Common Personal Budgeting Tips That Work

You Don’t Need to Be Frugal

One of the more common misconceptions associated with personal budgeting is that you need to be frugal in order for it to work. While this may be true in some cases, it doesn’t and won’t apply for everyone. In fact, some people are able to lead very rich lives, even after implementing the personal budget techniques that we are about to teach.

Cut Down on Useless Expenses

How many expenses do you have that you have absolutely no need for? If you are the average person then chances are good that you’re answer is “A lot”. For example, are you paying $100 a month for a gym membership when you hardly even attend? Are you still subscribed to that magazine company for $10 a month when you don’t even read their material anymore? These expenses add up and are certainly something that you’ll want to consider before you’re able to move forward.

How to Save More Money - The “10% Rule”

According to most personal finance and debt management experts like Credit Guard, personal budgeting also means being able to save a substantial amount of money on a monthly basis. After all, you want to have an “emergency” fund should a crisis occur later on down the road. Fortunately, saving money becomes much easier once you apply this simple rule: take all of the money that you’re making and save at least 10% of it in a savings account.

Don’t look or use the money again. This is a technique that is quite effective and that will allow you to save up a large amount of money in a short amount of time. Just make sure that you aren’t touching your funds as this will defeat the purpose of starting a savings account in the first place.

Conclusion

Congratulations if you have finally decided to partake in personal budgeting strategies. The good news is that they are relatively simple to apply and fast acting. All that you need is the courage and dedication to make them work.   

A Guide to Finding the Best Non-Profit Debt Consolidation Company

If your debt is spiraling out of control, you may be considering debt consolidation. There are two different types of debt consolidation company – for profit and non-profit. Although it may seem that non-profit companies are more trustworthy because in theory they have different priorities, there are always exceptions. In truth, some companies pose as non-profit organizations.  The following are some handy tips to help you find a reputable and trustworthy non-profit debt consolidation company that will not rip you off.

Contact the Better Business Bureau

All the reputable non-profit organizations who offer debt consolidation should have a small number of complaints, a good solid record of accomplishment and registration with the BBB. When searching for the best company for you, avoid the companies not registered with the BBB as this might be strong indicator of their validity.

Non-Profit Companies Should Have a Certificate as Proof

If a company is really a non-profit debt consolidation organization they will have the appropriate certificate to prove their credentials, known as the 501(c) (3). If they are only pretending to be a non-profit organization in order to trap you into a contract, they will not be able to show this form of documentation.

It is important that before you even sit down and discuss a consolidation plan with a representative of the company that they can explain the process to you in understandable terms. Even more importantly, you should make sure that consolidation will not affect your credit rating and record, rather that it will actually help improve it. In many situations the term "credit counseling", when reported to your credit agency can be construed as negatively as bankruptcy. As you may receive interest rate reductions when you consolidate your debt, many creditors will report this as "in collections" because of the computer system they use for their accounting. Make sure your consolidator can stop this from happening.

Compare a Shortlist of Company's Fees and Charges

Once you have a selection of debt consolidation companies you are considering, it is now time to compare. Speak to each company representative and gather as much information as you can about their payment system and make sure they are up front and honest about their fees. If you have a number of different charges ranging from 9% to 15%, the decision becomes easier.

Check and Double Check the Numbers

To ensure you are not ripped off, it is important that when you meet with a consolidator that you follow the numbers and calculations. If a creditor says that you will be charged 8% but you calculate the amount to be 10%, you should mention this before signing or paying anything. 

Struggling to cope and work yourself out of debt can be a stressful enough situation without unscrupulous companies trying to drain you of even more money. I hope that with the handy guide above you will be able to find a non-profit debt consolidation organization that can help your life to get back on track.  There's debt consolidation help and guidance available.

 Role of Consumer Credit Counseling Services

Consumer credit counseling is offered to struggling families that reside in the United States. With so many families falling into deep credit debt, there is a huge number that do not know how to get financial control back. In many cases, people are losing their homes and most of their other belongings because they cannot pay their mortgage or their high credit card balances. As a result, some people are turning to consumer credit counseling services to assist with resolving their financial problems.  See an example here.

While these credit counseling services will not pay the actual debt off for their clients, they can assist by supplying them with the appropriate guidance. Therefore, one of their main functions is to assist these families with creating a realistic budget that they can work from. The budgets that they create are designed to get these families back on the right financial path. One of their basic roles is to serve as the liaison between the family (debtor) and the creditors. When serving in this capacity, the credit counselor can develop a workable plan or arrangement that can be accepted by both the debtor and the creditor.

