The inability to reduce debt and saving money are the two biggest obstacles preventing Americans from living financially sound lives. National statistics show that money problems play a role in 80 percent of all divorces. One in 54 households will declare bankruptcy. Debt is at an all-time high, particularly credit card debt. The total amount of consumer debt in the United States is nearly $1.4 trillion.
If you are one of the millions of Americans burdened with debt and have trouble making those never-ending monthly payments, help is available. You don’t need to go it alone. If you are a typical American family, you have $25,000-$30,000 worth of credit card debt (excluding mortgages, car loans, and student loan payments), and you’re paying $500 to $900 every month in endless minimum payments.
Like you, many people continue making their minimum monthly payments believing that they are making progress. They are living in a state of denial saying “Someday, somehow, something will happen. Things will get better, and my debt problem will be gone.” Then years go by and they only find themselves in a downward spiral getting nowhere. They have paid their creditors thousands of dollars but their debt load never gets lighter. For example, if you were to continue making minimum payments on a $9,000 debt, and not add any more debt, it will take you over 10 years to pay it off. You will end up spending many thousands more than the original amount and 80% of the money paid will have gone to interest and fees. Most people add more debt as they go, so the reality is this - Without an aggressive approach to terminating debt once and for all, you will NEVER get rid of debt.
Today, people have options. There are four strategies for dealing with problem debt you will see advertised: Debt Consolidation, Consumer Credit Counseling Services (CCC), Bankruptcy, and Debt Negotiation. Each strategy must be considered carefully!
Debt Consolidation – The Common Approach
Unfortunately debt consolidation is the most common solution people think of when they fall victim to financial problems. It is a sad fact that about 75% of people who consolidate their debt find themselves in much deeper financial trouble than they were in to begin with. All consolidation loans do is transfer debt from one place to another and is invariably a short term fix with long term pain. A debt consolidation loan will not reduce the amount you owe. You will still pay back 100% of the loan plus interest. This is not going to get you out of trouble and most of the time will only make things worse. Again, consolidation is not a plan to get out of debt but is instead just getting new debt to pay off old debt.
If you were to decide to consolidate, you would need to qualify first. Qualifications include equity in a home you own or other valuable, good credit and debt to income ratio. Most people burdened by debt find that even if they wanted to consolidate their debt they couldn’t qualify for the loan anyway. Once you have taken out this loan, you have just gone from an unsecured debt to a secured debt - and gambling with all your assets. Consolidation loans are spread out over a 15 - 30 year period, leaving you exposed to losing your assets over the life of the loan. If you run into further difficulty in the future you stand to lose your home, car, and valuables.
The fundamental problem that people run into is that once the debts are paid off by the loan, they discover they have a new line of spending potential: empty credit cards. It’s not long after these accounts are cleared that they are run up to the limit once again. This will leave you with both the consolidation loan and maxed out credit cards to repay. How are you going to repay the loan and the credit cards when you were unable to pay the previous debt in the first place? You will find yourself back in the bank for a second consolidation loan, extending your debt and making your debt problem even worse.
Bear in mind that being in debt leaves you with less cash you need to buy and plan for life’s necessities. Although a consolidation loan may give you a lower payment and a little more breathing room, consolidation is not going to leave you with the cash to get you and your family through the next 10 to 30 years.
Consumer Credit Counseling Services (CCC) – Feeling of False Security
Consumer Credit Counseling Services (CCC) programs have a failure rate of 85%. They simply aren’t effective. Here’s why; you meet with a counselor who analyzes your monthly budget. The counselor will submit a proposal to your creditors for a reduction in the interest rates. You would then pay a monthly payment to them and they would then distribute that monthly payment to your creditors. These programs generally take 5-7 years to complete. The theory here is that your overall payment per month is lower due to the counselor’s success at obtaining lower interest rates and more favorable terms with the credit card companies and banks. This approach is most often recommended by the banks themselves.
Here are the facts: CCC Services were created in the late 1970’s when credit card and loan companies began to notice that many people were having problems making their minimum payments and defaulting on their debt. In short, the so-called “non-profit” companies are owned by the credit card companies and banks! CCC agencies are funded by commission by the credit card companies based on the debt recovered from you, normally around 12 - 15%. This means that for every $1,000 you give them, they can take as much as $150. If you’re paying them a service fee of $20 per month, and the creditors are paying them $75, you can quickly see that CCC agencies are not working for you but for the creditors.
In addition, you have no insight into what the CCC agency is doing on your behalf and no control over the repayment process. They send in their single monthly payment, with no idea of how much is going to which creditor. Since most counselors are busy people who work based on high volume, getting a return phone call can be difficult.
It’s key to know that with CCC programs, you still pay 100% of the debt plus a lower interest rate. The debt you walk in the CCC is what you walk out with. With all things considered, it works out to be about the same as your current minimum payments.
Bankruptcy – The Last Straw
Today more people than ever are turning to personal bankruptcy as a way of solving their financial problems. Estimates indicate that 2003 will see nearly 1 in 70 Americans filing for bankruptcy. People owing as little as $5,000 are unknowingly filing, not knowing of alternative methods of eliminating their debt. The reason people take this hasty action with such a low debt amount is the harassment and overwhelming pressure from impatient collectors trying to recover their money. In the case of Consumer Credit Counseling agencies, once they find that they are unable or unwilling to help, they will suggest bankruptcy as the answer – unconcerned of the effect it will have on your future.
In bankruptcy, a court order forces all commercial creditors to cease and desist from attempting to collect the debts you owe them. Depending on the bankruptcy declared (Chapter 7 or 13), it stops wage garnishment, reverses judgments, and generally wipes out debt.
For some people, bankruptcy is the only sensible option. If you have $60,000 in debts, and you’ll never earn more than $1,200 per month, then you’re broke! The sooner you eliminate the debt, the sooner you’ll have a fresh start. With more than 1.4 million bankruptcy filings in 2000, Congress is passing legislation that will make it tougher to declare bankruptcy.
In bankruptcy, certain personal property is treated as exempt. The banks and creditors cannot touch that property in attempting to recover the money owed to them. Your home, car and other personal effects like clothing, and other assets are considered exempt, but this varies from state to state. Any property that is not exempt is liquidated and distributed to the creditors under the supervision of the court. Since most people entering bankruptcy have only exempt property anyway, there’s usually nothing left to distribute, so the creditors typically get nothing.
Seems like a good deal? Many people mistakenly see bankruptcy as a good, low cost way to rid themselves of debt. There are other costs associated with bankruptcy that make it a very bad solution for most people. The cost of filing bankruptcy itself is minimal. Depending on what state you live in, you can expect to pay anywhere from $400 on up to $1,600 for the whole process. That’s just the beginning. The bankruptcy will stay on your credit report for 10 years – and on your court records for 20 years. The seemingly “low cost” method will cost you dearly as it will follow you for the rest of your life. If you ever apply for a loan, job, apartment or insurance, one of the first questions normally asked is “Have you ever filed for bankruptcy?” And, for the rest of your life, you’ll have to answer “Yes.”
You might be able to eliminate your debt, but the effects emotionally and the effect on your personal life will last for many years to come. Consider applying for a terrific job after you have filed bankruptcy. These days, employers will run a credit report to determine how you faired financially. This will effect whether the employer will give you that dream job or not. Even if you do get the job and your employer later runs a credit report on you, you will still have to explain the bankruptcy. While employers can’t fire you because of a bad credit report, they can certainly limit your future promotions.
Future purchases are affected as well; after several years, you may opt to purchase a home. If you’re in sufficient shape at that point to qualify for a mortgage, you’ll pay a higher interest rate than the average consumer who has never filed for bankruptcy. Assume you want to purchase a $100,000 house a few years after filing bankruptcy. You make a $10,000 down payment. This will result in applying for an $80,000 mortgage. While your “good credit” neighbor would obtain an interest rate of 4.5%, you would get a rate of 7%. While it seems that the extra 2.5% difference is not bad for having filed bankruptcy in the past, it’s what you will pay monthly where you will feel the pinch. That extra 2.5% on a mortgage will increase your monthly payment by $200 per month with the total of your payments reaching more than $70,000 over the 30-year life of the mortgage.
