Easing Your Financial Burdens With Credit Counseling
It is a well-publicized fact that more of us are getting ourselves into greater debt, and this may be true for you. The embarrassment of your financial situation can mean you are unlikely to seek credit counselling or other credit management solutions. Increased house prices and greater cost of living can force you to turn to heavy borrowing. While this works in the short term, it undoubtedly leads to greater financial burden in the future. Is there anything you can do to stop this trend in your life?
Credit Counselling Helps People with Bad Credit.
It is much easier to borrow money now than it ever has been. This can prove helpful when seeking a first-time mortgage or wanting to borrow some money to buy that essential purchase. In the long run, borrowing money at the increased rate you are charged can lead to financial ruin.
Secured credit cards can be obtained with a few simple clicks of a mouse, and you rarely think about the consequences of your actions until it is too late. Credit counselling can help. A credit counselling service looks at your finances and works out exactly how much income and outgoing you have and then creates a repayment plan to help you pay off your debts. They contact your major lenders to agree a reduced repayment rate, in order that you can pay off all of your debts, and, above all, they can help set your mind at ease.
Credit Counseling — Why It Doesnt Work For Most Debtors
“Cut Your Payments in Half!” the headline screams. “Consolidate Your Bills into One Low Monthly Payment!”
When you see ads like this, they are often from Credit Counseling firms. In this article, I’ll explain the principles behind the Credit Counseling approach and discuss the main problem consumers face when they join one of these programs.
First, let’s get our definitions straight. The term “Credit Counseling” is actually quite misleading, since it has nothing to do with preserving or improving your credit score. In fact, Credit Counseling will often damage your credit, an unpleasant reality that is sometimes downplayed by industry representatives.
Credit Counseling is a debt management program where you make a single monthly payment to an agency. In turn, that agency distributes the money to your creditors on your behalf, ideally at lower interest rates so you can pay off the debt faster. Credit Counseling should not be confused with Debt Consolidation, Debt Settlement, or Debt Termination. Each of these debt programs takes a very different approach from Credit Counseling.
Of all the available debt options, Credit Counseling is by far the most popular, with millions of Americans participating. Does this mean it’s the best choice for most people struggling with debt? No! There are numerous problems with this approach.
Read and Understand Your Credit Card Statement
Have you ever looked at your credit card statement and ended up just scratching your head in frustration? Well join the club! But don’t take any comfort in the fact that you have plenty of company, because lack of knowledge can cost you?.right on your credit report, and once there can stay with you a while.
Adding to the challenge is that almost every creditor’s statement is slightly different, varying in format and billing cycle and interest calculations. You first want to check what you purchased and what you borrowed, so make sure you save all your receipts to make sure you weren’t charged for something you didn’t buy or were double billed. Immediately dispute any discrepancies via phone and in writing.
Next you’ll want to verify the interest rates being applied for each type of purchase. Remember, cash advances almost always carry a higher interest than normal purchases and interest usually accrues from the date you received the money. Also, if you have any balance transfers with introductory interest rates, verify that it is correctly noted and hasn’t been increased prematurely.
Maximizing Credit Card Rewards
In their quest to get you to sign up for their credit card, banks and financial institutions are coming up with more and higher incentives to entice you. Frequent flyer miles gave way to gas miles which opened the door for cash rebates and reward points to be used at ‘our fine member merchants’. When most other things are equal (APR, annual fees, fees for transfers et al), the style of reward points and how you can make use of them can be the deciding factor in which card you choose to put in your wallet.
One of your best options for a credit card these days is one of the current crops that offer higher rewards/rebates for purchases made in gas stations, convenience stores and supermarkets. These so-called ‘everyday purchases’ are the market that credit card companies want to capture. That’s why the big push to highlight the convenience of using a credit card for things like grocery shopping - a great way to keep track of your purchases, they point out - gasoline purchases and other everyday incidentals. In order to get you to do that, they’re offering rewards and cash back on those purchases that are higher than those for other purchases.
Making Sense of Credit Card Fees
In addition to the APR (annual percentage rate) and the finance charges, most credit cards have a number of ‘fees’ associated with their use. Some fees are unavoidable with a particular card (like an annual fee or a program participation fee), while others are triggered by certain circumstances. The most common fees are listed below. To get a better idea of what your credit card may cost to use over the course of a year, check your card’s terms and conditions and your user agreement to see which fees may apply to you.
Annual fee:
An annual fee is charged for the privilege of having the card, whether you ever use it or not. Many credit cards offer no annual fee and a low interest rate to their best customers, or to those with excellent credit. If you’re trying to recover from a bout with bad credit, your only choice may be a card with a relatively high annual fee. In that case, look for one with the lowest APR you can get, and be careful to avoid triggering other fees.
