Use Debit Cards

By Paul J. Easton

Have you ever been advised to choose using a debit card instead of your credit card? In this time of economic meltdown, your debit card might be a choice when it is time to cut up those credit cards.

Your bank ATM card, if with the Visa or MasterCard logo, is a debit card. By using debit cards as the substitute of your credit cards, you will not be anticipating for bills that have to be paid at the end of each month. You might not earn points with your purchases but you will not be tempted to spend more. This is because you can only use your debit card if you have enough money in your account for the purchase.

Debit means to subtract. So the purpose of your debit card is to subtract money from your bank account each time you use it. Debit cards have several advantages like the credit cards. You can use it as an ATM card to withdraw cash from your bank account. It is convenient and accepted almost anywhere. And most importantly, debit cards will likely reduce your spending spree.

By choosing a debit card, you don't have to be concerned about making regular payment with your credit card. It eliminates the interest rates and your late penalties in case you forget making a payment on a due date. For now, a debit card will likely replace your credit cards.

So get your credit cards from your wallet and cut it up. By doing this, you will have no choice but to stop using all your credit cards starting today. This is very vital for now for you not to get deeper in trouble.

By deciding to live off of the income you bring home, you show some commitment to temporarily sacrifice towards being debt-free in the future. Rather than depending on the credit cards that were previously residing in your wallet, you make the solid move of getting the temptation away. Be debt-free now with these tips on how to get rid of debt here.

This is a very critical time in your life. Fighting that credit card debt is only effective if you cut off all the unnecessary distractions. By ditching the credit cards off, you make yourself relieved of the lure of getting back in the habit of spending more than your financial capacity. By using your debit card and working hard enough to pay the bills on time, you will definitely be in good financial shape in the future. Thanks to your debit card, the credit card substitute saved your financial life.

For information on how to get rid of debt, go to http://www.Howtogetridofdebt.net/ by Paul J. Easton.

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Getting Stated Income Credit

By Pat Johnson

People who get most of their income from commissioned sales or own their own business often have a very difficult time being approved for credit. When they go to apply for a mortgage or line of credit, they are met with resistance by the bank, because they can not provide supporting documentation of their annual income. Lenders have recently addressed this problem, by introducing stated income credit products.

If you want to borrow against the equity in your home you may be eligible for a stated income line of credit. The lender will not require you to provide proof of your income, but instead will take your word for it. Then, once approved, they account will be administered like any other.

It is a common business objective to strive to keep taxable income as low as possible by deducting eligible expenses. This is at odds with lenders who like to see as big an income as possible. They more income the easier it is for the borrower to service their total debt. Stated income credit products solve this.

In order to be approved for this type of loan you need to have very good credit and a very high credit score. The lender looks for this because they do not request you to bring in pay stubs or W2s. They increase their risk when they don't verify income, so they look to shore this up in other areas.

The interest rate is often a little higher as well. It is not drastically higher, but again the lender is taking on additional risk and prices the product accordingly. There may be additional fees as well.

Some lenders will have unique criteria for these loans such as how long the applicant needs to have been in business. Additionally some banks may impose limits on how much greater the new monthly payment may be compared to how it was before. The lender simply wants to make sure that all the areas they can verify, are as solid as possible.

You can meet with a broker or search online for a mortgage lender that offers stated income products. It is encouraging to know that the financial institutions are taking the unique needs of the small business owner seriously. You might just have to work a little to search them out.

About the Author:

If you are self employed, get more details on the stated income home equity line of credit at Pat's mortgage blog.

How Does Debt Consolidation Work?

By Eric Jilson

Living in today's world, it's almost impossible to function without using and managing debt. The unrelenting needs and never-ending changes in our financial lives require that we utilize credit in one way or another. When properly maintained and used, credit is a good thing for most people's financial lives, allowing them to purchase homes, vehicles, and other items they would likely not otherwise be able to get without years of savings.

Often, though, debt piles up rather than being paid and people begin to slowly feel their freedom being drained as the debt begins to take over their financial lives. Becoming always short of money, barely able to make payments on time, or being late because you just didn't have the money yet. Sacrificing lifestyle choices and worse, all begin to get worse as the debt mounts. Eventually this comes to a head and has to be dealt with.

