Debt Free Destiny

For those who have maxed out their credit lines, the stress can mount up quickly. With some discipline, getting educated by reading debt relief information , and a little help from others they can get out of debt permanently.

Credit cards, car payments, house payments. The list goes on and on. Credit can be abused easily if it’s not managed right. When you are already in trouble, looking for debt relief solutions such as credit counseling, consolidation and debt settlement is the first step.

Being in over your head can affect you physically as well as financially. You pay the bills, but never seem to catch up. You may notice one or more of the following happening to you:

• Can’t sleep at night, Can’t eat, You can’t look at the statements arriving in the mail, You have no idea how much you owe, You only make minimum payments on all your cards, Your savings is gone. You start getting calls from creditors.

There are more signs but you get the idea. If any of this applies to you, there are ways to get out of the situation. Here are a few:

• Debt Settlement. This is an aggressive approach to credit card debt relief. It involves negotiation with the credit card company to lower the amount you owe. Most times, the client can be debt free in less than 36 months. As a debt relief solution, this is for consumers who owe a substantial amount of money on credit cards and can only make minimum payments or are already behind. Next to bankruptcy, this is the least expensive and quickest debt relief option available. This was the choice for me - see my sttlements.
• Credit Counseling. This is targeted to consumers holding high interest cards and are paying above the monthly payment, yet are bothered by the high interest rates. These rates are negotiated down and the consumer is debt free in around 5 years.
• Debt Consolidation. Group your high interest credit card debt and other unsecured debt into a lower-rate loan with 1 easier to handle payment.
• Chapter 7 bankruptcy debt relief. This liquidates all your debt and relinquishes you from all responsibility to pay. This is a last ditch, extreme option due to the severe credit implications. The bankruptcy shows up as a huge negative on your credit report for at least 7 years. As a result, you will have trouble getting a home loan, an auto loan or any credit of any type for a long time.
• Chapter 13 bankruptcy debt relief. Much like a chapter 7 except you are required to pay a large portion of the debt through the court. Your disposable income is managed for as long as 5 years by the court who makes payments on your behalf. This still has all the implications of a chapter 7 on your credit report.
• Retirement accounts as debt relief. If you have a 401(k) or an IRA, it may be suitable for you to borrow against it to pay down your credit card debt. Using your retirement as a debt relief solution is not a recommended course of action as it can involve penalties and have tax implications that may worsen your financial situation further.
• Asset liquidation debt relief. If you are fortunate enough to have significant assets like boats or second homes, these could be sold and the money used as debt relief. These are called liquid assets and will be the first ones taken in a bankruptcy.
• Other Options. You could also use equity on your home as a debt relief solution. As long as the interest rate is lower, this may be suitable for you. Another possibility is balance transfers to cards with lower interest rates. Just be sure there aren’t hidden fees and charges that could darken your finances further.

Bankruptcy may seem like the only option for those with mounting debt, but it’s not as failsafe as it may seem. As unemployment rates rise steadily, home foreclosures increase, and the calls from debt collectors start arriving weekly or even daily, it would be easy to think of bankruptcy as the best option to clean up your credit record.

Past due credit debt is a growing problem for many Americans. According to a 2009 National Foundation for Credit Counseling Financial Literacy Survey, in the last 12 months, 34 million Americans have been late making credit card payments and 18 million have missed making a payment. Not only is this a mark on the credit report, it could set the customer up to deal with collection agencies and possible law suits where their wages may be garnished to pay back the debt. There are ways to handle past due credit issues if immediate steps are taken to deal with the problem.

Because of the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009, America’s unemployment rate hit a historical high. This leaves thousands of families being overwhelmed by mortgage payments, medical bills, and credit card debt with no income to pay these expenses. For these individuals and families, Consumer Credit Debt Counseling can solve their dilemmas.

Dealing with bankruptcy can be frightening event. Bankruptcy is meant to give a fresh economic ‘leg-up’ to people who have made some financial errors. There are two basic types of bankruptcy, Chapter 7, total discharge of debt, and Chapter 13, a reorganization of debt. There are rules for filing for bankruptcy and conditions must be followed.
A Chapter 7 case is only available to individuals and the debtor has no liability for discharged debts. Although the right to a discharge is not absolute, and some types of debts are not discharged.