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Honorably and ethically rid yourself of burdensome debts using the little known Negotiation Strategy, without having to experience the loss of control and privacy associated with filing for bankruptcy, consolidation, or credit counseling.

The inability to reduce debt and saving money are the two biggest obstacles preventing Americans from living financially sound lives. National statistics show that money problems play a role in 80 percent of all divorces. One in 54 households will declare bankruptcy. Debt is at an all-time high, particularly credit card debt. The total amount of consumer debt in the United States is nearly $1.4 trillion.

If you are one of the millions of Americans burdened with debt and have trouble making those never-ending monthly payments, help is available. You don’t need to go it alone. If you are a typical American family, you have $25,000-$30,000 worth of credit card debt (excluding mortgages, car loans, and student loan payments), and you’re paying $500 to $900 every month in endless minimum payments.

Like you, many people continue making their minimum monthly payments believing that they are making progress. They are living in a state of denial saying “Someday, somehow, something will happen. Things will get better, and my debt problem will be gone.” Then years go by and they only find themselves in a downward spiral getting nowhere. They have paid their creditors thousands of dollars but their debt load never gets lighter. For example, if you were to continue making minimum payments on a $9,000 debt, and not add any more debt, it will take you over 10 years to pay it off. You will end up spending many thousands more than the original amount and 80% of the money paid will have gone to interest and fees. Most people add more debt as they go, so the reality is this - Without an aggressive approach to terminating debt once and for all, you will NEVER get rid of debt.

Today, people have options. There are four strategies for dealing with problem debt you will see advertised: Debt Consolidation, Consumer Credit Counseling Services (CCC), Bankruptcy, and Debt Negotiation. Each strategy must be considered carefully!

Debt Consolidation - The Common Approach

Unfortunately debt consolidation is the most common solution people think of when they fall victim to financial problems. It is a sad fact that about 75% of people who consolidate their debt find themselves in much deeper financial trouble than they were in to begin with. All consolidation loans do is transfer debt from one place to another and is invariably a short term fix with long term pain. A debt consolidation loan will not reduce the amount you owe. You will still pay back 100% of the loan plus interest. This is not going to get you out of trouble and most of the time will only make things worse. Again, consolidation is not a plan to get out of debt but is instead just getting new debt to pay off old debt.

If you were to decide to consolidate, you would need to qualify first. Qualifications include equity in a home you own or other valuable, good credit and debt to income ratio. Most people burdened by debt find that even if they wanted to consolidate their debt they couldn’t qualify for the loan anyway. Once you have taken out this loan, you have just gone from an unsecured debt to a secured debt - and gambling with all your assets. Consolidation loans are spread out over a 15 - 30 year period, leaving you exposed to losing your assets over the life of the loan. If you run into further difficulty in the future you stand to lose your home, car, and valuables.

The fundamental problem that people run into is that once the debts are paid off by the loan, they discover they have a new line of spending potential: empty credit cards. It’s not long after these accounts are cleared that they are run up to the limit once again. This will leave you with both the consolidation loan and maxed out credit cards to repay. How are you going to repay the loan and the credit cards when you were unable to pay the previous debt in the first place? You will find yourself back in the bank for a second consolidation loan, extending your debt and making your debt problem even worse.

Bear in mind that being in debt leaves you with less cash you need to buy and plan for life’s necessities. Although a consolidation loan may give you a lower payment and a little more breathing room, consolidation is not going to leave you with the cash to get you and your family through the next 10 to 30 years.

Consumer Credit Counseling Services (CCC) - Feeling of False Security

Consumer Credit Counseling Services (CCC) programs have a failure rate of 85%. They simply aren’t effective. Here’s why; you meet with a counselor who analyzes your monthly budget. The counselor will submit a proposal to your creditors for a reduction in the interest rates. You would then pay a monthly payment to them and they would then distribute that monthly payment to your creditors. These programs generally take 5-7 years to complete. The theory here is that your overall payment per month is lower due to the counselor’s success at obtaining lower interest rates and more favorable terms with the credit card companies and banks. This approach is most often recommended by the banks themselves.

