You are here: Home / Archives for 2006

Escape Debt Hell

August 10, 2006 by Leave a Comment

This is a great article. It covers different people’s escape from debt. I don’t agree with all the methods used but the bottom line is these people took action to get out of debt and because of it they are living much happier lives, and wealthy… take a look for yourself.

Inga Shivers was working holidays and overtime and lying sleepless at night, juggling the bills in her mind — $55,000 worth — for her nine maxed-out credit-cards. The pharmacist’s exhaustion must have showed, because a kindly colleague who knew of her trouble pulled her aside and told her how he had needed help to dig out from a giant pile of medical bills.In that moment, Shivers, then 34, made her decision. She found a credit counselor, cut up all but one of the credit cards and got on a payment plan. Three and a half years later, she paid off the last of the bills.

Escape stories from debt hell – MSN Money

technorati tags:, , ,

Filed Under: Debt Relief

Fix credit errors now

August 10, 2006 by Leave a Comment

I could not agree more with Mrs. Weston. Collection Agencies are ruthless and car not what they do to innocent people. Pull your credit once a year and review and fix errors. At the end of this snippet there are numbers and websites you can contact to get a copy of your credit report.

Collection agencies have become increasingly aggressive about seeking payment on old debts, and some of them aren’t too picky about making sure they’re going after the right people. The result is that someone else’s collection account can land on your credit report, as apparently happened here.Start by pulling your credit reports from all three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You’re entitled to free reports from each of the bureaus once a year under federal law by calling (877) 322-8228

Don’t let credit-report errors fester – MSN Money

technorati tags:

Filed Under: credit repair

Right way to Cancel a Credit Card

August 9, 2006 by Leave a Comment

Be careful when you close a credit card account. Make sure it will not hurt your credit score. Check this resource I found which can help you close the credit card in the right way.

There’s a Right Way, and a Wrong Way, to Cancel a Credit CardThe first thing to do is make sure you have a zero balance on the card or it’s likely your card issuer will raise your interest rate as soon as you’ve cancelled in order to squeeze our as much from you in interest as possible.Start with a phone call, and remember to follow up in writing and to check your credit report to be sure the closure is reported accurately. Some creditors will report the account as “closed by credit grantor” which has a negative connotation and can hurt your credit score.

There’s a Right Way, and a Wrong Way, to Cancel a Credit Card

technorati tags:, ,

Filed Under: Credit Cards

Debt is out of control

August 8, 2006 by Leave a Comment

Debt is out of control but as MP Dunleavey there is a root cause. I agree with what she is saying. I also like to make the analogy of someone who has over the years become very over weight. Once you have gained the weight you need to keep eating the way you are and do little to no exercise to keep the weight on.

The hardest part of loosing weight is changing your eating habits and getting into a work out routine. It take discipline and motivation to start to make the change and finally reach your weight loss goals. I believe this is the exact reason why we get into debt and why it’s so hard for us to get out.

The good news is with discipline and motivation debt can be crushed. It will take time and serious root causes will have to be addressed. Check out MP Dunleavy’s take on debt:

Even though people pay lip service to the gospel that debt is bad, millions of Americans are still borrowing beyond their means, spending like the bills will never come — and saving less and less of their personal disposable income.

I’ve attributed this debt dependency to living in a ridiculous
consumer culture, to humankind’s innate greed, to a Darwinian need to
keep up with Mr. and Ms. Crate&Barrel, to elevated blood levels of
financial denial.

It only occurred to me recently that maybe, deep down, people not only like living on borrowed money, they’ve grown so accustomed to its seductive presence that they can’t imagine a life without owing.

Don’t get too comfy with your debt – MSN Money

technorati tags:, ,

Filed Under: Debt Relief

what a bunch of sharks

August 7, 2006 by Leave a Comment

This is just a snippet of what collection agencies will do. You should go to the link below and find out more. Knowledge is power and from the looks of it we need all the help from companies like CAMCO.

The FTC charged that as much as 80% of the money collected by Capital Acquisitions and Management (CAMCO), a large debt-collection firm, came “from consumers who never owed the original debt in the first place.” These consumers typically paid the company to stop its harassment of themselves, their families, their friends and their co-workers. CAMCO agreed to a $300,000 civil penalty in March 2004, but in the ensuing eight months the problems continued. The FTC received more than 2,000 additional consumer complaints about the company — three times more than the agency received in the two years prior to the settlement. The FTC eventually succeeded in shutting CAMCO down.

Sleazy new debt collector tactics – MSN Money

technorati tags:,

Filed Under: Collection Harassment

What is a good Credit score

August 3, 2006 by Leave a Comment

BankRate does a good break down of what a credit score is according to FICO. Basically the top score is a 850 and the low is a 300. Average score is 723. 40% of all people have good credit

But when it comes to credit scores, one of the most common versions is the FICO score. “It’s the 800-pound gorilla,” says Craig Watts, public affairs manager with Fair Isaac Corp., the company that pioneered credit scoring and introduced FICO scores about 17 years ago.

