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Saturday, May 19, 2012

Archive for the ‘Debt Self Help’ Category

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How to Eliminate Credit Card Debt by Making More Money

Last Updated on Tuesday, 14 February 2012 11:59 Written by GuestPoster Thursday, 9 February 2012 07:43

If you have credit card debt, you know the trouble it can cause. Because the interest rates are so high, the amount you owe just goes up and up, especially if you’re only paying the minimum payment. If you want to eliminate credit card debt, you can do two things, spend less and put more toward your debt payments or make more and put more toward your debt payments.

Do Both

Using both of these techniques is ideal. It is the most effective way of eliminating debt. Set up a budget to cut back your spending everywhere possible. Cut out any and all expenses you don’t need. Paying back the debt quickly by being extreme is effective and will save you money on interest in the end.

Make More Money

Once you’re confident that you’re saving absolutely every penny you can, pay off even more debt by making more money. Here are some easy money making ideas that will help you accomplish this. The more ideas you take advantage of, the faster the debt will dissipate.

  1. Ask for a raise/promotion. Making more money at your existing job will benefit you far beyond paying off the debt and usually doesn’t require an extra time commitment aside from what the job entails.
  2. Do odd jobs like babysitting, landscaping, cleaning, fixing things, washing/detailing cars, tutoring, writing articles online, etc. Search online and ask around for more ideas.
  3. Get a part time job. Retail is a good industry for this, especially if it’s the holiday season when they temporarily higher part-timers. Sign up with a temp agency to get temporary assignments.
  4. Start a business on the side. Have a great idea you’ve always wanted to put into practice? Start it out part time, so long as it doesn’t require a large sum of capital. Don’t forget you’re trying to get out of debt, not into debt further.

Eliminate your Credit Card Debt Fast

Now that you’re making more money and saving more money, put all that extra cash toward your debt payment. If you work hard enough, you could cut months or even years off your repayment plan. The sooner you pay it off, the less you’ll have to pay in the long run.

Once your debt is gone, you can funnel that extra cash toward other major purchases and savings plans such as a new house, retirement, college, etc. Don’t forget to take some of it for fun as a reward for all your hard work paying off your debt.

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Use a Debt Elimination Plan to Kill Debt

Last Updated on Friday, 1 July 2011 02:59 Written by GuestPoster Thursday, 30 June 2011 04:26

If you’re like most people who are drowning in debt, then you are more than ready to find a good debt elimination plan and kill that debt off for good.

The big financial gurus like Suze Orman, Dave Ramsey and David Bach, use the snowball method to help people get out of debt quickly. This is the method of transferring payments from balance to balance as they are paid off until all debts are killed…and hopefully for good.

These three gurus each have a unique way of setting up the snowball.

Balance Snowball – Dave Ramsey’s Method

  • Debts are paid off by balance in ascending order, lowest to highest
  • Starter payment (extra money in addition to minimum payment) goes to the lowest balance.
  • Payment amounts move from debt to debt, snowballing as it goes until all debt is zeroed out.

This method is good for keeping you incentive going as the smaller balances will get knocked out pretty quickly. Psychologically this debt elimination plan is very satisfying.

Interest Rate Snowball – Suze Orman’s Method

  • Debts are in descending order by interest rate, highest to lowest.
  • $10 is adding to the minimum payment for all debts
  • The snowball starter is adding the the first debt (highest interest rate) and then snowballs from there until everything is paid off.

You will most likely pay the least interest rate using this method, but seeing that first debt paid off may take many months and this can be discouraging.

DOLP System Snowball – David Bach

The DOLP (done on last payment) system uses the number of months left to determine the order of payoff. The debt with the least number of months goes first and so on.

  • To determine the number of months, divide the balance by the minimum payments.
  • Add the starter amount to the first debt and snowball until all debts are gone.

Because balance and interest rates aren’t figured into the order, you might end up paying the most interest on this debt elimination plan. However, like Dave Ramsey’s plan you’ll see debts paid off quickly at the beginning.

All three of these plans are good ones and they will work to get you out of debt if you stick with it. Pick the one that appeals to you the most and just get started!