Here are the facts: CCC Services were created in the late 1970’s when credit card and loan companies began to notice that many people were having problems making their minimum payments and defaulting on their debt. In short, the so-called “non-profit” companies are owned by the credit card companies and banks! CCC agencies are funded by commission by the credit card companies based on the debt recovered from you, normally around 12 - 15%. This means that for every $1,000 you give them, they can take as much as $150. If you’re paying them a service fee of $20 per month, and the creditors are paying them $75, you can quickly see that CCC agencies are not working for you but for the creditors.

In addition, you have no insight into what the CCC agency is doing on your behalf and no control over the repayment process. They send in their single monthly payment, with no idea of how much is going to which creditor. Since most counselors are busy people who work based on high volume, getting a return phone call can be difficult.

It’s key to know that with CCC programs, you still pay 100% of the debt plus a lower interest rate. The debt you walk in the CCC is what you walk out with. With all things considered, it works out to be about the same as your current minimum payments.

Bankruptcy - The Last Straw

Today more people than ever are turning to personal bankruptcy as a way of solving their financial problems. Estimates indicate that 2003 will see nearly 1 in 70 Americans filing for bankruptcy. People owing as little as $5,000 are unknowingly filing, not knowing of alternative methods of eliminating their debt. The reason people take this hasty action with such a low debt amount is the harassment and overwhelming pressure from impatient collectors trying to recover their money. In the case of Consumer Credit Counseling agencies, once they find that they are unable or unwilling to help, they will suggest bankruptcy as the answer - unconcerned of the effect it will have on your future.

In bankruptcy, a court order forces all commercial creditors to cease and desist from attempting to collect the debts you owe them. Depending on the bankruptcy declared (Chapter 7 or 13), it stops wage garnishment, reverses judgments, and generally wipes out debt.

For some people, bankruptcy is the only sensible option. If you have $60,000 in debts, and you’ll never earn more than $1,200 per month, then you’re broke! The sooner you eliminate the debt, the sooner you’ll have a fresh start. With more than 1.4 million bankruptcy filings in 2000, Congress is passing legislation that will make it tougher to declare bankruptcy.

In bankruptcy, certain personal property is treated as exempt. The banks and creditors cannot touch that property in attempting to recover the money owed to them. Your home, car and other personal effects like clothing, and other assets are considered exempt, but this varies from state to state. Any property that is not exempt is liquidated and distributed to the creditors under the supervision of the court. Since most people entering bankruptcy have only exempt property anyway, there’s usually nothing left to distribute, so the creditors typically get nothing.

Seems like a good deal? Many people mistakenly see bankruptcy as a good, low cost way to rid themselves of debt. There are other costs associated with bankruptcy that make it a very bad solution for most people. The cost of filing bankruptcy itself is minimal. Depending on what state you live in, you can expect to pay anywhere from $400 on up to $1,600 for the whole process. That’s just the beginning. The bankruptcy will stay on your credit report for 10 years - and on your court records for 20 years. The seemingly “low cost” method will cost you dearly as it will follow you for the rest of your life. If you ever apply for a loan, job, apartment or insurance, one of the first questions normally asked is “Have you ever filed for bankruptcy?” And, for the rest of your life, you’ll have to answer “Yes.”

You might be able to eliminate your debt, but the effects emotionally and the effect on your personal life will last for many years to come. Consider applying for a terrific job after you have filed bankruptcy. These days, employers will run a credit report to determine how you faired financially. This will effect whether the employer will give you that dream job or not. Even if you do get the job and your employer later runs a credit report on you, you will still have to explain the bankruptcy. While employers can’t fire you because of a bad credit report, they can certainly limit your future promotions.

Future purchases are affected as well; after several years, you may opt to purchase a home. If you’re in sufficient shape at that point to qualify for a mortgage, you’ll pay a higher interest rate than the average consumer who has never filed for bankruptcy. Assume you want to purchase a $100,000 house a few years after filing bankruptcy. You make a $10,000 down payment. This will result in applying for an $80,000 mortgage. While your “good credit” neighbor would obtain an interest rate of 4.5%, you would get a rate of 7%. While it seems that the extra 2.5% difference is not bad for having filed bankruptcy in the past, it’s what you will pay monthly where you will feel the pinch. That extra 2.5% on a mortgage will increase your monthly payment by $200 per month with the total of your payments reaching more than $70,000 over the 30-year life of the mortgage.

