Debt Consolidation Loans-Yes or No

Cleaning Up Past Debt Management Mistakes

Everybody makes mistakes. Mistakes may be one of the few things that every human being on the planet has in common with every other human being on the planet. No matter how well educated we are or how street smart we are, we are all going to make mistakes in our lives. It's a given.

Mistakes in debt management are one of the most common of all the possibilities.

Getting in over your head financially speaking has become so commonplace that an entire industry has emerged to deal with the problem. It really isn't hard to see how and why this happens.

The credit card companies make getting into deep debt easy. Anybody who has a social security number can get a credit card. You fill out an application, of course, but the information on the credit card is not verified. Employment is not verified and other debts are not considered when a credit card is issued. Even dogs (the real kind that have four legs) have been issued credit cards.

The spending limit that is set on a credit card can be anywhere from a few hundred dollars to many thousands of dollars.

Then we are all bombarded with advertisements for goods and services that are very attractive. Our friends have stuff, and our neighbors have stuff, and we want the same stuff. With credit card in hand, we set out to get the stuff, and suddenly there is a mountain of debt.

There are about three options: debt consolidation loan, home equity loan, or bankruptcy. Most people will choose either a debt consolidation loan or a home equity loan in an attempt to clean up past debt management mistakes.

Either works, but unless lessons have been learned well enough that they will not be repeated, the industry can depend on repeat business.

See Also:
Credit / Debt Management - Credit Repair Improve Credit Score and Pay Off Debt

Free vs Paid Debt Management Services

Debt Management and Interest Rates

It is sometimes just amazing, but people have no idea what interest rate they are paying on loans -- even on their mortgages. Interest rates matter.
Interest on credit card debt is the highest. Credit card interest rates are higher than bank interest rates that you may have for your car loan or the installment loan for furniture or appliances.

Another very amazing thing is that the majority of people do not understand what simple interest is and the difference between simple interest and compound interest. Every high school in America should teach this and the course should be a graduation requirement. Not understanding interest rates costs Americans hundreds of billions of dollars every year.

I do not have the space here to teach a course about interest rates. Remember this: simple interest is less than compound interest. The compounding frequency determines how much higher. Interest that is compounded monthly will be less than interest that is compounded weekly or daily.

Your credit score determines what interest rate you will be offered, and it will also determine just how much interest rate negotiating power that you have. The people with the highest credit scores will always be able to get lower interest rates than people with lower credit scores.

No credit history is viewed in the same way by lenders as a poor credit history, in that the interest rates that are offered will be virtually the same. Build a good credit history and you will get a lower interest rate.

First-time borrowers may have to pay higher interest rates, but it is to their advantage to make their payments on time and in full. If payments can be made prior to the due date, that will raise the credit score. Paying a loan off early will also raise a credit score.

 


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Debt Management When Starting a Business

Starting a new business is a heady time. There are all of those dreams and plans just sitting there waiting to be realized. You KNOW your plan will work and you have the utmost confidence in yourself and your abilities to make your plan work. Ambition, energy, and enthusiasm are not the problems -- but money might be.

Within your business model, you need to have a debt management plan in place before you begin. Starting a business...any business...takes money, and don't let anybody ever tell you any different. Think about it. Your expenses for living are going to keep on adding up every day and every month even if your income isnt keeping up with the demand.

And that isn't all. When you make your business plan, you need a financial plan to go with it. You are going to have living expenses, but you will also have business expenses. Getting any business off the ground takes a financial investment of some kind.

Maybe you are thinking about starting a business from your own home and you believe that since you won't have to be paying for renting a building, paying extra utility bills, etc., you won't have any business expenses. You couldn't be more wrong.

You are going to have to buy various software, and you are going to have to subscribe to specific services. If you are working at home for
yourself, you are going to be responsible for paying self-employment tax every quarter. You will likely have to advertise your new business. The world probably isn't waiting with bated breath for you to come on the business scene. Everything that you bring in is not going to be profit.

A business plan needs to include a financial and debt management plan. Don't leap before you look.

 

Related Topics: Debt Management-The Controls,  The Right Answer for Debt Management, Debt Management and Credit Scores


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