When looking to pay off credit card debt, one of the most overlooked options many people have are government grants. Many people do not look into these grants because they simply do not know about them. However, the government sets aside billions each year just for this purpose, to give them away. If you are one of the millions of people who are suffering from credit card debt, you definitely want to consider applying for a grant from the government.
Government grants are available, the key is finding them. If you are looking for debt relief, you should understand that there are ways to get out of this debt and it is up to you to seek the help you need and deserve. We all get into trouble now and then with our financial situation, however, if the help is available, why not take advantage of it.
Why do these grants make more sense when it comes to credit card debt elimination? Simply put, these grants are far easier to obtain than traditional loans. Traditional loans may require some form of collateral or security deposit, grants do not require these because they are provided by the government.
The key to grants is to be creative. The government is willing to jump-start the economy by providing small business grants. If you apply for and receive a grant for several thousand dollars, you can eliminate your debt by using the money earned in your business to pay them off.
In order to get the grant the people accepting your application will need to review your situation. In other words, they will be looking at many things. First, they will be looking at if you have the ability to pay the money you currently owe, then they will take a look at the debts you currently have, and finally your financial ability to repay what you owe and still maintain your current debt. If you can prove that you cannot pay back this money, the grant will likely be yours.
Government grants can do many things for you. First, they can provide you with the money you need for debt relief without having to provide security or collateral. Second, these grants can save you from having to file for bankruptcy. Third, no repayment is necessary, this is type of financial aid, and it cannot be taxed and does not accrue any interest. Finally, it can instantly make you debt free, which cannot be said about other types of debt relief solutions.
Overall, obtaining a government grant just makes sense when you are swimming in debt that you cannot get out of.
Dec 14 2010
Using Government Grants For Debt Relief
Dec 12 2010
Credit Counseling Debt Relief – Getting Professional Help To Overcome Debt
Thousands of people file for bankruptcy every year because of a tremendous amount of credit card debt. If you do not wish to join their ranks, you should start looking for credit counseling debt relief right now. There are several financial counseling agencies that will be able to give you advice on how to overcome your debt and many of these agencies offer complete bad credit consolidation.
What is credit counseling debt relief?
When you go to a reputable financial agency, they will be able to provide you with a program which you can follow to gradually but efficiently eliminate all your accumulated debt. This is called the debt reduction. In this program, you will learn how to adjust your budget to accommodate all your regular expenses as well as your debt payments. You will also learn how to negotiate interest rates and other fees in order to reduce the total cost of your debt.
What are the benefits of credit counseling debt relief?
The obvious advantage is of course getting free of debt. However, there are also other benefits that you can get out of credit assistance debt reduction. For one thing, you will learn how to manage your finances efficiently in order to avoid incurring huge debts in the future. You might also learn a few tips on how to spend your money wisely.
Where can I get credit counseling debt relief?
As mentioned, there are actually quite a number of financial institutions out there that offer credit support debt reduction. You can easily find listings of credit counseling agencies in your city, or you can also go online and do a thorough search on the internet. However, you would have to be very careful in choosing the agency that will help you because there are many deceitful people out there who will not hesitate to run off with your hard-earned money.
It is always a good idea to approach a credit counseling agency that has an excellent reputation and a formidable track record. It is always a plus if the company has personable and competent financial advisers who can clearly explain to you the procedures of credit help debt relief.
You should also consider the asking fees of these credit counseling agencies Most respectable agencies do not charge fees for a first-time consultation, so if you are being charged right away, you should be wary because the firm you are dealing with might be nothing but a scam.
Once you have gotten out of debt, you must make a better effort to spend your money more efficiently. Although there are a lot of companies that can give you credit assistance debt consolidation, it is undoubtedly much better if you do not have to go through it at all.
Dec 09 2010
Best Relief For Credit Card Debt – Credit Counseling Or Debt Settlement?
While the United States economy has suffered from the home mortgage crisis, credit card debt has been bubbling up as the next witch’s brew ready to bring its own potent poison to the table. Credit card debt has been getting out of control for years, but the situation has worsened as other forms of credit have dried up. Home equity loans are no longer a ready cash cow for acquisitive Americans, and growing unemployment rates have more people tapping credit cards to the limit.
Credit Counseling and Debt Settlement
It’s no wonder, then, that organizations that help consumers resolve credit card debt are extremely busy, serving thousands of new clients. There are two popular approaches to resolving credit card debt issues – credit counseling and debt settlement.
