Archive for May, 2009
May 27th, 2009 | 
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Watch more at http://www.theyoungturks.com.
Some people are getting ripped off, while trying to fix their credit. WBTV’s Barbara Pinson has all the info you need in our Don’t Get Duped segment.
Duration : 0:1:20
Ways to consolidate credit card debt include using balance transfers and contacting a credit union or bank for loans. Condense credit card debt, but read any disclosures regarding balance transfers, with advice from a certified public accountant and credit counselor in this free video on debt management.
Expert: Jerrie Guthrey
Bio: Jerrie Guthrey has been a certified public accountant and credit counselor since 1992.
Filmmaker: Jack Guthrey
Duration : 0:2:49
Tags: Bankruptcy, bureaus, Card, consolidation, counseling, credit, Debt, loans, money, report | 
1 Comment »
Introduction
If you are like many people in the world today, you have found yourself dealing with an ever more complicated financial situation. You are beginning to worry more as your debts mount. In this regard, you may be looking for solutions through which you can restore a better sense of order to your finances and to your debts.
With this in mind, you might want to consider the possibility of obtaining a low interest debt consolidation loan. Through this article, you will be provided with some tips, pointers and suggestions about how you can qualify for a low interest debt consolidation loan.
When it comes to qualifying for a low interest debt consolidation loan, there are two primary factors that a lender will take into consideration when considering your application for this type of financing:
– credit score
– steady income
These elements that are essential to qualifying for a low interest debt consolidation loan will be discussed in turn in this informational article.
Qualifying for a Low Interest Debt Consolidation Loan:
The Importance of a Decent Credit Score
If your credit score has really dipped downward you will not be able to qualify for a low interest debt consolidation loan. While you may be able to obtain some sort of debt consolidation loan, it will not be a low interest debt consolidation loan. Therefore, it is important — when seeking a low interest debt consolidation loan — that you act in a proactive manner. You do not want to reach the point where your financial situation is so dismal that your credit score has crashed.
You will be able to qualify for a low interest debt consolidation loan largely because your credit score is at a decent level. While there is some variation from lender to lender, certainly if you’ve dipped into the “poor” zone — you will not qualify for a low interest debt consolidation loan. Indeed, most lenders will not extend to you a low interest debt consolidation loan if you’ve dropped beyond the “good” credit score zone.
Thus, and as has been mentioned, you really do need to be proactive when it comes to obtaining a low interest debt consolidation loan. You need to act before you really have begun to have more serious financial problems associated with your credit and debt.
Qualifying for a Low Interest Debt Consolidation Loan:
A Steady Income
Beyond your credit score, when you are considering making application for a low interest debt consolidation loan, you need to appreciate that the lender will closely scrutinize your income history. A lender likely is going to want to go back three to five years in order to get a clearer picture of your income over that period of time. Obviously, the primary concern of a lender considering your application for a low interest debt consolidation loan will be your ultimate ability to satisfy the loan pursuant to the terms and conditions of the low interest debt consolidation loan agreement.
Thomas Erikson
http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/how-to-qualify-for-a-low-interest-debt-consolidation-loan-120710.html
Credit scores are the determining factor on how good the deal is for most of the major purchases we make in life. Managing your credit wisely can save thousands of dollars over one’s lifetime and even contribute to a comfortable retirement. Think about this, improving your credit scores by 50 points can save around $33,000 over the life of the average mortgage. If you also consider the likelihood that you will also pay higher rates on car loans, and credit were talking about a huge sum of money. What if you were able to put all of that money into a retirement account, wow!
Before we get started, I would like to touch on the “companies” that advertise that they can magically clean your credit and have your scores up in a matter of days. In my opinion any company that makes such a claim is less than legitimate at best. The simple fact is that itâ??s ultimately the credit bureaus that will update your scores via the information they receive. By law, credit bureaus cannot treat you any differently than the people you hire to clean up your credit. This means that Know-how and hard work are the only differences between you and credit repair companies. So if you are willing to learn a little and roll up your sleeves you can save some money.
Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of legitimate credit repair companies that perform great a services for their clients. Depending on how bad your credit is repairing your credit can be a lot of work. If you are unable to spend the time or you lack the “stomach” to deal with collection agents then I suggest that you look into hiring a legitimate credit repair company. The only downside is that it can be very expensive and the money you spend paying them to repair your credit can be used paying down debt.
3 Tips for Fast Credit Report Repair
1) Opt out of all credit bureau solicitations â?? Have you ever wondered how you get â??pre-approvedâ? credit card and mortgage offers? Credit bureaus actually sell your information to companies to solicit you. These leads are furnished to the solicitors by credit type and a credit score range. The credit bureaus then â??dingâ? your credit score 3 â?? 10 points for the inquiries! The good news is that you can â??opt outâ? from this practice and it will raise your credit score 3 â?? 10 points within a week. You can find the website here: www.optoutprescreen.com.
