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Recommended Personal Budget Category Percentages Debt Settlement Truths - Answering the Critics A Review of LifeLock ID Theft Protection Service Will I Owe the IRS Tax on Cancelled Debt? How to Negotiate a Lower Interest Rate on Your Credit Card
3 Huge Tips to Reduce Credit Card Debt |
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| ▪ we were in approximately $35K in CC debt | ||
| ▪ we were paying for gas and groceries on credit | ||
| ▪ we had no emergency fund | ||
| ▪ we were transferring balances to 0% cards | ||
| ▪ we were NOT saving for retirement | ||
| ▪ we had major stress from our high debt load |
Does this sound like you? It very will might, because a recent study by the Federal Reserve Board found that a lot of families are in deep financial trouble. You are not alone...
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In the last 10 years, bankruptcies have nearly doubled in the United States, with more than 1.6 million people filing in fiscal 2003 alone. Consumer debt hit an all-time high of $1.98 trillion in October 2003, for an average of about $18,700 of debt per U.S. household. Credit card debt reached $735 billion in January, for an average of $12,000 per card-carrying household. |
We looked at Credit Counseling, getting a consolidation loan, and as a last resort, bankruptcy. Each has it's pros and cons. Review each of these in the Debt Relief Options section. Overall, we felt that choosing debt settlement was the best fit for our situation, and we are very happy with our choice.
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Using Debt Settlement, you can eliminate 40%-75% of your credit card debt. On average, most people can get out of debt in 15 to 30 months. My wife and I eliminated 56% of our debt. |
Here is the major reasons we chose it:
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It is simply the fastest way out of debt, other than bankruptcy. The main reason it's the quickest way out is that it's the only solution where your a substantial portion of your debt is actually forgiven. Permanently written off! Gone! History! It allowed us to start saving our money immediately. We chose to save money and pay in lump sums rather that start a payment program with a settlement company. The money we saved we used to pay off our creditors at a reduced amount. |
There are some other smaller considerations that affected our decision:
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Our Credit.
Our credit was not that good to begin with.
We had been transferring balances for years and had opened
and closed several revolving credit accounts on our reports.
That, in conjunction with our high balance to credit limit
ratio, and high debt-to-income ratio had out credit reports
in rough shape.
We understood that debt settlement would damage our credit. But considering it wasn't that great to being with, we determined it wasn't a major factor. We were willing to live with a little more credit damage because it was offset by some serious debt relief Credit can be repaired and negative credit marks cannot stay indefinitely. See the FAQ for more details. We not
interested in prolonging our debt relief.
Credit counseling and Debt Consolidation loans simply have
you making payments on your full debt for a longer period of
time. Plus Interest! |
Consider the Benefits of Debt Settlement:
Knowing that you've taken action will immediately start to give you peace of mind.
In most cases, creditor harassment will end.
You will retain confidentiality - unlike bankruptcy.
You will begin to save money immediately (no more interest payments or penalty fees).
As you stay in the program and complete it:
You will be debt free in a short time (some as soon as 9 months, others up to 3 years).
Your debt-to-income ratio will improve. This will help your credit score.
You will want to improve your credit score.
Additional things to consider:
Your credit will be damaged, although not as severely as in bankruptcy.
Any forgiven debt reported on form 1099-C over $600 will be treated as income by the IRS and you may have to pay tax on it. However, if you were insolvent at the time of your settlement, than you will not have to pay tax on the cancelled debt.
Get a
free, no-obligation consultation with the experienced
and friendly professionals
at Hoffman, Brinker and Roberts.
Hoffman, Brinker & Roberts
is an experienced and professional debt resolution company specializing in debt
settlement services for individuals and businesses. They are highly personal
and have an lengthy track record of obtaining excellent settlements for their
customers. They offer free in-depth consultations. I highly recommend this
company based on my own positive personal experience.
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Personal Money Management Basics
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Did You Know... |
49% of adults, and 66% of US high school students got F's on a national test on their knowledge of basic economic principles.
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Food for Thought... |
"I'd rather go to bed without supper than rise in debt."
-Ben Franklin.
