Step 6 Of Debt Diet Is To Take Big Steps To Grow Your Income

Category: Finance, Credit.

The Debt Diet program was popularized by Oprah Winfrey when it was featured during a multi- episode series that began airing on February 17, Oprah enlisted three, 200For this program financial specialists, Glinda Bridgforth, Jean Chatzky, and David Bach, to develop a plan by which personal debt could be eliminated.

Step 1 of the Debt Diet program is to find out how much debt you actually have. The Debt Diet programs consists of 2 phases broken down into 4 steps each. This means looking at all your credit cards and other loans and adding them up. Step 2 is to track your spending. The Debt Diet portion of Oprah s website provides a handy chart to help you out. Find the little luxuries that you spend money on that add up and put that money to better use, namely paying off your debt.

This brings us to step 3 of the Debt Diet Program what Oprah calls the" Credit Card Game. " This is simply learning some tricks of the credit card trade such as making higher payments, contacting your creditors and requesting lower interest rates, and learning which cards to pay down first. You d be surprised how much you can put aside by maybe giving up fast food or buying cheaper generic products. Step 4 is simple: stop spending. Step 5 of the Debt Diet program is to create a monthly spending plan. It can be tempting to use our credit cards so we re advised to not even carry them with us and to instead use checks, and debit cards, cash to pay for things. This is basically making a budget, but the Oprah website has charts and worksheets to help you on this difficult path.

This step is mostly advised for those who still don t have success after following the first 5 steps, but can be utilized by individuals who would like to speed up the process as well. Step 6 of Debt Diet is to take big steps to grow your income. These ideas are pretty extreme though and include moving and giving up your car. The advice here is basically common sense. Moving on to step 7 of the Debt Diet program, we re advised to prioritize our debts and raise our credit score. Prioritize secured debts first, debts that can cause wages to be garnished, services such as doctor bills, and then finally unsecured debts such as credit cards. Finally, the last step, step 8 of the Debt Diet program is understanding our spending issues.

Finally, any outstanding debt to friends and family should be repaid, always good advice. This is simply examining ourselves to better understand our spending habits. Spending also is a great way to make ourselves feel better if we ve had a bad day or maybe just feeling down. Often we spend more when we are with others who are spending money as a form of social interaction. The Debt Diet program has been extremely successful by helping many people get and out debt and stay out of debt.

The Person Caught Under A Debt Must Seek Prompt Help

Category: Finance, Credit.

Utilising loan services in a sensible way, is a healthy practice to follow. They plan the repayments due on their part.

People take loans to achieve comforts of life. Sometimes, unforeseen dangers and unpleasant happenings leave a person under a debt. Situations of exigencies are met with by hard cash and it can create a situation of financial imbalance. The planning concerned with payback instalments of a loan may become sore due to occurrence of unpredictable expenses. Debt help becomes necessary in such situations and helps in rescue. The person caught under a debt must seek prompt help. There are financial experts and credit counsellors that can be approached through the most viable media, which is internet.

A slight delay in steps taken to resolve it can prove dangerous. The person witnessing problems related to debt and debt management must use the web to find the way out of trouble. This kind of debt help becomes useful in the time of financial crunches. The dexterous people of organisations providing online debt solution advance a helpful hand towards people. The debt help experts will listen to problems and understand the exact situation. Moreover, it is the job of such professionals to rescue people in debt.

Then the professionals will plan the strategy to pull you out of dangers. You have to implement the strategies and the experts will analyse the effectiveness. The proficient team is skilled to provide debt solution for proper debt management. The help will consist of debt consolidation, repairing bad credit, improving FICO score report etc. Engaging with debt help within time squeezes away the person out of trouble and places him in sound position. It is the most legal way to sort out problem.

The debts must be taken seriously and counter actions to resolve them must be dealt promptly. Such help will be a back up to attain wisdom in managing finances and restoring the state of crunch.

