Archive for January, 2011

Debt Management: Credit Boot-Camp™ Unsecured Debt

TheWarOnDebt asked:


This is one of Debt Warriors Credit Boot-camp Video Series. We never expected that the sub-prime credit crisis would make this video timeless, but credit repair and winning your war on debt.

Ana

 

Creditor on car loan has repoed car and charged off as bad debt am i liable to third party collection agency?

Michael B asked:


creditor took the car back and told me that they were going to charge the loan off as bad debt. it appears in all of my credited reports as “charged off as bad debt” , “Acct charged off/Repossession, $12,793 written off” and “charge-off”. I have now a company trying to collect $15,573.00 from me regarding the the car.

Jo
 

3 Ways To Erase Debt With a Home Equity Loan

Shawn P Dempsey asked:




Can you erase debt with a home equity loan or line of credit? Sort of. I am not suggesting that people go and take out a home equity loan to pay off debt. Because that is just taking on more debt to pay off debt. A no-win scenario. However, this is addressed more to the folks who already have a loan or line of credit and are not completely out of debt yet. So here are 3 ways to use a HELOC to get out of debt.

1. Eliminate High Interest Debt

Use the loan to pay off higher interest rate credit cards or loans. Most of these loans are at lower interest rates. Usually somewhere around 3% – 5%. If you have several thousands of dollars on a credit card that is at 15% then it makes sense to use the loan or line of credit to pay off the credit card. In fact if you have enough room on a HELOC to pay off other cards or loans then do it to take advantage of the lower rate and to consolidate multiple payments into one payment. Then accelerate paying off you home equity loan to get out of debt.

2. Temporary Emergency Fund

If you have $10,000 or $20,000 or more in a home equity loan or line of credit that is unused then do not use it and keep it as a backup emergency fund. Especially if you do not have the cash reserves yet for a true emergency fund. So while you are building up your real emergency fund keep the loan as a fall-back just in case anything like a job loss happens before you can build up a fully funded emergency fund of 3 to 6 months. In addition with the vastly lower interest rates on HELOC’s it makes sense to use it temporarily as an emergency fund rather than a higher rate credit card.

3. Pay It Off

Lastly you can pay off the HELOC. If you already have all of your debt paid off and you have a fully funded emergency fund, then pay off the HELOC and get rid of it. Let’s face it, ultimately any sort of home equity loan or line of credit is debt. And it needs to go. If you have no real need for it then pay it off and eliminate that debt. Do not get the wrong idea that you have to keep it just in case. It is debt and needs to be gone. This is the best option of what to do with a home equity loan.

No matter what you do be careful to fully think through the possible ramifications of using your home equity. The use of home equity potentially puts your home at risk if for some reason you can not pay back the home equity loan. Do not treat it lightly. Otherwise if you do have a home equity line of credit or loan carefully consider using it to help eliminate higher interest rate debt. Use it as a temporary emergency fund. And then pay it off and erase debt as fast as you can.

Lonnie
 

Erasing Student Loan Debt

Max Bellamy asked:




Student loan debt may well be a low interest debt and many people argue that it is tied on to an asset that steadily appreciates but the truth of the matter remains that it is indeed a tough payment to make month on month at the outset of your career. There is some good news however because there are now a number of smart strategies that you can use in order to push down your bill. With some wise decisions you can even be in a position to pay off your loan well ahead of the scheduled time. This could help you to free up your cash for other long-term goals that you may have in mind.

In order to erase your student debt loan you might want to keep a few steps in mind. The first of those steps would be to consolidate your loans. Today we find ourselves in an environment that has favorable interest rates to offer. As a result anyone who is looking to eradicate their student debt should first seriously consider the option of loan consolidation. This move will allow you to wrap up your existing federal loans into one single loan that has a low interest. The extra savings that you make can then be applied towards the principal amount on your loan. This could really help you to put your debt behind you much faster.

Another step you might want to give good thought to would be building up a nest egg. It is advisable that you get creative with some kind of long term tool for savings. Roth IRAs would be a good way to start as their earnings grow in your account tax free.

The third and very important step to erasing your student debt loan would be to use to your advantage every kind of tax deduction that is available. Then you can apply whatever savings you make towards your loan repayment and thus be in a more comfortable position. With a few wise decisions and some frugal spending habits you can be successful in erasing your student debt loan at the earliest.

Suzanne
 

Some Facts About Payday Loan Debt Consolidation

Alice Smith asked:




In case you find yourself unable to repay a payday cash advance on time, payday loan debt consolidation is an option to help you out. Many of you need to take cash advances from loan companies for various reasons. You may have some urgent financial payments to make. The payday loan is a short term cash advance which you can repay when you receive your next paycheck. If you are unable to repay the loan by the due date, you are able to extend the advance for another month. The problem with this is that the amount payable by you may accumulate to a very large sum. This makes it more difficult for you to repay the cash advance.

How Does Consolidation of Debt Help?

There is a way to help you out in such a situation. You can approach a debt management company to provide you with a payday loan debt service. Once you contact the debit consolidation company, they will communicate with the cash advance company on your behalf. Their job is to get the loan company to agree to a consolidated repayment amount which is advantageous to you. This amount will be lower than the amount you had to pay earlier. The consolidation loan amount will be calculated with a lower interest rate and will give you a lower monthly payment amount.

When To Contact A Debt Management Company

You should always keep in mind that a loan till pay day is a short term loan. It has to be repaid on your next payday which is usually after a month. If for any reason you cannot repay the amount on the due date, the cash advance can be extended with additional fees. This could lead to the payable amount to become very high. You should contact a debit management company as soon as you extend your advance. By doing so, you can prevent the debit amount from becoming too high and more difficult for you to pay. The sooner you use this service, the easier it will be for you to repay the cash advance.

When you take a debt reduction service, you do not need to communicate with the lending company any further. The company will contact them on your behalf. If the creditors want to get in touch with you, they will have to do so through the debt reduction company.

If you have taken multiple payday cash advances and cannot repay them on time, the payday loan debt consolidation service can help reduce the repayable amount. This would make it easier for you to repay the loan.

Lillie