Ten Resources to Eliminate Debt

Getting into debt is easy, eliminating debt is possible. There are many ways of learning how to eliminating debt. The tens resources of eliminating debt that are the easiest to find are:

1. Your local library will have books on debt management and debt elimination which will prove valuable to get you started on your road to becoming debt free.
2. You should take a debt management course or a budgeting class. The interactive atmosphere of these classes will help you manage your finances better, eliminate debt and remain debt free.
3. Some people like getting a personal loan at an affordable rate to eliminate all other debts. Before taking the loan it is important to explore the terms and make sure that the loan covers all the debts and the repayment terms are reasonable.
4. Find an alternative means to generate an income. If you can work at part time jobs to help pay your debts it is well worth the effort.
5. Get your credit reports from credit reporting agencies and dispute all wrong entries.
6. Debt consolidation loans are also resources to turn to when you want to eliminate debt. Debt consolidation companies negotiate with creditors and give you a loan with a manageable rate of interest.
7. A strict budget is your fundamental resource to eliminate debt. Staying with your budget unless there is an emergency will slowly dissolve debt and eliminate it completely.
8. The spreadsheet on your computer is another invaluable resource. If you make a daily account of your expenditure and learn from your spending mistakes, debts will disappear and never appear again.
9. Eliminating the continuous use of a credit card will eliminate debt. Spending cash is a psychological deterrent to spending and aids freedom from debt.
10. Try to refinance your mortgage at a lower rate of interest. You will be able to payoff other debts when your mortgage payments are lower.

Proper financial management keeps debts at bay. Management of debts helps remove debts forever.

 

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Maximize Credit and Eliminate Debt

A good credit score opens doors. Nearly every aspect of your life depends on your credit score. Banks, Insurance Companies and Credit Card Companies give you deals based on your credit scores. A good credit score is achieved only if you are appropriately managing your debt. Managing your finances is key so that you are always seen as creditworthy is the best way to keep FICO scores high and debt away.

The first method of maximizing credit and eliminating debt is to stop buying on credit and credit cards should be reserved only for emergencies. The more cash you pay the less you will spend on unnecessary temptations which minimizes costly credit based financing.

If you do need a credit card try and find a credit card that has a low APR or annual percentage rate and spend 30% less that your limit through credit cards. Maintaining a balance of less than 30% while maintaining on-time payment increases your score. Dispute any doubtful charge by the Credit Card Company or financial institution immediately and ignoring this will only complicate the matter. Start paying bills on time and make a resolution not to pay a late fee for one year for starters and keep renewing the resolution and remove debt from your life.

Periodically get a credit report from a credit reporting agency to check if you can eliminate any of the debts reported or if any dubious debt has been recorded. Always have a budget in place. A budget gives you financial direction as you navigate through the maze of consumer temptations. Deviating from the budget will only increase your debt. Maintain a daily household account and make sure that every single dollar you spend is recorded. You should make sure that your account never shows excessive expenditure.

Debt is not a dead end. Debt management is a tunnel through which you can go and the light at the end of the tunnel is your freedom from debt.

 

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Five Steps to Better Credit Scores - FICO

Your credit score is your financial reputation. A good credit score opens many doors and helps you get the goods and services you want. A good credit score gets you the privileges of discounts incentives and all other perks that a business offers when it regards you as a financially safe customer. If your credit does not look good and you need to perk it up, the following five ways are simple step for a big leap in your credit score. Take a good look at your financial situation. Bad financial management is not the only reason why your credit score falls. A divorce or job loss could be the cause of your bad credit. Once you deal with the basic problem management of your debt will become easier.

1. Make a list of payments every month and pay off most of the bills that can fit in your budget. Try and pay all future bills on time.
2. Stop buying items using your credit card unless its for emergency purposes.
3. Paying for everything in cash will stop you from the temptation of unlimited buying through a credit card.
4. Create a budget and do not stray from your budget. Controlling spending is the best way to improve your credit score. You can discipline your shopping by taking a list and sticking to the list no matter what the temptation.
5. Try and generate more income by taking on part time jobs because income is the backbone of a good credit score. More income helps faster repayments of debts.

Bad credit can be improved creditably with a little discipline and dedication to improving your credit score.

 

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Credit and Safety – The Emerging Chinese Threat

According to Slate Magazine and the financial times, Chinese hackers have breached White House computers and there is speculation that this was a Chinese government sponsored event. Individuals or groups with enough skill, time and resources to crack government systems are a definite threat to the average person.