2) Validate all debts as real debts on your bureau â?? This action requires that you have a credit bureau in hand. If you are serious about cleaning your credit it is crucial that you have one it will be your blue-print. You will need to pony up about $40 bucks to get a credit report with all 3 bureaus and scores. Many companies offer â??freeâ? credit reports if you join their credit monitoring service that ironically cost around $40 bucks.
With Credit report in hand, you need to validate ALL debts with collection agencies that are reporting on your credit bureau. Look for debts that are older than 7 years old, (from the charge-off date) the credit bureaus have remove these by law. Dispute these debts with the credit bureaus NOT the collection agencies. Next, look for duplicate collections, many collection agencies will package and sell your debt to other companies and never remove their original report. Send a letter to the credit bureaus with an explanation asking that they remove the debt.
3) Dispute ALL debts with the credit bureaus â?? Dispute all late payments, collections and negative remarks that appear on all 3 credit bureaus, not the collection agencies. In the dispute letter simply state that you do not believe the debt is yours and ask them to have the reporting agency to prove that you owe the debt. In the event it is a late payment simply say that you weren’t late.You can find a good letter by following the link above.
Note: When I say dispute all items I mean all negative items whether they are a legitimate debt or not. By law the collection agencies have to prove that you owe the debt within a reasonable amount of time or remove the remark on your bureau. Many collection agencies are too busy or unable to respond to the credit bureau’s request. When this happens the credit bureaus have to remove the negative remarks regardless of their legitimacy.
10 Ground Rules for Dealing with Collection Agencies
1- To use an analogy, credit collection agents are the Devil incarnate and they are on commission.
2- Arguing with the Devil is fruitless; they hold the gold and will ultimately win the argument.
3- Speaking with the â??supervisorâ? usually will not work; he got his position by being the meanest Devil.
4- The Devil will lie and cheat, it is his nature. Do not EVER give debit card numbers, checks numbers, credit card numbers, or bank accounts over the phone to a collection agency.
5- Make any and every payment you send to them with a money order or certified funds.
6- Send all correspondence via certified mail return receipt, leave a paper trail and make a file.
7- Do not accept a deal or negotiated payoff without having it in writing.
8- When negotiating a lower payoff take their first offer, they will almost always call back to sweeten their offer.
9- When negotiating a lower payoff always approach the collection agent from the position â??this is all I can afford to payâ? not â??this is all I am going to pay youâ?. Refer to rule #2
10- Always have a copy of your credit report when repairing your credit!
Obviously, there is a lot more to know than we have mentioned in these three tips. However these three tips will almost always help you with fast credit report repair. NOTE: Executing these three tips you do not want to the collection agencies at this time. If collection agencies update the information on your bureau it can actually lower your credit scores. Do these three steps first before contacting the collection agencies and then you can dance with the devil later.
Aubrey Clark
http://www.articlesbase.com/credit-articles/fast-credit-report-repair-3-simple-tips-to-get-started-377837.html
Before we discuss about bad credit debt consolidation, let us understand why a person suffers from a bad credit rating and how consolidating debt can help overcome the problem of a poor credit rating. Today, almost all consumers are knee deep in some or the other kinds of debts such as unpaid bills, outstanding payments for loans and mortgages. At such point, we tend to become dependant on credit as these come in handy to clear some urgent and necessary monthly expenses. You need to handle such issues with care because if you leave it unattended, you will have no option but to consider filing bankruptcy.
Why You Suffer From Bad Credit Rating
When you opt for credit products such as loans and credit cards, the credit bureau take notice of your credit limit and produce credit reports. All is well as long as you keep paying and clearing your credit card payments and loan repayments on time. However, when you delay or default on even a single credit payment, the credit bureau takes record of that and creates a negative marking on your credit report. Such negative markings, when accumulated, leave you encumbered under bad credit status.
In such a situation, people with bad credit rating should assume effective measures to repair their defective credit score. This is very important because people with good credit score earn credibility from lenders and banks and get loans and credit at lower interest rates and get a faster approval. A debt consolidation solution can help you reduce debt and at the same time improve your credit score. Thus a debt consolidation loan for people with bad credit can help you out of this situation. This way a bad credit debt consolidation loan is a handy tool that can help you when your financial situation is grim and you see bankruptcy as the only alternative.
