Today, one of the most common types of loan that is taken out is a debt consolidation loan.  This term is used to describe any type of loan that is taken out to pay down debt.  Most commonly, the debt that is paid off is that of credit card debt, vehicle debt, personal loans or medical bills.  Many times, these debts have accumulated to the point where the individual can no longer handle them and they need to find a way to pay them off.  A debt consolidation loan can do this by providing the funds needed to pay off the debt and to wipe the record clean.  Then, the debt consolidation loan needs to be paid off.

Generally speaking, the debt consolidation loan will offer many benefits over other debts.  For example, most are low interest debt consolidation loans. They are much less costing than that of a credit card.  They are also available in various amounts. Monthly payments can be minimized by using this type of loan as well.  Instead of paying off ten lenders each month with the minimum payment only to have them tack this back on in interest the next month, they can offer one lower payment monthly.

Various Types

There are two main differences about the debt consolidation loan options that are available.

Debt consolidation loan that is backed by a home: Here, the equity that a home has can back up and secure the loan.  This is the best way to go for home owners because they can get a low interest debt consolation loan here.  The equity in a home can be easily to tap into as well.

Debt consolidation loan for Non home Owner: In this case, the debt consolidation loan will need to be backed by other assets.  Sometimes a lender will provide a personal loan to an individual that has okay credit as well.  Another option is to work with a lender that provides for a credit card that offers a large enough balance to pay off the other credit cards with.  Make sure that the new one offers a lower interest rate, though.

Based on the needs of the individual, there are plenty of options to considering the debt consolidation loan.  Most lenders have no problem with funding a secured debt consolidation loan (such as those that are backed by a home.)  Most will provide for a debt consolidation loan for non home owners as well.  Determine your needs in paying offer you bills and consider this as a solution that works for most.

When it’s time to start fresh, you generally know. No matter where you are in the world, you know finance. You have to deal with it everyday. If you have more than enough, you can feel that without even looking at your checkbook. You’re not hearing debt collectors and when you go to the grocery store everything is where it needs to be. However, when you know that you’re struggling…when you can’t run from it anymore…when the collectors are calling you…that’s when it’s time to really think about moving in a different direction.

If you have found yourself facing debt, don’t worry — it’s really not entirely your fault. It can be easy to slip into debt as so many people feel that it’s really not a bad thing to end up taking on debt if it means that they get to lead a different lifestyle. Who doesn’t want to go into the fancy shops and spend good money like the people they see on TV?

Yes, we are definitely changing as a country, when we look at what celebrities do as a way to build our own lives. It’s something that hasn’t just starting in the last five years or so, but it’s been part of the national crisis for a while. Simply put — we stopped saving. We stopped believing in a rainy day — we just assumed that credit would always be there for us. Now the tide is turning and we’re thinking that maybe — just maybe — we might need to start over.

The good thing about credit is that there’s really no time like the present to think about how you want to make yours better. There’s no time like the present to really want to step out of your comfort zone and really see the world the way you need to in order to make better decisions.

If you’re thinking about how you can use your money better, then you’re really moving in the right direction.

What you need to look at first are the cues that you listen to. Do you aspire to be like a celebrity? Is that why you might be spending a lot more than what you earn? If you find that you’re putting more and more of even your regular life purchases on credit cards, it’s definitely time to start thinking about cutting back.

Do you hang out with people that cannot seem to ever have any money in their pockets? This is something that can really make it hard for you to enjoy your own finances because you’re always being bombarded with mixed messages. You might want to save money, but if you’re the only person doing it, then it can be hard.

Yes, people will make excuses around you, but that doesn’t mean that you have to make excuses too. It’s quite possible to be able to do your own thing and not have to worry about the way other people live their lives. However, when they are your best mates, it can feel like if you do something different things might become different between you. How does one friend handle seeing the other friend get so wildly successful in a short amount of time?

Some people can deal with seeing you come out of debt and really shine, while others will not be able to deal with it. What you’re going to need to do is figure out what your goals are, and then do everything in your power to achieve them. That’s really the only way that you can really achieve much of anything, when you think about it. If you always focus only on the way things are to please your friends, you will never please yourself.

It’s also time to dust off that credit file and make sure that you really know what’s in it. Getting a good monitoring service helps too, because you’ll be able t look at your credit score. But the information that makes up your file — good and bad — is really what matters here. If there’s something wrong, you will need to make sure that the information is corrected as soon as possible.