Besides being a devastating blow to your credit, a bankruptcy can also be a very stressful and embarrassing decision to continually have to explain to every potential lender. If you have no choice, then you should proceed, understanding the consequences. However, the majority of people who take this method of debt elimination don’t know what they’re getting themselves into or the consequences thereafter. They are desperate, and they get talked into filing bankruptcy by the collectors or attorney without understanding the impact on their financial future.

Keep in mind that personal bankruptcies are usually unnecessary as there are better options available. Many people are forced, against their wishes, to file bankruptcy to protect themselves from aggressive creditor tactics or attorney. Ultimately, bankruptcy still means failure to employers and creditors.

Debt Negotiation - Light at the End of the Tunnel

Few people realize that there is another solution to burdensome debt, an approach that levels the playing field between you and your creditors, without having to go to court. The debt negotiation strategy will put you back on the road to financial freedom and in control of your life again.

The Negotiation Strategy allows you to turn that $25,000 of credit card debt into $12,500 or even as little as $9,000. In most cases, our clients have debts totaling $8,000 and have successfully saved them thousands while maintaining a reasonable credit rating. With a professional debt negotiator working for you, your debt can be cut in half or less.

How it works: Put yourself in the shoes of a manager of a collection department for a major credit card company. You know that bankruptcies are at an all-time high and that the chances of collecting on the outstanding debt worsen as the debt ages. You have the opportunity to close your books on a delinquent account by collecting 50 pennies for every dollar owed by the debtor, or take a chance on never collecting a single penny by trying to hold out for the full value. You also realize that once the debt leaves your bank (usually after six months or so), it will go to a third-party collection agency. The agency will take at least 15%-20% commission right off the top of whatever they collect, and they are unlikely to collect more than 70% of the debt even with the most aggressive tactics. So you’ll probably never retrieve much more than half the money anyway. When you look at it this way, collecting 50% now doesn’t seem like such a bad deal.

The way it’s described, it sounds easy. You might be thinking, “I’ll the collectors and do this myself.” You’ll reach the “customer service team” and the representative will inform you that other banks may settle for 50%, but their bank never settles under any circumstances. Of course, they do have that “great” hardship program for you. After you’ve called a few times and received the same treatment, you’ll probably end up with the idea that debt negotiation doesn’t work. The banks will rarely take a debtor seriously. They simply don’t believe you and they think your hardship story is phony. The banks are quite prepared for the amateur do-it-yourself negotiator. They have the telephone scripts set up so that by the time the conversation is over, you will feel guilty about the money owed, and their lame hardship plan sounds like a great deal after all.

Having a third-party professional on your side makes all the difference in the world. Once your creditors realize that they are talking to a professional, someone who knows the laws and regulations, they quickly change their tune. A negotiator will obtain better results than you could ever obtain on your own, simply because all of the bank’s tactics are stymied by the fact that they can’t talk directly to you. They can’t apply psychological pressure to you since this is filtered out by your Professional Debt Negotiator.

Consider this: Creditors pull out all the stops when you fall behind. They have gangs of collectors ready to pressure you with carefully scripted techniques and mind games. They have attorneys and collection agencies ready to step in and go after you full throttle. You need to level the playing field. The best and only way you can concentrate on improving your financial future is to let a professional deal with the aggravation of the nonstop phone calls. Bottom line - If you’re looking for the most effective, low-cost, and fastest way to terminate your debt problem once and for all - Negotiation is the answer.

About The Author

Drakeport Financial will host a free Debt Management Seminar for people who wish to correct existing debt problems or avoid the possibility of such problems developing in the future. Seminars are held Saturday mornings from 9 to 11 a.m. at locations throughout the United States. Call Drakeport Financial today toll free at 866-676-4945 for more information. You may also visit the website: www.drakeport.com

custsupport@drakeport.com

Personal bankruptcy is a legal way to give people with overwhelming debt a fresh financial start. Many people do not realize that there are five types of bankruptcy options available under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code; however, for most consumers there are really only two viable options; Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