How To Repair Credit Report With debt consolidation Solutions
When you start missing payments, your credit rating begins to deteriorate and thereafter continues to drop down as you continue rolling over your creditors. In such cases, you need a prompt solution to clear unpaid bills and credit payments to heal your credit score. If the condition deteriorates further, you may have to face harassing calls and collection process from the creditors or consider filing for bankruptcy.
Bankruptcy seems to be an attractive option for putting an end to the menace of collection calls. However, if you declare bankruptcy, you would not be able to take any further loans or credit cards. In this case, you require a financial assistance to pay off your debts in order to restore your good credit standing. If you are wondering who would be willing to extend you a loan considering your poor credit status, relax; you can seek a bad credit debt consolidation solution, which can be of great help. A bad credit debt consolidation loan not only helps you avoid facing harassing collection calls from multiple creditors but gives you the option to become debt free in a simple and affordable way.
Saurabh Jain
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/bad-credit-debt-consolidation-can-bring-you-back-from-the-brink-of-bankruptcy-123008.html
Debt. Debt. Debt.
On paper, debt may appear to be just a word. But, to many people today debt is something that they feel absolutely buried under. Indeed, the vast majority of people in the world today will end up facing very serious financial problems at some juncture in their lives.
If you have reached that unfortunate position, you may be seeking reliable solutions through which you can restore some order to your finances. One option that you may want to consider is a personal debt consolidation loan. However, you cannot consider obtaining a personal debt consolidation loan in isolation. Rather, you must look to a personal debt consolidation loan as being one tool in a meaningful and ultimately effective debt management plan.
Through this article you will be provided with an overview of what elements — what tools — need to be included with a masterful and meaningful debt management program. (And, again, one of those tools oftentimes should be a personal debt consolidation loan.)
Budget
Perhaps the most important tool that you will want to make certain is included in your debt management plan is a responsible and reasonable budget. The budget that you create and develop cannot — must not — be something that you throw together willy-nilly. Rather, your budget must be thoughtful, detailed and comprehensive. Moreover, you cannot budget merely for the coming week. When it comes to developing a meaningful budget as part of an overall debt management plan, as part of an overall financial management program, you must look down the road. You must develop a budget that will take you at least three years down the road. (You should not attempt to budget beyond five years because by doing so you really will be engaging in an act of speculation.)
Personal Debt Consolidation Loan
As mentioned earlier in this article, you will want to include a personal debt consolidation loan within your overall debt and financial management plan in some instances. For example, if you’ve found your individual debts to be unmanageable — in other words, if you are behind in your payments and facing mounting interest rate increases, late fees and other penalties — you need to take a close look at applying for a personal debt consolidation loan. The personal debt consolidation loan can provide you immediate relief but can also be a helpful long term solution to some of your financial problems. In the end, by taking steps in addition to obtaining a personal debt consolidation loan as described in this article, you can save a good deal of money over time by obtaining a personal debt consolidation loan.
Debt Counseling or Financial Planning
Finally, you may want to consider engaging the services of a debt counselor or a financial planner (perhaps over time both types of professionals) to provide you intelligent and educated assistance in implementing your own debt and financial management plan.
By developing a multifaceted debt and financial management program, you will be on your way to a better and happier future on so many important levels.
Thomas Erikson
http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/developing-a-meaningful-debt-management-plan-using-a-personal-debt-consolidation-loan-as-a-tool-120706.html
Most people who have taken out a loan or use a credit card have credit rating. However, if you miss a payment or owe money to a creditor, the creditor will report this to a credit reporting agency that keeps records of your credit report. If you do not repair your credit immediately, you will have a negative credit rating and you will not be able to get any credit or loan in the future. You must take immediate steps to remedy this and repair your credit rating.
A good place to start your credit repair is by using a secured credit card. It is usually impossible to apply for a credit card once you have bad credit, which in turn does not afford you any opportunity of proving to your creditor that you are capable of paying your bills responsibly and on time.
To repair your credit with credit cards, obtaining a secured credit card is a good option. Secured credit card is targeted specifically to people with bad credit. When applying for a secured credit card, you are required to place with the secure credit card issuer an initial deposit equal to the amount of your credit limit; that is, you will have a credit limit of $1,000 if you place a deposit of $1,000. The issuer has the right to deduct from your deposit any outstanding balance on your card statement that you fail to pay on time. This plan thus benefits both you and the issuer; in other words the issuer carries no risk thanks to your initial deposit, and you will not fall into your old habit of being behind on or failing to make payment,
Once you have received your secured credit card, you must start practicing good money management habits in order to repair your credit. Use the card but use it sparingly, and also make sure you pay on time. By doing so, you are demonstrating to your creditors that you can be trusted and are responsible, and in this way you will slowly repair your credit.
