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Black Rock, the world’s leading asset management company, suggests that consumers befallen by falling home values and longstanding unemployment need a new bankruptcy option. Under current US bankruptcy laws, consumers can file Chapter 13, Chapter 7, or in some cases a Chapter 11 bankruptcy. None of these options allow for modifying the terms of a primary mortgage loan. M
Do you have any idea about government grants for debt relief? Not yet? Well, every the government of the United States offers billions of dollars in the form of grant money so as to help people come out of their debt. To me, this is the best possible news when the entire nation is experiencing a huge financial crunch. I hope the same rule of thumb goes for you as well.
According to experts, one of the different reasons behind stress is debt. People losing their jobs, a sudden hike in price…these are some of the common sights of a recession stricken nation. But then, by applying for the government grants for debt relief, you can ease this problem of yours to a considerable extent. <
Frugal Fatigue
The Dollar Stretcher Blog
by Gary Foreman
Recently I was approached by a reporter. They were doing a story on people who were tired of the effort it takes to control their spending. What suggestions, she asked, did I have for people who were struggling and thinking of just giving up?
A little time brought to mind some of the things that I’ve seen people do who continue when the easiest course was to quit.
The first is to make a decision. Once you’ve decided to pursue a goal, do not question it. Unless you have significant new information, you have no reason to doubt your original decision. So don’t trouble yourself with questions. Just
Your debts are piling up, and you’re having problems making minimum payments on time. Those banks, those credit card companies…if only they hadn’t raised your rates. If only they hadn’t added a late charge to your balance. If only…
Moneywatch blogger Ray Martin points out that some consumers fail to assume responsibility for overspending on credit cards. Carrying revolving balances incurs interest charges, and once you approach your credit limits, credit card debt can lead to additional fees and/or increases in your interest rates. Although an estimated 60% of personal bankruptcies are allegedly caused by health care expenses, that leaves 40% that may result from overspending. Here are
So many Americans are drowning in credit card debts and are trying to figure a way out, that will relief them of the stress so they can move on with their lives and put their hard earned money to better use.
If you want to settle your debts with you credit card companies, you will first need to figure out what type of bank you are dealing with. In figuring this out, you can come up with a more effective game plan to approach them for settlements.
First there are the mail order type credit card banks. These are the banks that solicit consumers mainly through direct mail, phone or internet, as they have no local branches to service their clients. Examples of these credit card banks are Capital One and MBNA, and their cards normally have an interest rate from 6% to 25%. If you are contacting one of these lenders for settlement, you will want to get to either the collections department or their credit card work out department. These are the departments that are equipped to negotiate settlements, not the customer service department.
Second, there is the bad credit type credit card banks that have hefty annual fees, high interest rates as they lend to borrowers that have less than perfect credit. Because these lenders lend to what are considered risky borrowers, they are not the most flexible banks to work with.
Next are National banks that market only to their existing client base, but don’t have the most attractive interest rates. These banks however will bend over backwards to assist their clients and are more than happy to grant payment holidays which will give you additional time to make your payment or even allow you to miss a few payments.
If you contact customer service to request a lower payment with any of these credit card companies, they will more than likely tell you no. That is why you will want to get them to transfer you to the collections or work out departments for rate reductions or settlement requests. As the economy gets worst and more and more consumers are experiencing financial hardships, then these consumers will stop making their credit card payments which will increase the default rate of credit cards. The higher the default rate of credit cards, the higher interest rates on these cards will go to compensate the lender for their losses; unfortunately this will roll over to consumers that have always been on time with their payments.
Whether you are negotiating for a lower rate or settlement with your credit card company, you will want to do as much research as possible to learn how to approach them. Most consumers that fall behind on their credit card payments assume that bankruptcy is their only option. This however is not the case; you have debt settlement, consumer credit counseling and bankruptcy which should be only considered as a last resort. With the recent reform in the bankruptcy code, it is harder for consumers to file a chapter 7 bankruptcy, which would wipe out all their debts and instead the courts are approving them for a chapter 13 bankruptcy, which is a repayment plan to the credit card companies. The recent reform was designed to benefit the banks and not consumers. You want to take the initative as soon as possible to get out of debt, as it does not benefit you to be paying credit cards for the rest of you life.