This is the right time to start getting your financial house in order. Recordkeeping is really the key here. If you don’t keep receipts for your taxes or just for your own accounting needs, now is the time to do that. If you don’t believe in tracking everything that you do, now is the time to do that.

If you want to reach all of your financial goals, you might have to do things differently in ways that you didn’t plan at first. That’s just part of living life.

As you walk into the New Year, know that you truly do have the power to achieve just about anything and everything that you set your mind to. Life isn’t about having every last plan fall into place — it’s just being able to enjoy the life that you live, in any way that you really want to live it. Why not start today?

If there’s one thing that we’re all fighting, it would have to be debt. Debt is one of those things that can really sneak up on you, so if you are just now realizing that you’re carrying a lot more debt than what you really should, you aren’t alone. A lot of people are finding that they’re really carrying around just too much debt than what they can afford. Of course, it’s easy to blame the media and even the lenders for having such lax standards in the past in terms of approving people for credit. But it’s important to take some responsibility for your spending. If you don’t take responsibility and you find that everyone else is at fault but you, you will just go back to the same patterns that you engaged in to get into debt in the first place.

Of course, we can’t be terribly judgmental about this, because everyone’s debt story is going to be unique. If you have a lot of medical bills, then that really can’t be helped. On the other hand, if you know that you’re primarily in debt because you were out shopping and buying things that you don’t need, that’s an incredibly different story. Debt is definitely relative, but all debt can really hurt you if it spirals out of control.

There’s no reason to feel like it’s impossible to get out of debt, and if your debts are keeping you up at night, you really just need a good plan to change things for yourself. No one is going to care about your debts more than you do. But staying awake at night is only going to hurt your body and make it harder to heal in the long run. So if you really can avoid getting worked up, you’re going to be in a much better position than someone that isn’t thinking along these lines.

It’s important to realize that you don’t have to keep debt to yourself. Many of us are still operating in the world where we think that we can’t talk to our friends and family about debt. If you’re in a family structure right now and you’ve been hiding your debts from your kids or your spouse, it’s time to come clean. Even though they might be a little upset since you’ve hidden it to yourself so long, there’s no reason for them to just gang up on you. They can understand that debt is a pretty serious topic, and it means that you have to take it seriously. So you may actually have a lot more support for your situation than you think.

But it doesn’t stop there. Your local council in the UK can actually help you clear up some debts, as they have experience with this type of thing. UK finance is a little different than US finance, but the basic points are the same.

We also have plenty of debt repair and financial help tips on this site, so make sure that you look around!

Your credit report and score are essentially your financial report card that tells banks and lenders whether you have a good history of paying back debt or a bad one. When you use credit or owe money to anyone, from your cell phone provider to your utility company, the payments you make or don’t make can be recorded on this credit report.

Keeping tabs on your credit report and score is very important and, as you are trying to get out of debt, it can help you to see how your actions are affecting your score.

Why Check Your Report and Your Score

Checking your credit information and score periodically is very important for a number of reasons. For one thing, it helps you to know how you are doing. A good score (above 720 or so) will allow you to qualify for loans without a problem and will allow you to benefit from the most favorable loan terms including low interest rates.

A bad score (in the mid-600s or lower), on the other hand, can preclude you from getting credit or can make borrowing much more expensive. When you check your score, you’ll get an idea of whether you are doing OK or whether you need to make changes and improvements.

Checking your score and report also allows you to make sure there is no incorrect information. Sometimes, inaccurate details or even information about other people’s credit gets put on to your report accidentally. When you check your report, you can have something removed by contacting the credit bureaus.

Finally, checking your score can be a good way to protect against identity theft. If you begin to see accounts on your credit report that you did not open or if you notice that your score is going down for no reason, you can take action and find out why.

You may uncover that someone else has been using your identity to get credit and the sooner you find this out, the better your chances are of stopping the behavior and resolving the problem quickly.

Improving Your Score

Since one of the important reasons to check your credit score is in order to improve it if necessary, it is also important to understand how to improve your score. Your credit score is determined by several factors.

These include your payment history, the amount of your available credit that you have actually utilized, the mix of different cards you have, the average age of all of your credit accounts and the number of inquiries that go on your report (inquiries go on your report when you apply for new credit and the creditor checks your score).

