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Taking Control with Debt Management Budgeting for Debt Management
Of course, the earlier you make a financial plan (think budget), the better and easier life will be. However, if you have been conducting your financial life without a plan and find yourself in a real financial bind, it isn't too late to make a budget now.
If each payday, you are only paying the creditors who are screaming the loudest, you need a plan, my friend.
There are many sites on the Internet that have forms that guide you through the budget-making process. Choose one that looks like it could work for you.
The first thing to do as you follow the instructions for making a budget is to list the bills that are for the necessities of life....food, shelter, utilities, transportation, and clothing. These expenses are not optional. After you figure out how much just covering life essentials comes to each month, the remainder is what you have for paying other bills. This is what we call disposable income.
If the total of your disposable income is less than the minimum payments that you are being required to make each month on your secured and unsecured debts, then you are going to need to make some changes and maybe get some help.
The first thing that you can do is contact all of your creditors yourself and try to make arrangements for paying them in a time frame that you can live with. But there are other options.
One option is to contact a debt management company. These companies can help with your unsecured debts (credit cards). There are both paid for and free debt management services available.
Another option is a consolidation loan. This is almost always in the form of a second mortgage, but it could be the answer that you are looking for.
A third option is a debt negotiation company that can negotiate with your creditors for you and get settlements of debts for greatly reduced amounts.
See Also:
Debt Management Companies Directory
| Debt Management and Credit Scores 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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Consolidation
Debt Management Company | Debt Negotiation Program, Credit Card Debt ...
Credit Counseling and Debt Consolidation - CareOneCredit.com
Debt management calculators -- Bankrate.com
| Debt Management Makes a Comeback Debt Management: Getting the Priorities Straight
Using half your paycheck to buy lottery tickets in hopes of winning millions instantly is not a satisfactory debt management plan. Successful debt management is based upon truth, reality, and keeping your priorities straight.
The necessities of life must come first when you make your debt management plan. You need food, shelter, utilities, transportation, and clothing....and pretty much in that order. After the total cost of these necessities is subtracted from your bring home pay, what's left is your disposable income.
How much you spend on each of these necessities will determine the total cost of your necessities. When you cut the cost of any of the necessities, you will have more disposable income and when you add to the cost of the necessities, you will have less disposable income.
My daddy summed it up pretty well for me. He said, “The less you spend on what you have to have, the more you will have to spend on what you want to have.”
You have to make your own choices, of course, but here are just a few ideas that might help:
1. Food: It costs less to eat at home than it does to eat out.
2. Shelter: Less space costs less money....usually.
3. Utilities: Raise the thermostat by two degrees in the summer and lower it by two degrees in the winter. Turn off lights when you leave a room. Don't leave water running.
4. Transportation: A five-year-old car will take you to the same places that a new car will take you.
5. Clothing: Clothes purchased at discount stores costs less than clothing purchased at upscale clothiers.
Debt management is all about getting your priorities straight and making choices. Priorities are nonnegotiable, but how much you spend on them is negotiable. |
Related Topics: Credit Card Debt Management,
Debt Management and Credit Scores, Debt Consolidation Loans-Yes or No
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