There is nothing stopping these hackers from writing a program that compromises your financial account or obtains personal information off of you handheld device or home computer. And there is true financial motivation with little or no legal consequence. Good luck extraditing someone from China to prosecute.

Your Defense

Encryption on your laptop or desktop system along with strong passwords, anti-virus and personal firewall systems are a good start. If you do not have these basic areas covered then you need to look into solutions to protect your information.

Its also important to note that a Chinese Hacker or any hacker cannot remotely extract information from a piece of paper in a safe or file cabinet. You do have the option to “go analog” and focus on the old-school method of information storage and protection.

5 Safety Steps

1. Strong passwords – Use the longest and strongest passwords for key and important information such as bank accounts, social security numbers, taxes and other personal financial information. You know its a good password if you cant remember it and you need to write it down and place it in the safe or file cabinet.
2. Internet Access – The most secure computer systems in the world are the ones that have no network or internet access of any kind. While this may not be a possibility for you or your family it is important to consider where you are storing information and how easily it can be accessed remotely.
3. Computer Protection – Don't leave the front door open. make sure that you have anti-virus, a firewall and strong passwords for your computer systems. Security is no longer optional. If you need help with securing your systems seek out a local professional.
4. Email Use – Email is probably to worst place to store or transmit personal information. Do not use email to send any personal information such as social security numbers, bank account, passwords, home addresses or any type of potentially sensitive information.
5. Identity Protection – Your identity is a rather easy thing to steal with the right types of personal information. Make sure that you are checking your credit on a regular basis and consider purchasing services like LifeLock.

Credit and Job Loss

Losing your job is the most devastating thing that can happen to you next to the death of a loved one or divorce. Losing a job shatters your financial world till you get another job. There are many avenues to explore to remain financially stable even if you lose your job.

The basic requirement when inflow of money stops is self discipline and planning. Controlling your finances by cutting the unnecessary parts of your daily expenditure should be your fundamental step when you lose your job. Inform your credit card companies and other creditors as soon as you lose your job. They will usually be happy that you told them well in time and will negotiate reduced payments when you don’t have a job. Here are some suggested areas where you can consider cutting expenses:

1. Cable TV
2. Landscaping or gardening services
3. Pest Control Services
4. Alarm / Security Services
5. Internet (try the library or free wifi as an alternate)
6. Increase car insurance deductibles
7. Call your bank and creditors and ask for relief

Some experts suggest that you take two or three credit cards when you have a job and use them only when you lose your job. This is because you will not get credit card approval without a job and these unused credit card will give you credit when you are unemployed. Check all the benefits that your employer should give you before laying you off.

You are entitled to get medical benefits from your employer for the next six months or till you find another job. If you generate an income from alternative short term jobs till you find a regular job, your credit will not plummet though you are unemployed. Refinancing your mortgage or taking a home equity loan will help you get credit when you lose your job. By managing finances carefully, you can sail through the trauma of job loss in a creditworthy way.

 

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Debt Management

You can manage your debts by yourself or get professional help. Debts can overwhelm you and getting out of debt can seem like an unending process. Good financial management is all it takes to help you get out of any type of debt trap systematically. Discipline is the fundamental attribute for getting out of any situation including debt. Making a disciplined effort to save and repay debts by cutting your own expenditure till you get out of debt will keep debts away forever.

Stop buying on credit till you get out of debt. Cash down payments make it less tempting to be extravagant especially when there are a whole lot of debts to repay. Start paying bills on time and make sure that you never pay a late fee again.

Check your credit report by getting a copy from a credit reporting agency. Go through the report with a fine tooth comb and make a plan of what debts should be paid as a priority, which debts are doubtful and must be disputed and what debts can be deferred till priority payments are complete.  Design a plan for repayment based on your credit report and lifestyle change and make a strict budget. Stick to the plan and budget no matter what the temptation

Pay off all your credit card dues. They usually l form the major part of your debts and should be dealt with first. When you pay all your credit card bills it is likely that the debt will reduce drastically. Work with your creditors. Don’t try to evade or ignore your creditors. If you talk to them about negotiating new payment terms they will agree to help you because they will appreciate your sincere efforts in paying back the loan.

If you are unable to manage your own debt, there are professional companies that will help you with a plan and work with you by counseling and help you eliminate debt. This is a more expensive option because these companies charge a fee for the service rendered. Take a debt consolidation loan. The debt consolidation company will give you a loan at an affordable rate of interest to pay back all other loans giving you the convenience of paying a single loan at a low rate of interest.  Debt can be managed and if you manage debt carefully it can be eliminated permanently.