Developing the Budget

Before a credit counselor can develop a budget for the clients, they will need to know the names of each outstanding account and how much is due (monthly amounts). This information is an essential requirement for those who make an appointment. In addition to identifying all outstanding accounts, the counselor will also need to know the amount of monthly income. With this information, the credit counselor can create a plan that will cover all expenses for the month. For instance, this plan will adjust the amount that is paid on all outstanding credit card balances. Even though the ultimate goal is to pay off the entire credit card balance each month, most people have to pay a certain percentage instead. Lowering the monthly payments on the credit cards can keep the person from losing their homes because they will have more money available to pay the mortgage.

To keep these same consumers from getting into more interest related credit card debt, these credit card companies will have to agree to lower their interest rates and the associated payments. These adjustments can be a win-win for both the debtor and creditor, since the credit card holder can benefit by having lowering payment amounts and the credit card company can benefit by getting a portion of the money promised instead of not being paid at all. 

Sticking to the Budget

Once the credit counselor develops a workable plan, the family can benefit greatly by sticking to the budget. These plans can help the family to keep their home and they can also help with repairing individual credit reports, especially in the long-run. As a general rule, these budgets are set to pay off the unsecured debt within a specific period of time, from five to seven years.  Another condition of these contracts is not allowing the individual to open any additional credit accounts, specifically during the repayment period.

What is a Credit Card Consolidation Loan and its Benefits

• Improved credit rating is the major benefit of consolidating credit debts
• Reduces your overall burden
• The 0% interest rate (or some lower than average amount) on purchases is given as an incentive for credit debt consolidation
• Saves you from personal bankruptcy and helps prevent severe harm to credit history
• Credit card consolidation puts an end to the intimidating calls from debt recovery companies
  
• Prevents you from paying penalties for late payments
• Reinstated peace of mind and security
  

How  Debt Consolidation Services can Help you in Get out of the Debt Trap

All those who are reeling under mounting debts should seek the services of debt management services because if debt is not handled in a proper way, it may produce circumstances that are hard to manage. Mostly, it is the first step contemplated by someone interested in dealing with their mounting debt because it makes comprehensive debt amount much easier to handle. In debt consolidation, a low interest debt consolidation loan from a lender is used for clearing multiple high interest debts. This helps in wiping off high interest debt in one go.

Most of the debt consolidation services work closely with debtors, and look at their complete financial situation, and provide counseling to empower and educate them. The amount of debt consolidation loan you are eligible for depends upon your financial condition, and your credit score. If you can offer something valuable, you can easily secure secured debt consolidation loan at low rate of interest. However, if you cannot offer any collateral, then you will only be able to get unsecured debt consolidation loan at somewhat higher rate of interest.

Aside from reducing the interest burden on you, debt consolidation loan will also reduce your monthly installments thereby leaving sufficient money for your household expenses.

How do debt consolidation services work?

Debt consolidation services will suggest you the effective solution for your debt problem after studying your situation. In some cases, they may negotiate with your lenders to bring down interest rate, monthly payments, and associated late fee, and other charges. They have deep links with hundreds of top lenders and work out some solution to your debt problem.

In some cases, where you have high interest credit card debit, then they may suggest debt consolidation loan to clear off all your outstanding high interest debt. Experts believe that all those who have unmanageable credit card debts that carry very high interest rate can do well by consolidating this debt with low interest consolidation loan.

Various elements come into play when you choose this option, such as the lenders you can approach who can do consolidation for you, the interest rates offered by them, and the way they administer consolidation debt for you. It is best to shop around a bit when searching for debt consolidation services who can work out a perfect solution for your debt problem.

Another benefit of debt consolidation is that once it has been done, you can focus on paying back the capital instead of just interest on the loan amount. You should try to prevent bankruptcy at all costs, and should be considered as a last option for handling your unmanageable debts. Bankruptcy will remain on your credit report for 10 long years, and you won't be able to borrow at attractive terms. Once you outstanding loans have been wiped out, all the money that was going for paying these loans will now be used for clearing the new consolidation loan. Best thing about working with debt consolidation services is that they can work out a good debt consolidation loan for you that comes with a long repayment term extending 20-30 years.