Each helps clients by educating them in ways to get out of debt and stay that way, but the approaches are significantly different. The objective of credit counseling is to pay off debts in full by negotiating lower interest rates, while debt settlement companies pay off debts fast by negotiating reductions in the amounts owed. Main differences include:
Credit Counseling:
1. Negotiate reduced interest rate, pay off full original balances
2. Client pays monthly amount to counseling service, which makes payments to creditors
3. Monthly payments usually higher
4. Compensated by fees from lenders, 4-15%
5. More BBB complaints
6. 83.9% of BBB complaints resolved
7. 21-26% reported success rate
8. Professional Associations: National Federation for Consumer Counseling (NFCC) and Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies (AICCCA)
Debt Settlement:
1. Negotiate reduced balances, then pay them off in full
2. Client sets up separate savings account, pays own bills from it
3. Monthly payments usually lower
4. Compensated directly by clients, 10-15%
5. Fewer BBB complaints
6. 91.5% of BBB complaints resolved
7. 40-55% reported success rate
8. Professional Association: The Association of Settlement Companies
Different Approaches for Different Problems
But the biggest distinction is that these two approaches are designed to help people with different levels of debt. Consumers with credit card debt less than $7,500 probably should not consider debt settlement. In such cases, credit counseling or a do-it-yourself program would be a better approach.
But people who have amassed very high levels of credit card debt may find debt settlement the best way to clear the deck and get back control of their lives. Companies that subscribe to standards of The Association of Settlement Companies (TASC) work toward paying off all balances in 12-36 months.
A Needed Alternative to Bankruptcy
The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 all but eliminated personal bankruptcy for most Americans. When this option was all but taken off the table, the contemporary consumer credit industry began to take new form to meet the needs of consumers with exceptionally high levels of unsecured debt.
Let’s be clear about this: debt settlement is not for everyone, but it provides a much needed alternative to bankruptcy for people who, for whatever reason, cannot meet their obligations. People who cannot make even the minimum monthly payments on credit card debts aren’t likely to succeed with a credit counseling solution that calls for even higher monthly payments.
Criticism and Comparisons
For an industry with so much to offer the public, debt settlement has been subject to a great deal of criticism lately, primarily for two reasons: 1) the industry is new (less than five years old) and not well understood; and 2) a few bad companies have sullied the reputations of the majority of legitimate, highly ethical ones. The industry is correcting both problems by establishing a higher public profile to raise awareness and understanding, and by sorting out the bad apples.
The credit counseling industry, led by the NFCC, is not at all reluctant to cast stones at debt settlement, perhaps even questioning the industry’s right to exist. But a quick glance at the comparison above should alert readers to several concerns about credit counseling. Two in particular stand out.
First is the matter of who pays credit counseling agencies. Some have observed that they appear to be well-mannered collection agencies for the card companies, because creditors pay fees to them (which is not the case with debt settlement companies).
Then there is the matter of effectiveness. The credit counseling success rate of 21-26% lags well behind the 40-50% reported for debt settlement. If your financial future were on the line, which would you choose?
Dec 03 2010
Eliminate Credit Card Debt Without Debt Counseling
Unemployment rates are rising, home foreclosures are at record highs and personal debt levels are at an all time high. Unable to deal with all of these financial pressures, many people are looking for ways to eliminate their credit card debt. But before you contact a debt counselor, read this article. You can completely eliminate credit card debt and this article will show you how.
Before you consider debt counseling as a solution to your credit card problems, you need to look at a couple of other options: debt consolidation, debt elimination programs.
Debt Counseling
Before I go into your alternatives to debt counseling, let’s quickly identify who can benefit from it. Debt counseling works for only a small percentage of people. To find out if it can help you, ask yourself the following questions:
Is my situation a result of lack of self control? Is my situation a result of bad spending habits? Is my situation a result of heavy spending on my “wants” rather than spending on my “needs?”
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, than debt counseling might work for you. However, if your situation is a result of unexpected costs (medical bills, unemployment, etc) and not a result of lack of self control, than counseling will be a waste of your money and time. Let’s look at your alternatives.
Debt Consolidation
If you are considering debt counseling to help eliminate your credit card debts, then you’ve probably already considered a debt consolidation program. While not the best way to eliminate your credit card debt, these systems are worth considering.
Debt consolidation is simply a way of grouping all of your current debts (credit cards, car loans, mortgages, etc) into one, single loan. The best way to do this is through a home equity mortgage with a low rate. The big problem with these programs is that in this economy mortgage requirements are becoming stricter and fewer people can qualify for a second mortgage to pay off their debts. If you have only a marginal credit score and a large amount of revolving debt, qualifying for a mortgage may be next to impossible in this economy.
In addition, while these systems may lower your rates and payments making it easier to pay off your debts over the long term, your total debt amount remains the same. This is one of the many reasons I recommend a debt elimination program instead of a debt consolidation system. I have explained the debt elimination systems below.
Debt Elimination Systems
The most effective way to eliminate credit card debt without debt counseling is with a debt elimination system. Rather than rolling your obligations into one loan, these programs actually erases the amount you owe to your creditors.
These systems are available to anyone with credit card debt. You don’t need to qualify as you do with debt consolidation programs. In fact, most of my clients are able to erase 70%-90% of their credit card balances by using one of the programs I recommend.
