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By: Roshawn Watson Because consumer confidence is plummeting and prices are dropping widespread (including real estate, stocks, and gas), many are just ducking their heads in the sands and waiting for the danger to vanish. Although this strategy may help some people cope with sudden and severe losses, blissful ignorance or deliberate disregard is simply too costly for most of us. There are plenty of legitimate reasons to be careful in today’s market, but there are also bountiful opportunities a

[Read this article →] Crucial Considerations for WordPress Blog Rankings via Optimizing for Search Engines There’s no shortage on advice on the web with regards to what one ought to do to better a WordPress site’s ranking in the search engines. It is easy to become confused if you devour everything that is out there, because some folks agree with others while another group totally disagree and offer different […]

Remove Charge Off Posted By Matt Douglas on @ 9:21 am by Matt Douglas A charge off can be removed by disputing the mark. This must be done directly with the credit bureaus. A dispute is your way of saying this mark is not accurate or not valid. There are two ways to file a dispute. 1. Compose a dispute letter This is done yourself. In this letter you simply identify the charged off mark and provide a reason for its inaccuracy. Reasons can include; not my account, account paid in full, i

by Daryl Duke Have you ever wondered why so many female friends can recommend you as “great catch” but you have no girlfriend? You might be surprised to learn that most guys are afraid to approach women, and this plays a key role in why a lot of them are not only single, but lack the companionship they want. Often, these same guys may be very comfortable with women in general, but these women are usually introduced by friends, at social gatherings, and at work, so these situations don’t rea

Advice in Choosing Out Which Fashion Education Is Right For You By Jessica Bradbury | November 19, 2008 by Jessica Bradbury So you have finally made the tough decision to attend fashion school; now the only problem is deciding which fashion school to attend. Whatever it is that you have decided to pursue in life, deciding which school to attend is never the easiest part. There are so many choices, and especially for those who have been accepted to all of their choices deciding which fash

Ed wrote to me through the GetOutOfDebt.org site and asked the following question. If you have a credit or debt question you’d like to ask just use the online form . I’m happy to help you totally for free. Income from the GetOutOfDebt.org site advertising is used to help alleviate poverty . If you would like to help me to help others, there are easy and free things you can do, click here to learn how you can help . “Dear Steve, I am disabled and falling in debt faster than i can handle. I am barely staying alive with trying to feed my family. I am behind on my mortgage and regular bills (utilities). I stopped paying on my credit cards just to try and keep my utilities from being disconnected. credit card companys are calling me constantly for there payment. I don’t even have the money to pay the lawyer for claiming bankruptcy. I don’t know where to turn. please help !! What can I do??? Ed” Dear Ed, You’ve done the right thing by stopping payments to the credit card companies. You need to focus your repayment efforts on the mortgage and utilities at this point. What I don’t know is if you can reasonably expect to be able to afford your mortgage any longer. It might just be that will your reduced income that you can’t afford the home. In that case you should give the home back to the bank and then go bankrupt to eliminate all your past debt, including any money the bank may want from you following the foreclosure of your home. I am assuming that you have little to no equity in your property. At that point you can stop running for cover all the time and just focus on building a safer financial future for you and your family using what you’ve got coming in each month. There are self-help bankruptcy materials available and you can usually get free bankruptcy forms from the local bankruptcy court. If you decide that you can move then you can stop making the mortgage payments to save a rent deposit and to file for bankruptcy . That should allow you to do what needs to be done. Big hug. Steve Source: Ed is Disabled and Falling in Debt Fast. What Can He Do? Other Related Articles to Read Kayte Has Drained Her Savings And Can’t Pay The Bills Anymore Louis Says “I Feel Like Killing Myself Because of My Debts” Expect Tidal Wave Of Limit Reductions and Credit Card Closures to Hit Before Christmas Soon, Where You Shop Will Control Your Credit Josy Writes “My Real Estate Business Is Going Down The Drain”

