Nowadays, it has been harder and harder to save up for rainy days. Ironically, it's not necessarily because of the lack of income but it is also due to the accessibility of credit in this modern time. In the past, you have to painstakingly save up for any out of necessity purchase you might have. Now, even if you don't have the financial capacity for a purchase, you can easily do so with just one swipe. Because of this, saving up is not as easy as it once was. Money experts will tell you how important it is to have an emergency fund handy. This fund will help you cover the cost of any unexpected or urgent expense. This means you would have a safety net in case a crisis comes up and you need money right away. This also helps ward off unnecessary stress by giving you the peace of mind that you can face life's unexpected bumps. Start Small The important thing is you are able to start. You don't have to save a big amount right away. You can even start with as low as $10 a week. Think of the minute nonessential purchases you can give up to add to your emergency fund. Say for example, instead of having that weekly night out with friends, give it up for a spendless movie night at home. Even saving up by leaving your credit card at home can make a tremendous difference in cutting expenses and leaving room for savings. Even if you in the midst of paying off debt, the more important it is to have an emergency. While this may sound difficult, there are still ways you can save from your budget. Consider checking the services of a reputable debt relief company. Debt relief programs are designed for you to pay less than what you originally owe. Instead of just paying the minimum per month, these debt experts will negotiate with your creditors to pay off your debt at a lower amount for good. A good debt relief company will make sure your new monthly payments fit in your budget that will make room for other things like your emergency fund. When to Use Your Emergency Fund Unexpected Car and Home Repairs Home insurance and auto insurance help in covering the cost of more costly accidental repairs. However, for small to moderate damages that may not be covered by your policy, your emergency fund will come in handy. Medical Emergencies Again, although health insurance usually covers costs, anything needed upfront still requires you to shell out your own money. Some people even delay going to the doctor's office for the lack of insurance. Don't be one of them. Change of Career and Job Loss This is one of the major reasons why you need an emergency fund. Should you lose your job or change your career, you won't have to worry much. With a stable emergency fund, you will be able to cover your basic expenses and ongoing bills without the stress of thinking where to get the money. Ultimately, when deciding whether to use your emergency fund or not, consider the following questions: Is it unexpected? Is it urgent? Is it absolutely necessary? If you can, avoid using your emergency fund. Budget and save appropriately. The questions above will make sure you only use your guarded money wisely. Or else, when a bigger emergency comes, you might not be able to have enough. Sources: www.daveramsey.com/blog/quick-guide-to-your-emergency-fund http://www.facebook.com/curadebt www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL5kmdyW5xc
0 Comments
Credit Card Debt ProblemIt’s no question that Americans have been struggling with credit card debt for many years, but it’s apparent that there has been an increase in credit card debt in the recent years. Finance website Value Penguin, has recently published an article which states that national credit card debt is on the rise, despite the fact that less and less people are using credit cards. “Credit card debt in America has been rising over the last decade. However, despite this, the average percentage of people holding credit card debt has been gradually decreasing. This tells us that the while average credit card debt is increasing, it’s not due to a greater number of individuals spending. Instead, in recent years, more people have been more heavily indebted. In the year 2000, over half of the households in America had credit card debt. By contrast, in 2001, that figure fell to 38% - over 12 percentage points lower. Over this time, average credit card debt rose from $5,048 to $7,697. This means the average American today holds 52% more debt today than they did a decade ago.” According to the article, the American household credit card debt was $10,308 on average, as recent as November of 2015. Handling more than $10,000 of credit card personal debt simply isn't manageable for most families, and the fact that many credit card companies have come back to their pre-recession strategies of offering cards with high interest levels to people with low credit ratings is surely causing numerous debt woes. No matter the circumstance, if you are obligated to pay a tremendous amount of money on one or more credit cards, it's a concern you need to cope with now before your debt becomes unmanageable./ Managing credit card debt makes life harder in every way. For example, purchasing a home and dropping your rental is extremely difficult or sometimes impossible if you're burdened with credit card debt and have a poor credit score. According to the real estate website Home Guides, “Credit cards, and how you use them, are a large part of your overall credit history and score. Lenders not only use your credit score as an indicator of your overall creditworthiness, but they also use your debt to determine your approval as well. Every lender uses a debt-to-income ratio as part of the loan approval process.” Banks and lenders will be hesitant to loan you money to purchase a home if you have significant debt on credit cards. Is Settling Credit Card Debt Possible?Certainly. If you're a person mired in credit card debt, consider working with a professional debt settlement company to work on settling your credit card debts on your behalf. This is how debt settlement works: A skilled debt settlement company uses its leverage with credit card companies to negotiate down your financial