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Dept Of Education Servicing Center In The Circumstance Of Direct Loans

Category: Finance, Credit.

At the time of researching your student loan consolidation information options you need to investigate PLUS student loans, with the rising cost of education over the previous few decades, reliance on traditional Stafford loans has in many instances failed to cover most student expenses, the PLUS( Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students) loan plan was designed to close that gap.

For the FFEL( Federal Family Education Loan) plan, in which private lenders fund the loan the rate is 5% , through the Direct loan program the U. Though the rate is higher than other loans the cap on borrowing is much more flexible and the loans are not need- based. With PLUS loans parents are able to borrow up to the total amount of education minus any other financial aid money the student is awarded, though PLUS funds are not cheap they may make the difference when picking out which school to attend or whether to attend at all, however since PLUS loans aren t need- based they do include a credit check, in this situation the student s credit( with one exception discussed below) is not looked into, it s the parents credit history which matters since they are the signers of the promissory note, they alone are responsible for the repayment of the loan. Dept of Education funds the loan directly@ 9% , the difference of 6% is often very large over the lifetime of the average loan, in the initial year alone on a 10 year loan of$ 25, 0000 it amounts to virtually$ 2, 0500 as apposed to$ 1, 9200 that equals$ 1300 in interest, for an exact calculation you ought to experiment with some sample strategies using a loan calculator such as the ones available on- line. In those rare instances where the credit history of the parent( s) makes them ineligible, a co- signer may participate in the loan, a relative or other party may agree to guarantee repayment and take on the legal responsibility as a co- borrower, with the recent problems in the sub- prime borrowing arena these cases are now reduce from the levels of the past, this hints that in borderline cases the requirement for a co- signer is more likely. Apart from the changes in interest rates, another recent alteration to the plan is to now allow professional and graduate students to qualify for PLUS loans, similar interest rates and eligibility criteria apply, like other students they must be enrolled in an eligible institution and program no less than half- time, unlike most Stafford loan schemes, repayment of a PLUS loan begins immediately, generally within 60 days after the loan funds are disbursed, interest begins accumulating from the time the initially disbursement is made, both the main loan and interest are paid in regular monthly instalments whilst the student is in school, re- payments are made to the private lender in the situation of FFEL( Federal Family Education Loan) loans and to a U. Dept of Education servicing center in the circumstance of Direct loans.

Be certain to calculate carefully all the costs linked with obtaining a PLUS loan and look on it as a loan of last resort as even a home equity loan, for example may easily be less expensive since the interest is tax- deductible, it is essential to keep this information at hand when looking at any student loan consolidation information.

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What makes you decide to carry a credit card? Thus, only the elite class of the society has the power to make" cashless purchases" using this piece of plastic contraption.

What Are The Steps To Identity Restoration

Category: Finance, Credit.

Not too long ago, a friend of mine mentioned that one of his coworkers recently recovered his stolen identity. Compared to my business partner s six year nightmare" only" maybe appropriate but like most victims of identity theft, he probably thought" when" .

I asked how long the process took. "Only two years" he replied. As in, "when will I get my life back? " Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a consumer nonprofit organization, reported that victims spend on average 175 hours trying to recover their identity, often over a period of years. What are the steps to identity restoration? Factor in out of pocket expenses, (usually over$ 1, 500 according to the FTC) and recovery gets painfully magnified. It starts with obtaining a police report. Yet you must do a complete search of local and federal law enforcement databases too find out if anything else, including criminal activity exists on your identity.

That report doesn t mean other law enforcement agencies have been contacted. You re also going to need the police report to contact the many and I mean many different agencies and organizations, including the Social Security Administration, The Federal Trade Commission, all of your financial institutions, the 3 major credit bureaus, The Department of, the Passport Office Motor Vehicles, as well as, the Post Office the Medical Information Bureau. Concerning your financial institutions, get them to cancel your credit cards and close your bank accounts. All of these places must be sent a fraud notification alert. Find out from your bank about any suspicious activity, such as accounts tampered with or opened fraudulently. Know your rights. Reopen new bank accounts with password verification.

