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Surviving Debt Management Do-Overs Debt Management and Collecting Your Debts
Most of us who are very good at managing our own personal and business finances are very poor at collecting the monies that are owed to us. We really hate to find ourselves in the position of being a debt collector.
Because we take our own financial obligations seriously, we tend to think that others do the same. They don't...at least not all of them.
Everybody has at one time or another loaned friends 20 bucks and never seen a penny of it repaid yet, and most likely never will. We all know that. We knew when we made the loan that it was really a gift. Those kinds of things you simple chalk up to experience and move on.
Other loans of substantial amounts that are made to family and friends should, however, have legal documents attached to them. Asking for collateral isn't unheard of, and neither is charging interest.
Advice given by very wise people of the past tells us to simply not lend money to family or friends, and it really is excellent advice. You aren't a bank or a lending institution. You are simply very good at managing your own finances.
If lending institutions won't lend your friends and relatives money, it is for a very good reason. The institutions have information that tells them that they aren't very likely to get their money back. You won't have the information about how they have handled debt in the past or how deeply in debt they are at the present. All you are going to know is what they choose to tell you.
The best answer when friends and relatives ask you to loan them a substantial amount of money is, “NO.” But if you do decide to make the loan anyway, at least make it legal and binding with contracts, collateral, and interest.
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| Comparing Debt Managements Services Debt Management Debt Collectors
The Fair Debts Collection Practices Act sets guidelines about what debt collectors can and cannot do. You need to know the rules so you know when they have been broken.
If you have the unfortunate opportunity to deal with a debt collector, you need to know what your rights are and know the best and most effective way of dealing with one.
Debt collectors can call you on your home phone during business hours. They can call you until you tell them, in writing, to stop. Once you have given them written instructions to stop calling you, that does not erase the debt, but it will stop the phone calls.
Debt collectors cannot threaten you with bodily harm. They cannot misrepresent themselves as being associated with the government or with a credit reporting agency.
If you must deal with a debt collector, never assume that they will play fair or that they have your best interests at heart. They won't, and they don't.
Do not ever send post-dated checks, and never give a debt collector the right to draft payments from your bank account. These things can end up costing you more money and more trouble than you already have.
When you are negotiating with a debt collector, remember that you are dealing with a person who has been well schooled in the art of negotiation. They know more about it than you do.
Never give a debt collector personal information like where you work, what your income is, or your bank account information. They do not have the right to even ask you these questions. If they do, and you let them know that you are informed about the law, it will strengthen your position.
Nothing that you do when you are dealing with a debt collector will erase the debt. But knowing the law, and knowing what to say and what not to say, can keep you from more grief. |
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| Debt Management-Getting the Priorities Straight 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: Free vs Paid Debt Management Services,
Taking Control with Debt Management, Surviving Debt Management Do-Overs
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