Many of the steps taken to improve your credit, therefore, take a great deal of time. For instance, if you have some late payments, you’ll need to wait for those to drop off and you will need to maintain a great payment history and not miss any more payments if you want your score to go up.

It can take up to seven years for a late payment to be removed from your credit report, so this can be a lengthy process. However, one of the easiest ways to improve your score is to pay down your debt and reduce your credit utilization.

When you are paying off debt, it is especially important to monitor your credit report to track your progress and to see the impact your debt repayment is having on your score. Seeing your score go up will help you stay motivated.

Debt elimination can come when you work with a well chosen debt consolidation North Carolina company. There are many lenders that make it possible for virtually anyone to get a loan to pay down the debt that they owe. More and more people are in trouble with debt. Many of them have no idea how they got this far behind and wonder (and worry) about if and how they will get out. Most do not realize the abilities that they have right in front of them to make it out. If you need debt elimination, debt consolidation companies in North Carolina are there to help you to get out.

“If you need debt elimination, debt consolidation North Carolina companies are there to help you to get out”

How To Get Started

Working with a debt consolidation company can allow you to get the best possible progress on your debts. Here are some things that you should do now to find the best outcome for your debts.

•    Compare your options in debt elimination. If you consider bankruptcy, for example, you are throwing away ten years of good interest rates, decent abilities and marking your record for all to see. This is a hard road to come back from with no easy way to get out. But, if you consider a debt consolidation North Carolina company instead, you may be able to save yourself money.

•    Debt elimination can come through the help of a skilled lender. You need one that will offer you low interest rates, easy terms that fit with your needs in a monthly payment and you need to know that they are licensed and bonded to provide for you. Then, you can begin your quests.

•    Consider what will happen if you do not use a debt consolation loan. You will likely end up paying your minimum balance for over the next 20 years. In that time you will have spent ten times as much in interest charges as in what you actually purchased for it. During this time, your credit is gone as well.

As you can see, there are many reasons to consider a debt consolidation North Carolina company. The bottom line is that you have options to save yourself money. You can get out of debt through the right debt elimination means. You can even save money by using these debt consolidation programs. Best of all, you can stop worrying about where the money is going to come from and have everyone paid off. Debt consolidation North Carolina companies can help you to get these loans and get settled once and for all.

The media is there to give us the information we need to make better decisions, but no one can ignore the obvious bias. Fear tends to sell better than positivity, so there’s always a reporter that feels they need to scare you into doing one thing or another. We’re not trying to downplay the massive PPI scam in any way, but there’s no need to feel that you’re a victim. You need to feel empowered to fight back and get the premiums back along with some interest. This is proper compensation for a plan that took money from you. However, if you’re caught up in feelings of hurt or anger, you’re not going to be able to see that. You’re not going to be able to take care of everything that needs to be taken care of. That’s a big hit to your life, and it makes it hard for you to get on with everything else going on in your life.

Thankfully, it’s always a good time to make sure that you’re thinking about the road ahead of you. PPI claims advice can get you set on the right path. They are a neutral third party that isn’t inside your head. While they understand you might be a little emotional about everything, they’re not in a position to have the same emotional state that you do. They can be completely objective and focused on your best interests. If you find that you really can’t get past the feeling of being betrayed, you need a third party that can sidestep those feelings entirely.

It’s time to fight back against PPI, and getting a third party with a deep knowledge of the legal system is always good. This way, you aren’t trying to bog yourself down in a bunch of rules and regulations. That’s just unnecessary. Again, who really has time for all of that? It’s a good idea to look into anything and everything that can help you.

Don’t even worry about the fees — you will be able to sidestep all of the fees as well. You have to be aware that there’s no fee if you don’t win. The solicitor will take their percentage out of whatever you win. This might sound bad at first, but remember that they can find the maximum amount of money that you’re due — this is not something that you can do easily on your own. Good luck!

If you are considering a debt consolidation Utah loan, you need to take a look at the main difference in the options that you have. A secured debt consolidation loan may be the best way for you to go. It allows you low interest rates, the ability to use the funds that you have in your home and it allows you to save money. An unsecured debt consolidation loan will allow you to get your debt problems in order if you do not have the means necessary to do it otherwise. In order to know which of these aspects is important to you and makes for the best choice for you, consider these aspects of these debt consolidation Utah choices.