According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1992, you must be told not only what s in your file but if that information is being used against you. This brings us to the credit bureaus. The Federal Trade Commission recently expanded the rights available to victims of identity theft, including your right to get negative information due to fraud blocked from your records. Make sure your credit report reflects the identity theft and gets flagged with a fraud alert. This without a doubt ranks as THE biggest headache for identity theft victims. Many victims have received assurances that the matter would be resolved, however months and sometimes years later, the credit bureaus have not cleared their records. Once a negative gets put on your record, it seems the credit bureaus refuse to remove it, in spite of the countless documentation you provide to them.

If you are going to do this by yourself, constant follow up is critical. This can affect you well into the future when buying a house, car or any other big ticket item. That goes for all the organizations but especially the credit bureaus. Getting a lawyer wouldn t be a bad idea. Be diligent until the matter gets resolved. Stay Away from" credit repair companies" .

Some of them even offer to help you apply for credit under a new identity. No matter what they advertise, there s usually nothing they can do to help you with identity theft. Hello? Advise the utility companies. When trying to eliminate fraud from your record you don t want to create more fraud! It s not just bank accounts and credit cards. If necessary get counseling.

Many identity thieves commit fraud by opening telephone accounts, purchasing cable television or establishing credit with the gas& electric companies, in the hopes it will go unnoticed for as long as possible. Identity theft can be a shattering experience mentally and emotionally. It s not their fault of course but the feelings remain. Victims and family members often feel violated. A network of support groups and counselors exists if you need it. But with follow up, support and belief that the nightmare will end. the nightmare WILL end. The road back from identity theft can take years, cost a lot of money, and cause much stress and pain.

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The legendary Black American credit card has an aura of mystery surrounding it.

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Do you need credit card debt consolidation? But, the stark reality is that more and more people are consolidating their credit card debts to avoid falling into a debt trap and tarnish their credit history.

Avoid Excessive Credit

Category: Finance, Credit.

There are many misconceptions about credit scores out there. These sorts of misconceptions can hurt your chances at some jobs, at good interest rates, and even your chances of getting some apartments.

There are customers who believe that they don t have a credit score and many customers who think that their credit scores just don t really matter. The truth is, of you have a bank account and bills, then you have a credit score, and your credit score matters more than you might think. All these terms refer to the same thing: the three- digit number that lets lenders get an idea of how likely you are to repay your bills. Your credit score may be called many things, including a credit risk rating, a credit rating, a FICO score, a FICO rating, or a credit risk score. Understand where credit scores come from. Without this information, you won t be able to very effectively improve your score because you won t understand how the things you do in daily life affect your score.

If you are going to improve your credit score, then logic has it that you must understand what your credit score is and how it works. In general, your credit score is a number that lets lenders know how much of a credit risk you are. Similarly, credit bureaus and lenders often look at general patterns. The credit score is a number, usually between 300 and 850, that lets lenders know how well you are paying off your debts and how much of a credit risk you are. Since people with too many debts tend not to have great rates of repayment, your credit score may suffer if you have too many debts. One of the best ways to improve your credit score is simply to pay your bills on time.

Pay your bills on time. This is absurdly simple but it works very well, because nothing shows lenders that you take debts seriously as much as a history of paying promptly. Avoid excessive credit. Experts think that up to 35% of your credit score is based on your paying of bills on time, so this simple step is one of the easiest ways to boost your credit score. If you have many lines of credit or several huge debts, you make a worse credit risk because you are close to" overextending your credit. " This simply means that you may be taking on more credit than you can comfortably pay off. The higher your debts the greater your monthly debt payments and so the higher the risk that you will eventually be able to repay your debts.

