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The Human Side of Debt
Understanding Debt
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Free Credit Report
August 11, 2008 Posted in Credit Decisions by AliasXR
Just to let you know, if you don't know this already, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act it is Federal Law that ye shall recieve one FREE credit report every 12 months.
In case of a Fraud Alert you are allowed 2 free reports.
(I couldn't be bothered to read the whole act so there may be other rights included).
To obtain your annual credit report logon to http://www.annualcreditreport.com
Its free, if you have not done this before you will need to create an account with each of the 3 credit bureaus, this login can be used year after year so look after that information.
There really is no catch to this free, this site is linked by and possibly controled by the Federal Trade Comission. To learn even more you could check out their website at http://www.ftc.gov
Thanks!
Dan
New And Looking For Irs Advice
August 7, 2008 Posted in Your Debt Situation / Introduce Yourself by taxaffair
Hello - I just found this site and am hoping I can gain financial intelligence!
- Where you are from? - South Carolina, previously Florida.
- Do you have a lot of debt or a little debt? - About 15,000
- What sort of debt do you have? (credit card, student loans, medical, house, etc) - IRS, medical, credit cards - I'm not considering my mortgage as debt as it is less than I paid to rent a house in FL!
- Are finances affecting your life negatively? Somewhat. How? - everytime I think I'm ahead, I drop back two spaces and have to try and catch up again.
- What do you hope to get out of this site? - Information and resources.
We bought our first home last year due to a move with the company I work for - from FL to SC. We stayed with a relative in SC for a few months - so did not have any utilities or rent topay. I also received a lump sum check from my employer for moving expenses. We wanted to buy a house because the real estate was so much less in SC than in FL. This was at the time of the mortgage companies fall out. I was surprised when I gor approved for a mortgage with the debt I had - I was in the rating of weak to barely fair! I was able to clear that up by calling each of my creditors showing on my credit report provided by the mortgage company and making an offer with them that if I could pay that day, what is the dollar amount they would offer me to pay off the debt. I also made the mistake of taking a hardship withdrawal from my 401K over $10,000. Yikes - I did not realize at the time that I would be paying a penalty for it on my taxes, even after having taxes removed from it upon disbursement. I also knew I had back taxes to clear up, so even before I applied for the mortgage, I set up automatic withdrawals from my checking account to the IRS, bi-weekly to go towards these. Apparently, this amount was not enough to satisfy the IRS and they filed a lien against my house. The tale gets bleeker...when I filed my taxes this year - because of the money I took out of the 401K and the moving expense check - this REALLY overinflated my income from last year and I owe an additional $5000 to the IRS. To top it all off - I cannot get a personal loan to pay off the IRS because the IRS shows on my credit report as a public record and one of the creditors I paid off, reported the payoff as a setlement.
So that is my sad tale of debt. I try not to let it get me depressed or discouraged. I am going through stuff I have at home that I just don;t need anymore and I put that on eBay. I'm also looking for a PT job - I want to get out from under this and start having my income all my own again!
Need Help With Debt Problems!!!
July 1, 2008 Posted in Credit Decisions by Kerwin
Hi Everyone! I have lots of debt collection pending. Now I am getting pressurized as how to collect it? I have put all my efforts to collect the debt amount but still not able to recover it at all. I also don’t want to go with hard recovery. Please suggest any help to recover the debt amount.
Is There Any Way To Keep A Systematic Documentation Of Credit Holders?
June 24, 2008 Posted in Debt Strategies - Conquering Your Debt by greet
Hi! I want to know that is there any way to keep a systematic documentation of credit holders of the company? As being a senior financer I would like to do it. If anyone knows it please tell me. Thanks in advance.
Online Marketing Money
June 16, 2008 Posted in Debt Strategies - Conquering Your Debt by cathyinfo
In my quest to find more money (while also cutting back my spending) I ran across some online marketing companies. They hook you up with surveys or online focus groups or to use products and discuss - all of these supposively pay decent $$$.
My question for all of you savy interet debt management peeps is...is this a scam?
I answered one survey that led to another and another and another and so on until my hand hurt. The other one wanted me to pay for sepcial software.
In theory it sounds like a good thing becaue I have been paid to be in focus groups (in person) and to answer surveys at the mall. But it seems like a scam online. Does anyone know of any that are not scams?
Thanks for your help and thoughts!
Help Me To Learn To Trade Stocks!!!
April 25, 2008 Posted in Personal Finance Issues by alexander02
I am a newbie in this and would like to know about trading stocks where you can earn huge profits (as I have read online).I have been looking for an online resource to teach me the tips and tricks of the stock market but there have been not any good as far as I have known. Please help me to find any good online resource which can educate me in this arena.
Thanks in advance!!!
My Debt Settlement Story
April 23, 2008 Posted in Success Stories! by skeezzee
Hello everyone,
I'm here to share my own experience about what I went through and am still currently going through. I was laid off back in the beginning of 2007 and due to various factors, I couldn't reestablish myself for six months. By then, I had accrued about 40,000 dollars worth of debt on about 7 credit accounts, my credit was already affected, and I had no idea how to realistically approach the huge hole I had dug up for myself. The creditors I owed were asking about 1500-2000 dollars in total payments each month for their ridiculous rates and penalty charges. I did my research, posted on forums such as these, and figured out I had about three different ways of getting out of debt. The options were credit consolidation, debt settlement, and bankruptcy.