debt. Debt settlement companies have great negotiating power with credit card companies as they use their clients’ debts as leverage. There are great benefits to utilizing the expertise of debt settlement companies. Credit card companies prefer securing some payments back to them rather than receiving none at all. How To Settle Credit Card DebtBy contracting a debt settlement company, they can strategically negotiate your credit card debts and come to an agreement on payments. Debt settlement companies have built relationships with credit card companies due to the number of clients they deal with to settle their debts. As debt collectors work on commission, negotiations normally drive a positive course to achieve incentives. It is imperative to work with debt settlement companies as they have experience, the right contacts and skills and expertise to negotiate on your behalf. Simply attempting to undertake this on your own will prove to be a great challenge and will mostly not work. What To Look For In a Debt Settlement CompanyThere are three important factors to look for in a debt settlement company: years of proven experience, positive customer reviews and all the necessary accreditation. Make sure you do your homework and research before choosing a debt settlement company to work with. There are many companies who claim they can help reduce your debt, however, many of these companies lack the proper experience and connections to get the job done. Your debt is a serious issue that needs to be dealt with so it’s important to work with a reputable debt settlement company. Why You Need To Act FastYour credit card debt will become more unmanageable if you don’t take care of it. Credit cards may seem to be an instant financial solution to many, however, keep in mind that this business exists to make money. A 2011 CNN Money article details one woman’s credit card horror story. After a motorcycle accident, the woman received a credit card with 29.9 % APR and a $300 limit, only to receive a letter a few months later explaining that the card’s APR had skyrocketed to 79.9 %. High interest rates are put in place intentionally, a strategy to create increasing high debts as quickly as possible, and unfortunately, is considered legal. If you are one of the struggling Americans in immediate need of help to settle your credit card debts, you need to seek a professional and experienced debt settlement company that can help you negotiate on your behalf and lower your monthly payments now. Sources: CuraDebt Reviews on Consumer Affairs When you are trying to get out of debt, you have to do whatever it takes to pay what you owe. It takes determination and goals set on stone for you to be able to reach financial freedom. Unless you decide to change your lifestyle, you will really find it hard to get yourself out of debt. However, it's not impossible to change old ways and develop new habits. To help you, here are some tried and tested debt reduction tips to aid you in your journey towards a debt free life. 1. Set An Amount Equal To Your Spending On Non-Essential Indulgences So you want to buy that latest smartphone everyone's been raving about? Maybe you are tempted to shop for a new dress despite the countless ones you have on your closet? Or maybe you feel you deserve some dinner treat for all your hardwork? It's okay to spend on non-essentials and other luxury items. However, you have a debt to pay. You will never be able to save if you keep giving in to the latest trends and technology. So what can you do? Save an amount equal to the item you want to purchase. If you can't deposit the same amount to your savings, defer buying what you want until such time you have enough. This habit will also help you rule out impulse purchases and give you time to think if you really want the item you want to buy or not. 2. Keep The Receipts Of Your Purchases Not everyone is good at budgeting. Plotting out how much goes under each category is the easy part; following through may be hard for some. If you are the type who learns from experience, then sort through your expenditures by keeping all your receipts. Think long and hard, have you really spend your hard earned cash towards your necessities? If you find that you've purchased unnecessary stuff, make a list of it and make sure to have that list handy should you go shopping. Make sure you are always in check and in control of your finances. 3. Find An Accountability Buddy When you're doing something fun, it usually becomes merrier when you're doing it with someone else. Not that getting out of debt is fun. It isn't. But it's not that you can't make it fun because well, you can! Change your perspective. It can either be a joyride or walking on thorns. One way to do this is to find an accountability buddy that you can be responsible to. If you still have a hard time making things work or if you have a hard time trusting anyone, maybe trusting a professional company can give you the security you need. Debt settlement companies like CuraDebt help people who have debt be more accountable by setting up a special dedicated savings account for you to pay your debt. Not just that, they can help you by negotiating with your creditors to have your debt reduced and paid at the least amount of time possible. Think about it, you'll be out of debt in less time and for good. It's not easy but with a little practice, you can develop life changing habits that will help you get closer to reaching your financial goals in life. Helpful links: http://www.toptenreviews.com/money/debt/best-debt-consolidation-companies/curadebt-review/ http://curadebtreviews.tumblr.com/ According to recent studies by the American Institute of CPAs, more than half of American adults (51%) say they delayed at least one important life decision, like having kids or retiring, because of financial reasons. In this article I will talk about the negative effects of credit card debt and I will go over debt relief options. Lawsuits and Garnished Wages There are more than one way that a credit card issuer can get their money, one of the most common being lawsuits. Very often they file a civil suit; If a creditor