Even if you are making payments regularly now on existing bills, lenders know that you will have a harder time paying off your bills if your debt load grows too much. In order to have a great credit score, avoid taking out excessive credit. Pay down Your Debts. You should stick to one or two credit cards and one or two other major debts( car loan, mortgage) in order to have the best credit rating. If you have a lot of debt, your credit score will suffer. If you are serious about improving your credit score, then start with the largest debt you have and start paying it down so that you are using a less large percentage of your credit total. Paying down your debts to a minimum will help elevate your credit score.

In general, try to make sure that you use no more than 50% of your credit. If you can pay off your credit card in full each month. If possible, reduce the debt even more. That is even better. Have a range of credit types. What counts here is what percentage of your total credit limit you are using- the lower the better.

The types of credit you have are a factor in calculating your credit score. Having some form of personal credit- such as credit cards- and some larger types of credit- such as a mortgage or auto loan- and paying them off regularly is better than having only one type of credit. In general, lenders like to see that you are able to handle a range of credit types well. Beware of debts and credit you don t use. Also, having lots of accounts you don t use increases the odds that you will forget about an old account and stop making payments on it- resulting in a lowered credit score. Having credit lines and credit cards you don t need makes you seem like a worse credit risk because you run the risk of" overextending" your credit.

Having fewer accounts will make it easier for you to keep track of your debts and will increase the chances of you having a good credit score. You are more likely to notice problems and inconsistencies if you check your credit score on a regular basis- at least once a year and preferably three times a year. Check your credit score regularly. Be sure to check your credit rating with each credit bureau, too. Sometimes, these errors are caused by mistakes made at the credit bureau, but they could be an indication that someone is using your identity. If you notice anything odd or anything you don t recognize( such as a charge account you did not open) report it immediately.

In either case, such mistakes could hurt your credit score. Fixing such errors improves your credit score.

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Choosing a student credit card is often a burdensome process. But the Chase Student Flexible Rewards Card takes much of the guess work out of the process.

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Credit Cards Have Transformed The Businesses And Our Lives To A Great Extent

Category: Finance, Credit.

We accept credit cards is a statement that you must have come across multiple times at various shops, grocery stores and other merchant outlets.

Credit cards have transformed the businesses and our lives to a great extent. This statement is generally accompanied by a few stickers( Visa/ Master card etc) . A few years back there were just a handful of shops that would accept credit cards but today you will find that most of the shops accept credit cards. These credit cards entitle you for rebates when you use them at any of the stores of that retail chain. In fact, some shops( like those belonging to a big retail chain) not only accept credit cards but also supply credit cards. With credit cards around, a lot of people have stopped carrying any cash with them or just carry a very small amount of cash with them. In fact, this is one reason why almost every merchant accepts credit cards.

That means that any shop that doesn t accept credit cards is potentially losing customers. With the evolution of internet, credit card industry too took a new turn and up came ecommerce and e- shops. Thus came the era where almost every online- shop would accept credit cards( directly or indirectly) . So, those stickers of We accept credit cards , moved on to the doors of internet shops. In fact, this was the premise on which the complete online- business industry was based. Fraud is associated with almost every financial instrument.

This is convenience at its best. So there came fraudsters too, who too said that We accept credit cards . Some of them disguise themselves as online merchants who accept credit cards as mode of payment( the actual motive being extraction of critical credit card details) . These fraudsters use a lot of techniques to commit credit card related fraud. Others are people who work at merchant shops that accept credit cards. Some other fraudsters lure innocent people into revealing credit card details in chat rooms.

These fraudsters either clone the credit cards or just note critical information from them( and use that for online- shopping) . And then there are tech- savvy fraudsters who use computer programs/ software/ devices( called spyware) to spy on the people who use their credit cards for online payments. So a lot of merchants and service providers do accept credit cards but keep in mind that the fraudsters too welcome/ accept credit cards. The spyware capture their credit card information and get it transmitted to the spy using internet. This is something you surely need to be careful about.

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You can get the money you need to pay your bills or shopping overnight if you need cash fast.

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Good Debt

Category: Finance, Credit.