Due to the long term effects of bankruptcy and was told it should be the last option to consider, I did not even consider bankruptcy. Credit consolidation sounded good at first but due to interest still being charged on a 40,000 debt, I would still be wasting about 500-800 dollars just in interest alone every month and if I was late with a payment, the interest could still jump. A couple of different sources referenced that although the programs could be anywhere between 3-5 years, most of the time, they are stretched out to about 8-10 years. Debt settlement was the only option that actually made sense to me. Cutting my balance down while setting up a reasonable payment plan to pay off my creditors was the only realistic option I could afford. Keep in mind there isn't any perfect debt solution out there. I did my research, contacted a few people who went through the process with success, and contacted a few debt settlement companies to see what they had to offer. This led me to conclude that the success rate of your debt settlement all depends on the interest and professionalism of your debt settlement company. I was worried about the process and if it was going to work for me but I realized that anyone in my situation would feel the same type of vulnerability. After finally deciding on a debt company that looked the most legitimate and had good customer service, I ENROLLED!
So far, it has been about 9 months in the program and 3 of my creditors have been settled and paid off. The harassing phone calls from my creditors are rarely trickling in but for the most part, I don't get anymore collecting calls. Although I will always have that feeling in the back of my head worrying about my debt, I have the assurance that I have someone working on my debt and have only one monthly payment to worry about. I only have 15 months left, and do have faith that my debts will all be paid off.
If anyone is interested in the company I chose, look up www.help1inc.com I'm sure you'll receive the same professionalism I received when joining. Contact 888 828 4321 ext 7587 if you want to talk to my guy. Please share your experiences with your own personal debt settlement as I know it will help those that are looking for a solution to their debt problem
What Do You Cut Out?
April 18, 2008 Posted in Debt Strategies - Conquering Your Debt by skatss
Since I'm doing my best to cut out expenses I took a look at what I have to pay for every month. The best thing I did was to cut back to basic cable. I no longer get any cable stations at all like MTV, TNT, Life, or anything like that. It's just CBS, NBC, ABC, and the other regular stations.
My cable bill used to be over $80 a month and now it's a little over $23 a month. It's a big help. Yeah, there isn't much to watch especially on the weekends. Every station just has sports on but I'd rather save the $60 a month than to watch television.
One day I hope I can afford Family Cable again but until that happens I'll keep what I have.
Is Debt Consolidation Really The Answer
April 15, 2008 Posted in Debt Strategies - Conquering Your Debt by Raven
In my quest to find ways to cut down my own debts, I went searching on the net. I found several really helpful articles about consolidating and why everyone thought it was a good idea. Then every single writer for those articles sent me to a link that tried to sell me expensive consolidation services. Not happy.
But I did find one that didn't sell me anything - it was just advice - and I took it to heart. I chose not to consolidate and instead try to pay down my debts using the 'snowball' method because of this article.
It's here: http://www.mortgageloanhints.com/articl … tion1.html
Two Time Filer In Trouble Again
April 15, 2008 Posted in Bankruptcy by piasabird
Yes, I am speaking of moi. 
I am very disgusted with myself over this situation. I can't believe I am in so much debt again! I know I've always had to learn the hard way but this is ridiculous.
So far I am hanging in there, but I'm crossing my fingers. I'm keeping up payments so far, but it's a worry on my mind. I'm hoping things will get better and not worse.
I'm Hired! Woot!
April 15, 2008 Posted in Success Stories! by cathyinfo
I finally found a new job! I'm hoping that this will help my family to get back on track. I feel like I am beginning to see a ray of hope in this debt-filled darkness. Next step is to actually save (after I get caught up with the bills). So I will still be around here to help and receive support.
How Important Is Paying Off Your Debt?
April 8, 2008 Posted in Personal Finance Issues by christensen.evan
A poll:
On a scale of 0 to 5, rate how important paying off your debt is with 1 being "not important" and five being "What the heck are you throwing that bottle away for? It's worth five cents!"
I'll go first: 5. My credit cards are cut up, and even my DEBIT card is in the posession of a trusted friend so I spend only as necessary.
Bankruptcies On The Uptick?
March 31, 2008 Posted in Bankruptcy by MHJ
Based on the current problems in the mortgage realm, has the instances of bankruptcies increased significantly over the past several years or have trends shown them staying about the same?
Worst Interest Rate
March 13, 2008 Posted in Credit Decisions by MHJ
Can anyone give an example of a credit card that has an absolutely abysmal interest rate? Are there cards upwards of 50%?
Continue To Log Spending Activity?
February 29, 2008 Posted in Bankruptcy by Ricardo
I know someone who filed for bankruptcy, and years later still itemizes her expenses as she makes them.
I know this helps her keep track of her budget, but I was wondering if many people who file for bankruptcy continue to do this years later?