If you do not take any steps towards credit repair, the credit reporting agency will negatively mark your credit report for seven years, so that you will not be able to get any credit or loan for all those years. By taking a positive step towards credit repair such as by applying for a secured credit card and using it responsibly, you will not have to wait that long to get good credit again.
Susan Jan
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/repair-your-credit-rating-with-a-secured-credit-card-58261.html
Internet surfers with bad credit looking for an auto loan are bombarded with advertisements most days. Many of these ads are truthful in their bad credit auto loan options. However, there are many things to avoid, and this article will describe some of those.
Directly financed auto loans for people with good credit are a bit different than those with bad credit. People with bad credit are expected to pay more of a down payment as well as a higher interest rate on their auto loans. Many creditors wont even extend an auto loan to those with bad credit. Depending on how bad someones credit is, auto loans can range from a 20 50% down payment requirement, interest rates from 5-26%, and amortization (the length of the loan) anywhere from 2-4 years.
This may sound like a lot of bad news for bad creditors looking for an auto loan. But with some good planning and foresight, these auto loans can actually help people with bad debts rebuild their credit history.
The worst situations in bad credit auto loans show up when car dealers artificially inflate the pricing or interest rates on their cars. Auto dealers who specialize in bad credit loans will take a car normally selling for $5,000, inflate the price to $8,000, take a $2,500 down payment and then finance the purchase at 24%. Now the bad creditor will be in debt to the auto loan company for an inflated price that isnt indicative of the vehicles real value. A way to counteract these types of sneaky bad credit auto loan dealers is to check the value of the car you are looking at, first, and then only pay $200-500 extra then whats listed. Only in exceptional circumstances would you ever pay more than this for a car.
Two different ways of selling a car have emerged recently with the new, Internet economy. The first is called the dealer network system. Auto purchasers can get a loan regardless of their bad credit history with this option. Essentially, a potential customer looks at a car on a website, and then answers some basic questions if interested in buying. This information is then passed along to a dealer specializing in bad credit auto loans. Since there are no fees involved, this can be a real boon for the bad creditor looking for a decent car loan. However, with this system, there is no way of researching the auto dealership you are about to do business with.
The other new option is called an application service. In this situation, a person with bad credit applies online for an auto loan, and the financial information is then sent to multiple lenders at the same time, with the hope that one or two will be willing to take the credit risk. If the system works, several dealerships with fight for the customer, using price and convenience as their selling points.
John Pawlett
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/auto-loan-options-for-people-with-bad-credit-89357.html
Lily Allen’s Everything’s Just Wonderful
Lily Allen Everythings Just Wonderful Lyrics
Do you think, everything, everyone, is goin’ mental?
It seems to me we’re spiralling out of control and it’s inevitable
And don’t you think, this time is yours, this time is mine, it’s tempramental
It seems to me, we’re on all fours, crawlin’ on our knees someone help us please.
Oh jesus christ almighty, do I feel alright? No, not slightly.
I wanna get a flat I know I can afford it; it’s just the beaurocrats that won’t give me a mortgage.
It’s very funny ’cause I got ya f*ckin’ money and I’m never gonna get it just ’cause of my bad credit
Oh well, I guess I mustn’t grumble, I suppose it’s just the way the cookie crumbles
Oh yes, I’m fine, everything’s just wonderful, I’m having the time of my life
If everyone and something else, something new, look what we got here,
And dont’ you feel, it’s all the same, some sick game and it’s so insincere
I wish I could change your ways of the world, make it a nice place
Until that day, I guess we stay, doin’ what we do, screwin’ who we screw
Why can’t I sleep at night? Don’t say it’s gonna be alright.
I want to be able to eat spaghetti bolognese and not feel bad about it for days and days
All my magazines they talk about weight loss, if I buy those jeans I could look like Kate Moss
I know it’s not the life that I chose, but I guess it’s just the way that things go
Oh yes, I’m fine, everything’s just wonderful, I’m having the time of my life
Oh yes, I’m fine, everything’s just wonderful, I’m having the time of my life
Oh jesus christ almighty, do I feel alright? No, not slightly.
I wanna get a flat I know I can afford it; it’s just the bureaucrats that won’t give me a mortgage.
It’s very funny ’cause I got ya f*ckin’ money and I’m never gonna get it just ’cause of my bad credit
Oh well, I guess I mustn’t grumble, I suppose it’s just the way the cookie crumbles
Oh yes, I’m fine, everything’s just wonderful, I’m having the time of my life
Oh yes, I’m fine, everything’s just wonderful, I’m having the time of my life
Duration : 0:3:28