Chapter 7, bankruptcy is entitled Liquidation: In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a court-supervised procedure occurs during which a court-appointed trustee collects the assets of the debtor’s estate, converts them to cash for repayment, and makes all necessary distributions to the debtor’s creditors; however this is all done within the debtor’s right to retain certain exempt property. Traditionally, there is little or no nonexempt property in a chapter 7 bankruptcy. Due to this fact, there may not be an actual liquidation of the debtor’s assets. In this case, it is called a “no-asset bankruptcy.” It is important to realize that a creditor that is trying to collect on an unsecured claim will only get a distribution from the bankruptcy estate if the case is an “asset bankruptcy” and the creditor can provide proof of their claim with the bankruptcy court. In almost all chapter 7 bankruptcies, the debtor will be grated a discharge that releases them of personal liability for most dischargeable debts. The entire process normally takes just a few months from the time the bankruptcy petition is filed.

Chapter 13, bankruptcy is entitled Adjustment of Debts of an Individual with Regular Income: A chapter 13 bankruptcy is traditionally used for people who have a regular source of income or a full-time job. For many people, chapter 13 is preferable to chapter 7 because it allows the debtor to keep some assets. A chapter 13 bankruptcy allows the debtor to repay creditors over time. This time traditionally varies from three to five years. This type of repayment proposal takes place at a confirmation hearing. During this confirmation hearing, the court will either approve or disapprove the debtor’s repayment plan. This decision largely depends on whether the repayment plan meets the Bankruptcy Code’s requirements for confirmation. In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy the debtor is usually able to remain in control of their possession and property while making payments to creditors; however, payments are made via a court trustee. Unlike chapter 7 bankruptcy, the debtor does not receive an immediate discharge of their debts. Under chapter 13 bankruptcy, the debtor must complete the repayment plan before the discharge is granted; however, the debtor is protected from lawsuits, garnishments, and other creditor action while the plan is in effect.

It is important to remain cognizant of the fact that not all debts are discharged under bankruptcy. The debts that are able to be discharged will vary under each chapter of the Bankruptcy Code. However, the most common types of non-dischargeable debts are tax claims, debts that are not presented by the debtor to the court while filing for bankruptcy, debts for spousal or child support or alimony, debts to governmental units for fines and penalties owed to government entities, debts for personal injury caused by the debtor’s operation of a motor vehicle while driving intoxicated, debts for willful and malicious injuries to person or property, debts for government funded or guaranteed educational loans, and debts for certain condominium or cooperative housing fees.

In order to file for bankruptcy, you must file a petition in federal bankruptcy court. You must file a statement of assets and liabilities as well as schedules listing of your creditors. Once you have finished filing bankruptcy, your creditors can no longer take action against you to collect discharged debts.
Negative Aspects of Bankruptcy
In chapter 13 bankruptcies, you may end up paying back 50% or more of your current debts. Additionally, if you miss a regularly scheduled payment at anytime during your chapter 13 bankruptcy repayment plan, you could end up in violation of the court and forced to repay all the debt!

One of the most difficult parts of bankruptcy is learning to live with the fact that filing bankruptcy limits your personal spending to items that the court considers absolutely necessary. In most cases, debtors do not complete their chapter 13 bankruptcy repayment plans. Most people filing chapter 13 bankruptcies think they will be able to complete their repayment plan; however, only about a third of them actually do. Additionally, chapter 7 bankruptcy may stay on your credit longer than a chapter 13 bankruptcy. This time ranges from 7-10 years for most people. Many people do not realize that if you own a home with a sizable amount of equity, have a fair amount of assets to protect, or have co-signers on a loan, you most likely will not be able to file chapter 7 bankruptcy under current law. Now that the new bankruptcy legislation has passed, it will be even more difficult to file for bankruptcy.

Many people think that filing bankruptcy is the silver bullet that will fix all of their debt and credit related problems; however, filing bankruptcy is the worst thing you can do to your credit. Most lending institutions will consider your bankruptcy when evaluating you for a personal loan even after the bankruptcy has expired. Qualifying for a loan after filing for bankruptcy can be very difficult and could cost you considerably more than a person that has not filed for bankruptcy.

It is understood that some situations will require you to file for bankruptcy. However, you should avoid bankruptcy if at all possible. A good debt settlement company can help eliminate most, if not all, of your unsecured debt so that you do not have to file for bankruptcy. If you require additional information on the subject of bankruptcy you may want to contact a bankruptcy attorney in your area.