A FICO score can range from 300 (very bad) to 850 (very good). The average is about 723, according to Fair Isaac statistics.

Some reassuring news: The majority of consumers have good credit. Forty-five percent of consumers have a score between 700 and 799, and 13 percent score above 800, according to statistics from Fair Isaac.

Just like the SATs, perfect scores are rare. Even though 850 FICO scores do exist, high scores taper off around 825, says Sweet. “You can’t get much better — that’s pretty much walking on water,” she says.

Now for the rest of the population: 27 percent rank above 600, and 13 percent weigh in above 500. Only 2 percent have scores of 500 or below, according to Fair Isaac numbers.

What, exactly, is ‘good’ credit? (Page 1 of 2)

technorati tags:

Filed Under: General News

Money Mistakes

August 3, 2006 by Leave a Comment

Great words of wisdom from Dave Ramsey:

Money Mistakes

The best thing to do with your money is common-sense stuff. If you can’t afford something, don’t buy it. Save up money for big purchases and that inevitable rainy day. Live on less than you make. Sadly, most people fall into some common traps and mistakes when dealing with finances.

Here are some of the biggest (and most common) money mistakes. If you don’t make these mistakes, your chances of winning with money will skyrocket.

Thinking of "budget" as a dirty word
Charging purchases instead of paying in cash
Procrastinating on creating an emergency fund

I am a big fan of Ramsey and believe in what he says. for more check out his site. https://www.mytotalmoneymakeover.com/index.cfm?intContentID=5045

Tags: ,

Filed Under: General News

Credit Score Seminar

August 2, 2006 by Leave a Comment

I found this online, and I can’t vouch if it’s good or not. I may check in on Saturday and see what they are up to… Check them out here. Sounds like they maybe using this free credit repair site as a way to up sell mortgages. so take their info with a grain of salt.

“Raise Your Credit Score” Seminar to debut

Broken Credit, LLC will debut its free online seminar titled “Raise Your Credit Score” in July.  The seminar is approximately thirty minutes in length and will be streamed at 12:00 noon on Saturdays.  The seminar is free; however, advance registration will be required.

Some topics that will be discussed:

(1)  Why errors exist on credit reports

(2)  How to obtain a copy of your free credit report

(3)  The proper way to dispute inaccurate items

(4)  How to re-age a derogatory account to delete the derogatory history

(5)  How to remove collection accounts from your bureau

(6)  How to improve your credit score even if you have no bad credit

This free online seminar is for anyone who desires to improve their credit score THE RIGHT WAY.  Broken Credit, LLC has seen a tremendous need for the general public to have this information and it is our great pleasure to bring this seminar to you for free. 

For those of you who will be buying or refinancing a home, this free thirty minute seminar could make your dream of homeownership possible and save you tens of thousands of dollars in interest!

Tags:

Filed Under: credit repair

10 Bad Credit Habits

August 1, 2006 by Leave a Comment

10 bad habits that lead to debt disaster

I found this article on MSN written by By Leslie Hunt, Bankrate.com
This is Dave Ramsey! She basically took his baby steps and re-wrote them. If you follow Dave Ramsey at all everyone of these steps should look familiar to you. She even uses some of the same terminology, "emergency fund"…

Bad Habit No. 1: Misusing balance transfers
Bad Habit No. 2: Not checking credit reports — you can’t change them anyway.
Bad Habit No. 3: Failing to alert creditors about a financial hardship
Bad Habit No. 4: Thinking of ‘budget’ as a dirty word
Bad Habit No. 5: Using retail store credit cards to make use of discounts
Bad Habit No. 6: Procrastinating on creating an emergency fund
Bad Habit No. 7: Paying bills in no particular order
Bad Habit No. 8: Charging purchases instead of paying in cash or with a debit card
Bad Habit No. 9: Making credit payments late
Bad Habit No. 10: Making the minimum payment only

If you would like to read the story in full click here.
Tags: , ,

Filed Under: credit repair

Invalid Credit Card

July 30, 2006 by Leave a Comment

So if you don’t sign your credit card its invalid? Well does that mean the purchases are invalid? Does it mean you are breaking the law if you do not sign the card yet go on to buy something? Read this blog post and see what you think.

Sign Your Credit CardIt’s a little known fact that your credit card is actually invalid until it’s signed. Really. Look at the fine print of the agreement that comes along with the card in the mail; it’s also printed on the back of the card. However, most merchants will allow you, or anyone, to use an unsigned card.Signing your card actually helps protect you from fraud since it’s much more difficult to copy your signature than for a thief to simply sign your unsigned card. You can even go one step further and sign the card, and then write “Check ID” next to your signature to request that the merchant also verify the ID of the person using the card.

Sign Your Credit Card

technorati tags:

Filed Under: General News
«Previous Page
Next Page»