obtains a judgment against you they can place a lien on your assets to recover the money or even worse: garnish your wages by sending the required documentation to your employer, which is required to comply by law. A good way of preventing these problems is to seek help from a professional credit card debt settlement company. It Will Make It Harder To Find A New Job If it wasn't hard enough to find a job with all the competition out there, staying in debt can make it a bit more difficult for you. This is because employers in many states can check the credit reports of job applicants, and a record filled with late payments and court proceedings may not let you be seen as a reliable candidate. Employers are able to do this because of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Companies must have your permission to view your credit reports. However, this usually only affects people who are searching for a upper management financial position. The reason is because your potential employer may view you as a person who cannot make responsible financial decisions because of your own financial problems. Before applying, check any accounts that may have debt. If you see anything that may cost you from getting hired, quickly work on repairing the problem. Mortgage, Rental and Loan Rejections In addition to your debt issues, reports indicating nonpayment of credit card debt not only decrease your chances of securing a mortgage, you are also less attractive as a rental candidate, since in many cases landlords often check the applicant's credit before agreeing to hand over the keys. LIkewise, if you are trying to apply for a loan at the bank, by having active debt somewhere else your chances of getting approved for a loan are between probably not and absolutely not. Your Debt Can Increase In some cases people find themselves in a tight situation financially and they may chose to default on one high-interest card to keep the lower-interest ones to make purchases. What many people are not aware of are the penalties that come with not paying and/or paying late. The reason that strategy will not work is because many credit accounts have “universal default” clauses in their agreement, which state that if you’re more than 30 days late on any one account, they're allowed to raise your interest rates based on the increased risk, hence increasing the debt balance. Potentially Losing A Job Promotion Again, this only affects for people that are in line for a promotion to a position where they have to handle money, credit checks, or make financial decisions. If you believe you may receive a job promotion in the future make sure to settle any debt you have because it could keep you from getting promoted. Debt Collectors One of the things that major credit card companies do is that they often sell your delinquent credit card debt to debt collectors. Debt collectors buy the debt for a fraction of what you actually owe, they then try to collect the debt by getting you to make voluntary payments over the phone, internet or through the mail. The debt collector can also sue you in court just like the credit card company can. If a judgment is awarded to the debt collector, it too can garnish your wages. How to Protect Your Wages From Credit Card Issuers Wanting to pay a debt is great, but limiting your resources is not. Before making any decisions make sure that you are aware of the various debt settlement companies available to you. If you are in danger of having your wages garnished by a credit card company or debt collector and you know that you need this money to eat or pay other important bills such as medical bills, there are steps you can take to avoid garnishment of your paycheck. Very often credit card companies are willing to accept a settlement in lieu of going through the courts to garnish your wages, this allows you to avoid a lawsuit and wage garnishment, you can negotiate a settlement of credit card debt with the bank or credit card issuer. Settle The Debt Millions of American struggle under a load of high credit card debt, if you are having trouble paying your credit card bills or are worried about high credit card balances, don't hide. Instead, learn what you can do to better manage your credit card debt, sometimes, with strict budgeting and strategically closing some credit card accounts, you can start paying off your debt. If the balances are very high and the stress unbearable make sure to talk to a reputable debt settlement company like CuraDebt. You will be surprised how one simple phone consultation can help you see the light at the end of the tunnel. State Exemptions In some circumstances, states allow you to protect a portion of your wages, these are called exemptions. When you receive the wage garnishment notice, you need to find out if your state’s laws allow you protect a portion of your wages. If they do then you can file a document in state court claiming the exemption and the judge will decide whether it is valid or not. File For Bankruptcy If you are really in over your head, bankruptcy might be your best option, bankruptcy immediately stops garnishment of your wages for a credit card debt, however, filing for bankruptcy affects many aspects of your life and should not be taken lightly. In many cases, you should not file solely to stop a garnishment. The Bottom Line It is important to point out that during the first three months of 2015, consumers paid down $34.7 billion in debt owed to credit card companies, that is about 7 percent above the average of the past two years, this means that people are educating themselves about all the possible solutions. There are many ways to fix your credit card debt problem, now it is just a matter of you choosing to make it happen. -------------------------- CuraDebt is the one of the oldest and most experienced debt relief company available today. They have been in the business for over 16 years. They have over 750+ 5-star CuraDebt Reviews on Shopper Approved and Customer Lobby. Read more about CuraDebt and its services: http://www.curadebt.com/debt-settlement-program/ CuraDebt on AFCC CuraDebt Review Video |
ArchivesCategories |