Alan Barnes
IAPDA Certified Debt Arbitrator
President and CEO of Debt Regret
http://www.debtregret.com

A definition of a betting house is a structure that organizes gaming. Aficionados are expected to enjoy themselves by having a bash at slot-machines or a slew of other gambling pastimes. Gaming establishment games mainly have mathematically determined balances included which promise the company keeps up the upper hand above the gamesters. Casino Splendido

A legion of gambling house games can encourage you to become dependent quickly. Let’s scrutinize the archetypal slot-machine, a coin operated gadget with 3 or more drums that circle when an arm on its flank is pushed. The appliance usually reimburses in accord with a row of pictograms discernible on the front of the appliance. Disastrously, betting saloon games tend to push the mirage of influence, thus tricking the guest — the participant is handed choice, but in actual fact these will not realistically remove the customer’s statistical disadvantage. This is brought about by the the gaming establishment not refunding the full sum as hoped for. This scheme will generally be seen at work in acclaimed casino games such as five-card stud poker, craps, roulette or blackjack.

Seven card stud poker is certainly a very fashionable casino pastime. The gambling buffs, holding screened cards, place their stakes in a principal pot which is ultimately granted to the last gamester owning the highest set of cards. (And as eveyone knows, the best bluff may well prevail as well.) Commensurate with seven-card stud poker, blackjack too is an incredibly trendy casino pastime. A good part of its fame is due to its peculiar mix of chance and technique & choice making, and a routine termed “counting”. This is an approach by which gambling enthusiasts are in a position to skew the arm of chance of the card game for their own good by both wagering and strategy opetations established on the cards deployed.

Craps is yet another popular casino pastime using the roll of two dice. Patrons have to place money on the end result of 1 spin, or on a string of spins of two dice. Dissimilar to blackjack, there isn’t any viable winner betting system punters could exercise to improve the odds.

Roulette is another extremely popular game of chance; a croupier rotates a roulette wheel featuring a set of exactly 37 (French roulette) or 38 (American roulette) distinctively tagged cells in which the white pellet will settle, thereby signifying the final winning number as well as the other chances that will always come with it. Whenever a gamester wagers on a specific number and hits it big i.e. they’ve got a lucky hand, the guaranteed disimbursement will be thirty five to one, the original wager itself is repaid. So in totality it’s increased by a factor of thirty-six.

We recommend you try to be very very watchful notwithstanding because all of these betting hall pastimes are rightly deemed definitely dependency forming. Far too many lives may well have been damaged by uncontrolled gambling + much as it indeed might be entertaining, endeavor to moderate your play.

Even if the Property Index service is only a rather young organisation, set up only in March 2007, they have established expert status very quickly. They are a extraordinarily undemanding organisation entirely concentrated on looking after every client contemplating to buy estate in the most popular regions of the world. Their avowal: to help you out pinpoint smack what you require fast and, furthermore, sans pain.

Real estate is up for grabs in the most popular regions of the world presently, one of the hippest areas being land for sale in Portugal. It’s no big challenge to write a list of the great property available for sale in Portugal, one rationale for wanting property here being properties for sale and the chance to live with this vigorous and eager people. It’s one of the truly fashionable countries presently, and with the beauty and agreeable climate surrounding you, how could you be wrong! Real estate in Portugal is steeped in history, this region has a long tradition as a home to a good many civilizations.

Property Index can help with overseas property investment, view the properties available for investment.

About 30 years back you would find merely a tiny number of British people looking for property in Portugal. Just ask any individual who has removed to Portugal and they will substantiate it. Well, some would tend to view it as a temporary rage and others tend to view it as a near to a fetish… People actually moving here may extend from young families who are looking for a challenge to retired customers intending to rest. Note that there could well be hindrances when looking to purchase property in a foreign market: expectably there’ll be dozens of heterogeneous steps whether planning, paying a visit or completing. If you only miss but a single minor action this is certain to well engender far-reaching hindrances not to forget, critically, loss of money.

