Many debtors will wake up one day and ask the question, how did this happen to me.  How did I get in this much debt?  The truth is that it does not happen all at once.  Debt is a consequence of a series of decisions that are usually lies to yourself.  You may tell yourself that you will pay the bill in full when you get it, only to pay the minimum payments.  There may be emotional triggers that push you to buy things that you really do not even want.  You may be trying to fill up that empty hole inside of you.  Unfortunately it is short term pleasure and long term pain.  The joy of a purchase may only last a few minutes or even a few seconds but the reality of paying of a credit card purchase can last for years or even decades.

What Is The Long Term Cost Of Being In Debt? Continue Reading »

Contrary to common thinking, you are not what you eat. Rather you are what you think. What got you into debt was not a lack of money but what thoughts you where indulging in in you head. All of the fantasies and stories that you told yourself that were not real about why you needed to buy things that you did. I’ll pay it back at the end of the month, this is what you tell yourself only to make the minimum payment. But next month I’ll pay it back in full.

The More You Think About Debt, The More Debt You Will Attract Continue Reading »

Can a debt arbitration company stop creditor from harassing me? If a debt negotiation company guarantees that they can stop creditor harassment or creditors from call you, run for the hills. In my opinion telling a consumer that a debt settlement company can get creditor calls to stop is a lie. A creditor has the right to call a debtor for a legitimate debt. This is covered in the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act. A good debt settlement company at best can try to stop the calls but nobody should be making any guarantees however.

A debt negotiation company can help stop creditor harassment Continue Reading »

How do you settle collections and old debt? If you have old bills and collections that need to be paid, you may want to think twice about just handing over the money. Just handing over money to a collection agency may not help your credit score. The credit must be willing to report the collection account as a paid collection rather than an unpaid collection account on your credit report. Most creditors will be happy to take your money, they just wont bother to change your credit. Make sure to get it in writing that you are going to pay them only if they agree in writing to change your credit report. Continue Reading »

How do you use a credit card? The credit card industry has changed the way we buy consumables. You see Visa, Master Card, Discover and American Express logos everywhere now. You can even buy your hamburgers at McDonalds with a credit card. It is now convenient to make purchases even if you don’t have the money. Anyone who survived the depression would probably cringe. Back then if you didn’t have the money you didn’t buy it. Bank loans were tough to come by. So if you couldn’t afford something you just made do. Now you can go buy something an hope to figure out how to pay for it later. This type of thinking has made us a nation of debtors. At no point in our history have we seen such an abundance of debt and financial issues facing people. Bankruptcies in our country are at an all time high with no relief in sight. Continue Reading »