Kam wrote to me through the GetOutOfDebt.org site and asked the following question. If you have a credit or debt question you’d like to ask just use the online form . I’m happy to help you totally for free. Income from the GetOutOfDebt.org site advertising is used to help alleviate poverty . If you would like to help me to help others, there are easy and free things you can do, click here to learn how you can help . “Dear Steve, Over $70,000 in credit card debt has been charged off from the original creditors and now reside with multiple collection agencies. One of the charges is approximately $30,000, which I pay $200 per month (to Creditor’s Interchange). I have ignored the various other collection letters/calls because they want money from me that I just don’t have. I’ve just received a letter from an attorney regarding one of the accounts (over $9000). Bankruptcy isn’t an option because my husband’s parents have money invested in accounts that list my husband as a joint or secondary and we were told that if we filed, they would take half of that money since my husbands name was on the account. My husband doesn’t know the extent of the debt and I’m afraid to tell him. We had a discussion about debt about 8 years ago when we owed about $3,000 (total) and he had a fit, yelled, screamed and didn’t speak to me for two months. I feel like I’m drowning… What do I say to that attorney? Do you think he’ll accept payments of $50 a week? That is the MAXIMUM I will be able to afford. Then, how do I address the other collection agencies? I’d like to pay them something to start repairing my credit, but I can’t give them what I don’t have! Thank you. Kam” Dear Kam, If your husband is a joint account holder and jointly responsible for the debts than he deserves to be told the truth. Of course, his ignorance about his personal finances is not an excuse to behave badly. He has a responsibility to look at his credit report at least once a year to see what it out there in his name. If he had seen this early, and you’d had an unpleasant confrontation, you probably would not be where you are today. What typically happens in these situations is that when one spouse comes clean with the other, things are a bit tense and chilly around the house for a week or two and then it thaws out and the two get to work on resolving the problem. I think the attorney letter is designed to scare you but it could also lead to you being sued for the debt to recover what you owe. If you are sued, your husband will find out about the debt when he is called to court. And if the creditor wins, which they almost certainly will, the creditor could garnish his wages or go after cash in the bank to pay off the court award. This is quite a hole you’ve dug yourself in but the best and most responsible thing you can do at this point is to be honest with your husband, accept responsibility for your actions and stop trying to solve $70,000 of credit card debt with $50 a week payments. That is not going to solve a thing. Even without fees, jacked up interest, and penalties, the monthly minimum payment on $70,000 of credit card debt is going to be about $3,750 a month to dig yourself out of this mess in the next 10-15 years. You are not making anything better by avoiding the reality of your situation. Take control, take action and in the long run, it will work out for the best. Big hug. Steve Source: Kam Says “I Have Charged Off Debt In Collections And I’m Scared to Tell My Husband” Other Related Articles to Read What I’m Reading and Watching Today Hank is on Disability And Wants to Borrow From His Retirement Plan to Pay Off Credit Card Debts Karen Writes In. “My Interest Rates Are Going Up. My Minimum Payments Are Going Up. Help!” Government Help With Credit Card Debt MJ - “I’m Ill, I’ve Got Bills, And I Don’t Know What To Do”

At this point of writing, I’ve got some plans to do a bit of revamp for this site. Not in terms of design but in terms of definition. Right now it’s about Work at Home strategies, Network Marketing and Personal Development. All of which I will keep… but I realised that I’ve been doing a lot of this with one thing missing - and that’s my Unique Selling Point. The unique selling point that I’ve got that I know that can beat most of my competition is that I can talk about money, about financia

Great Muscle Gains - Gain Muscle Naturally Fast November 19th, 2008 by Westy When you are trying to gain muscle there will be some gain of fat, but the Gaining Mass program will help you to gain the best amount of muscle and the physique that you are after. This program will help you to gain the muscle while keeping the fat to a minimum. There are some great bonuses that come with this program such as logs where you can keep track of your training, software that will also allow you to keep tr

One of the things I loved to hate when I lived in the UK recently was the airline Ryanair . The flight were mostly on time but at outlying airports. The cabin staff was not great but always managed to get their little cart with sandwiches you could buy down the aisle. Ryanair was the first airline I ever flew on that sold lottery tickets in flight and had advertising on the baggage bins above the seats. But all of those shortcomings were easily forgiven because you could often get free or one penny flights to many destinations in europe. All you had to pay for was the tax. I’m serious! U.S. airlines could learn a thing or two from Ryanair. That is if they actually wanted to push more people around the sky for reasonable rates. I just heard that Ryanair is now giving away one million free tickets, you pay the government tax on that, and I had to take a snapshot of the offer, otherwise you’d never believe me. Other Related Articles to Read No Related Post