Laws To Know

Before you get started on that, though, you should know that any lender, even your debt consolidation Utah lender needs to treat you in the right manner. If you feel that your creditors are being harsh with you, threatening you or otherwise making things awful for you, it is time for you to get back on track and to learn what your rights are. No lender can treat you like this without facing legal recourse.

Comparing Options

A debt consolidation Utah company is likely to offer you both options here. In a secured loan, your home is used to secure it. That means that if you fail to make payments on your debt consolidation loan, you will likely lose your house in order to pay it back. The only way to get an equity loan for the amount that you need to pay off your debts is to have enough available in equity. So this type of debt consolidation loan can be quite limiting.

But, that does not mean that an unsecured loan is any easier. Here, you will need to have good credit in order to be a good risk. This is hard for most people to do. Most that have debt problems do not have this luxury. Yet, if you do, this can be a good way to go for debt consolidation. Work with your lenders to get the best possible outcome to this dilemma.

In either case, the good news is that you have determined that a debt consolidation Utah loan is the right way to go. This fact can help you to save a great deal of money over the course of the next years as you pay it down. For the most part, most find that these loans are made to help them to get out of debt for once and for all.

There’s a lot of fuss being made over debit card fees, and for good reason — they are yet another fee that’s being forced upon us, as if we really don’t have enough fees to worry about. However, before we go out of our way to throw out the baby with the bathwater, we need to look at the subject a little more closely. It’s obvious that nobody really wants to pay another fee, but we have to think about the way business works.

You see, if you don’t pay the fee, someone else is going to pay the fee. For most retailers, this would mean paying the fee and passing it along to you in the form of higher prices. Now, you might have no problem with a Wal-Mart or a Target doing this, but what about your local independent retailers? They already get a high processing fee for each and every credit and debit card transaction. This means that you really need to ensure that you aren’t just going out of your way to complain too loudly without looking at exactly how much worse it could be.

Banks are scrambling to make up for lost income due to the fact that they can’t hit you with overdraft fees. That means that there are a lot of different choices that need to be made in order for the banks to stay profitable.

This also trickles down to the business itself. If debit card fees on their end get too high, they might take the ability to pay with debit cards right off the menu. This means that you wouldn’t have the convenience of actually paying with those shiny plastic cards. Some people already don’t get debit cards, preferring to actually pay with cash. It just depends on what fits the person’s individual financial blueprint. Some people feel that they actually spend a lot more with debit cards, and so they prefer to actually go with something that’s going to let them control their spending better.

Now, at the time of this writing, all of the banks have backed out of getting debit card fees towards customers, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t happen in the future. You will need to make sure that you start looking at the way you bank, the way you use credit and debit cards, and how all of these things fit into your life.

Take care, and keep moving forward!

Ah, debt. We can debate whether or not debt is evil, whose fault your debts are, and other topics…but that’s not the reason why we wrote this guide. We want to talk about one thing and one thing only today — the power of weighing your debts. The importance of really making sure that you are thinking about your debts from start to finish.

You see, not all of your debts are going to be equal. There are going to be some debts that are much more important than other debts, but you need to make sure that you think about those debts in the right context. You don’t want to find that you’re not able to take care of everything because you were focusing on the wrong debts.

Let’s take a look at your credit report as it might stand right now. You see, you might be worried about debts that aren’t even yours anymore. What do we mean by this? Well, it’s simple — you might find that your debts are now time barred. That means that they aren’t even valid debts anymore. The company that owned that debt no longer has the legal right to collect that debt. However, if you contact the company and take the debt back on again, you’re basically restarting the clock. We’re not saying that anyone has to be shady or dishonest — this is actually part of the law. How can something that’s legal be against the moral code, so to speak? Think about it this way — if the company could get out of doing something for you, trust us — they would. They would take every shortcut they could to get one over you. It’s nothing personal — you just need to make sure that you know what you’re getting into.

What’s that? You’re trying to pay your debts without thinking about pulling your credit report, validating, or even verifying your debts? That’s a mistake that can cost you a lot of money. If you’re not going to handle your credit repair plan right, you’re never going to really get out of debt. You could find yourself pulled into a lot of lawsuits that don’t need to happen.

