happiness

Credit Card Debt Elimination, part IV

Getting Help <cont>
 
There is hope in getting help for your credit card debt elimination, you just have to do a bit of homework in finding the people/company/resources to get you to whee you want to be.  I know that I spent countless hours on the Internet, sometimes late at night, sometimes very early in the morning, but I know that it was more hours than I was used to spending.  If you want to meet with somebody in your community, you can use the consumer credit counseling service.  The first time in getting help with my debt challenge, I contacted my local chapter of the service.  They assisted me in analyzing my spending habits, looking for ways to save money, and developing a budget that was reasonable.  I would send them a monthly check for a certain amount, and they would apply it to my creditors.  I got a nice spreadsheet showing me how much each month was going to each credit card company that I owed money to.  When one was paid off, the money that was allocated to the now paid-off card was split evenly between the rest.  It took a while to see any results, but after several months, my lowest one was paid in full and I started seeing the remaining ones diminish at a faster rate. 
 
I guess that I didn’t learn my lesson well after the cards were all paid in full because a year after I was free from them, I found myself lured into the credit card lie again. (It didn’t help that I was also single again and attempting to furnish my new digs.  I had been given a beautiful piano/keyboard near the end of my second marriage, along with the payments on it).  I couldn’t make those payments despite working nearly seventy hours a week.  I had weekends off, so you do the math.  Needless to say, the credit company that had loaned us the money was eager for payment or repossession of the piano.  Working as much as I was, I finally go hold of them and they showed up to repossess the piano at two o’clock in the morning, just minutes after I got done working my second job.  It was a very humbling and eye-opening experience to say the least.  At that point, I was determined not to let that ever happen again.  I was ready to once-and-for all eliminated my credit card debt.
Monday, March 16th, 2009 Debt reduction, credit scores, happiness, money, wealth, financial independence No Comments

Credit Card Debt Elimination, Part III

Getting Help

Even though I am confident that any person can learn to deal with the credit card debt that they have, sometimes you need a little help. A year ago when I sat down and actually figured out the amount of money I owed and my minimum payments at that current rate, I was shocked when I saw that the figure was over $72,000. You would think that I would have a fancy car to show for that, or some great clothes, or pictures of some fantastic world-wide trips that I took…no, I still drove a used car with over 90,000 miles on it (and I still do drive that same car), my clothes were, at best, clothes that came from a mid-tier department store. What I did have, was debt. I was overwhelmed, as I am sure many people are. The worse that my credit score got, the more depressed I became. Sure, I started to receive the tons of email about “We Can Eliminate Your Debt, Legally” and “Need Credit Card Debt Help? We Are There“. Like an drowning man grasping for things to help him stay afloat in an instant, I poured through those e-mails hoping to find the instant cure for my problems.

Something to Look Out For

I finally settled on a company I felt that I could trust. Their website was seemingly legitimate, so I began to do a little more in-depth investigation. First I looked at their accreditations. Check. Then I looked at the Better Business Bureau website for any complaints against this company. Check. I “Googled” their name. Check. Everything seemed in order. I contacted them. I used them for about four months, but the more that I read in books, the more I became uneasy. First, they told me not to answer my phones or to talk to the credit card companies at all. They were going to handle it. I was to continue to make one monthly payment to them and they would set up a separate account through a third party from which the payments would be sent. They would take half of their fee out of the first four months payments ($2,800) and then they would put half of my payment into the third party account and when there was enough in there, they would negotiate with the credit card company. That was all good and well, but I didn’t really appreciate the fact that after six months, I had paid $4,200, but my credit card debt reduction was not happening. By this time, I realized that they were going to be doing for me what I was perfectly capable of myself. Needless to say, that was an expensive lesson using money that I didn’t really have in the first place. This will be continued. To learn more, click here or here.

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Sunday, March 15th, 2009 Debt reduction, credit scores, happiness, money, wealth, financial independence 1 Comment

Credit Card Debt Elimination, Part II

As you will recall, yesterday I began talking about credit card debt elimination.  We left off with the suggestion of calling the credit cad company in regards to asking for relief.  Oftentimes, that is all that it takes is to ask.  There really is nothing to fear for asking for a lower interest rate (I have seen my initial interest rate on a certain, unnamed credit card) creep from the “teaser” rate of 0.00% to an astronomical 29.99%.  One could have a $1,000 balance which going from paying nothing for the convenience of paying with plastic to paying $24.99 per month for the same privilege, but only with the 29.99% interest charge.  Spread that out over a year, and that equates to $299.90 each year.  If it takes 10 years to finally get that balance to zero, it could potentially end up costing nearly $3,000.  Would you let somebody  “loan” you $1,000, but they wanted $4,000 in return?  I cannot imagine that you would. 
 