Besides being a devastating blow to your credit, a bankruptcy can also be a very stressful and embarrassing decision to continually have to explain to every potential lender. If you have no choice, then you should proceed, understanding the consequences. However, the majority of people who take this method of debt elimination don’t know what they’re getting themselves into or the consequences thereafter. They are desperate, and they get talked into filing bankruptcy by the collectors or attorney without understanding the impact on their financial future.
Keep in mind that personal bankruptcies are usually unnecessary as there are better options available. Many people are forced, against their wishes, to file bankruptcy to protect themselves from aggressive creditor tactics or attorney. Ultimately, bankruptcy still means failure to employers and creditors.
Debt Negotiation - Light at the End of the Tunnel
Few people realize that there is another solution to burdensome debt, an approach that levels the playing field between you and your creditors, without having to go to court. The debt negotiation strategy will put you back on the road to financial freedom and in control of your life again.
The Negotiation Strategy allows you to turn that $25,000 of credit card debt into $12,500 or even as little as $9,000. In most cases, our clients have debts totaling $8,000 and have successfully saved them thousands while maintaining a reasonable credit rating. With a professional debt negotiator working for you, your debt can be cut in half or less.
How it works: Put yourself in the shoes of a manager of a collection department for a major credit card company. You know that bankruptcies are at an all-time high and that the chances of collecting on the outstanding debt worsen as the debt ages. You have the opportunity to close your books on a delinquent account by collecting 50 pennies for every dollar owed by the debtor, or take a chance on never collecting a single penny by trying to hold out for the full value. You also realize that once the debt leaves your bank (usually after six months or so), it will go to a third-party collection agency. The agency will take at least 15%-20% commission right off the top of whatever they collect, and they are unlikely to collect more than 70% of the debt even with the most aggressive tactics. So you’ll probably never retrieve much more than half the money anyway. When you look at it this way, collecting 50% now doesn’t seem like such a bad deal.
The way it’s described, it sounds easy. You might be thinking, “I’ll the collectors and do this myself.” You’ll reach the “customer service team” and the representative will inform you that other banks may settle for 50%, but their bank never settles under any circumstances. Of course, they do have that “great” hardship program for you. After you’ve called a few times and received the same treatment, you’ll probably end up with the idea that debt negotiation doesn’t work. The banks will rarely take a debtor seriously. They simply don’t believe you and they think your hardship story is phony. The banks are quite prepared for the amateur do-it-yourself negotiator. They have the telephone scripts set up so that by the time the conversation is over, you will feel guilty about the money owed, and their lame hardship plan sounds like a great deal after all.
Having a third-party professional on your side makes all the difference in the world. Once your creditors realize that they are talking to a professional, someone who knows the laws and regulations, they quickly change their tune. A negotiator will obtain better results than you could ever obtain on your own, simply because all of the bank’s tactics are stymied by the fact that they can’t talk directly to you. They can’t apply psychological pressure to you since this is filtered out by your Professional Debt Negotiator.
Consider this: Creditors pull out all the stops when you fall behind. They have gangs of collectors ready to pressure you with carefully scripted techniques and mind games. They have attorneys and collection agencies ready to step in and go after you full throttle. You need to level the playing field. The best and only way you can concentrate on improving your financial future is to let a professional deal with the aggravation of the nonstop phone calls. Bottom line - If you’re looking for the most effective, low-cost, and fastest way to terminate your debt problem once and for all - Negotiation is the answer.
About The Author
Drakeport Financial will host a free Debt Management Seminar for people who wish to correct existing debt problems or avoid the possibility of such problems developing in the future. Seminars are held Saturday mornings from 9 to 11 a.m. at locations throughout the United States. Call Drakeport Financial today toll free at 866-676-4945 for more information. You may also visit the website: www.drakeport.com
custsupport@drakeport.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
]]>The HESS® Platinum Visa® Card from Chase is designed for those with very good credit who make frequent purchases at HESS®, HESS EXPRESS®, and WILCO HESS® stores.
Through the rebate program, a 1% rebate is earned on all general purchases, and a generous 5% rebate is earned on all HESS®, HESS EXPRESS®, and WILCO HESS® purchases. In addition, during the first 90 days, a 10% rebate is applied to all HESS®, HESS EXPRESS®, and WILCO HESS® purchases made with the card. Rebates are applied directly to the cardholder’s account. There is no yearly limit to the amount of rebates that may be earned, and any unused rebates expire in one year.
]]> Aside from the reward program, the card provides several platinum benefits such as emergency card replacement, auto rental insurance, and up to $500,000 in travel accident insurance.There is no annual fee, and the interest rate for purchases and balance transfers is reasonably low for a reward card (for those who qualify). In addition, there is a 0% introductory rate that applies to purchases and balance transfers for the first six months.
However, those who plan to occasionally carry a large revolving balance may find doing so costly due to the “Two Cycles Average Daily Balance” method used by this credit card to determine finance charges, which ends up costing more to maintain an occasional balance as compared to the “Average Daily Balance” method used by many credit card issuers.
Therefore, those who qualify for the lowest rate offered, plan to pay in full after the introductory rate expires (to avoid finance charges), and will use the card frequently for HESS®, HESS EXPRESS®, and WILCO HESS® purchases (to earn additional rebates) will benefit most from what the HESS® Platinum Visa® Card from Chase has to offer.
]]>The “plastic zone” is a scary place. But you’re not alone. There are millions of people today living the same mysterious life in the plastic zone. Remember green money? You know, that green paper with presidents proudly displayed on them. They have virtually disappeared from the “plastic zone.” Is real Money a foreign object to you? Is the balance of your checking account mysteriously stuck at Zero? It’s time to solve the mystery.
You don’t have to be a financial wizard to solve this mystery. And you certainly don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes. You see it really is an elementary concept. If you ask any elementary school student they’ll tell you that you can’t take 10 from 5. There can be no negative integers in this equation. Simply put, you can’t spend more than you have! You have to fit your “living” within your “means.”
For most of us living in the plastic zone, this means making some serious changes in our spending habits. It seems an impossible feat to reduce debt while still building a foundation for your financial security and independence. It Can Be Done! And it is elementary my dear Watson!
KNOW WHERE YOUR MONEY GOES!
~The first step is to realize where your money goes. How are you spending it? This requires a little recording keeping but is not difficult. Simply write down every purchase you make, that is not a monthly bill, for at least a week. This includes every check, debit, credit card, and cash transaction made (if married, your spouse must do this also). When finished sort these into appropriate categories to plug into your budget later. For example; dining out, lunch at work, groceries, coffee, gasoline, snacks, well you get the idea.
~Second lets tackle that debt. The monkey on your back will always insist on being fed until you take control of your money and say NO MORE! Make a commitment to stop using the credit. You must make a decision to invest in yourself from now on. Not the credit card companies. Take control by knowing what you owe , what you’re paying, and how much it is costing you. Make a list. Include Creditors Name, Amount Owed, Interest Rate, Current Minimum Monthly Payment.
Add up all of your current minimum monthly payments. This is your monthly debt reduction payment for the life of the debt. You will pay this consistent amount each month until the debt is paid in full. Roll down freed up monies from one creditor to the next as accounts are paid. For example: your list of payments include a visa you must currently pay $80 per month. You will make that $80 payment regardless of the minimum due (unless for some reason the payment goes up) until the debt is paid. When it is paid you will take that $80 and apply to another creditors monthly payment. This is the secret to paying them off before you die! And, still have time to enjoy a debt free lifestyle.
~Next, you have to write down regular monthly expenses. Things like the mortgage, cable, phone, electric, car payment,. Any expense that you pay every month. Insurance payments can be included if you pay monthly payments instead of a lump sum. Some of these expenses may not be the same each month ( like the electric bill). You should figure an average monthly amount for these. If your provider offers a budget plan where your payment can be a consistent amount each month, this makes budgeting these bills much easier. So do it!