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8 Basic Tips towards Financial Freedom

Last Updated on Monday, 20 June 2011 01:34 Written by GuestPoster Sunday, 19 June 2011 10:31

Here are eight tips to have financial freedom

TIP 1: Settle all your credit card debt and use cash on purchases.

You can always seek debt settlement plans to help you handle problems with debt. Unwanted interest on your credit card is certainly one thing you would not want your money to go to. To avoid accumulation of debt, always have some cash at hand to use it when you shop or buy groceries for example. Do this whether you own a virtual credit card, orchard bank secured credit card, or any credit card for that matter.

TIP 2: Budget your income

Have a plan for the usage of your money. Make a list of what you need to buy, what you need to pay, bills, credit cards, and other things.

TIP 3: If you have some extra, pay $50 – $100 in advance on your home mortgage payment monthly.

It would be good to pay an extra amount in advance. Imagine you have reached the maximum amount of mortgage. That would mean a house paid off for maybe 10 years.

TIP 4: Have a part-time job

Let us say that you sleep for 8 hours a day and your current job only requires you 8 hours daily, where would you spend the remaining 8 hours? All for leisure? You can make money with less that amount of time. You may look of a second job. Some even are at maximum of 4 hours a day.

TIP 5: Do not buy cars on credit.

You can do a buy and sell business with cars a number of times yearly. Buy old cars through cash, work on it with your own hands in case they need some repairs, and you can resell it at a higher price.

TIP 6: Make your house be your own source of food!

You can turn your backyard into a garden. Develop it and produce your own food. Learning to hunt and/or fish may also be a great help.

TIP 7: Use you skills to trade for other things

If you have a skill that may be needed by others, offer them to pay you up in exchange of your time of service. For example, if your neighbor needs a babysitter and you know you are good with kids then transact with them.

TIP 8: Never stop saving money

If you think that the amount of money you have is already enough, you are wrong. Time changes and so does your needs. You would never know when you really need to use your saving nor if it will suffice that need. It is always good to be ready all the time

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Quick Steps to Eliminating Credit Card Debt

Last Updated on Monday, 20 June 2011 01:37 Written by GuestPoster Friday, 17 June 2011 04:22

Credit card debts are but normal these days. This is because credit cards are now very widely used and at the same time the market is also trying to change their marketing schemes to cater those who own credit cards. As a result, more and more people charge purchases carelessly to their cards and find themselves stuck in huge amount of credit card debt. This is also the reason why it is particularly challenging to get rid of these kinds of debts. In this article we will discuss about 4 steps to eliminate credit card debt; they may not be as easy to follow, especially for those who have already become dependent on their cards, but they are truly effective ways of handling credit card debts.

Step 1: Stop using your cards and adding to debt.

If you are already decided to start getting rid of your credit card debts, then you need to also make an effort to stop using these cards. This is because the more that you use these cards, the more that you are actually adding to your credit card debts and ultimately make it harder and harder to completely get rid of them. Always make a conscious effort to avoid using your cards, or if you really have to make sure that it is for emergency purposes only.

Step 2: Budget properly

Budgeting is part of any debt reduction plan, whether you are trying to get rid of credit card debts or any other type of debts. It is very important that you really spend some time on this one and take into consideration all of the important factors such as income, contracts, interest rates, monthly expenses and the like. Once you have set up a good budget plan, it will be much easier for you to attain your goal of debt relief because you have a clear picture of your gaol and the steps to achieve it.

Step 3: Pay via cash basis only

One of the reasons why credit card debts can inflate over a short period of time is because people usually lose sense of exactly how much money they can spend. When you charge via credit card, you feel less guilty because you don’t pull out cash from your own pockets. In order to help eliminate credit card debts, you need to learn to pay by cash only so that you can have better control on how much money is coming in and going out.

Step 4: Pay more than minimum

If you enroll in any programs for debt relief, you will usually notice that they will be prioritizing debt payments and always aim to pay more than the minimum. There’s a reason behind this; the more that you pay your debts aggressively, the more that you will be reducing the principal amount and thus reduce the life of your debt as well. So, when budgeting your money always aim to pay more than the minimum on your debt so that you will be able to get rid of your debts faster.

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