Remember — this is war. You need to make sure that all things are in your favor anytime you take action. That means that you don’t reaffirm old debts that are outside the state of limitations, and you certainly don’t need to have extra money going out that’s not necessary. Why not put that money towards debts that are still well inside the statue of limitations?

Be firm with companies, but make sure that they know that you know your rights. If they don’t answer a debt validation letter, remind them again that under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, they don’t have a choice. When companies realize that you know the law just as well as they do, they tend to want to negotiate — it’s a lot better than being sued.

Junk debt buyers are good at intimidation — but remember — it’s your decision to pay which debts first.

What about original creditors? That’s a question that comes up a lot. Most of our information is against collection agencies. If you have a chance to work something out with an original creditor, chances are good that you’re going to have time to work things out. OC’s generally want to keep you as a customer if you can prove that you’re willing to go back to making payments regularly. It’s a lot more beneficial in their eyes to do this rather than just charging off the account. It will make it hard to actually keep you as a customer if they take it there. Of course, when you prove that you want nothing more to do with the company it’s hard to really keep you as a customer. So when it comes to original creditors the best thing that you can do is really tread carefully. If you have an honest reason why you’re not making the payments that would be better than trying to just ignore them. (more…)

Fighting your debts is something that’s pretty important. In fact, it’s safe to say that the current system of debt that we live under almost entirely operates under the assumption that you won’t fight. You won’t pursue your rights. You will allow yourself to be ruthlessly pursued into the ground over debts that do no good just brushed off the table. You really want to make sure that you are trying to actively negotiate for as much as you possibly can. It does you no good to just write a check and hope that the matter goes away quietly. You will need to actually think about everything else that’s involved in terms of your debts.

For example, you might have heard about restrictive endorsements — you know, the type where you send in a check or money order with a letter that says that cashing the instrument means accepting YOUR terms and not theirs. Sounds like a slam dunk, right?

Well, you could be very mistaken. You see, the truth of the matter is that if you do this, the other party still has to have time to respond. So it’s not just a matter of sending in a restrictive endorsement and hoping for the best. Like with other financial matters, it pays to get as much information as possible.

Under the Uniform Commercial Code, there is a concept called Safe Harbor. The truth of the matter is that if you mail in an RE, the other party still needs to have time to respond. This is because mail is often processed by people that do not have the inside scoop on what’s going on. In the past, this was a loophole that could be exploited. However, the laws have definitely changed.

Yet this is not a change that automatically means that you’re going to have to problems. It’s quite possible to still win your case -=- but you’re going to have to allow for a little more time.

You see, you have to understand that under the Safe Harbor laws, the other party has 90 days to send you your money back. This would mean that they do not accept the current terms, and more negotiation is needed. This is why it’s always good to start talking with the collection agency before you send any money, and get all details in writing. It is not enough to record them, because the recording will usually not hold up in court. If you are going to rely on just a recording, then it would be in your best interests to seek legal counsel before resting your case on anything that’s said on the phone. In many cases, the collector will hang up on you rather than try to continue the conversation. Most companies do not allow their agents to continue a phone call when they are consciously aware that they are being recorded. However, don’t think for a second that YOU are not being recorded. While that’s not fair, you do have other courses of action.

One, you are going to have to be as firm as possible. Junk debt buyers are hoping to get maximum profit for minimal effort. So the fact that you’re even willing to deal is a good sign in their eyes. They are willing to work with you as much as possible if it means that you are eventually going to give them money. Never agree to a payment over the phone, and never hand over a check payment either. Money orders are the safest way to pay a collection agency. Yes, there is going to be the offer of extra convenience and painlessness. However, it’s not that hard to get a money order.

The other issue that you will need to contend with is that without an agreement to take the trade line off your credit report, any money you pay isn’t going to matter much in the long run anyway. You’ll get the report updated to say that the charge off was paid in full — but the charge off is still a charge off!

You will also need to make sure that any negotiation you put on the table includes that the negotiated payment covers the whole debt, with no assumption of forgiveness. You do not want the collection agency to come back later and try to hit you with a forgiven amount that is taxable.

The more information that you arm yourself with, the easier this will be in the long run. If you don’t give yourself the power to get things done in the beginning, you’re going to have a lot of problems later down the road. (more…)