFCC close to 80% of people who try can not abide by the strict rules set from the creditors to complete the program thus tossing them back into the bankruptcy proceeding. That's when Chapter 13 comes into the situation which is a form of personal bankruptcy in which the court will decide how much you will pay back each collector you list based on your financial situation.

3. The court will control your income with a Chapter 13 Proceeding!

Before the new law was approved in 2005 many debtors that would be able to file for Chapter 7, were now made to go Chapter 13 instead. Chapter 13 requires that you review with the judge and make available all of your finances. You must show all sources of income and assets. The court will review your expenses compared to your income and then figure out how much money you will have to pay each month. You have pretty much no say in this process. If you have liquid assets such as a house they can force you to sell them, within State law, to pay off your debt. There are timed financial hearings each year and if your money making abilities change you must tell this to the judge, this could increase the amount you pay back. If you have two family vehicles you might have to sell one to help pay off your debts. They basically tell you what you can do with your money. If you have the premium cable you will be forced to cut down to basic cable, if you eat steaks every day you will need to cut back to cheeseburgers. This can be a very painful and embarrassing proceeding.

These are all very unattractive things that debtors must be made aware of before speaking with a bankruptcy lawyer. A lot of lawyers will down play these bad facts of claiming bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is there for a reason and for some debtors they have no other method accessible to them and must file for a bankruptcy proceeding, however the majority debtors go into bankruptcy when it could have been avoided. A very attractive substitute option to bankruptcy is credit card debt settlement. With debt settlement in the majority of cases you will save tremendously more money than you could have with a Chapter 13, besides you will get out of debt much quicker, and not suffer the multitude of negative consequences of filing for bankruptcy.

Steve Bis is a debt analyst with the US Consumer Advocate, which practices debt relief.