Debt settlement gives you financial relief
By financen | January 30, 2009 - 5:53 pm - Posted in Debt

Everyone wants to pay their bills what they owe to their creditors, but there are times when many of us go through real financial problems like loss of a job, medical problems, or divorce. These reasons can spin your overall financial situation out of control. You try to negotiate with your creditors and work out a payment plan but you cannot be always successful in satisfying your creditors. In such situation, when you really want to get out of debts, debt settlement program can be better option

Debt settlement, also known as debt negotiation program, can take many forms. This program will eliminate your existing debts; repair your tarnished credit and helps in achieving your financial dreams, such as buying a car or a home of your own. This option is the best resort before filing for bankruptcy.


Most people are not aware about this program and they finally decide to go through the bankruptcy route. Once bankruptcy shows up on your credit report, this negative remark can haunt you for the rest of your life. If you would like to pay off the full principal amount at reduced interest rates, perhaps you can choose a debt management program. This will keep your accounts current without doing too much damage on your credit ratings. Keep in mind that the monthly payments in the debt management program are going to be higher because you are going to pay the full principal amount as well as the interests and keep the accounts current.

Debt settlement program can knock down the total balance to something less than half. It’s a low cost solution to gaining relief from debt payments. Speak to a debt counselor who will analyze your present financial situation, calculate your income and expenses and figure out how much you can afford in your monthly payments to get the outstanding balance settled with your creditors. He will negotiate with your creditors and explain about your present debt related problems. After negotiating with your creditors, he will work out a lower monthly payment plan and save at least half of the total balance in this program.

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How to apply for an easy signature loan?
By financen | January 26, 2009 - 6:55 pm - Posted in Loan

It may be quite surprising to know that you can get some easy finance just with the help of your signature. This is all true and anyone can apply for a signature loan. Through these loans, you can solve a lot of your financial worries with comfortable terms and conditions. Once you have got a signature loan, you can fulfill some of your dreams like purchasing a car or a motorbike, renovation of home, consolidating all debts, take a vacation and take care of various other things.

Secured loans are of two different types. One is a secured loan and the other one is an unsecured signature loan. In secured loans, you have to show something as collateral so that you can borrow a bigger amount. The amount is approved on the basis of the equity present in the collateral and is usually in the range of $5000 – $75,000. The repayment term is made feasible and it can be spread over a period of 5 – 25 years. The interest rates on the secured loans are lower because they are backed by collateral.


Unsecured loans are available for people who do not want to attach anything as collateral either because they do not have it or they don’t want to risk it, just in case if any default in the repayment occurs. In the beginning, you can borrow an unsecured loan of $1000 and later, it can be extended up to $25,000 based on your repayment history. The repayment plan is kept short for a period of 5 – 10 years. These kinds of loans come at higher interest rates because there is no collateral attached against the loan and the lenders have to undertake a lot of risk when they offer these loans to the borrowers.

These kinds of loans are offered to all kinds of people whether you have good or bad credit. You may need a co-signor while applying for the unsecured signature loans. This way, the lender gets the re-assurance that if there is any delay in the repayment by the borrower, he can contact the co-signor.

If you are applying for a signature loan, you just need to fill a simple application form on the website. Once you have submitted all the necessary information, you will come to know instantly whether you got approved for the loan or not. Make sure that you browse through the internet and shop with different lenders so that you can find out who is offering the best deal according to your requirements.

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Get out of debts by consumer credit counseling
By financen | January 20, 2009 - 5:58 pm - Posted in Debt

When people are overwhelmed by their huge debts, they often go through various emotions of emotions, embarrassment and incompetence. They often feel neglected within their society. If you are one of these people struggling through huge debts, you are not alone. Don’t let these feelings hamper your financial making decisions and moving on with your life. Consumer credit counseling can get you out of debts and after reading this article, you will figure out that there is still a lot of hope in your situation.

One out of every ten credit card users needs credit counseling. There are so many people who need help in straightening their finances. Talk to a professional debt counselor and he will help you find a way towards a debt free life. Money management is not something that was taught in the early childhood days and most people learn by trial and error. When you are speaking to a credit counselor, these are few things that will possibly happen.


A debt counselor will analyze your present financial situation:

  • He will work out a plan on how to get out of debts and discuss it in details
  • He will work out the most suitable options on how to pay back the existing debts
  • He will give you step by step advice on how to pay back the existing debts
  • He will keep you informed about your present and future credit ratings and will work on improving it.

You need to keep in mind that when you are consulting with a credit counseling company, you are responsible for your debts and you will only have to pay it. The credit counseling company will assist you in managing your present finances and find out easy ways to pay off the existing debts. If you are considering the debt settlement alternative, you don’t have to pay back the full amount to the creditors. The creditors can be convinced to accept something less than the full amount but it will hurt your credit ratings. Based on your present financial situation and your credit ratings, you will decide the most suitable plan in your case to get debt free. Visit a credit counseling company and learn the proper ways to manage your money, stay out of debt and make investments for the future. With the help of this information, get your finances straightened out and get a fresh start.

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How to claim social security benefits
By financen | January 14, 2009 - 6:02 pm - Posted in Others

When you are getting close to the retirement age, deciding when to sign up for the social security benefit can be quite a serious decision. Social security is the largest source of income for the retired persons. Depending on the age you start receiving the payments on your social security, it can vastly affect the amount of money you receive over your lifetime.