Before it gets to that point, though, many people turn to debt consolidation to relieve the pressure and take off the stress. A debt consolidation and management program can reduce your debt, provide you with a means to get out of debt, and manage your credit to show you how to utilize it in a healthy manner that doesn't build your debt load, but instead lowers it.

So how does this work and is it really what it says it is?

Debt consolidation works by consolidating all of your debt into one loan at a lower interest rate, usually paying off your existing debt at lower rates than what's owed. This means your new loan is for a lower amount that you owed before and at a lower (usually fixed) interest rate. So now instead of many monthly payments at varying interest rates, you have one payment at one interest rate.

Some of these programs will, instead of setting up a new loan, set up a management program in which current debts are "fixed" with the creditors, lower payments and interest rates are set up, and your single payment to the management program pays all your creditors automatically. These are not "loans" but they are consolidations of credit under one management system.

Most creditors are happy to either cut what's owed in order to get paid off so they do not have to worry about a struggling client or to take lower interest payments in return for getting a more guaranteed monthly payment to service the debt. A creditor's biggest worry is that a debtor will declare bankruptcy and the creditor will walk away with nothing at all but an unpaid debt.

Some management companies will offer incentives to the client looking to consolidate their debt, making claims about how quickly the debts will be paid and how a "new start" will be had once it's done. In reality, it takes time to pay off these debts and, in the mean time, the person's credit is often on hold and unusable.

Further, some consolidation management companies take monthly payments, issue "cease and desist" orders as attorneys to creditors, demanding that they talk only to the management company about the client's debt, and then let the monthly payments pile up without being sent to creditors. They do this in order to pressure the creditors into taking even lower payoffs (in lump sums from this "account") and to collect interest on the money being paid to them as it builds in an account. While this is legal, it is deceptive and often ruins the client's credit for a very long time.

So finding a reputable and reliable debt consolidation and management firm is a must if you're in the market to consolidate your loans and want to manage your debts correctly. Consolidation is often the best and most effective way to reduce debt or to completely eliminate it and get clear of it as quickly as possible without totally destroying your credit.

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Confront High Property Tax Assessments

By JONATHON GREEN

High property tax burdens as a percentage of home values is typically an ever increasing heavy load to homeowners. Overhaul of state property tax increases, including a possible ballot issue to cut property taxes for homeowners whose home values have dropped, are a hot potatoes issue. It's harder for people to pay property taxes in today economic environment..

Government needs to slash expenses and a reduced wage scale needs to mirror the private sector. Some quarters argue that government should be able to choose to levy property taxes on state exempt land that includes hospitals, churches and non-profit organizations, National Guard armories, YMCAs, etc. to defray the cost of providing them with fire and police protection.

Others suggest property tax appraisal caps and government belt tightening. Government often argues for a higher sales tax to dodge the obvious cutback solution. Even other insist on cut backs on conditions for extravagant early retirement anticiapated to many after 20 years service.

Property tax caps and higher state sales taxes are some of the solutions offered by government. Should you be worried about your property taxes with foxes in the henhouse making the rules don't rent extraneous jobs and expenses?

Creating regional appraisal review boards, reforming tax rate calculations or charging a property tax only upon the sale of a residence as one would treat an auto purchase and sale are other possible remedies for unjustifiable property taxes.

Even in normal times usually a higher error rate exists in property tax assessments. The National Taxpayers Union writes that as many as 60% of all homeowners are over-assessed and not in line with their home value. ("How To Fight Property Taxes" 2004 p.1). This fact alone gives one pause to check their property taxes. It also presents and excellent business work from home opportunity.

You'll only be given a short period of time to present the facts of the case, so you will want to point out the key facts about the property. Point out the significant negative market factors that influence the market value of the property.

Property owners have the right to formally appear in front of a board of property tax revision to share their information and state their case. Nevertheless the first course of appeal would be to contact the property tax assessor and give compelling evidence. Be prepared for deaf ears, few listen well.

About the Author:

Before you agree with your property assessment, if you set side by side your home to the prices of in recent past sold homes and use some basic arithmetic, you may find that there is a 20% or so property tax reduction on your horizon by means of a property tax appeal. Click:property tax assessment reduction for more bottom line facts.

How Loan Modification Can Stop Foreclosure and Save Your Home

By Carina McMullen

If you've been struggling to pay your mortgage, like many Americans have in these tough times, there is an answer that doesn't end in foreclosure or losing your home. Many people have been sacrificing everything in an attempt to make their payments and are losing everything in the process.

