Tag Archives: debt

Budgeting

Paying Down Debt Is Essential To Your Financial Health

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Years ago we bought something that was a want but not a need. We thought it would bring joy and health to the family, but it never worked properly. Within six months we decided the monthly expense wasn’t worth it and we got rid of it; it was a nice dream but we didn’t receive any benefits from it.

graffiti, Leake Street

duncan c via Compfight

Once it was gone we thought about what we might get next with the money we weren’t spending on the useless item. Instead, we decided to go the smart route and use the money to pay down more of our debt.
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Managing Money

10 Tips For Getting Out Of Debt

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Many times, when people are looking for ways to reduce their debt, they go looking for someone else to help them with their problems. The truth of the matter is that every person is capable of figuring their way out of debt if they have a job and are bringing in some kind of money. It may not be easy but it’s better to have some background knowledge to help you move forward.

Below are some tips to employ to help you gradually, or quickly, work your way out of debt.

1. Write down all your debts.


 

This is always the first step, because, as Dr. Phil might say, you can’t address what you won’t acknowledge. Take one month’s worth of bills and write down what each is, as well as the amount you’re expected to pay. For credit cards, write down the annual percentage rate. Also, write down how much you estimate you spend on things such as food, gas, entertainment, etc. Yes, this is about budgeting.
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Collections

How Long Do Collection Agencies Have To Collect On A Debt?

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A common question asked about collection agencies is how long they have to collect on a debt. The simple answer is they can try to collect as long as they want to. After that answer, the truth get a lot more complicated.

Rilsonav from Pixabay

The Fair Credit Reporting Act, which was enacted in 1970 and last revised in 2004, has rules for how long a bad debt can stay on a credit report. The statute of limitations for that is seven years. Afterwards, a collection agency could decide to still try to collect from the debtor, but they have no power behind them to make a debtor pay them anything. Almost no collection agencies will contact debtors after this time limit, because it’s a waste of their time.
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Budgeting

Get Your Credit Cards In Order To Get Out Of Debt

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Too many people are struggling with debt that should be easy to control. Credit cards make buying things easy, and low payments make us feel like we’ve got full control.

Credit Crunch
Mike Bitzenhofer via Compfight

Unfortunately, life isn’t always quite that simple. It turns out that minimum payments on credit cards could be the difference between getting out of debt in less than 3 years or having it linger as long as 9 years… and that’s if you never purchase another thing. It’s something most people don’t even think about; that’s we’re here to alert you.
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Finances

Is A Good Credit Score Worth The Debt?

Every finance website talks about having a good credit score. We talked about the importance of having a good credit score while mentioning that we still believe it’s best to pay off outstanding balances as soon as possible.

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This is contrary to what most financial experts would tell you. They tend to believe that it’s best to keep balances on your accounts and pay them down regularly to show that you have a consistent payment schedule going. Supposedly that encourages other lenders to loan you money because of your payment history. We talked about this in a previous article.
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