There are certain unusual but allowable strategies that the retirees can ponder before they sign up for their due. The common highlights are:

Borrow and invest money: Sign up for the social security as early as possible so that you can receive more benefits out of it. If you sign up for social security benefits at the age of 62, you will be receiving reduced benefits for the rest of your life, unless you can afford to pay the money back. You may qualify for higher payments of your life if you are able to return every cent you have already received, without interests. A person who is living on social security benefits can do the maximum investment, keep the earnings and then pay back the loan from Uncle Sam.

Claim now, claim more later: If you are working and your spouse is already retired, then you can ask your spouse to claim for a spousal benefit at full retirement age. When you are getting close to the full retirement age or wish to continue working for longer period, you will also claim for your benefits. This approach will allow you to receive spousal benefits while you are still working after the full retirement age and multiply the amount when you are getting social security checks later.

Claim and suspend: A spousal benefit is generally equal to half of the higher earner’s due, although claiming it before full retirement age diminishes the amount of the benefit. A wife can claim for a spousal benefit only after her husband signs up for social security, and vice versa, if a husband wants to collect based on his wife’s record. You can claim your social security benefits and then suspend the payments. This will help your spouse to receive checks when s/he is not earning enough to qualify for the benefits. During this time, the other spouse can continue to work longer to get higher social security payouts later.

All these strategies can decide how much you will be able to earn from your social security benefits until death. Waiting to sign up for Social Security can help ensure you against outliving your savings, but delaying is never a good idea if you’re in poor health or otherwise think you won’t live a long life.

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Advantages and disadvantages of debt settlement program
By financen | January 8, 2009 - 4:28 pm - Posted in Debt

Some credit counselors feel that debt settlement program is a very good option for someone who is already overwhelmed by his existing debts and cannot afford to keep his accounts current. This program is best suited for someone when he is already confronted with bad credit problems and is getting regular collection calls. The process of debt settlement starts by negotiating with the creditors for the borrowers’ accounts due to his inability to pay the balance in full. The overall idea is to reduce the total balance and the lower monthly payment plan will help to pay off the debts faster. Credit card debt settlement company will negotiate with the creditors on behalf of the borrower to lower the balances and put it in an affordable monthly payment plan after the settlement proposal is finalized. Effects of debt settlement or better known as debt negotiation program have its own set of advantages as well as disadvantages.

  • Advantages of credit card debt settlement program:

1.    The immediate effect of the debt settlement is that the part of the debt is wiped out by your creditor. This will help you to review your monthly budget and managing monthly debt payments.

2.    When you are enrolled in a debt relief program, many of the creditors will try to re-age your accounts and bring it to a current status.

3.    Debt settlement program will eliminate the interests and fees from the outstanding balance, thereby making the monthly payments quite lower and affordable.

4.    This program will also eliminate the over limit fees.

5.    By signing up in the debt settlement program, you can actually get the help of the debt settlement company negotiating with your creditors and thereby stop collection calls, reducing most of the tensions of your life.

  • Disadvantages of the debt settlement program:

1.    Though debt settlement program can be very helpful in eliminating your debts, keep in mind this program has a severe effect on your credit ratings. If you are just fallen behind in your monthly payments to your creditors, these accounts will have to fall delinquent for a certain period of time before you can get substantial discounts from your creditors. Thus, your credit scores are expected to fall, if it had been good in the past, while you are in this program.

2.    When your debts are reduced in the credit card debt settlement program, the balance waived off is showed as an income and you are required to file taxes on it.

3.    When you are enrolled in the debt settlement program, you should be having enough balance over a certain period of time so that the settlement proposal can be finalized with the creditor. If it is put on a payment plan, make sure that you stick to it. Defaulting in the payment plan will void the settlement offer.

By signing for a debt settlement program when your credit is already tarnished, you will find there is a way to improve your credit ratings after your accounts are paid off one by one and when they are reported to the credit bureaus. It help you to focus on managing your credit better Instead of juggling late payments, high debts loads, and other factors.

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What happens to the victims of identity thefts?
By financen | January 5, 2009 - 5:04 pm - Posted in Identity Theft

Every case of identity theft is different from one another but the real concern is to know what happens to the victims of identity thefts. It is said to feel that these victims get little or no help from the authorities who actually informed on their stolen identity to them. The law enforcement agencies do not conduct any type of serious investigations to resolve these problems. For them, the number of identity thefts are growing in so large numbers that it is getting difficult to handle such cases, although the financial fraud departments of many police departments are being expanded.

When someone is hit by an identity theft, they go to file complaints to the police and sheriff’s department but the police officer simply refuses to report their cases. They try to intimidate the innocent people by saying that their loss is nothing in front of the banks and the financial institutions that faced the actual financial loss.


Many victims report that they do not get adequate help from the credit grantors, banks and the CRA’s. They say that no one is there to hear their sad stories and they are given the run after. Even after the fraud alert is activated by the credit bureau, the imposter is still able to obtain more credit in the name of the victim.

Identity theft victims are tremendously threatened by the collection agencies asking them to pay the balance. In most of the cases, they are threatened with law suits, garnished wages, and having their homes taken away from them.

It is also noticed that the victims have to spend a lot of time in cleaning up this mess. They have to take offs on working days from their office to make necessary phone calls, write letters to the concerned departments and get affidavits notarized. It not only costs them time and money but they are left with agony for many years to come.

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