Get Out Of Debt

It’s easy to get the terms credit & debt confused. They seem to be interchangeable, however they are two different words with two different meanings.

Definition of Credit

Credit is a financial tool that people seek to acquire from financial institutions. Canadian Banks, credit unions, credit card companies all offer credit to their customers in Canada.

I call credit the “before” part of the equation. You have to have credit before you have debt.

Credit offers come in many different forms.
Mortgages and 2nd mortgages Car loans Payday loans Credit cards Lines of credit There a many other types of credit which I won’t list here

Here’s where people get confused about Credit / Debt.

There are two types of credit available.

Fixed loans Revolving credit

Mortgages and car loans are fix payment loans Lines of credit and credit cards are revolving credit.

Canadian Mortgages and car loans are only credit that are available to you. That means that once you acquire a mortgage or car loan it becomes a debt to you. A mortgage or car loan is never credit to you.

HERE’S WHY:

Where you ‘re shopping for a $250,000 mortgage, you’re looking for credit to buy your new house. You’re shopping for credit at this point.

When you visit your local banker or mortgage broker in Canada you’re doing the following:

Asking the creditors to give you some credit. You’re applying for credit You need to be a approved for credit. Creditors check out your credit worthiness, credit score, credit reports etc.

These are all the activities you do BEFORE you get the credit that you’re requesting.
Credit cards and lines of credit on the other hand can be BOTH credit and debt.

HERE’S WHY

Let’s say you have a credit card with a $5000 limit. At the beginning you have $5000 worth of credit available to you. After a while of using your credit card, you use up $1,000 worth of credit available. That $1,000 of used credit now becomes debt.

BEFORE: $5,000 credit available

AFTER: $4,000 credit still available $1,000 debt owing

This is probably why people in Canada get the terms credit & debt confused. People don’t usually need credit counselling, they need debt counselling. They counselling after they’ve acquired too much debt. ( I guess people could use credit counselling which would help them learn about how they can wisely use their credit that is still available. )

YOU NEVER HAVE TO MAKE PAYMENTS ON CREDIT!!

As I always like to say, “you NEVER have to make payments on your credit available. Credit available DOESN’T ruin marriages. The creditors DON’T make any money on credit available.

You do have to make payments on outstanding debts, or debt that you’ve incurred. Too much debt does ruin marriages, and Canadian creditors love it when you’re indebted to them. That is how they make their money.

Credit / Debt? Debt / Credit?

There is alot of credit available to consumers in Canada. It’s big business. The problem is when Canadians take on too much of that credit which becomes their debt burden.

I hope that this post helps you better understand the difference between credit & debt and how these terms affect your personal finances.

Bill Consolidation for Military Personnel is much the same as other consumer consolidation. Bill Consolidation is an approach used by consumers to combine all their outstanding bills into a single monthly payment. The debts are usually spread over a longer period and lower monthly amortizations. Loan consolidations are arranged by independent financial institutions that liaise between the debtor and the creditor.

Current loan consolidation plans in the market have the following characteristics:

- Longer payment period

- Lower monthly payments to make

- Only one agency to pay

- Usually the debtor’s house is used as a collateral

Military Loans

Military loans are credit facilities made available for members of the military who are on active duty or in retired status. Some agencies that specialize in loans and financial assistance towards military personnel are the American Military Debt Management Services, Military Debt Management Agency, and AAFES.

It is very common to see financial institutions outside almost every military facility. They work with military personnel’s need for financial assistance due to frequent move assignments, loss of job of the spouse because of the perennial movement, and creditors that deal directly and solely with military personnel.

Bill Consolidation Loans

As mentioned above, there are financial institutions devoted to the consolidation of military debts. Their main goal is to assist military staff in arranging their debts in such a way that there is only one affordable monthly payment to make. Pertinent interest rates are also renegotiated and the tenor of the credit is lengthened.

Consolidation plans are usually tailor-fitted to the debtor’s capacity to pay, expected income, and other monetary measures to ensure that the new financial scheme will be met with success. Another option available is for the financial agent to loan out a considerable sum which the debtor will use to pay off all his other debts. The new and bigger loan will only work if its applicable interest rate is lower than the pressing debts.

Upon the availment of a military loan consolidation plan, the personnel will then make monthly payments to a single financing outfit at a repriced interest rate. The debtor should be very conscientious in paying his monthly bills as consolidated loans usually increase the interest rates once the monthly installment is not met.

Available Consolidation Plans in the Market

There are currently two major forms of debt consolidation in the market. The first being the home equity loan, wherein the debtor’s house will be mortgaged, and the second one is the zero percent credit card.

Home equity loans act on the premise that by weighing in on your home’s market value, the debtor can pay his monetary obligations. Having a high value mortgaged asset increases the credit limit that will be handed over in the consolidation plan. Also, this type of mortgage provides a tax break to the home-owner, another easing in the borrower’s financial obligations.