So you are in debt- who isn t these days? Credit card commercials tell us that a trip to Jamaica is just what we need, regardless of whether we can afford it. (That s what your gold card is for, right? ) Loan brokers want us to borrow up to 125 percent against our home equity.

We live in a society that encourages people to go into debt. Even the federal government just had its first balanced budget in a generation and now faces the enormous task of paying off over trillions of dollars in debt. Many people know how to deal with money. Yet not everyone is in debt. Their debts are manageable, and they have money in the bank. That is what you deserve. That sounds nice, doesn t it money in the bank?

In order to get there, you are going, however to have to change some of your thinking about money and learn a few new methods of dealing with it. People who are not in debt think about and treat money differently than the rest of us. Why Are You in Debt? They know a few things about money and debt that escape the rest of us. What we hope to do in this book is to show you some of their secrets so you can adapt a few of these ideas and tools to help you get out of debt. Let s call them the" financially literate. " If you can begin to relate to money as they do, you will be well on your way to a life that is not only debt- free, but also prosperous.

Do not feel too badly if you are not good with a dollar, a lot of people aren t. Yet, unfortunately for many of us, we learn more about money from our parents than anywhere else. Money literacy is not taught in schools, and too often parents are too busy trying to dig themselves out of their own financial hole to help much either. The good news is that learning how to get out of debt and become more financially literate is not all that complicated. So the first question to ask yourself is: Why did you go into debt in the first place? The first step in the process is to figure out how you created so much debt, because if you don t figure out how and why you got yourself into this pickle, you might get out of debt, but you certainly won t stay out.

Sometimes going into debt is unavoidable, but often it is not. Going into debt is just the easiest. When money is tight, you have several options. Instead of choosing more debt, you might have decided to work overtime and make more money, or possibly you could have tightened your belt and spent less money. There are many reasons people go into debt: some are good reasons, and some are bad. Debt was not your only choice.

It doesn t matter. Did an illness or a divorce set you back financially? Did you buy luxuries you could otherwise not afford? Was debt your way of dealing with some other sudden, unexpected expense? If you can see a pattern, you need to address that pattern as much as the underlying debt. When you look at the reason why you went into debt, the important thing is to notice whether your spending habits follow a pattern.

Consider Mark and Diane. They have two kids to whom they are devoted. They both make a good living: he s a psychiatrist, and she s a psychologist. They send both to private school, which costs a total of$ 15, 000 a year, and both kids go to summer camp. Mark and Diane don t buy luxuries, they don t travel much, except for the, and kids expenses, they are very frugal. This expense adds up. Yet the only way they can pay for everything is by going into debt.

Although they would like to move to a less expensive neighborhood, they can t because they have no equity in their home, so they are stuck. They use their home equity line of credit and credit cards to stay afloat. What are they to do? The private school is going to have to go, camp may be out, or they are going to have to start making more money. If they are going to get out of debt, something in their lives is going to have to change. The same is true for you. Good and Bad Debt.

If you want to get out of debt, you are going to have to identify why you went into debt and change that behavior or pattern. Debt in and of itself is not a bad thing. Steve began his own law practice, and Azriela began her own entrepreneurial consulting business. Both of us( the authors) were able to start our own businesses because of debt. So we understand what debt is and why some debt is great debt. Debt constructs buildings and funds investments and entire corporations- even the government is funded by debt.

Debt allows you to do things you otherwise normally could not do, such as start a business, or pay for, go to college a home. The trick is to foster debts that help the cause and banish the ones that don t. Good Debt. Not all debts are bad debts. Debt that helps you, is manageable, enriches your life, and is not a burden can be called good debt. They are bad debt if you dropped out of medical school after one year to become a writer. For example, student loans are good debt if they enabled you to get through school and further your life goals.

A good debt helps. We want to help you get rid of that bad debt. A bad debt hinders. Other examples of debt that may be considered good include: Home loans. Not only does it permit you to own your own home, but it also allows you to build home equity. A mortgage can be a great debt. People who are financially savvy earn interest and equity.

