Is Your Wallet Fat? Go On A Debt Diet: Discover Alternative Solutions On How To Reduce Credit Card Debt

Open your wallet. Do you count more than two credit cards? If you said you had from 3 to 5 cards you may not be in trouble. But if you have over 5 credit cards there’s a good chance you’re in financial trouble or so close to it; that one emergency could send you over the edge. If this the case for you; maybe its time you went on a debt diet.

But first to confirm your suspicion you’re in financial trouble because of the credit cards, you should take the time to do a quick study of what’s going on with your credit cards.

1.  Do you know how much money you owe in total?

If you said no you’re in trouble.

2.  Are your credit cards maxed out or very close to being maxed out?

If you said yes you’re in bigger financial trouble than you thought.

3.  Are you and your significant other constantly battling over the credit card bills and other bills?

Yes? Then you really need to eliminate credit card debt.

4.  Are you using your credit cards to buy perishable goods such as food and other staples you need to live because you have to use them?

That’s no way to reduce credit card debt. You’re just increasing your interest and balance.

5.  Do next month’s bills come in before you can pay this month’s?

Wow! Yup, you need to know how to cut your credit card bills back.

If you find the above questions describe your situation you have got to reduce your credit card debt.

Your next question to yourself is “How do I eliminate credit card debt?”. Glad you asked. Actually, you have several alternative options available to you.

A. Make a list of all your credit cards

•   Include Balance Owed, Interest Rate, Minimum Payment

•   Put the highest balance and Interest Rate cards at the top of the list

•   Stating at the top call each credit card company and negotiate a lower interest rate, late fees and over limit penalties.

•   Speak only with management.

•   Get new terms in writing

By doing this you will find many of the credit card companies will lower the interest rate and waive the late fees and penalties. This in turn will decrease the monthly interest charged and free up additional cash to make further reduction of your monthly balances.

This method of reducing your credit card debt works best before you start making late payments or missing payments completely. By doing so you will be able to show the management of the company you are honestly trying to prevent a sticky situation. Although some of the credit card companies will work with you, not all of them will.

In the case they don’t want to work with you then you may have to consider an equity loan on your home to consolidate your debts. However, it’s very important to make sure you don’t end up with a loan rate that will cost you more money over the long term. Chances are though your mortgage company or bank will make sure it will be a better rate and you will have it paid off long before you would the credit card debt.

This one solution alone could save you several hundred up to perhaps a thousand dollars in monthly credit card payments. The key to this plan is to use the money you save to reduce the amount owed on the home equity loan. By doing so you might save thousands in interest and pay the loan off say in five years, instead of the 10 year term of the loan.

By the way if you should get a home equity loan, don’t make the mistake of loading your credit cards back up. You should cut up all your credit cards except one or two to keep for emergencies. BUT, don’t cancel them. When you cancel card, this reduces your credit score. Keeping them open but not maxing them out will help you in both decreased debt and increased score!

Make sure the ones you keep have the lowest interest rates and keep them paid up in full.

There are other alternative solutions to reduce credit card debt. It will behoove you to take the time to determine what your best solution is.

About the Author

Chris Thompson speaks from both the heart and experience. He was once in way over his head to the tune of over $100,000 in debt (not including a mortgage!).  Today he is nearly debt free (just a mortgage).

He shares his tips and resources that helped him. Check out what else he has to say at www.HowToGetOuttaDebt.com

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What Does it Mean to Be Frugal?

To many people, the word frugal brings many thoughts to mind — most of them unpleasant.

They think of Mr. Scrooge or the 60′s mom that could make a chicken stretch through four meals.

Often, we are so caught up in making others think that we have plenty of money that we forget that we don’t. In fact, most of the people who scoff at living frugally aren’t well-to-do. They are the ones that are struggling financially. They wouldn’t even consider letting others think that they are frugal.

It is the well-to-do and those with money that often really understand what frugal living is. It is being in control of our money. This is a characteristic that most successful, and wealthy, people display. They understand that we control our money, it does not control us.

But don’t think that it is easy. Frugal living is quite hard. It takes a lot of thought and discipline. Money is a tough lion to try and tame. It will seem to beat you back every time. But if you look at living frugally as a challenge with great rewards, you will be able to handle it just fine.

Frugal living gives you the ability to own a vehicle without having an auto loan. You are one of the few that can go shopping without a credit card. If you are frugal and wise in your money decisions, you can have everything you want, without the stress and emotions that come with debt.

To be frugal, you have to make a commitment. You can’t simply be frugal once a month and see results. You have to train yourself to be frugal in every situation. You have to make it a part of your daily routine. Look for ways to recycle and cut waste and spending.

The one secret that will keep you frugal lies in setting goals. Once you have identified what you want to achieve, it will be easier to be frugal. You are working towards something. Make a budget and track the things you do that are making your dreams reality.