Naturally, as is to be anticipated with this fashionable area, property might be quite dear in this area and this, of course, is basically a consequence of the steep market pressure. Regardless of this the homebuyer is pretty spoilt in terms of choice in such a location boasting such a beaming geography and vista. It’s presently got the whole kit and caboodle one may conceivably crave, and then some.

Let’s look at a real world example: A woman purchased a new $4,000 large screen TV a few months ago based on the knowledge her monthly payment was going to be $175, and based on the 9% interest rate charged by her credit card company. For five months straight she made all her payments on time, but in the fifth month she was late paying her mortgage bill, for reasons unknown. She found out a month or two later that her credit card company doubled her interest rate to 18%, thus increasing the payment for the TV to about $190 per month. Even though she was never late on any other payments, she found most of her other credit cards raised their interest rates as well. Even her car insurance company raised their rates. The net effect was she ended up paying nearly $200 per month more because she was late on a single mortgage payment.

This is a common result of a very little known or understood clause found in nearly every credit card agreement today. How would you feel if the company who sold you a product, based on certain arrangements (including the interest rate), called you up and said they were increasing your monthly payment for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with them? Is this really fair?

Let’s take this a step further. Could any customer call a company, that had sold them a particular product on payments, and tell them the re-payment to the company will now be lower because they had missed a payment to one of their suppliers? Of course not. This Universal Clause is extremely one- sided, making consumers victims of what one could easily ascertain as an unjust and unmerited practice.

Yet many powerful credit card companies continue to lobby Washington, arguing it is the consumer that needs to be held accountable to the terms and conditions of the contract, neglecting the most important element, that they are equally accountable to the same terms and conditions of the agreement. The Clause was introduced in the mid nineteen- nineties, after seeing an influx of bankruptcy filings in America. The credit card industry, fearing huge losses, decided to enact this little known clause referred to as “The Universal Default Clause”. Simply stated, they feel the credit card companies should have the right to increase one’s APR if a consumer is late on any other credit card or debt entity, including outside bills such as phone, cable or utilities. This clause is purely an excuse to collect more money for credit card companies who invoke the clause. Surprisingly enough it comes at a time when many cardholders need monthly relief, not additional financial strain. This clause creates a natural conflict between cardholders and credit card companies, and generates an adversarial relationship that leaves everyone bitter.

According to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) this is considered an unfair practice and has recently labeled it “Unacceptable”. The Clause is usually hidden under the “Other APR’s” section.

Our Advice: Please read each credit application carefully and avoid any card with this clause. Currently out of 45 banks issuing 144 cards, 44% use the Universal Default Clause.

Phil Andrews is currently the VP of Business Development for Precept Financial Solutions, a leading debt settlement firm based in Dallas, Texas. For more information, go to http://www.PreceptFinancial.com or call toll free 800-584-0855 and press option 2.

If you once have been caught in the debt trap, how do you come out of it and be debt free? We are different and each of us has our own lifestyle and our own financial state, so the way to debt elimination is different from person to person. One plan will be good for some, but not for others. You have to be certain that the plan you choose, whether it is debt consolidation or another plan, will be the best for you with regard to saving both time and money.

Search for advice

A debt counselor has debt help as a profession. He or she helps to find the right debt elimination plan for different clients, dependent on which financial situation they are in. This is the first natural step out of your debt prison and on your way to freedom of debt.

So, choosing the right debt elimination plan means;

• decreasing the time and money required to eliminate your debt
• lowering your stress associated with the financial situation you are in.

Debt stressors have a huge impact on our lives especially on our health - the longer you procrastinate the decision of eliminating your debt, the more likely you will be able to reduce your health and even destroy yourself and you’re your life.

Consolidating Debt

The purpose of Consolidating Debt is to decrease the number of bills and payments that you have to make each month. So, what you are doing is consolidating your bills into one easy payment. This will

• save you money
• help you to eliminate your debt faster as well and
• be an excellent way to reduce your stress
• If you are in a situation with multiple loans that you are making monthly payments on, you also have many different interest rates to pay.
• When the number of bills are growing, there is an increased chance of making mistakes on your payments. The results can be money out of the window, like for instance increased fees. And this does not bring you to the road of debt reduction, but to even more debt.

Consolidating your debt will lower the risk of

• missed payments
• bounced checks
• excess interest
• decreased credit rating - which will have big consequences for future loans and credit cards that you want to apply for
• stress caused by the debt that looms over your head
• other mistakes, which means more money out.