I do more than just write answers to questions, I read as well. And my days involve math as well. It’s like being back in school, but this time with a calculator and spell check. Oh where were you when I needed you. Back then we had flash cards and now we have flash RAM. I still remember when my high school chemistry teacher let us put down our slide rules and bring in a calculator. And those early calculators were expensive. But my best memory was when fellow classmate, Jeff Kemp , latter NFL quarterback, brought in the first calculator and someone stole it. Damn you chemistry students! So anyway, the original plan for this post was to share with you what I’m reading today to see what is going on. I’ll just post a running list below. What I’m Reading Today Economists React: CPI Reflects ‘Crunch’ in Consumer Spending Automakers’ Issues Worry Credit Markets Investors Hit BofA Loan Modifications ‘Saved by Zero’: The Toyota Ad That Won’t Stop Plastic Surgery Below the Belt (I thought the title referred to cutting credit card debt, ‘plastic surgery’, oops. Warning: It’s Not!) The New Star Trek Trailer Is Online Reid seeks to lower expectations for auto bailout Less Power to Purchase: Consumers’ Credit Card Limits Slashed as Companies Try to Reduce Risk Mortgage ‘Reform’ Is Just a Small Step Forward The Money Has Come From Somewhere Time Inc. Layoffs: Publishers, Top Execs. at Southern Progress and Cooking Light Out BASF to Shut Down 80 Plants Temporarily, Cuts View Top Traders Still Expect the Cash Fury at U-turn on IVAs: Insolvency experts attack Government’s retreat from plans for simplified IVAs. The ten most expensive places to park in the world What I’m Watching Today Embedded video from CNN Video Embedded video from CNN Video Embedded video from CNN Video Source: What I’m Reading and Watching Today Other Related Articles to Read Kam Says “I Have Charged Off Debt In Collections And I’m Scared to Tell My Husband” Hank is on Disability And Wants to Borrow From His Retirement Plan to Pay Off Credit Card Debts Karen Writes In. “My Interest Rates Are Going Up. My Minimum Payments Are Going Up. Help!” Government Help With Credit Card Debt MJ - “I’m Ill, I’ve Got Bills, And I Don’t Know What To Do”

Brown Act: Teachers Union Sues School Board November 19, 2008 by MissionViejoDispatch.com     Recently the attorney for the Capo School Board advised the trustees that a Brown Act violation occurred.  He recommended the Board ’cure and correct’ the violation by simply admitting the mistake and moving on.  Under state law a public entity cannot be sued over a violation of open meeting laws if it makes a public acknowledgement and reveals any information that should have been made public.   

C wrote to me through the GetOutOfDebt.org site and asked the following question. If you have a credit or debt question you’d like to ask just use the online form . I’m happy to help you totally for free. Income from the GetOutOfDebt.org site advertising is used to help alleviate poverty . If you would like to help me to help others, there are easy and free things you can do, click here to learn how you can help . “Dear Steve, I paid my way through college and fortunately could afford to take out only subsidized Stafford loans amounting to $10,000. After graduating I planned to find a full time job but have only found part time temporary jobs. I clustered these jobs over the last eight months and have been able to pay down my debt to about $7,500. Unfortunately my temporary jobs have run out and I am currently applying for work. I received my final pay check one week ago and have a dozen applications pending. The job hunt and hiring process can be lengthy and I don’t want to spend money on my monthly loans payments. If I defer my loans until I get another job how will that effect my credit score? C” Dear C, Do you know my good friends A and B? See my answer to Pam Asks “Does a Deferred Student Loan Lower Your Credit Score” for additional information. Bottom line, a deferment still lets interest build up but does not put the loan into default. So a deferment would be better than not in lean times. Big hug. Steve Source: C Wants to Defer Student Loans Without Hurting the Credit Report Other Related Articles to Read Graduate From College With Good Grades And Get A New House Louis Says “I Feel Like Killing Myself Because of My Debts” Peter Is Trying to Find Shelter In These Uncertain Economic Times Pam Asks “Does a Deferred Student Loan Lower Your Credit Score” Constipated Lending Makes Economy Ill