For those who don’t have a house to mortgage but financial help in managing their debts, the market is now offering the zero percent credit card. This card will allow debtors to pay in trenches every month with a single digit or no interest rate. All the previous debts will be aggregated into a single account and only one payment must be met regularly. When using this loan consolidation tool, payor must meet the minimum requirement per payment to avoid the interest rate from jumping up.

The major appeal of debt consolidation is convenience. A borrower no longer needs to pay off several creditors with varying interest rates and due dates. They only need to enroll and be approved for a loan consolidation and all payments will be slimmed into a single monthly payment with a single re-negotiated interest rate and longer paying periods.

Pre-Cautions in Taking out Consolidated Loans

Although loan consolidation may seem attractive at first glance to the military currently struggling with financial matters, it is always best to do your homework before signing any agreement.

First, check the interest rate of the loan consolidation. It should be lower than the total interest that is being paid to the various debts. Repricing is a tool that is always almost present in loan consolidation. Make sure this works for you by checking the trends and forecasts on interest rates over the period of your tenor.

Second, when borrowing equity against your home, make sure that you have enough expected and tangible cash flow available for the entirety of the loan. The monthly payments should be met at all costs to prevent losing your house. Initial delinquency in paying the amortization on time is usually sanctioned by increasing the interest rates. Future violations may mean forfeiting your house.

Third, ensure by all means necessary that the financial institution offering loan consolidation is legal and accredited. Check your local government agencies to make sure that the company you are dealing with is legal and has enough capacity to withstand its obligation to you and to your creditors.

For whatever reason you are currently experiencing financial difficulties you are not alone. There are literally millions of Americans currently suffering from a similar situation to yours.

If your financial situation is precarious but you are still able to meet your commitments then you should be commended. If, however, you are unsure as to whether you can continue to meet your debt repayment obligations you are effectively on the cusp of becoming a delinquent payer. It is imperative that you take action now to stop yourself slipping into the same category as people with bad credit records.

By falling into the ‘bad credit’ rating category it effectively means that you are seen by all financial institutions and banks as a high risk prospect. The ramifications of this will be that any future borrowings you seek will attract much higher rates of interest and be subject to very tough terms and conditions. In the worse possible scenario you may even become ineligible for any future loans.

Credit Repair Debt Consolidation Helps You Get Control. Here are a few excellent suggestions on how you can take charge of the situation. The following credit repair debt consolidation tactics will assist you to improve your credit rating which will in turn be positively reflected in your ‘credit score’. If you follow the recommended plan of action you may avoid becoming a high risk borrower.

First Action

You should immediately request a free copy of your current credit record. There are at least three organizations from which you can access this vital information. For residents of the United States these organizations are TransUnion, Experian and Equifax. You should request an updated report every three or four months so that you can closely monitor the position of your records.

It is recommended that you closely scrutinize the records and contest in writing anything that is not accurate (like the report of late payments that have not happened). By contesting disputed recordings you could possibly improve your credit score markedly. This is a vital step, and one that should definitely not be overlooked, in your credit repair debt consolidation program.

Second Action

Prioritize each one of your current debts and take steps to pay each of them off in a particular order. You need to analyze which of your debts is causing you the most financial distress. For example, it is likely that your credit card issuer charges you about 2% per month compounded interest and other loans probably have an interest rate of around 18% per year. It therefore definitely makes more sense for you to try to clear the credit card debt as a priority as this will save you the most money in both the long and short term. While you concentrate on arresting the credit card debt you should only make minimum payments on all or your other outstanding loans. Focus in clearing the high-interest loans first.

Third Action

Regularize your payment schedules by always paying repayments on time. By paying before the actual due date of a monthly repayment it will help maintain, if not improve, your current credit score.

Fourth Action

Get a secured credit card which will not only raise your overall credit score (which is critical). This action will also fast forward your credit repair debt consolidation efforts.

Clearing debt is not an easy task, however, if you take a pro-active approach to this credit repair debt consolidation plan you should quick track your way to financial freedom.

Are you in the habit of whipping out your plastic for every purchase?

Now days, most people have the same problem.

With gasoline and other everyday expenditure on a steady rise in cost, most Americans turn to credit cards to pay for their everyday expenses.

But with this influx of credit card use comes an influx of bills that become harder and harder to pay each month.

Sources of cash for many Americans are withering away, says Dick Reed, of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service in Atlanta. Reed has noticed a rise in business as more and more clients are mounting up credit card debt. He goes on to say that customers simply do not have a place to go and get cash. They are digging further into debt in order to pay for, not only standard everyday expenditure, but in order to make the minimum payment on existing debt.

National statistics exemplify this growing trend as the Federal Reserve reports that the average amount of credit card debt in America jumped 6.7 percent in quarter one this year and totaled around 957 billion dollars. Perhaps most troubling is that this increase developed in spite of the fact that most financial institutions are tightening the reins on lending.