As time goes by and you experience that your debts are really being paid off, you’ll see the light at the end of the tunnel; eliminating your debt will be an obtainable goal.

Terje Brooks Ellingsen is a writer and internet publisher. He runs the website 1st-In-Loan.net
Terje gives advice and helps people with personal financial issues like consolidation loans and
debt consolidation

Having something tangible to strive towards can work wonders for your money-saving efforts. To those of you that have already been actively implementing money-saving tips in order to lower your monthly bills, for added inspiration, establish a meaningful goal along with a specific dollar amount.

For those of you just starting your money-saving quest, having a goal to strive towards will help keep you focused whenever you may get a feeling of quitting.

What goal should you decide on? This is a very important question that should be thought about carefully. The answer can only be found in you.

To help come to a decision, make a list of the five most important things you need or would like to have. Keep in mind not to merely dwell on the most popular, innovative contraptions hitting the market these days.

These tangibles will come and go.

A conscientious, thoughtful money-saver is looking at the bigger picture: THE FUTURE. Whether that be college tuition savings for kinds, a new home, retirement planning, travel expenses, etc…

At the same time, there may be some of you simply looking to save more money just to purchase a new entertainment center or a brand spankin’ new 61″ Plasma television. There’s nothing wrong with that! Whatever it takes to help keep you motivated towards your overall agenda. That is the underlying purpose of a money-saving goal.

Once you have decided on a specific goal to strive for, you next need to decide what steps you’ll take to work up to that goal. In other words, how are you going to achieve that $5000 savings account? Or how are you going to save $3000 for that Las Vegas trip?

A project outline is necessary to plan your agenda in order to give you a recipe for success. It helps provide you with a step-by-step guide detailing exactly what needs to be done.

Personally, I recommend tackling your agenda a week at a time. Monthly goals are a bit too long and drawn out. Weekly agendas provide you with ample time to complete a task where at the same time it’s not too lengthy where you’ll lose focus and forget the overall purpose.

In addition to these weekly agendas, it is vital that you track your results in some manner. In the past, I’ve personally made a giant chart where I could mark my savings on a monthly basis. I even created a colorful, attractive title to label my savings chart. Doing so, inspired me to continue with my efforts in order to achieve my precious goal.

This should get your mind thinking of all the possibilities open to you, and what needs to be done to further your success with saving more of that precious commodity: money.

Gregory Thomas, editor of http://www.SavingSecrets.com - has written hundreds of effective money-saving tips, strategies, and articles over the past 6 years. Visit their website and you’ll find FREE money-saving articles, a monthly newsletter, and even a FREE Ebook download just for stopping by!

Come April, BT’s Total Broadband users will start feeling the pinch of a higher charge for usage exceeding their download allowance. The change in BT’s fair usage policy will also mean good news for the users with the Option 2 package, as their monthly allowance will be increased from 15GB to 20GB.

The price for excess usage will rise to £1 per GB from £0.58 per GB and this will affect all customers of BT Total Broadband, regardless of the option they have signed up for. This means the customers will have to stay on the alert to avoid paying the extra charge, but BT has promised to help customers stay within their allowed limits by sending out an email to the primary email id when the user crosses 80% of the total monthly allowance. If the customer repeatedly exceeds the limit, BT is likely to advise an upgrade in the package.

Users, who are worried about exceeding the quota, can easily use a free Internet usage-monitoring tool. A simple Google search will bring up many such freeware tools. They will help you to keep an eye on your upload and download, and thus make sure that you do not go beyond your broadband quota.

Of course, one can always take a look at www.broadbandgenie.co.uk for the latest in unlimited broadband connections. That way, the headache related to staying within a limit can be taken care of, but that could also mean paying a significant premium above your current fee.

Consolidating debt shouldn’t be taken lightly. You are not eliminating debt, you are restructuring or spreading out the debt, with hopes of being able to pay the debt off with your current or future funds.

Here are 10 steps you need to follow to get that debt consolidated when it’s time to rearrange your finances:

Step 1 — Consider asking for help from a nonprofit consumer credit counseling agency. You’ve gotten yourself into trouble, turn to an expert to help get you out. These agencies often can help get late fees removed and can help reduce the interest rates that are putting you into the poor house. A good rep at such an agency can become a trusted advisor, just ask lots of questions and know what you are getting into.