For example, charging groceries means that you will pay about 17 percent interest on items that will be consumed within a week. People who are not financially savvy pay interest and create money for others. A financially literate person would never do that. A car loan can be a fine debt because you get something long- lasting out of the debt. Car loans. If you need a nice car for your job( if you are a real estate agent, for example) , a car loan may be considered good debt because it helps you in your career.

Business loans. However, a car loan that you cannot afford is a bad debt because it detracts from your life. If you can service the loan, and it helps you make more money, the loan is good debt, but if the loan is nothing but a source of problems for you, the debt is bad. Credit cards are fantastic. Credit cards. They are convenient and easy. The problem with them, as you probably know only too well, is that it is too easy to fall under their siren spell and get in over your head before you know it.

They can help finance a business or even medical emergencies. That s when they begin to hurt your life more than help it. How do you know if your debt is good debt or bad debt? Bad Debt Blues. Easy. You sleep poorly because of them. Bad debts cause stress.

They cause fights and foster guilt. Hard- pressed to come up with a definition, Powell uttered the famous line, "I know it when I see it. " The same could be said for bad debt: You know it when you see it, and it certainly can be obscene. Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell was once asked to define obscenity. Bad debt seems impossible to pay back. The things quickly disappear, but the debt has a nasty habit of sticking around, seemingly forever. You create bad debt when you charge things you don t need or when you borrow for things that you consume quickly, meals, such as clothes, or vacations. Bad debts can become very bad debts because of interest and penalties.

If you do this with five items, you owe$ 1100, and that s a lot of money. For example, if you buy a CD player for$ 200 and don t pay it off by the end of the year, and your credit card company charges a usurious 20 percent APR( 20 percent per year) , you owe$ 220 by the end of the year. Money Talks. Here are some simple ways to save a little extra: Don t use ATMs at other banks and avoid$ 2 user fees. Tight for money? Cancel your movie channels on cable and save about$ 20 per month. Hold a garage sale and make about$ 200.

Put all of your change at the end of the day in a jar and save about$ 50 a month. Cancel your cell phone and save$ 50 a month. Credit cards are the prime culprit, but they are by no means the only one. You can create bad debt when you agree to pay these crazy interest rates that some creditors charge, because the debt seems to grow exponentially. High interest can also come with personal loans, or unpaid taxes, business loans. You re surprised to find that the phone bill is still unpaid. You know what the bad debt dance looks like, anyone reading this book does: New bills are coming in before you ve cleared out those from last month.

Somehow the dentist was never sent his check. Your Visa and MasterCard bills include late payment penalties. You know what past- due notices look like. The hardware store sends a letter telling you you re past due and requests that you send a check at once. Worst of all, these things don t surprise you anymore. There is more month left at the end of your money, and payday seems far away.

Avoidance is a common coping mechanism to deal with a budget that doesn t balance. The finance company can come take your car. The problem is, it can create even more problems than you already have: Your property could be repossessed. The electronics store can come take its TV back. If that happens, your wages could be garnished, or your bank account could be levied upon. You could get sued. Imagine your surprise when you go to get that$ 1, 000 out of your checking account to pay your mortgage and you find that it has been seized by one of your creditors.

Failure to pay a bill now means that a creditor can get a judgment against you and force you to pay it later when you sell your house, only then you will pay it with 10 percent interest per year. A lien can be placed on your real estate. Loss of services. Yet, as much as you have been avoiding the problem, the truth is that your debts are neither crushing nor hopeless. You could lose your insurance or your utility services if you avoid paying those bills. They are simply a problem- one for which there is a solution.

You began to do that the moment you read this articles. But no one ever eliminated a problem until he or she recognized and admitted that there was a problem. As you read it, you will need to begin to formulate a debt- reduction plan that will work for you. Debts You Want to Keep. As you do, you need to determine which debts are necessary and which are not. Steve, one of the authors of this book, is a bankruptcy attorney. They talked, came up with a plan of action, and Bill went on his way.