~Now figure in the variable expenses. These are things like car maintenance, home maintenance, property taxes, income taxes, insurance’s that are not paid monthly, pet care (vet bills, and medicines), your family’s medical expenses (physician co-pays, deductibles, prescriptions (or prescription co-pays). Go through your financial records and write down every expense you can find that did not occur on a regular monthly basis. When you’re done, add the total amounts for the year, divide by twelve, and this will give you an estimate of what you should be setting aside each month to budget these expenses. This is a variable expense monthly allowance to be included in your budget as a monthly expense. You set aside this amount each month (maybe in a savings or second checking account).
This is one of the most important steps in the budgeting process. The one step that most of us forget to do. The biggest budget busters are these “unexpected expenses”. They’re not really unexpected. Most of us just have a tendency to treat them as if they are unexpected. You don’t plan for them. Consequently you will not be financially prepared when they need to be taken care of. You know that the car and home require some level of maintenance, but do you actually have a plan to pay for that expense? Or, when the hot water heater goes up, will you be forced to resort to the help of the credit card companies. This is what they hope you will do. Of course the property taxes have to be paid. Will you have the payment when it is due?
To reduce debt and maintain a successful budget you have to plan for these “variables”. If not, you will inevitably use the credit cards to bail out and you’ll be defeating yourself. The variable expense allowance in your monthly budget will allow you save for these expenses and will be your defense against creating more debt. This is an essential step in building financial security, investing in yourself, and remaining debt free.
~ Set a reasonable amount for your monthly savings allowance. This will be an emergency fund that can bail you out in case of tragic circumstances such as a serious illness or unemployment. Start with 10-15 % of your income and cut back to as little as 5% if you need to balance the budget. But, do save something! Anything is better than nothing. If you have to start small, as your finances improve, you should increase your savings allowance to reach at least 10% of your income.
Of course, once you have all of these figures in place you may find that you don’t have enough money to cover all the expenses. You not alone. I was amazed at how much more I was spending than I was earning. It finally made sense to me why I couldn’t get ahead. Why my debt kept increasing no matter how hard I tried to budget. This is when you have to start eliminating unnecessary spending, trimming down expenses by using some money saving strategies, or possibly considering an extra income.
It isn’t always an easy process. It depends on how much of your spending is “unnecessary”, how much you’re paying out for debt, and how much you want to be free from debt and financially independent.
One things certain, if you take control of your money, and are committed to living debt free, you will find success. If you just keep doing what you’re doing, things will not change, but will inevitably get worse. You will continue to invest in credit card companies, spending money that you don’t actually have, and don’t have a plan to pay back. So start with a good spending plan that cuts out unnecessary spending, reduces monthly bills and expenses to the bare minimum, and eliminates credit card use. Save money in every area of your budget. Remember, $10 a month doesn’t sound like a lot. But, a savings of $10 per month is $120 per year that you can apply somewhere else in the budget. Every dollar you free up helps bring the budget into balance. Helps you live within your means. Don’t spend more than you have. It doesn’t get any more elementary than that!
Good Luck and Success! Live Debt Free to Be Free. You Deserve It!
About the author: Cheryl Johnson is a mother of four helping herself and others become and stay debt free. Publisher of Simple Debt Free Living- A self-help plan, ideas, and resources for debt reduction, personal budgeting, frugal living, and extra income opportunities
]]>Did you know that someone’s identity is stolen every 20 seconds?
In a recent survey by the FTC, 12.7% of American adults, or 27 million people, reported that they had become victims of some type of identity theft in the last five years. People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years — and thousands of dollars — cleaning up the mess the thieves have made of their good name and credit record.
Personal Identity Theft: Key Facts
Victims now spend an average of 600 hours recovering from the crime of identity theft, often over a period of years. Three years ago the average was 175 hours of time, representing an increase of about 2470%.
While victims are finding out about personal identity theft more quickly, it is taking far longer than ever before to clear their records and recover from the situation.
Even after the thief stops using the information, victims struggle with the impact of identity theft. That might include increased insurance or credit card fees, inability to find a job, higher interest rates and battling collection agencies and issuers who refuse to clear records despite substantiating evidence of the crime. This “tail” may continue for more than 10 years after the crime was first discovered.
Approximately 85% of victims found out about the theft of their identity due to an adverse situation - denied credit or employment, notification by police or collection agencies, receipt of credit cards or bills never ordered, etc. Only 15% found out through a positive action taken by a business group that verified a submitted application or a reported change of address.
Read Below for Key Steps to Protect Yourself!
The question remains, where is a person the most safe to make a purchase using a credit card? We compare online, phone, mail and in-person purchases to see where the most identity and credit card theft occurs. Then we provide you the key steps to keep your credit cards and personal identity safe.
Phone Theft: Talk is Not Cheap
Peter Reid, portfolio strategist for EDS Security and Privacy Services, says that “while consumers have learned not to divulge information such as their Social Security number and debit card number over the phone…they are still naive and share significant amounts of information from the contents of their wallet — putting them at greater risk for identity theft and phishing.”
Over 70% of consumers freely provide personal information, such as their name, address, postal code, phone number, and account number, or give the answer to a security question, to an unsolicited call.
The price for not being aware is astonishing. For example, more than 38,000 people lost close to $15.4 million to the operator of a sophisticated-but fraudulent-telemarketing scheme. The man convinced timeshare owners to pay $400 for unit appraisals by relying on misrepresentations to win them over, such as promising the unit would be purchased once it was appraised. At sentencing, the judge stated that Postal Inspectors had uncovered “the most corrupt, the most extensive, and the most sophisticated mail fraud scheme this Court has ever seen.” Seven others, including three of the operator’s children and his son-in-law, were convicted for their roles in the scheme.
Be suspicious of marketing calls wanting to verify your address or phone number over the phone. Do not say yes at anytime during the conversation and hang up immediately!
In-Person Theft: How Much Are You Really Paying For Dinner?
Carrying and using your credit cards and other sources of personal information “in-person” appears to be by far the leading cause of stolen identity and credit card information. “In person” may mean you are right there when the theft occurs - such as with retail purchases at stores or someone “shoulder surfing” you while you’re at an ATM machine — or you left your personal information in a location vulnerable to theft.
According to 2004 research by Javelin Group, a respected retail and business research firm, over 30% of personal identity theft occurred because of a lost or stolen wallet, checkbook or credit card.
Meanwhile, nearly 25% of personal identity theft is due to a “friend” or relative who had personal access to the information, or a corrupt employee who had access to the information.
Offline transactions account for nearly 10% of such theft. A common scenario is going to out to eat at restaurant and paying with a credit card. The problem occurs when you receive your next credit card bill and see charges of several hundred dollars for things that you didn’t buy! At the restaurant the likely scenario is that the employee probably ran the credit card twice, once for the meal charge and a second time on a magnetic card reader. The employee then copied the data onto a blank credit card and sold it to a third person or used it personally. This is not limited to restaurants, of course - the threat exists at any retail location where you submit your credit card.
Garbage Theft: Your Trash is Another Person’s New Identity
Another common “live” location for theft of your identity - account for nearly 5% of such crimes according to the Javelin research - is the garbage.
If you fail to properly dispose of personal information containing account numbers, addresses, and dates of birth, you’re making it easy for “dumpster divers” to obtain valuable information and steal your identity.
Such garbage diggers will often target upscale neighborhoods. They pick up garbage bags on collection day, take them home and rummage through them for “the gold.” The gold can include pre-approved credit cards, discarded bills, and a host of other information containing social security numbers, credit card numbers and more. Tax season is an especially prosperous time for dumpster divers as people dispose of old receipts and financial records carelessly.
Mail Theft: Involved in Most U.S. Identity Theft
Identity theft is one of the most serious issues for the U.S. Postal Service, and of course for the general public.
Thieves check mailboxes looking for paid bills or credit card payments that people leave in their mailbox for the postal carrier to collect. They use information from these items to obtain credit or to purchase products and services in the victim’s name.
One story involves the operator of a sweepstakes scheme in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Postal Inspectors found that respondents to the mailings were called and told they were winners, but had to mail “taxes” or “Customs fees” to collect their money. Victims either received nothing at all or items vastly inferior to what was represented, losing $15,000 to $102,000 apiece in the scheme. The scammer agreed in March 2003 to cease and desist his mailings and pay the Postal Service $200,000.