Step 2 — Borrow against your home with a home equity loan. If you have equity tied up in your home, it might be better utilized to consolidate your debts. You might even qualifiy for a tax break on the interest, so check with your tax preparer for those options. But don’t base your decision on how it will affect your tax return; base your decision more on how long you will live in the home, and if it makes sense. A trusted real estate loan broker can help you run the numbers and determine if such a loan is right to consolidate your debts. Interest rates on those loans in 2006 are still very favorable, especially when compared with the high interest of credit cards and installment loans. You can either get a home equity loan, where the payments begin right away, or you can get a home equity line of credit, which simply gives you access to your stored equity when you need it.

Step 3 — Ask your lender to give you a break. Yes, sometimes your best option is to talk with your lenders and see what you can do yourself. Sometimes a banker will renegotiate terms on a loan, or restructure payments, or allow you to only pay interest on a loan. It never hurts to ask. Experts note that banks want to get paid on time, they are not interested in owning real estate or cars or RV’s, so often, they are more likely to negotiate in good faith than you might have originally thought.

Step 4 — Move your money around from one credit card to another. Many cards being offered today have a zero-interest intro rate for 6 to 12 months, and that makes it enticing to transfer your balance from one card to the next. This isn’t such a bad idea when you have the means the discipline to pay off the total within the intro period. There are some credit experts who have been known to continually shift funds from one card to the other; personally, my life is way to busy and complicated for this. But at least it’s one option to consider to help save on high interest card balances.

Step 5 — Pay a visit to your local credit union office. One of the great things about these are the lower rates you are eligible for, and then again, you might get some of the best service too since membership has its priveleges. Each credit union has certain occupational or organization membership rules, so ask around what options you might have. Start with the yellow pages in your local city.

Step 6 — Borrow from your whole life insurance policy (if you have one). I don’t know of a whole lot of people who still have whole life policies, actually; but if you have one, they can offer you the chance to borrow money against the equity you’ve built up in it. But since the policy is meant to help your survivors, you only really need to worry about paying it back if you want to keep the survivors benefit in force. Your insurance agent who sold you the policy will be able to explain your options according to the agreement you signed for insurance coverage.

Step 7 — Dip into your 401(k) Retirement Fund. Only do this if you’re confident that you’ll be in your job for the next 2-3 years. If you think you might be at risk for lay-off or downsizing, or if you are planning on applying for a new job, be warned that these types of loans are generally due immediately upon departure. Tax-deductibility is limited, though. You’ll be paying interest on your own funds, so this should be done as last resort.

Step 8 — Beg for loan from your friends, and take a risk on the friendship. But sometimes a close friend or relative will recognize the need and be able and willing to help you consolidate your debt. Don’t do it on a handshake, though. Be proactive and work up a written contract that is dated, signed, even notarized, and then do whatever you need to do to repay the loan on time as agreed. Each of us needs all the friends we can get in this world.

Step 9 — Sell off what you don’t need any longer. This is probably one of the scariest things some people face; yet, from personal experience, it actually seems to be one of the best ways consolidate debts and relieve stress at the same time. Getting rid of a large item, perhaps a second car, a boat, a business that is doing poorly, a piece of investment property bought years ago — holding onto possessions while burdened with worrisome debt seems insane. So letting go of the stuff to extinguish the fires of debt isn’t such a bad thing after all. Besides, when you get your finances straightened around, you can always buy back stuff. Losing your peace of mind and worrying over money troubles is too high a price to pay.

Step 10 — Always follow through. This is actually a series of steps, constant steps, that you will keep your promise with yourself and your lenders, to follow through with your debt consolidation plan, and that you will focus and work hard to improve your spending and budgeting habits. Yes, you got yourself into a tight spot with your debts getting out of control. But now, concentrate and focus on paying off what you owe and reducing your debts after consolidation.

Steve Johnson is the publisher of FindHow2.com, a growing collection of free, online articles covering topics of credit, debt and loan consolidation, and he can be reached via email at fixyourcreditreport@gmail.com.

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