 

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Creating a Budget to Manage Debt

Creating a budget and sticking firmly to that budget will help you dissolve your debts magically. A budget lends discipline and order to the process of eliminating debt and good budget is the basic and most important weapon in a war against debt.Before you create a budget you need to make lists. List what you spend on every day. List what expenses are essential and eliminate all expenses that are not required. A separate list of annual or half yearly payments and a list of possible emergency payments will help you make a good budget for debt repayment. Example:

1. Rent / Mortgage
2. Groceries
3. Utilities
4. Car Payment
5. Car Insurance
6. Car maintenance / Fuel
7. Entertainment
8. Dining out

Calculate your income and how much you need to feed each of these lists and what percent of your income you can use to repay debts in a month. Make a list of debts and make another list of what debts you have to repay as a priority and repayment of which of your debts can be delayed. Keep a spreadsheet with the list of debts and make a note of which debts you have repaid daily. Keep a separate spreadsheet with your household budget and enter a daily account of expenses to make sure that you don’t exceed the budget. Do not use the amount kept aside to repay debts for expenses. However if you have money in excess of your other expenses you should use it to repay your debts. By creating a sensible budget and refusing to spend a cent beyond the boundaries of the budget will help you melt debt away in a matter of months.

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Identity Theft Statistics

Identity theft is a modern crime. It is a crime of assuming a financial identity and misusing the identity for making wrongful gain. With the advent of the electronic age, face to face financial transactions became a thing of the past and it became increasingly easy to steal identity which is now recognized only by a series of digits or names.

The alarming increase in identity theft has made both lawmakers and crime fighters take a serious view of the need to eliminate it with stringent identity security procedures and electronic security devices. The Federal trade Commission uses statistics from the Javelin strategy and research institute and the statistics of complaints recorded by the Better Business Bureau to understand and analyze reform needed to stem the growth if identity theft. In the year 2006 the Javelin and Better Business Bureau reports showed that there were 8.9 million victims of identity theft in the U.S.

The National Crime Prevention Council commissioned the Harris Interactive Survey to learn about the top crimes committed in the U.S. and identity theft topped the list of crimes committed in the US. Among identity theft methods, the Better Business Bureau statistics show that credit card crimes top the list. 25% of the identity thieves misuse credit cards. Credit card frauds are followed by telephone crimes, utility thefts and bank frauds in the list of identity frauds committed.

The good news is that there are many security measures brought by financial institutions and the Government to make financial transactions more secure. These security measures are also introduced for online transactions. The government has passed stringent laws imposing strict punishment of imprisonment for identity thieves. Identity theft is a new age crime and statistics show that though there are many laws and security measures to prevent its commission, the numbers are reducing marginally.

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Chinese Hackers – Your Stolen Identity and Credit Cards

China is quickly emerging as not only a financial superpower but an internet superpower as well. The China Internet Network Information Center (CINIC) releases a report every six months on Chinese internet development. According to the report released June 2008, China has surpassed the number of internet users found in the United States with a quarter of a billion Chinese on the internet.

As you might imagine, a large number of the Chinese internet users are younger (30% +) and in many cases well educated individuals. Apparently a growing number of these young internet aficionados are turning toward the dark arts of the internet or “Black Hat” hacking techniques that  have plagued internet businesses and corporations for years. This is something that isn’t terribly uncommon in the United States but our government and local law enforcement agencies have the ability to hunt and capture these fool hardy individuals.

Why You Should be Concerned

Hacking and the threat of hackers is not a new issue but what is different about China is that they aren't exactly an extradition friendly country nor are they an ally of the United States. What does that mean to you and to US Corporations? The FBI reports that, for the first time ever, revenues from cybercrime have exceeded drug trafficking [1].This means we are a free target and the Chinese government is unlikely to care if a 16 year old steals 20,000 US credit cards. Although he would probably disappear rather quickly if he were caught spreading anti-government propaganda via the internet.

Your Protection

A certain amount of responsibility remains with the US government and local law enforcement. However, we all tend to lock the front door when we leave our home or in some cases we purchase an alarm system. What can you do ? Well, keeping a close eye on your credit is a good preventative step and utilizing identify theft protection services such as Life-lock can really provide significant protection. I would also recommend quality anti-virus software for your computer, a software firewall (built-in on XP and Vista) and enabling windows updates on your computer which can reduce the risk of virus infection or attack. Also avoid opening email attachments, even from friends, unless you know EXACTLY what it is and ensure that you are expecting to receive it.

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