Most identity theft somehow involves the U.S. mail - it crosses over to the “in person” theft described above because, beyond strangers robbing your mailbox, the friends, relatives or fellow employees who are stealing your personal information and credit cards are usually lifting it off of a piece of your U.S. mail.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service has therefore become one of the world’s lead agencies in investigating these crimes. Postal Inspectors have jurisdiction to investigate and enforce more than 200 federal statutes involving the U.S. Mail. They are allowed to arrest anyone suspected of stealing mail or filing a false change-of-address order. But don’t depend on their measures for your peace of mind.
Postal Inspectors strongly advise people not to leave mail in their mailbox overnight or on weekends. Further, you should never leave your mail on your desk at work when you are not in the vicinity (or even exposed at home if you will be having friends or relatives over that you don’t trust 100%) Also, deposit outgoing mail at the post office and try to remove mail from your mailbox as soon as possible after delivery.
Online Theft: The Safest Place to Do Business is Online … If You’re Smart
Despite the fears of those unused to the (relatively) “new” frontier of the Internet, online transactions account for less than 4% of identity theft! And almost all of that 4% is due to people not knowing the difference between a safe and secure website and one that may be “here today, gone tomorrow” … or just plain flimsy when it comes to safety of your personal information.
The key you must remember to make your chances of online identity/credit card theft close to zero is to only make purchases through reputable and technologically secure websites like SixWise.com.
When you are making a purchase from the store of a reputable website like SixWise.com, the data you input in the checkout process is encrypted by what is known as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) before it is sent over the Internet. This technology provides a very secure connection that keeps your data private during transmission over the Internet.
How can you tell if a website has the high-level personal encryption technology, SSL, in place for your personal information? When you are done adding products to your cart on a website and you enter the checkout process where your personal information is being requested, make sure the beginning letters in the URL (web address) at the top of your browser window have switched to “https:” instead of just “http:” If they have not, it is highly recommended you do not make a purchase from that website.
In total, computer crimes accounted for 11.6% of all known cases of identity fraud in 2004. Over half of these digitally driven crimes stem from spyware — software the computer user unknowingly installs to make ads pop-up when the consumer is online.
SixWise.com highly recommends you read the article, The World’s #1 Internet Threat May Be Robbing Your Identity Right Now … How to Effectively Detect, Eliminate and Avoid It, for tips - and a free program - to prevent identity theft by spyware.
How to Protect Yourself from Credit Card and Personal Identity Theft
Can you completely prevent identity theft from occurring? Probably not, but you can dramatically minimize your risk by managing your personal information wisely and cautiously.
Here are some tips to help protect you from credit and charge card fraud.
Do:
Sign your cards as soon as you receive them in the mail, at a store, etc.
Carry your cards separately from your wallet, in a zippered compartment, a business card holder, or another small pouch.
Keep a record of your account numbers, their expiration dates, and the phone number and address of each company in a secure place.
Keep an eye on your credit card during live transactions, and get it back as quickly as possible.
Destroy carbon copies of your credit card bills.
Save receipts to compare with billing statements.
Open bills promptly and reconcile accounts monthly, just as you would your checking account.
Consider replacing paper bills, statements and checks with online versions. Think about moving to an electronic bill payment service, such as your bank or biller’s web site, and stop sending signed paper checks through the mail. Visit the site(s) to monitor account activity on a regular basis.
Sign up for automatic payroll deposits.
Use and regularly update firewall and anti-virus software
Notify card companies in advance of a change in address.
Examine your credit card report from each of the three major credit-reporting agencies once a year. Report any credit card fraud to them. Equifax: 800-525-6285, Experian: 888-397-3742, TransUnion: 800-680-7289
Shield your credit card number so that others around you can’t copy it or capture it on a cell phone or other camera.
Before throwing out any statements containing your credit card (or social security) numbers, it is highly recommended you shred the documents
Do NOT:
Lend your card(s) to anyone.
Leave cards or receipts lying around, whether at home or at the office.
Sign a blank receipt. When you sign a receipt, draw a line through any blank spaces above the total - this includes the space for “Tips” if you have not filled it in at restaurants.
Write your account number on a postcard or outside of an envelope.
Give out your account number over the phone unless you’re making the call to a company you know is reputable. If you have questions about a company, check it out with your local consumer protection office or Better Business Bureau.
Discard a computer without deleting all sensitive data
Respond to emails that request you provide your credit card info via email - and don’t ever respond to emails that ask you to go to a website to verify personal and credit card information. These are called “phishing” scams.
Write your PIN number on your credit card or have it anywhere near your credit card (in the event that your wallet gets stolen).
For More Information
The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit www.ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).
]]>This is the absolute fastest way to correct errors on your credit report and raise your credit score. However, it can only be done through a mortgage company or a bank. If you apply for a home loan and find errors on your credit report, request the loan officer to conduct a Rapid Rescore. But don’t mistake it for the credit clinic tactic of multiple dispute letters.
The Rapid Rescore strategy requires proper paperwork. You need proof that the item is incorrect. It must come from the creditor directly. For example, a letter stating the account is not your account, a letter stating the account was paid satisfactorily, a release of lien, a satisfaction of judgment, a bankruptcy discharge, a letter for deletion of collection account or any relevant evidence.
This is the same documentation a bank or mortgage company would require for the credit accounts anyways. The difference is, now you can improve your credit score and receive a lower interest rate. The results are not guaranteed and will run you about $50 per account.
This is the infamous area where you’ve heard of all the scams. Credit repair clinics charge “an arm and a leg” and promise a clean credit report. Sometimes even a new credit profile! People spending hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars for something they can do themselves.
Removing errors is simple. Deleting negative credit that is accurate requires advanced methods. But that is not the scope of this report. So I’ll focus on the deleting the negative errors.
Credit report errors easily disappear by using a simple dispute letter. If you have the paperwork proving the error as mentioned above in Rapid Rescore, send copies of that along with the dispute letter. This will make the credit bureau’s job easier and you will get faster results.
If you don’t have the documentation to prove the error(s), send the dispute letter anyway. According to federal law, the credit bureau’s have a “reasonable time” to validate your claim. They will contact the creditor for verification of your dispute. Then the account will be reported accurately - or deleted. It has been generally accepted the “reasonable time” to complete this task is 30 days.
If you’re not the do-it-yourself kind of person. Or don’t have the time. You could hire someone who is very economical.
This is a fast and great little credit score booster. But it requires a very trusting relationship. Simply put, someone else adds you to their credit account. For example, when applying for a credit card, you may have seen the section to add a card holder. If your trusting person adds you, their payment history is now reported on your credit report too. If they have perfect credit, now you have a perfect account.
To make this more effective, use an aged account. Imagine if your trusted person has a 10 year old credit card account with a perfect payment history and a balance of only 50% of the credit limit. Wouldn’t you love to have this on your credit report? The easy part is your trusted person just calls the credit card company and requests a form to add a cardholder. Once completed and activated, their entire account history and future is now firmly planted on your account. Imagine if you secured 3-5 of these accounts - especially installment accounts. Your credit score could sky-rocket!
The challenging part? Finding the trusted person. Since you already have a low credit score and bad credit, how eager will someone be to make you a cardholder? Even your parents don’t want you to damage their credit. But, no one says you need to possess the card! In other words, your trusted person could add you as a card holder and never give you the card or PIN or any information. Since the bills and all account information is still mailed to the trusted person’s address, you won’t know anything about the account. This scenario could land you many trusted persons. And you still benefit with a higher credit score.
This strategy is one of the oldest credit building techniques around. It used to be accomplished with secured savings accounts. But now, it’s much easier with secured credit cards. In fact, I’ve used this method myself.
Here’s how it works: Take ,000 (or what you can afford) and get a secured credit card. Once received, get a cash advance of 70% of your credit limit. Get a second secured credit card. Once received, get a cash advance of 70% of your credit limit. Get a third secured credit card. Once received, get a cash advance of 70% of your credit limit.