In Atlanta, Georgia debtors reported, on average, 29,300 dollars worth of unsecured debt. The most of which was wrapped up in credit cards. This number is up over 4,000 dollars since the 2007 report. Debtors spend an average of 335 dollars on groceries and 242 dollars on gas, whereas one year earlier, those expenses averaged only 291 dollars and 181 dollars.

Many people admit that they’d rather not rack up credit card debt, but other options, like refinancing for lesser interest rates, are no longer readily available due to collapsing housing markets. This leaves many consumers with little option.

When faced with the rising prices of gas and food, many people find that they have no choice but to “charge it” in order to make ends meet.

People are unable to upgrade their income, yet expenses are increasing exponentially. Credit cards become the best way to compensate, says Sara Gilbert of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service in Ft. Collins, Colorado.

Lois Eldridge, a retiree in Arizona, has looked on in horror as her credit card bill doubled to 2,000 dollars in the last several months. High gas and food costs required her to charge these rudiments for the very first time last year.

She has been forced to reduce extra expenditures like entertainment, clothing, and eating out. Although this tactic has helped, she still charges an average of 100 dollars each month.

Lois was also forced to ‘come out of retirement’, so to speak, when she attempted to secure a job at the college in her area to complement her income from Social Security. Unfortunately, she learned that employers offered too little money, or informed her that she was ‘overqualified’ for the available position. Her only other option was a minimum wage job with a local retailer.

My earnings have remained the same even though my expenses are way higher than they were last year even taking into account my attempts at cutting back, says Eldridge, now 71, who has a plan to put her tax refund toward her outstanding debt. I am incredibly overwhelmed by the fact that I’ve had to use my credit cards. I’ve never needed to before. The last 6 months have been a constant worry.

She is not the only one in worry. Analysts declare that card balances and late payments are increasing dramatically, a sure sign that a large group of Americans cannot afford what they spend each month.

It seems that the most trouble seems to be in areas with a weak housing market where a large number of people are already under pressure with mortgage payments. With unemployment on the rise and employers unable to offer overtime, many people find they just don’t make enough to cover their bills.

Many claim they only use their cards for expediency sake and that they do in fact pay their statements on time, but it seems some fractures are appearing in that scenario.

Credit card delinquency rates reached a four-year in February, according to Moody’s debt ranking agency.

Once people have gotten behind, it’s growing more and more difficult for them to get back on track with their card payments again says William Black of Moody’s. We’re in a very taxing economic atmosphere. There’s a lesser amount of cash to go around.

In the meantime, credit card balances are sneaking up progressively, and have been since the beginning of 2006. They leaped nearly 9 percent during 2007. This is due to a growing number of people who spend more and pay less each month plus other exciting and attractive offers like Chase credit cards, 0% interest Visa card balance transfer, and more.

Another sad fact is, in spite of the troubles people incur with increasing credit card debt, the number of cards issued is also on the rise. At the close of 2007, there was a whopping 420 million credit cards in the marketplace, that’s up 7.6 percent from the year prior.

Growing balances and late payments are bad for the economy, which depends heavily on consumer expenditures, says Bill Hampel, of the Credit Union National Assn.

Many people will stop going to dinner or to the movies as they see their balances rise. This will injure the economy to a great extent.

If you’re buried in debt and can’t get out and would like to share your story, or if you’ve actually managed to climb out of the pit and want the opportunity to help others, let us know about situation, we want to help.

You’ve seen the advertisements online, “Wipe out your credit card debt! Terminate Credit Card Debt! Eliminate Credit Card Debt Legally!” Can this be true? Is there a way to erase all of your credit card debt, legally, without paying? I haven’t tried this method personally, but with a little research online, this is what I found:

They Say the Banks Are Responsible

Debt elimination companies allege that when your credit is established and your credit limit is set, the banks are the ones that sign their name and take responsibility for your credit card debt. You can think of this like a co-signer; if you don’t pay, they are responsible. They point out that this is why your credit card company can call you, report the debt to creditors, but it is unlikely that they will sue you. If this is true then why doesn’t everyone simply ignore their credit card debt and why would these companies take the chance that you will pay them back?

They Say You Can Erase All Debt Because of Hidden Laws

It is also alleged that there are policies, procedures and statutes that banks and other financial institutions are required to follow, legally, that protect you from having to pay. The debt relief companies point out that they know the laws, they have been doing this for years and they understand the loopholes. With their help, you will be able to obtain a clean credit report, and oftentimes even be able to erase the money you owe for this service. Sounds wonderful, right?

They Want You to Buy Their ‘Fix-All Program’

What I didn’t find in my research, were any companies that were assured enough to offer guarantees. Most want to sell you their sure-fire ‘erase debt legally program’, which you must pay for upfront. These super-top-secret programs will help you to become debt free without paying a dime…except the dimes you pay for the program and I’m betting that there is more money to be paid after you acquire the program.

In the end, I remember two sayings: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is and, you can’t get something for nothing!