Debt Counseling

Debt Counseling – What It Can Do for You

Statistical reports show that nearly 80% of consumer expenses in the United States are on credit and the most convenient way to shop is to use plastic, or more popularly known as credit cards. Moreover, the average debt is more than $8,000 with a typical interest rate of 18.9%.

No wonder so many people are now heavily buried in debt. Along with it came lots of debt relief programs aiming to provide consumers effective ways out of debt.

Among the many debt relief programs available today, debt counseling is one of the most well liked programs, helping more than the average consumers who seek debt consolidations.

Find Your Hidden Money

When you sign up for loans, you pay them within a year, 5 years at most. Individual credit unions offer special loan rates that are beneficial to the borrower. A number of people consider signing up for credit union loans.

The features of a credit union loan are:

• The insurance of the loan isn't a direct cost to the eligible borrower
• There is an offer of repayment protection insurance
• There are no hidden fees or transaction charges whatsoever
• Repayments are calculated depending on the reducing balance of the total loan. Smaller interest repayments are relative on how frequent you repay your loan.
• There is a variety of repayment loans to choose from, depending on the livelihood of the borrower.
• It is so flexible that the borrower can repay the loan before due or he can make large repayments than what had been agreed on without any penalty whatsoever.
• The additional lump sum repayments the borrower has paid will be accepted without penalty.

Control High Interest Debt

Your net worth is your assets minus your liabilities. Liabilities are debts. The more debts you owe, the lower your net worth will be. Plus whenever you have debts, you also pay for the interest, that’s why you lose more.

For practical reasons, it’s understandable why people borrow. Take for example; buying a car or a home, it’s hard to shell out cash for large expenses. That’s why debt is a tool that, when used wisely, can benefit the borrower. However, the borrower must comprehend that a debt is still a debt and must be paid in due time – with interest.

When people don’t manage their money well, they get in financial trouble. It’s a cycle. They run short of cash, that’s why they borrow. Then they’re not able to stick to a budget so they can’t pay the debt.

Create A Budget

Creation of a Budget

No man is an island. We all need help once-in-a-while. We’re not only referring to personal matters. We’re talking about financial matters. We reach a point where we have to buy something out of necessity, but we can’t pay in full just yet. An example of this is a home.

Now the time has come for you to repay on what you own. You must have the discipline to plan out how much you should have saved so when your time is up and you have to shell out the money you owed there and then (plus interest), you wouldn’t have a hard time doing so.

Prioritize which of the debts must be paid first. Prioritize your bills. Make a list so it will be more organized so you can see it right in front of you.

Exploring your own debt

How to take charge of your debts
 

The rising cost of living and dying has made people more reliant on loans and credit.  Most people have been indebted to someone at some point in their lives.  A debt is an obligation that should be paid and accounted for no matter how meager the amount.

Being in debt is normal considering that no one has a monopoly of all the money in the world.  People will always have the tendency to accumulate debts no matter how rich.  In fact, rich people have more debts than poor people because they have more needs and they have more collateral or security.

Fun and Frugal Family Outings

The time we spend with our families is priceless. But most popular family activities are quite expensive. Even a simple night at the movies can put a serious dent in the budget by the time you buy tickets, popcorn and drinks for everyone.

Fortunately, there are cheaper alternatives to expensive family outings. They provide the opportunity to have just as much fun at a fraction of the cost. Some are even free.

Debt Management Help

Debt has a way of creeping up on us if we let it. It's important to keep our debt at reasonable and manageable levels, or we could end up incurring insane interest charges and scraping to make our payments. Even for those who manage debt well, unexpected life changes can result in difficulty making ends meet.

When we find ourselves having problems with debt, the first course of action is to take a look at the budget. Finding ways to cut back on unnecessary expenses can help us pay down debts and keep monthly bills current. But what happens when we can't solve our debt problems with budgeting?

Credit Repair Tips

In some cases, bad credit is a result of irresponsible money management. But it often occurs because of unexpected financial hardship. One day you might have all of your bills current, and the next you could become disabled or lose your job. And if you fall behind on your debts, it will wreak havoc on your credit rating.

Credit repair agencies claim that they can remove bad entries from your credit report. But did you know that you can often have them removed yourself at a much lower cost? There are two methods by which you may be able to get negative entries removed from your report.

Every Little Bit of Savings Adds Up

Living on a budget is the key to financial freedom, but getting started can be frustrating. When we look at our expenses and see all of those bills we're paying every month, it's easy to throw our hands up in disgust. But what about all those little expenses we incur? You might be surprised to find out just how much they amount to.

It's easy to dismiss cutting back on little things. A few dollars a month won't make a significant difference in the big picture. But a few dollars here and a few dollars there adds up to a few more dollars. When you cut back in a lot of small ways, you could end up with a lot more money at the end of the month.

How to Create a Family Budget

For singles, creating a budget is relatively easy. They tend to have a good handle on how much money they have coming in, and when tracking expenses, they only have their own to think about. But creating a family budget is a whole new ball game.

Most families have multiple sources of income. And when there are multiple spenders, that makes things much more confusing.

This is one of the main reasons that families lack a formal budget. But having a budget and sticking to it can greatly improve a family's financial outlook.

What Are Expenses?

The importance of determining your expenses

Society is becoming so commercialized that no person is exempt from this worldwide phenomenon called spending and mounting expenses.  The high cost of living has paved the way for an increase in the spending habits of people.

An expense refers to disbursement or spending and it generally has something to do with money.  Anyone who lives today isn't exempt from having expenditures even just for day-to-day living.

Expenses can either be essential meaning those expenses necessary for the survival of a person, or non-essential expenses, which refer to expenses that aren't really necessary or are considered as luxury expenses. 

Understanding the basic concepts of debt

Budgeting is an important aspect of living and a person who knows how to budget will go a long way in this commercialized society.  Budgeting has a lot to do with keeping the expenses less than the total income of the household.  Those who are very good at budgeting can come up with savings even if they have meager incomes.

The problem sets in when a person fails to make an efficient financial plan and his expenses exceed his earnings.  When this happens, a person has no choice but to borrow money to make up for his financial deficiencies.  Borrowing once or twice because of a mismanaged financial plan is normal but when borrowing becomes a regular thing that can put a person in serious debt problems.