Having some sort of financial freedom boils down to saving money on things.  It all adds up.  Little by little, bit by bit, it accumulates until it is a seemingly insurmountable burden. One of the things that I learned after a few months with mint.com was that I was spending a percentage of my money on sodas at the gas station.  Sure, $1.28 a pop didn’t seem like much, but there were also accompanying occasional candy bars or snacks, but when I looked at the monthly summary, it was over $50.  (Over a period of a year it was $600).  I couldn’t imagine that if someone were to offer to sell me a card that allowed me to get a soda and some candy every work day for a year for $600, I would go for that offer.  (It gets worse if you were charging it to a credit card.) 
 
For credit card debt elimination, begin by asking for a lower rate.  The way that the economy is affecting everybody, credit card companies will be willing to keep you as a customer with a lower rate, after all, oatmeal is better than no meal.
 
For more, please visit http://www.money-for-my-life.com/.

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Saturday, March 14th, 2009 Debt reduction, credit scores, happiness, money, wealth, financial independence No Comments

The “B” word

The “Budget” can be a formidable task for the uninitiated, but it needn’t be.  I used to live paycheck to paycheck (and in some respects, I still do), but since I have started to use a budget, I feel a lot more in charge of my financial situation.  A lot of books on personal finance have been written, and I  have read quite a few of them.  Most of them advocate using a budget of some sort.
 
Now, don’t be intimidated and think that you have to learn Excel skills or take a class in accounting.  You can make it as simple or complex as you desire.  I happen to have created a few workbooks in Excel and they suffice for my situation.  I also stumbled across a great online source at mint.com and I have been very happy with that.  It takes a little bit of time to set up, but now I have my banking, investment, 401K, and other information available at the click of a button.  What they at mint.com do it once you have set up your accounts, it will be able to display in chart form what you spend, where you spend it, and ways for you to be able to save a little bit of money.  Believe me, the little bits add up over time.
Thursday, March 12th, 2009 Debt reduction, credit scores, happiness, money, wealth, financial independence No Comments

The “B” Word

One of the things that really kept me from succeeding financially was a lack of budget. It wasn’t like the “old days” in which people played “beat the bank” with deposits and check writing (this is where you write a check on an account that doesn’t have the money in it at the time, but you know that you will be able to deposit into your account before the check that you wrote will go through the clearinghouse), but it was similar. I used my checking account to pay the major bills like rent/mortgage, utilities, car payments, etc., but nowhere did I have a written plan to ensure that I wasn’t living beyond my means. This lifestyle gives credence to the adage that if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.

During my first round with credit card debt, I sought the help of Consumer Credit Counseling, a not-for-profit organization that negotiated terms with your credit cards. They would schedule an appointment with you for you to go over what you spend each month, and let me tell you, they were extremely thorough in expenses. When I had completed my survey of what I usually spent my money on, they worked with me to set up a budget. Included in that budget was an amount that I sent them each month to pay down my debt for me…more information can be found in future blogs.

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Tuesday, March 10th, 2009 Debt reduction, Uncategorized, happiness, money, wealth, financial independence 1 Comment

Credit Card Debt and Credit Scores

We have already established that we have a credit card debt challenge and that we are acknowledging that it does exist and that we need to do something about it before it does something to us! There are two keys to eliminating or diminishing the credit card debt that we have: 1) stop increasing the amount of the debt and 2) paying down, or lowering the amount of debt that we already have. This is both a simple solution and one that may seem excrutiatingly difficult. A lot of that hinges on your mindset. If you think it is impossible, think again.

Nothing is impossible and you may have to seek out assistance. This can be particularly challenging to those that have large egos, have never “stooped” to seeking assistance, and those that are too afraid to ask. It never hurts to ask, because if the person(s) you ask for assistance say “no”, they are are no worse off than when you were before you asked. I know, I have been there. I, for years, was afraid to ask anybody (parents, friends, spouse) for any help because I had always been an independent person and capable of being self-sufficient.

For more information, click here:

Sunday, March 8th, 2009 Debt reduction, credit scores, happiness, money, wealth, financial independence No Comments

Money For My Life

Have you ever been caught up in living life that you haven’t been able to keep up with paying for it? Do you find that the minimum payments are getting larger and larger and you end up paying exorbitant fees that end up costing many times the cost of what you had originally charged and thought nothing about? Are you tired of living paycheck to paycheck?

Don’t worry, you are not alone. Bankruptcies are increasing as our economy gets weaker and weaker. There are many things that you can do: 1)stop using credit cards for frivolous things, 2) pay down your debt, and (ideally) 3) make more money. What I have found is that there is money to be made out there, and it isn’t that difficult to find.

I have tried to do it the hard way. I have worked two jobs at least half of my working life. This included doing jobs that others with a college degree wouldn’t have even considered doing. The jobs are out there. I have been on overnight cleaning crews, done third shift temporary work, worked nights and weekends as a cashier. These have helped in keeping my head largely above the deep waters of debt so I don’t get ahead, I just stay alive. But there are other ways. I have painstakingly researched many of the various methods that are floating out there and I believe I have found some of the best ways that aren’t difficult and you will get out of them what you put it, and then some.

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Monday, March 2nd, 2009 Uncategorized, happiness, money, wealth, financial independence No Comments
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