Open a new checking account with the final cash advance. Use this account only for making payments on your three new credit cards. If you make your payments on time every month, your credit score will increase because you now have three new perfect payment credit cards. (Initially, your credit score might drop a few points due to the rapid, multiple accounts being opened. However, be patient because within 4 months of no new accounts or any delinquencies of any account, you will see your credit score increase. Mine increased 60 points in 60 days!!)
This one is quite obvious. But after 12.5 years in the mortgage business, I discovered it still needs repeating. Your creditors were gracious enough to loan you money. Now pay your damn bills! If you don’t, your credit score decreases. EVEN IF ONLY 30 DAYS LATE!
That’s right folks. For some reason people think, “I’m only a few weeks late. What’s the big deal?” Well, for the loan company, if you pay late but consistent, they make a lot more money with late fees and more interest (if a simple interest loan). For you, your credit score is damaged. If you think long-term and credit score, I’m certain you would not have a cavalier attitude.
This seems like an obvious method, doesn’t it? But it is not as transparent as you might think. Remember, we’re playing with high-level statistics and probabilities which evaluates and forecasts trends in your behavior. Here’s what you do…
Never pay off your revolving debt in it’s entirety! Isn’t that a surprise? Think about it. Your credit score is a reflection of your ability to manage your credit. Paying off your debt is not managing your debt. If you have a zero balance, how can you manage it? You don’t. It no longer exists. And you cannot manage what does not exist, right? Therefore, in terms of credit score, you have demonstrated your ability to swiftly pay off accounts to avoid managing them. Thus, slightly decreasing your credit score.
One exception, of course, is if you’re over extended to begin with. Pay off what’s necessary to make your credit profile look great. Then manage the remaining credit.
Even if you pay off revolving debts, do not close the account. The longer an account is open with no negative reports, the better it reflects in your overall credit score. This is due to the weighted-average in the credit score formula. Many credit experts suggest a balance of 30% of your credit limit. That’s ideal. But you can go as high as 70% and still maintain a healthy credit score.
You must be vigilant in your credit behavior if you want the best credit score. Therefore, do not get any new credit unless it is absolutely necessary. Each time you apply for credit, an inquiry is added to your report. This usually drops your credit score slightly. When you have fresh credit, there is no track record how you will manage (or pay) this account. Therefore, it’s a higher risk which results in a minor drop in your credit score. Remember, your credit score is about risk assessment.
Here’s what you do: obtain credit for your housing, transportation, college or continued education and 3-5 credit cards. That’s really all you need for personal credit. If you want more credit, request a credit limit increase on your current cards rather than apply for new ones.
If you show you can handle different types of credit at the same time, you are rewarded with a great credit score. In other words, get installment loans like vehicle, personal loan or mortgage. Get revolving credit like credit cards: Visa, Mastercard, Sears, Sunoco Gas, Costco. By mixing it up, you demonstrate you can manage your credit because you will have short term and long term credit with a fixed payment. As well as a “variable” monthly payment on your credit cards.
Keep these accounts open with a balance of 70% or less and paid on time and you will witness your credit score climb to great heights.
Here’s the most obvious advice: Don’t file for bankruptcy or foreclosure. These stay on your credit report for 10 years and always decrease your credit score. The older the bankruptcy or foreclosure account becomes, coupled with re-built credit history, the less of an impact they play on your credit score.
Contrary to popular beliefs, you can legally delete a bankruptcy and foreclosure. It’s not easy. But it’s possible. See the advanced methods for that solution.
To quickly rebuild your credit history after a bankruptcy or foreclosure, use the Round Robin strategy above and get secured credit cards. Now you can even get a car loan or mortgage right after bankruptcy.
]]>The inability to reduce debt and saving money are the two biggest obstacles preventing Americans from living financially sound lives. National statistics show that money problems play a role in 80 percent of all divorces. One in 54 households will declare bankruptcy. Debt is at an all-time high, particularly credit card debt. The total amount of consumer debt in the United States is nearly $1.4 trillion.
If you are one of the millions of Americans burdened with debt and have trouble making those never-ending monthly payments, help is available. You don’t need to go it alone. If you are a typical American family, you have $25,000-$30,000 worth of credit card debt (excluding mortgages, car loans, and student loan payments), and you’re paying $500 to $900 every month in endless minimum payments.
Like you, many people continue making their minimum monthly payments believing that they are making progress. They are living in a state of denial saying “Someday, somehow, something will happen. Things will get better, and my debt problem will be gone.” Then years go by and they only find themselves in a downward spiral getting nowhere. They have paid their creditors thousands of dollars but their debt load never gets lighter. For example, if you were to continue making minimum payments on a $9,000 debt, and not add any more debt, it will take you over 10 years to pay it off. You will end up spending many thousands more than the original amount and 80% of the money paid will have gone to interest and fees. Most people add more debt as they go, so the reality is this - Without an aggressive approach to terminating debt once and for all, you will NEVER get rid of debt.
Today, people have options. There are four strategies for dealing with problem debt you will see advertised: Debt Consolidation, Consumer Credit Counseling Services (CCC), Bankruptcy, and Debt Negotiation. Each strategy must be considered carefully!
Debt Consolidation – The Common Approach
Unfortunately debt consolidation is the most common solution people think of when they fall victim to financial problems. It is a sad fact that about 75% of people who consolidate their debt find themselves in much deeper financial trouble than they were in to begin with. All consolidation loans do is transfer debt from one place to another and is invariably a short term fix with long term pain. A debt consolidation loan will not reduce the amount you owe. You will still pay back 100% of the loan plus interest. This is not going to get you out of trouble and most of the time will only make things worse. Again, consolidation is not a plan to get out of debt but is instead just getting new debt to pay off old debt.
If you were to decide to consolidate, you would need to qualify first. Qualifications include equity in a home you own or other valuable, good credit and debt to income ratio. Most people burdened by debt find that even if they wanted to consolidate their debt they couldn’t qualify for the loan anyway. Once you have taken out this loan, you have just gone from an unsecured debt to a secured debt - and gambling with all your assets. Consolidation loans are spread out over a 15 - 30 year period, leaving you exposed to losing your assets over the life of the loan. If you run into further difficulty in the future you stand to lose your home, car, and valuables.
The fundamental problem that people run into is that once the debts are paid off by the loan, they discover they have a new line of spending potential: empty credit cards. It’s not long after these accounts are cleared that they are run up to the limit once again. This will leave you with both the consolidation loan and maxed out credit cards to repay. How are you going to repay the loan and the credit cards when you were unable to pay the previous debt in the first place? You will find yourself back in the bank for a second consolidation loan, extending your debt and making your debt problem even worse.
Bear in mind that being in debt leaves you with less cash you need to buy and plan for life’s necessities. Although a consolidation loan may give you a lower payment and a little more breathing room, consolidation is not going to leave you with the cash to get you and your family through the next 10 to 30 years.
Consumer Credit Counseling Services (CCC) – Feeling of False Security
Consumer Credit Counseling Services (CCC) programs have a failure rate of 85%. They simply aren’t effective. Here’s why; you meet with a counselor who analyzes your monthly budget. The counselor will submit a proposal to your creditors for a reduction in the interest rates. You would then pay a monthly payment to them and they would then distribute that monthly payment to your creditors. These programs generally take 5-7 years to complete. The theory here is that your overall payment per month is lower due to the counselor’s success at obtaining lower interest rates and more favorable terms with the credit card companies and banks. This approach is most often recommended by the banks themselves.
Here are the facts: CCC Services were created in the late 1970’s when credit card and loan companies began to notice that many people were having problems making their minimum payments and defaulting on their debt. In short, the so-called “non-profit” companies are owned by the credit card companies and banks! CCC agencies are funded by commission by the credit card companies based on the debt recovered from you, normally around 12 - 15%. This means that for every $1,000 you give them, they can take as much as $150. If you’re paying them a service fee of $20 per month, and the creditors are paying them $75, you can quickly see that CCC agencies are not working for you but for the creditors.