One day, an old acquaintance named Bill came into his office and said that he needed some help getting out of debt, but he also wanted to avoid bankruptcy if at all possible. About four years later, Steve ran into Bill again and asked how things were. Bill had$ 30, 000 in credit card debt and was behind two months on his mortgage when he left Steve s office. Bill relayed the following story. That day, Bill finally decided that something had to change. His mortgage was his largest, debt because he, and favorite loved his house.

He wanted to pay everyone back, put some money in savings, and keep his house. Bill s first order of business was to prioritize his debts. He was therefore able to keep his most important debt and focus his energies on getting rid of the debts he didn t want anymore. Wanting to save his house, Bill called his lender and found out that it had a program that would enable him to roll his mortgage arrears onto the end of his loan. Bill put together a credit card repayment plan. He was diligent, but not always perfect.

He started living a bit more frugally, making some extra money by moonlighting, and paying more on his credit cards than the minimum. Although it took him several years, he finally did get out of debt. Bill did it, and you can too. He also kept his house and even created a little nest egg. Debts to Get Rid Of. The most obvious are those where you are paying high interest and penalties, things such as credit cards, taxes, lines of credit, or any other debt that is much higher than inflation. If you want to prosper financially, there are plenty of debts that you will want to wipe out.

In this articles, you will see how to formulate a plan that will enable you to get out from under these burdensome debts. Make paying your rent or mortgage a top priority. But as you contemplate this plan, you also need to prioritize certain debts and pay them on time: Rent or mortgage. Payments on a home equity line of credit or second mortgage are also essential because you can lose your house if you don t pay. Make the payments. Car payments.

If you don t, the car will be repossessed. These services are important, and the bills usually have heavy late payment penalties. Utility bills. Child support or alimony. Taxes. Not paying these debts can land you in jail. Taxes may be put off for awhile if necessary, and we show you how to do so later on in the book, but if the IRS is about to take your paycheck, house, bank account, or other property, you should set up a repayment plan immediately.

The goal of this articles is to help you get out of debt within the context of making your life work. The First Rule of Holes: Stop Digging! You will not be asked to make radical, unreasonable changes in your life because doing so rarely works. If you are going to start getting out of debt, you have to stop going into debt. Instead, sometimes gradual, important, small but significant changes can make a big difference. One way to start is to begin to wean yourself from the credit card teat if you think that is part of your problem.

That would be impractical and unreasonable. You don t have to cut up all your credit cards. Start slowly, but build up to it and get strong. The only way to stop going into debt is to stop going into debt. You can do it. You might as well start now because the sooner you start, the sooner you will get out of debt. We will show you how to easily trim your budget( well, almost easily) so that you need not incur more debt to stay afloat.

The longer you wait, the longer it will take. But begin now. Down the road you will see that this is one of the most important steps you can take in getting out of debt. You are going to have to stop sooner or later. You will thank yourself for this gift. Long- Term Goals. Remember the first rule of holes: Stop digging!

Now is the time to begin to think about your long range financial vision. Changing some habits? What is it you hope to accomplish by getting out of debt? Paying off your MasterCard? But you can have even more. Probably what you really want is a less stressful life, one that s free from money worries.

Getting out of debt is one thing, but prosperity is another thing altogether. If you do make some simple changes to your thinking and your behavior, not only will you get out of debt, but you also will get ahead. You have read this once already, and you will read it again in this book: If you don t begin to do some things differently, to change the way you think and treat money, you might get out of debt, but you won t stay out of debt. You will get what you deserve: a life of abundance. Doing so for nonessentials does not. The Least You Need to Know Going into debt for essentials makes financial sense.

Not all debt is bad debt. Stop adding to your debt right now. You may want to keep debts that enhance your life and get rid of the rest. Cultivate a long- term plan of action.

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