One of the largest problems that many consumers face is shopping. To be frugal you have to decide to not shop anymore — at least for things you don’t need. The frugal shopper knows exactly what he needs and he looks at all of his options. Being frugal means that you make do with what you have. You use all of something before you buy a new one.

You don’t have to give the things you love up. All you have to do is see that they fit in your budget. If they don’t, you may have to put them on the back burner for a while until you free up some room. Frugal living isn’t about doing without, it’s about doing better.

Know where your give and take is. If you care deeply about your wardrobe, but not so much about your food, spend less on food and keep your clothing the way you like it.

One of the best features of frugal living is that it is based on you. Yes, I can tell you that frugal people save the twist-ties off of bags of bread. But if you have no use for those twist-ties, they are wasting your time. Being frugal is make the best of what you have, not what I have or others have. You are cutting your spending in order to save for your goals. We all do it in different ways.

Frugal living is essentially living beneath your means. You are saving and not spending every cent you make. It’s a challenge, but one that makes you a better person. It teaches us, and our children, self control. Many successful businesspeople come from very poor backgrounds. They are successful because the frugal life taught them how to sacrifice and exhibit self-control.

Answer these questions:

What if you lost your job tomorrow?

What if you were injured and could never work again?

What if you lost all of your investments?

Are you able to survive to live as you are right now?

These are tough questions. You need to work to have answers for them. Living frugally will give you the security you need.

About the Author

Learn about acrylic benefits, acrylic urethane, urethane facts, having an affair, affairs in marriage , affairs in a relationship and other information at the Knowledge Galaxy site.

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The rating methods for Medigap insurance plans

Before signing in a specific Medigap insurance plan it is necessary to tally a few things with market rate and trend. If benefit coverage and company rating are the deciding factors for selection of insurance coverage providers, Medigap insurance ratings are one of the great deciding factors. Once the logic and rules behind Medigap ratings are under stood, it is easier to select the best plan in accordance to your existing medicare policy.

Medigap insurance plans are offered by Medicare Supplement Insurance Companies; however the premium and policy included benefits are all stringently regulated by State and federal law body. Premiums for Medigap plans are decided by certain rules about the ratings. The rule which decides the premium of Medigap insurance plans are called rating rule.

There are basically three issues depending on which Medigap policy ratings are decided and accordingly benefits and coverage factors are also decided.

Attained-age-rated policy is one of the main rating methods of Medigap plans. The premium rate of the policy is decided on the age of the policy proposer. In general the minimum age of an applicant of the Medigap policy is 65 that mean at this age the range of premium remains lowest. With the increasing age the premium range will also increase. In this case if you continue with the same plan for years, it will be seen that your monthly cost against the insurance plan is getting really low and you are at advantage while paying low premium and enjoying better health coverage. Those who want to enjoy insurance as an investment may consider for investment at lower premium rate for Medigap insurance plan and plan to invest the rest amount in different investment sector for gaining better scale of investment gains.

There is another method of rating Medigap insurance plans; it is known as community-rated policy. In Medigap plan, premiums are rated on depending geographic locations. If the policy holder lives in low-community-rated policy option, this will be a convenient for you to avail low range insurance premium on your Medigap plans.

Chronological age is not the deciding factor for the Medigap insurance plans therefore while you are advancing in age and paying the same premium for the Medigap policy, it will prove really advantageous. Therefore it is always wise to know the area rating of Medigap plan in your area before signing a contract regarding this matter.

The third method of Medigap insurance rating method is issue and age rated policy. A fixed premium sum is calculated based on a certain age at which a customer can purchase a Medigap insurance policy. The premium rate will remain fixed with the ascending age. The great advantage against this policy is that the customer will get a fairly set rate which will change with year and ultimately when the policy holder will be aged, he will be able to pay the premium in old rate so will be in an advantageous position.

This is the reason rating policy of Medigap insurance plans should be studied first in order to bag the best deal out of multiple options.

About the Author

Attractive Medicare Supplement Insurance Plans, Supplemental Medicare Insurance Plans and Medicare Supplement Insurance Companies find out here.

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3 Tips to Avoid Credit Card Annual Fees

While the main “hook” with which credit card companies snag you is the interest rate every card carries, credit companies also carry a bag full of other tricks used to squeeze money from the cardholder.  Among these is the annual fee which many cards still carry.  This article will discuss some ways to avoid these snags.

The annual fee is a type of fixed-fee associated with a credit card which provides extra revenue for the credit card company, though the use of annual fees has been declining.  Often, a card with favorable interest rates may be tagged with higher annual fees and/or other snags in order to “balance the see-saw” for the credit company, and vice versa.  In addition, a credit company may, in some cases, charge a fee to a cardholder who has not made a certain number of purchases with his or her card in the year in question.  The amount of a particular card’s annual fee also depends on what class of card it is: premium or gold cards often have higher fees than basic cards.