In addition, you have no insight into what the CCC agency is doing on your behalf and no control over the repayment process. They send in their single monthly payment, with no idea of how much is going to which creditor. Since most counselors are busy people who work based on high volume, getting a return phone call can be difficult.
It’s key to know that with CCC programs, you still pay 100% of the debt plus a lower interest rate. The debt you walk in the CCC is what you walk out with. With all things considered, it works out to be about the same as your current minimum payments.
Bankruptcy – The Last Straw
Today more people than ever are turning to personal bankruptcy as a way of solving their financial problems. Estimates indicate that 2003 will see nearly 1 in 70 Americans filing for bankruptcy. People owing as little as $5,000 are unknowingly filing, not knowing of alternative methods of eliminating their debt. The reason people take this hasty action with such a low debt amount is the harassment and overwhelming pressure from impatient collectors trying to recover their money. In the case of Consumer Credit Counseling agencies, once they find that they are unable or unwilling to help, they will suggest bankruptcy as the answer – unconcerned of the effect it will have on your future.
In bankruptcy, a court order forces all commercial creditors to cease and desist from attempting to collect the debts you owe them. Depending on the bankruptcy declared (Chapter 7 or 13), it stops wage garnishment, reverses judgments, and generally wipes out debt.
For some people, bankruptcy is the only sensible option. If you have $60,000 in debts, and you’ll never earn more than $1,200 per month, then you’re broke! The sooner you eliminate the debt, the sooner you’ll have a fresh start. With more than 1.4 million bankruptcy filings in 2000, Congress is passing legislation that will make it tougher to declare bankruptcy.
In bankruptcy, certain personal property is treated as exempt. The banks and creditors cannot touch that property in attempting to recover the money owed to them. Your home, car and other personal effects like clothing, and other assets are considered exempt, but this varies from state to state. Any property that is not exempt is liquidated and distributed to the creditors under the supervision of the court. Since most people entering bankruptcy have only exempt property anyway, there’s usually nothing left to distribute, so the creditors typically get nothing.
Seems like a good deal? Many people mistakenly see bankruptcy as a good, low cost way to rid themselves of debt. There are other costs associated with bankruptcy that make it a very bad solution for most people. The cost of filing bankruptcy itself is minimal. Depending on what state you live in, you can expect to pay anywhere from $400 on up to $1,600 for the whole process. That’s just the beginning. The bankruptcy will stay on your credit report for 10 years – and on your court records for 20 years. The seemingly “low cost” method will cost you dearly as it will follow you for the rest of your life. If you ever apply for a loan, job, apartment or insurance, one of the first questions normally asked is “Have you ever filed for bankruptcy?” And, for the rest of your life, you’ll have to answer “Yes.”
You might be able to eliminate your debt, but the effects emotionally and the effect on your personal life will last for many years to come. Consider applying for a terrific job after you have filed bankruptcy. These days, employers will run a credit report to determine how you faired financially. This will effect whether the employer will give you that dream job or not. Even if you do get the job and your employer later runs a credit report on you, you will still have to explain the bankruptcy. While employers can’t fire you because of a bad credit report, they can certainly limit your future promotions.
Future purchases are affected as well; after several years, you may opt to purchase a home. If you’re in sufficient shape at that point to qualify for a mortgage, you’ll pay a higher interest rate than the average consumer who has never filed for bankruptcy. Assume you want to purchase a $100,000 house a few years after filing bankruptcy. You make a $10,000 down payment. This will result in applying for an $80,000 mortgage. While your “good credit” neighbor would obtain an interest rate of 4.5%, you would get a rate of 7%. While it seems that the extra 2.5% difference is not bad for having filed bankruptcy in the past, it’s what you will pay monthly where you will feel the pinch. That extra 2.5% on a mortgage will increase your monthly payment by $200 per month with the total of your payments reaching more than $70,000 over the 30-year life of the mortgage.
Besides being a devastating blow to your credit, a bankruptcy can also be a very stressful and embarrassing decision to continually have to explain to every potential lender. If you have no choice, then you should proceed, understanding the consequences. However, the majority of people who take this method of debt elimination don’t know what they’re getting themselves into or the consequences thereafter. They are desperate, and they get talked into filing bankruptcy by the collectors or attorney without understanding the impact on their financial future.
Keep in mind that personal bankruptcies are usually unnecessary as there are better options available. Many people are forced, against their wishes, to file bankruptcy to protect themselves from aggressive creditor tactics or attorney. Ultimately, bankruptcy still means failure to employers and creditors.
Debt Negotiation - Light at the End of the Tunnel
Few people realize that there is another solution to burdensome debt, an approach that levels the playing field between you and your creditors, without having to go to court. The debt negotiation strategy will put you back on the road to financial freedom and in control of your life again.
The Negotiation Strategy allows you to turn that $25,000 of credit card debt into $12,500 or even as little as $9,000. In most cases, our clients have debts totaling $8,000 and have successfully saved them thousands while maintaining a reasonable credit rating. With a professional debt negotiator working for you, your debt can be cut in half or less.
How it works: Put yourself in the shoes of a manager of a collection department for a major credit card company. You know that bankruptcies are at an all-time high and that the chances of collecting on the outstanding debt worsen as the debt ages. You have the opportunity to close your books on a delinquent account by collecting 50 pennies for every dollar owed by the debtor, or take a chance on never collecting a single penny by trying to hold out for the full value. You also realize that once the debt leaves your bank (usually after six months or so), it will go to a third-party collection agency. The agency will take at least 15%-20% commission right off the top of whatever they collect, and they are unlikely to collect more than 70% of the debt even with the most aggressive tactics. So you’ll probably never retrieve much more than half the money anyway. When you look at it this way, collecting 50% now doesn’t seem like such a bad deal.
The way it’s described, it sounds easy. You might be thinking, “I’ll the collectors and do this myself.” You’ll reach the “customer service team” and the representative will inform you that other banks may settle for 50%, but their bank never settles under any circumstances. Of course, they do have that “great” hardship program for you. After you’ve called a few times and received the same treatment, you’ll probably end up with the idea that debt negotiation doesn’t work. The banks will rarely take a debtor seriously. They simply don’t believe you and they think your hardship story is phony. The banks are quite prepared for the amateur do-it-yourself negotiator. They have the telephone scripts set up so that by the time the conversation is over, you will feel guilty about the money owed, and their lame hardship plan sounds like a great deal after all.
Having a third-party professional on your side makes all the difference in the world. Once your creditors realize that they are talking to a professional, someone who knows the laws and regulations, they quickly change their tune. A negotiator will obtain better results than you could ever obtain on your own, simply because all of the bank’s tactics are stymied by the fact that they can’t talk directly to you. They can’t apply psychological pressure to you since this is filtered out by your Professional Debt Negotiator.
Consider this: Creditors pull out all the stops when you fall behind. They have gangs of collectors ready to pressure you with carefully scripted techniques and mind games. They have attorneys and collection agencies ready to step in and go after you full throttle. You need to level the playing field. The best and only way you can concentrate on improving your financial future is to let a professional deal with the aggravation of the nonstop phone calls. Bottom line - If you’re looking for the most effective, low-cost, and fastest way to terminate your debt problem once and for all - Negotiation is the answer.
]]>The GM MasterCard®, issued by HSBC Bank Nevada, N.A., is designed for those who plan to purchase or lease a GM car, truck, or SUV in the near future.
Through the reward program, cardholders can earn a 5% rebate toward future purchases or leases. For every $100 spent, cardholders will earn $5 rebate towards the purchase or lease of eligible GM cars, trucks, or SUV’s only (excluding Saturn, Saab and HUMMER H1).
]]> Although rebates have no yearly limit, they do expire within seven years. Nevertheless, the card offers one of the highest rebates in comparison to other auto reward related cards.The interest rate for purchases varies for this credit card, and only those with very good credit will qualify for the lowest rate offered. In addition, there are minimum caps on the APR for all transactions; so no matter how low the Prime Rate falls (the APRs are tied to the Prime Rate), the interest rates will not go below their minimum caps.
However, this card has no annual fee, an attractive 0% introductory rate for purchases and balance transfers for the first twelve months, and cardholders are provided with travel accident insurance and various online services.