A procedure known as loan modification can help you to rearrange your payments, settle late fees, and get your mortgage back on track with little disruption to your daily lives. If you bought a home that you just couldn't afford, or if you've been laid off from your job or have had your hours cut, finding a qualified loan modification advisor can be a great way to save your home, and your financial life.

There are professional companies that handle the process of loan modification. They know the inside secrets to lending and financing, which allows them to get better deals from your bank or mortgage lender. They work with the lender to set up payments, eradicate late fees, and get your mortgage back on track so that it's affordable for you once again. You might not be able to find these deals on your own, which is why these companies are out there to help you. Loan modification can defer payments, split up payments, lower interest rates, eliminate late fees, and even cut the amount that you owe by changing the parameters of your mortgage loan.

This process is NOT the same as refinancing your home and it doesn't make the modification company the owner of your loan. Your mortgage lender will stay the same, and you don't have to have a certain credit score to qualify for this process. The company simply works on your behalf so that you can keep your home and avoid foreclosure, while having the same loan with the same company. When it comes to loan modification, you are simply changing the details of your mortgage, not getting a new loan.

You might think that you can contact your mortgage company and figure out ways to save your home all on your own. The truth is that you won't get nearly as many options if you do this. The lender looks at you as a consumer, and therefore thinks that you're not as informed about the details of loan modification as a professional would be. By having a professional handle the modification process for you, you'll end up with better payment options and a more affordable way to pay for your home. Don't give up on your dream of home ownership without checking into loan modification to see if your home can be saved.

About the Author:

Loan Modification has become a method of stopping foreclosure and relieve homeowners of unaffordable mortgage payments. Mortgage Modification may be a great solution for struggling homeowners who owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth.

Credit Card Debt Settlement - Strapped Consumers Seek Relief

By Carina McMullen

Credit card debt settlement is a highly effective way of sidestepping bankruptcy and removing the debt load from one's credit in a relatively short time. If done right, it can take less than 36 months depending on a debtor's specific situation. With these types of services available, it is easy to achieve credit card debt settlement and it is not hard to understand all the facts so credit card holders can choose the proper debt relief strategy for themselves. With so many individuals suffering from credit card debt, it is easy to see that this form of debt relief is a suitable option for avoiding bankruptcy that uses experienced professionals in order to negotiate with creditors directly and remove or reduce the money owed to credit card companies and other associated debt.

Credit card debt settlement services and credit card debt companies can help to reduce the amount of credit card debt that debtors owe by a significant amount, making it far simpler to get out of debt. These services can also help to bring harassing credit card company phone calls to an end so that they do not contact credit card holders at work and at home with constant harassing messages and phone calls. These credit card debt settlement companies and services work directly with the credit card companies in order to remove the level of credit collectors that continue to contact debtors. Frequently, credit card debt settlement companies will keep creditors from calling credit card holders on the phone or at least reduce the amount of phone calls that they receive. By avoiding all the stress and difficulty of dealing with the credit card companies on one's own, customers can be assured of peace of mind and an easy way of doing business. With so many different types of credit card debt settlement options, it is easy to see that there is no reason to continue to suffer with credit card debt.

Credit card debt settlement makes sense to anyone that is deeply in debt and may need help getting up-to-date on their payments. In some cases, the strategy will be to stop making credit card payments altogether and simply begin saving payments in a separate account that will be isolated from other funds. Once the savings have reached 40% to 60% of the overall credit card debt that a person owes, their credit card debt settlement service negotiator will very likely advise them to offer that amount for repayment of the entire loan. These types of strategies are certainly effective, but can cause some temporary reductions to one's credit score. Fortunately, the credit card debt settlement negotiator can get these types of black marks removed as well as part of the settlement in general.

Though credit card debt settlement may have minor negative effects on a person's credit score, it is nothing compared to the brutal damage that a bankruptcy would do to the credit. And since bankruptcy is often inevitable without some kind of help, credit card debt settlement is one of the best options to consider. Credit card debt settlement helps reduce credit payments by up to 60% and protects people who are in debt from eventually going bankrupt.

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credit card debt settlement is a great strategy that can save credit card holders a tremendous amount of money. Professional debt settlement companies can help you to reduce your credit card debt, and make it possible to get out of debt and avoid bankruptcy.