The first tip on avoiding annual fees is so simple as to sound stupid:  choose a card which has no annual fee.  This is just another reason to read the terms and conditions associated with any credit card offer you consider, as well as those cards you own.

If you already own a great number of credit cards, you may want to take another look at the terms of each card, consider how much utility you get out of each card compared to how much it costs to keep, and cancel cards which aren’t worth the costs.  Do not take this to mean that maintaining multiple credit cards is useless; owning more than one card can offer one greater flexibility than owning a single card.  The message to take home is that one should choose his or her card(s) with care.

One does not always have to go to the extreme of canceling a card to be free of annual fees associated with it; polite negotiation with credit card companies can pay off if you know how to handle such negotiations.   Before we discuss the tactics which may be used, keep in mind the old proverb that you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar: rudeness will get you nowhere.

A tactic that can be used if a card has no balance is to tell the credit card company that you wish to cancel a card because of its annual fees.  The company may be willing to offer reduced fees, or cancel a year’s fees depending on its policies and the payment history of the one making the request.  If these negotiations are fruitless, you may choose to cancel the card if you have no need to retain it.  It is possible (but not certain by any means) that the credit card company will send you a letter offering to reinstate the card with no annual fees.

The above tactic can only be used for a card with zero balance; for cards with a balance a different bluff can be employed.  Rather than threatening to close the account, tell the company that you would be willing to transfer more money onto the card if the annual fee is eliminated and that you may otherwise transfer the balance on the card in question to another card and close the account.

One can make his or her life easier if he or she is a good credit card owner, and a diligent credit card owner.  Credit companies are aware of what is in one’s consumer credit report; they will consider this data as well as your payment history on the card in question when dealing with a cardholder.  The first key to being a good cardholder is to be aware of the terms and conditions of your card(s); maintaining a good payment history will always aid one in his or her financial life.  If you follow these guidelines, the nuisance of annual fees can be swatted away.

About the Author

Pamella Neely writes about the right way to donate an old car, car donation tax deduction rules and tips for donating a car to charity.

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Credit Card Debt Negotiation – How To Get Creditors To Settle Unsecured Debts

Are credit card companies unwilling to negotiate a payment option or make settlement with you. Here are a few ideas without having to spend the BIG BUCKS to stand up against the credit card companies.

Haggling will go a long way in today’s market
Have you ever been to the swap meet or a Garage Sale and haggled for something you really wanted? Once I bartered $100 off a lawn mower at Loews. You think you could do this with the Credit Card Companies with letters or over the telephone; Yes you can. Offer to pay less money is your goal. Some accounts have been known to settle as much as 50% lower than the pay off amount. If done right, this is an easy process to settle your debts.

You need to ask for your own restructuring plan, tell them you want a lower interest rate. Banks will always work on your interest rate especially if they know that they are going to get a guaranteed payment from you each month. The banks need your money, just as bad and you need a Debt Solution. They are going out of business all over the country right now.

Don’t obligate yourself for a payment you cannot afford, you will need to be firm with them. You tell them the amount you are comfortable with, if you have a $2000 a month income and your bills are $1900 a month you don’t offer them $250 dollars a month you just can’t afford it. Ok, I will put my hand up I actually tried that. I honestly thought I could make it work, bad idea Don’t Do It.

There is the option of a counselor or settlement coach. They do work but you have to be very careful to investigate their company, don’t feel bad about asking to Question their clientele for results, be sure to ask for Proof. It is your money that you are giving them, likely so most of the time it is a monthly charge. Do not use them unless they can get you MORE than 50% reduction on you bills.

I have found in my own personal experience that credit cards companies are very hard to work with. They are not willing to negotiate with you directly; they want to sell your debt to ensure their financial position. But wait that may not be true in today’s market I have seen numerous bank in my state alone that have went out of business. You are in a great position to benefit from the economic times we are living in today. The Bank needs you.

So take the time Today to contact your Financial Institution and tell them what you Want. Let them now you need to talk with a Manager, do not talk to the operator you will not get anywhere. I need to make arrangements to settle my account or I am in a financial situation that requires me to negotiate my outstanding debt and I cannot afford to deal with a consolidation company. My interest is too high I want you to lower it, ask for at least 2 percent maybe more if your interest is higher. I have found it does not hurt to ask.

Remember this is your life and it is important, not only to you but for your friends and family around you. You have to admit that life was less stressful without all the debt; debt seems to affect all areas of your life. This is your time to get Debt Relief living your life with Financial Freedom is something you deserve.

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About the Author

If you are struggling with paying back your credit card debt or any other unsecured debts there is legitimate help out there. Debt settlement usually makes financial sense for consumers with over $10k in unsecured debt. There are also other options available. To talk with a debt relief counselor for free help check out the following link:

Or Call – 877-853-6466

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