Cash advance fee:
Low Interest Credit Cards: A Thing of the Past?
With interest rates rising, low or zero percent credit cards may soon become a thing of the past. However, the wise shopper can still secure a low rate by carefully shopping around. Here are some ways you still get a bargain rate card:
Contact Your Current Provider. Chances are the interest rate with your current credit card provider has been inching up for the better part of the past year. Whereas previously you could have had a 5% rate, the card may now be up to 8, 9, or even 10%. What can you do? Contact your credit card provider and ask for a lower rate. They can tell you no, at the risk of you going elsewhere, or give you a fixed lower rate. If your provider refuses to budge, see if they would consider a lower rate for a certain period of time, let’s say for six or twelve months. The added savings of the temporary lower rate can be beneficial especially if you have a big purchase coming up that you plan on paying off within 6 to 12 months.
Always Avoid Payment Holidays
Once you’ve been paying off a credit card for a while, you might be offered a ‘payment holiday’. You’ll get a letter, saying that since the company knows it’s difficult for some families around Christmas (or whatever other excuse they think up), they’re offering you a month off from paying, as a ’special present’.
Why Would They Do That?
Offers of payment holidays typically have a very high acceptance rate. People think it’s great that they can take a month off from the stress of paying back debt. What they don’t usually realise is that these ‘holidays’ aren’t a present at all - they’re a great money-spinner for the credit card company. For the company, it’s a win-win situation: they get to make big profits just by making their poorer customers happy.
How Can Letting Me Off Paying Earn Them Money?
Well, that’s where the trick comes in. If you read the small print, you’ll find that the payment holiday> isn’t interest free! You’re still being charged interest - and since you’re not paying anything back that month, the interest will be there next month for you to pay interest on (compound interest, you see).
How did a Thief get my Name? Don?t be a Victim of Identity Theft
How do these people get my name? If you have a credit card, your name is sold to third parties, if you do not want this to happen, you must contact your credit card companies to inform them that you do not want your information sold. Check the privacy notice that comes with your bill. If you enter contests, your information becomes public. Also, when you buy a new product, and fill out the warranty cards, those companies sell that information you provide to other companies. Since when does your toaster manufacturer need to know you households’ annual income to extend a warranty on your toaster? Thieves use dumpster digging, phishing, and pharming to obtain your information. Things they steal from your trash include:
? Pre-approved credit card offers ? they complete them and have the card sent to them at a different address
? Loan applications- they complete the application and have the money sent to a phony address.
? Bank statements- they then have your bank account number and can print counterfeit checks
Becky Palmer, a Consumer Credit Counselor, knew of someone who had their wallet stolen, and they used the credit card to buy a $5000.00 gift card at Wal mart, this then become very hard to trace.
Fixing A Credit Report
Fixing a credit report starts with seeing what’s on it. You may get access for free online. Try a search for “free credit report.” Alternately, when you are denied credit based on a report issued by a local credit reporting agency, you can request a free credit report from that agency within 30 days.
A quick look and you’ll have an idea why you were denied credit. Now how do you fix what you see? What if you find incorrect information on the report? What if you want to change information that is accurate, but unfair?
First, if there is anything you want to dispute in the report, you can write a letter to the agency. Tell them exactly what is incorrect, and they must investigate. Send copies of any documentation, such as canceled checks, and send it all by certified mail.
The agency must contact the source of the disputed information. If they recieve no confirmation within 14 days, they must delete the item from their files, and send you an updated report. You can demand that they send the corrected report to all creditors that recieved your credit report in the previous six months. This last part won’t be done automatically, so be sure to demand it.
The Right Way To Credit Repair
If you have a bad credit rating, then you might find that your ability to get financing, loans, and even some jobs is greatly diminished.
Once you have a bad credit rating, it might seem like there’s nothing that you can do about it? but you don’t have to believe that. It’s not as difficult as you might think to get by with a bad credit rating; with a little work and time you can even repair it! Of course, before you do that it’s important to realize exactly what a credit rating is.
Every time a lender or other creditor makes a report concerning your payment history to them, this report affects your credit score.
Your credit score is a numerical indication of the positive and negative reports that you’ve received from creditors and lenders; if the number is high then you have a good credit rating, and if it’s low then you have a bad credit rating.
Basic credit repair
Get organized! Make a folder for all your correspondence offline and online. You will have to do some snail mailing but in most cases you can work your repair online.
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