I hope this article has convinced you that you can eliminate credit card debt without debt counseling. Using one of the systems I’ve reviewed for my clients, you can save your credit and get completely out of credit card debt.
You can do it!
Dec 03 2010
Shocking Facts – What Debt Settlement Companies Don’t Tell You
If you’re thinking about using a debt consolidation or debt settlement service to help you get out of debt faster and save money on your monthly payments, make sure you do your homework before choosing a company. There are definitely shams and scams out there.
First let me say that debt consolidation is *not* the same as debt settlement/negotiation, which most people don’t realize.
Debt settlement companies charge hundreds of dollars as an initial “admin fee” to set up your account, plus a monthly service fee. The fees vary depending on the company and the amount of your debts.
Such companies take your money every month, but don’t make monthly payments to your creditors! Instead, they put it in a trust account, negotiate your debts with your creditors, then make a lump-sum payment when there’s enough in your account to pay a creditor in full.
That can take *years* depending on the amount of debt you have with each creditor. Meanwhile, you can be sued by your creditors and your wages can be garnished! (Or just don’t make payments to your creditors. You’ll end up in the same spot without paying someone to help you get there!)
Settlement companies don’t ask your creditors to stop all interest, late fees and overlimit fees from accruing. That means while the negotiations are ongoing, your bills will continue to grow! So if you’re sued and a judgement is brought against you, you’ll owe more money than before!
And shoddy companies, which there are alot of, don’t tell you *any* of this up front. I call it “getting permission by omission” because they simply don’t tell you how their program works *before* you sign an agreement with them. Or after, for that matter. But if you ask the right questions, eventually you’ll figure it out. (Or when the crap hits the fan. Whichever comes first.)
Let me give you an example of how debt settlement works.
Let’s say you have $20,000 in unsecured credit card debt. You owe $10,000 to one credit card company, $6,000 to another and $4,000 to a third. You agree to a 5 year plan where you pay $250 a month to the settlement company. (After all, $250 a month for 60 months is only $15,000, so you’re saving $5,000 and you’ll be debt-free in 5 years, right?)
The admin fee will cost you $750. Your first 3 monthly payments go towards that and nothing gets put into your trust account until your 4th month.
The settlement company keeps $50 of your $250 payment each month for the service fee. That means $200 a month is being added to your trust account.
Most debt settlement companies claim to be able to negotiate your debt for about 50% of what you owe. So let’s use the lowest credit card debt as an example.
If you owe $4,000 and your creditor agrees to accept $2,000 as payment in full, it will take 10 months at $200 per month to have enough in your trust account to pay off just that one credit card.
But remember, your first 3 payments to the settlement company only paid the admin fee. That means your first credit card settlement is 14 months *after* you started sending them money.
So what’s the problem? It’s simple. Your creditor won’t agree to accept half of your actual debt unless, or until, it can be paid in full. Otherwise, you’re expected to make your normal monthly payments.
Since you don’t have $2,000 in your trust account, and you won’t have it until more than a year after you stopped paying your creditor directly, they’ll probably take you to court and request that your wages be garnished long before you have that $2,000 built up.
And what about your other creditors? Well, they’ll be waiting even longer to get their money from the settlement company. The $6,000 debt will take 15 *more* months to pay off, assuming your creditor waits that long and agrees to 50%. And that $10,000 bill? You do the math.
On the other hand, if you signed up for a 3 year plan with the settlement company, your debts would be paid off sooner. But, the question is, will your creditors wait that long? Probably not.
The facts are, you can negotiate with your creditors yourself. Most will agree to take a smaller monthly payment from you and stop all interest and fees from accruing. And, of course, you’ll save thousands of dollars in fees to a settlement company.
Before signing up for any service, please be sure you check out the company thoroughly. And don’t let the words “non-profit” fool you either. Alot of debt settlement companies claim to be non-profit.
Going back to the example above, if you pay them $15,000 over a 5 year time frame and they settle your debts at half of what you owed, they’ll make $5,000 from you. I’d call that a profit, especially since they might not have actually helped you in any way.
Most companies will allow you to cancel your account and get a refund of what you’ve paid, less the non-refundable admin fee and the monthly service fees. If you feel you’ve been mislead about their program, don’t hesitate to argue til the cows come home. File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau or hire an attorney if you feel you’re getting nowhere.
You can visit the Better Business Bureau’s website ( http://www.bbb.org ) and find reports on hundreds of companies. Here’s a small listing of companies that have poor reputations with the BBB:
National Consumer Debt Council LLC – Irvine, CA (A.K.A. NCDC, United Consumer Law Group)
Financial Rescue Services – Burbank, CA
Debt Legal Services – Anaheim, CA
American Debt Relief – Los Angeles, CA (A.K.A. A M Debt, American Debts Relief, Debt Relief)
Please be very cautious when choosing a debt help company and ask lots of questions before agreeing to anything. If you find they’re evading your questions, run fast and run far. There are reputable companies out there, so keep looking until you find one.
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