Therefore, those who plan to pay in full each month after the introductory rate expires (to avoid finance charges) and plan to purchase or lease a GM card in the near future, or use the card at one of the participating merchants or retailers (to redeem rebates), will benefit most from what the GM MasterCard® has to offer.
]]>What effect will the new bankruptcy law have on the practice of Debt Settlement (also called Debt Negotiation)? Will creditors still be willing to negotiate with consumers seeking to avoid bankruptcy? Will lump-sum settlements for 30%, 40%, 50% still be possible now that this tough new law has been passed?
The short answer is “YES.” It will be “business as usual” in the collection industry. People that choose to file bankruptcy will definitely be affected for the worse, as I’ll outline below, but those who choose to privately negotiate their way out of debt will notice very little difference. Creditors will still negotiate. Deals will still be made. And nothing much will change in the world of collections. In fact, a viable alternative to bankruptcy will be needed more than ever.
The credit card banks lobbied with millions of dollars to get this law passed. They’ve been working at it for about a decade. Now they are celebrating. These are the folks who think the bankruptcy system has been abused by wealthy individuals, who have defrauded creditors when they could have repaid their debts.
The facts tell a different story:
During the period from 1995 to 2004, bankruptcy filings doubled, while in that same period, credit card industry profits TRIPLED.
Credit card companies have not been held accountable for their targeting of “easy credit” to individuals who could not afford such loans, which in turn has contributed to the wave of bankruptcies over the past decade.
For people 60 or older, 85% of bankruptcies are caused by medical bills or job loss.
A divorced woman is 300% more likely to file bankruptcy than a married woman.
African-American and Hispanic homeowners are 500% more likely to file bankruptcy than white, non-Hispanic homeowners.
Approximately half of all bankruptcies are filed because of medical expenses due to lack of health insurance, or lack of adequate coverage leading to uncovered expenses.
The median income of bankruptcy filers is $25,000. (So much for the “rich” abusing the system.)
The new law was a GIFT to the credit card banks, pure and simple. Some estimates show that it will add another $5 billion to the industry’s bottom line. In other words, the bill is about profits and not much else.
Since my whole approach is about avoiding bankruptcy, I won’t go into a detailed analysis of the provisions of the new law. But just to summarize, the net effect is that many (if not most) people seeking relief under Chapter 7 bankruptcy will be forced to file under the Chapter 13 version instead. In plain English, that means that most filers will be forced to pay back a portion of the debt over a 5-year schedule set by the court.
One of the worst aspects of the new bill is the use of IRS “allowable” expense schedules for determining your monthly budget. In other words, your actual living expense are thrown out the window in favor of the IRS standards (and we all know how generous the IRS can be!). So if your actual rent is $1,300 per month, and the IRS says it should be $1,045 for your county and state, that’s TOUGH! The court will only allow the $1,045, period.
In short, people attempting to file bankruptcy after October 17, 2005 are in for an extremely rude awakening! Goodbye cell phones, cable TV, high-speed Internet access, movies, meals with the family, and anything else beyond the minimum allowable expenses as determined by the IRS and the courts.
So what makes me so certain that the banks will be as eager as ever to settle with consumers for 50 cents on the dollar or less? Simple. Two words: Stealth Bankruptcy.
Hundreds of thousands of Americans are going to discover the new reality of this tough law, and they are going to forgo the court system of filing bankruptcy in lieu of what I call “stealth bankruptcy.” A stealth bankruptcy is when you move (with no forwarding address), change your phone number, and drop off the radar screen to live on an all-cash, no-credit basis. Many people already choose this path rather than deal with the invasion of privacy that comes with formal bankruptcy. After the new law goes into effect, more people than ever will take this approach.
Besides the problem of stealth bankruptcy, there are other good reasons the banks will settle as they always have. Consider these points:
A. The creditor doesn’t know whether or not you’ll still qualify for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. They still face the risk that you will qualify for Chapter 7 and end up discharging your debt in full, which means they get NOTHING.
B. Even if you file Chapter 13 under the new guidelines, the creditor will still only receive 30-50% of the debt on average (much less in some cases).
C. Under Chapter 13, it will still take the creditors 3-5 YEARS to recover that 30-50%.
D. A lump-sum of 30-50% TODAY is far better than the same amount collected over 3-5 years.
Of course, I certainly expect debt collectors to use the new law to harass and intimidate people who don’t know and understand their rights. You can expect them to say things like, “You can’t file bankruptcy under the new law, so you’d better pay up today!” They will bully and threaten as always, but at the end of the day, they will still accept reasonable settlements. After October 17, 2005, it will still be “business as usual” in the world of debt collections.
]]>Identity theft can have dire consequences. If a thief obtains someone’s social security number and birth date, he or she can then find out all kinds of financial information about the person and can use the person’s bank account. If this happens, the thief can spend all of the victim’s money, and the victim may or may not have a way of recovering the money. Identity thieves can ruin their victim’s credit by using the stolen credit cards to run up huge debts.
Corporate espionage is another serious problem involving information theft. More often than one might believe, employees steal secret business documents and sell them to competing companies. If thieves steal a business’ financial information, like credit card numbers and bank account numbers, they can spend all of the company’s money and possibly never get caught. It is vital to protect personal and professional information from would-be thieves by destroying documents and computer files that contain the information.
Paper shredders work by cutting sheets of paper into many very small pieces, making it difficult for thieves or corporate spies to reassemble the documents and gain private information. Some shredders cut the paper vertically into ribbons, while others cut the paper in a cross cutting motion, making it much harder to reassemble the page. These paper shredders have a number of features and many can provide maximum security.
File shredders permanently erase files from a computer. Most people think that emptying the computer’s recycling bin erases any files or programs that were in it, but the truth is that these files can be easily accessed using basic retrieval software. File shredding software ensures that sensitive files containing private information can’t be accessed.
Not all types of shredders are used to protect business or personal information. Chip shredders are heavy-duty tools used to break wood, leaves, and other materials down. Once the materials are shredded, they can be used to make mulch or compost.
Shredders are valuable tools in a number of situations. Paper and file shredders provide protection against information theft and chip shredders are valuable landscaping tools.
]]>The Value Miles Platinum Visa® Card, issued by Chase, is designed for those with very good credit who plan to take advantage of the travel reward program.
Through the reward program, cardholders earn one mile for every dollar spent on general purchases. A maximum of 40,000 miles may be accumulated per year and they expire within three years.
]]> Earned miles can be applied towards travel on American, Delta, United, Continental, Northwest, USAir and other major airlines; however, miles cannot be combined with frequent flyer programs.The card also offers platinum cardholder benefits provided by Chase that include up to $500,000 in travel accident insurance, auto rental insurance, and various travel and emergency assistance services.
This card has a reasonably low interest rate for purchases (compared to other airline reward cards) and a 0% introductory rate for purchases and balance transfers for six months.
However, those who plan to occasionally carry a large revolving balance may find doing so costly due to the “Two Cycles Average Daily Balance” method used by this credit card to determine finance charges, which ends up costing more to maintain an occasional balance as compared to the “Average Daily Balance” method used by many credit card issuers.
Therefore, those who can afford to pay in full each month (to avoid finance charges) and plan to take advantage of the reward program will benefit most from what the Value Miles Platinum Visa® Card has to offer.
]]>Among the incentives that you might be offered for using a particular credit card are frequent flyer miles, phone call minutes, rebates and cash-back on purchases, insurance on your purchases and more. Here’s a list of some of the most popular incentives. Check around to find a card that offers incentives that make sense for the way you use your card.
Rebates
One of the most common incentives for using your credit card is a cash-back or rebate offer. Generally, you’ll get 1-5% back on various purchases. Depending on the credit card, you may get 1% back on most purchases, and 5% back on purchases made at convenience stores, gas stations, grocery stores and ‘member merchants’. The rebate may be in the form of a credit on your bill, a gift card for $10, $20 or more dollars when you reach that amount in cash rebates, or a check sent from the credit card company.
Frequent flier miles
Another common credit card incentive is frequent flier miles that can be used on a number of airlines for personal and/or business travel. Check the individual cards’ terms and conditions to find out exactly how to redeem your frequent flier miles.
Phone Minutes
A new incentive being offered by several credit card companies is phone minutes to use with your cell phone account. Redemption is generally via a phone card sent when the amount of the reward minutes reaches a certain denomination, but your credit card company may have different rules and policies.
Additional warranty coverage for the items you purchase
A few credit card companies offer extra warranty time or coverage on items that you purchase using their card. The additional coverage is only available on particular cards, generally the Premium cards. If any item that you purchase using cards that are lost, stolen or breaks within the stated warranty period, the credit card company will replace it at their cost.
Car rental insurance, Travel accident insurance or travel-related discounts
If you travel often and use rental cars, then it may make sense for you to have a card that offers insurance on you when you’re driving a rental car - at no extra charge. Likewise travel insurance and travel discounts that may be available only to holders of that particular credit card, or is available at reduced rates to them.
Credit card registration
Some credit card companies offer to register all of your credit cards so that if your purse or wallet is lost or stolen, you only need to make one call to alert all of your credit card companies. It’s a handy perk to have, especially since it’s easy to forget a card you don’t use often in the heat of the moment. Taking advantage of a credit card registry is one way to be sure that all of your creditors are notified that your cards are lost.
Joseph Kenny is the webmaster of the credit card comparison sites http://www.credit-cards-info.com/ and also http://www.creditcards121.com/
]]>The United Mileage Plus Signature Visa® Card, issued by Chase, is designed for those who travel frequently with United Airlines and have an excellent credit history.
Through the reward program, cardholders earn one mile for every dollar spent on the card and two miles per dollar spent on airline tickets purchases at united.com. Miles can be used for travel on United Airlines and can be combined with the United Airlines frequent flyer program. New applicants receive 17,500 bonus miles and have the opportunity to earn up to 11 additional miles per dollar spent at participating restaurants.
]]> There is a yearly limit of 60,000 miles that can be earned (10,000 per billing statement). The mileage limits do not include bonus miles. However, for members of Mileage Plus Premier®, Premier Executive®, or Premier Executive® 1K®, there is no maximum number of miles that can be earned per billing period or per year. Miles do not expire as long as the frequent flyer account remains active within a three-year period.In addition to the reward program, the card offers a variety of additional cardholder benefits that include a free one-class upgrade certificate, a $25 United discount travel certificate, up to $1,000,000 in travel accident insurance, lost luggage insurance, a personal concierge service, and various travel and emergency assistance services.
This card has an average annual fee of $60 and a reasonable APR for purchases when compared to other airline reward cards. There is also no introductory rate available.
The card uses the “Average Daily Balance” method in determining finance charges, which is less costly when carrying occasional balances, as compared to the “Two Cycles Average Daily Balance” method that is frequently used by Chase.
Therefore, those who can afford to pay in full each month (to avoid finance charges), currently fly with United Airlines (to combine earned miles with the frequent flyer program), and are able to earn a free airline ticket within a two-year period (due to the annual fee) will benefit most from what the United Mileage Plus Signature Visa® Card has to offer.
]]>The JetBlue Card from American Express®, issued by American Express, is designed for those who travel frequently with JetBlue Airlines and would like to take advantage of the airline reward program.
Through the reward program, cardholders earn one Award Dollar for each dollar spent on the card. Two Award Dollars are earned for each dollar spent on JetBlue flights, restaurants, movie theaters, gym memberships, event tickets, and golf green fees. It is important to understand that 200 Award Dollars are equal to one TrueBlue® point, and 100 TrueBlue® points are equal to one round trip flight. Cardholders receive 5,000 bonus Award Dollars after the first purchase, which equals 25 TrueBlue® points toward a free round trip ticket. There is no limit to the amount of Award Dollars that can be earned, but TrueBlue® points expire one year after they are earned, and TrueBlue® awards expire one year after they are issued.
]]> In addition to the reward program, cardholders can expect common benefits offered by American Express, such as various emergency assistance services, purchase protection, extended warranty services, and up to $100,000 in travel accident insurance.The annual fee of $40 is reasonable as compared to other airline reward cards. There is a 3.99% introductory rate for six months that applies to balance transfers submitted with the application, and the interest rates are reasonable for purchases and balance transfers once the introductory rate expires.
Therefore, those who can afford to pay in full each month after the introductory rate expires (to avoid finance charges) and plan to take advantage of the reward program will benefit most from what the JetBlue Card from American Express® has to offer.
]]>In deciding whether to opt for debt consolidation you should take into account the following:
Financial Savings
Being able to save money is, or should be, an important factor in deciding whether to take out a debt consolidation loan. Typically, people who are considering consolidation will have multiple debts which include one or more with high interest rates. This particularly happens when loans are taken out during a period when market interest rates are high. The borrower sees cheaper loans advertised when the market rates decline, but the rates of his loans are fixed at a high level; it is therefore an immediate temptation to switch to one cheaper rate loan and to make interest charges and monthly payments cheaper.
Another type of debt that will bear a high interest rate is credit card debt. It can be attractive to consolidate such debt with any other loans, so that they can be paid off in one monthly payment at a lower level than the current loans added together.
The lower monthly payments give the impression that you are making savings when opting for debt consolidation. However, that apparent saving may be due to a longer term of loan. You do need to make sure you are actually making a saving. You can do this by checking the total annual interest charges for your existing debts, and compare them with what they would be under a new consolidation loan. Only by reducing your interest charges will you be making a true financial saving.
When calculating any saving, be sure to take into account any charges made by the new lender, and any penalties you may suffer through paying off other loans early. Such costs can be critical in deciding whether there are any financial savings.
Improving Your Cash Flow With Debt Consolidation
Debt consolidation can bring great relief to your monthly cash flow, if done properly. So, whether it is personal debt or business debt that you are consolidating, you are given an opportunity to put your finances in better order.
Reducing Stress When You Consolidate Debt
Your level of stress can increase steadily if your finances are in poor order, and each month you find it more difficult to meet loan and credit card repayments on time. If you consolidate your debt you should be able to get the monthly repayment to a more affordable level, thus reducing the potential for stress as you struggle to make a lot of monthly repayments. You may also avoid the hassle of creditors chasing you, by preventing yourself from falling behind with payments.
The Affect On Your Credit Report If You Consolidate Debt
The precise affect on your credit report or status when you consolidate debt will depend on your location. Your new consolidation loan will be recorded, but so long as you maintain your payments, on time, for the duration of the loan, then you should emerge at the other end with a decent credit standing. However, deciding not to consolidate debt may adversely affect your credit status if you subsequently default on any of your loans or credit cards.
The above are just some of the factors that should be taken into account in a decision to take out a consolidation loan, and it is wise to consider everything fully before deciding. If you decide to go ahead, then shop around for the best deal. That will help you for many years to come.
This debt consolidation article was written by Roy Thomsitt, owner of the Eliminate Credit Card Debt Now website.
]]>The Chase Flexible Rewards Platinum Visa® card, issued by Chase, is designed for those who have very good credit and plan to take advantage of the reward program offered.
]]> Through the reward program, cardholders earn one point for every dollar spent on general purchases, which may be redeemed for gift certificates, brand name merchandise, a variety of travel awards, or cash. Points expire in five years and there is a maximum of 60,000 points that may be earned per year.Aside from the reward program, the card also offers a variety of additional cardholder benefits such as up to $1,000,000 in travel accident insurance, auto rental insurance, and purchase protection.
There is no annual fee, and the interest rate for purchases and balance transfers is reasonably low for a reward card for those who qualify. In addition, there is a 0% introductory rate offered for purchases and balance transfers that is available for the first twelve months of membership.
It is important to note that finance charges applied use the “Two Cycles Average Daily Balance” method, which is a more costly method in applying finance charges for those who occasionally carry a balance in comparison to the “Average Daily Balance” method used by most card issuers.
The Chase Flexible Rewards Platinum Visa® card is ideal for individuals who have a very good credit history and plan to take advantage of the reward program offered.
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