I didn’t tell Gerri Detweiler that I was going to purchase her book and secretly read it. I knew she would have sent me a free copy if I had asked but I didn’t want our friendship to cloud my review of her new book “Stop Debt Collectors: How to Protect Your Rights and Resolve Your Debts”. The book can be downloaded right away, which is a real plus for those facing difficult debt collectors and looking for good solutions on how to deal with them. Sadly, consumer attorney John Ventura, who helped write this book, passed away recently. He’ll never know how many people used his good information to stop bad debt collectors. While there are many good and honest debt collectors out there, all it takes is a few really bad ones to abuse consumers and that creates a bad name for all debt collectors. If you are being hassled by one of those bad debt collectors than all of the techniques and tips that are laid out in this e-book are what you need. You can download the book, like I did, at StopDebtCollectors.com . Excerpts From “Stop Debt Collectors” I thought you would be most interested in reading excerpts from the section that contained an interview with a debt collector. It is always interesting to get an opportunity to see what life is like from the other side of the debt collection process. Will a bank let a consumer settle a debt that he or she is having trouble paying? It depends on the bank. Most banks have written guidelines that apply to debt settlement . For example, at one of the banks I worked for we had to put past due accounts into “buckets” and the buckets determined what we would do with a particular debt. For example, a debt that was one month past due would go into Bucket #1, which meant that we would not settle that debt. A debt that was two months past due would go into Bucket #2 and we would be willing to negotiate a little with the consumer who owed it. However, with the approval of a manager, we could settle a debt that was in Bucket #3 for 90% of what a consumer owed on it, and we could settle debts that were in Bucket #4 for 80% of what was owed assuming we got the approval of the bank’s Vice President. Usually, once a debt was about six months past due, we would settle it if the consumer paid 60% of what was due. As you can see, the older the debt, the less money a consumer had to pay in order to settle it. However, consumers who wanted to settle their debts had to be able to convince us that they were financially distressed. In fact, the bank that I worked for required us to use a formula to help determine just how financially distressed a consumer really was. We would plug a consumer’s information into the formula. Also, the consumer was required to provide us with certain documentation to help prove the state of his or her finances. In my experience, most banks will write off a debt once it’s six months old unless the consumer who owes the money has worked out a payment arrangement with the bank and is sticking with it. There is an old myth that as long as you pay something on a past due debt, a bank won’t put you in default; however, that’s just not true. What if a consumer talks with a debt collector who just won’t negotiate? If a consumer gets no where with the first debt collector he or she talks with, then the consumer should call back and try to talk with another one, who may be more open to negotiating. If the second debt collector won’t negotiate, the consumer should call back again, and so on. Although this approach doesn’t work every time, it’s worth a try. Also, when you want to settle a debt for less, it’s a good idea to try to do that near the end of the month. That’s because at the end of the month, debt collectors are concerned about meeting their monthly commission goals and if they haven’t met them, they are apt to be more willing to work with you in order to achieve them. How do debt collectors view letters from consumers telling them to stop contacting them? When debt collectors receive letters from consumers telling the collectors to stop contacting them about a debt, the collectors are legally obligated to respect the consumers’ requests. However, debt collectors can contact those consumers one more time to confirm that they will abide by the consumers’ requests and to let consumers know about any actions they intend to take in order to collect the money owed, like bringing a lawsuit, for example. Sometimes consumers decide to work with debt collectors after learning about what they intend to do next. NOTE: You can find sample letters you can send to stop collection company contact, on page 79. What else should consumers know about debt collectors? Consumers should realize that only about 10 – 20% of debt collectors are hardcore people who enjoy destroying people’s lives. The rest are just doing their jobs, making only about $20,000 a year, and not feeling especially proud about how they earn their living. Also, because many of them are struggling financially themselves, debt collectors don’t want to hear consumers go on and on about their financial problems, especially if the consumers are telling them sob stories about how they just lost a six-figure salary job or had their boat repossessed. Consumers should also understand that debt collection is a pretty ruthless business and that debt collection agencies put a lot of pressure on debt collectors to produce results. The agencies know that if the collectors don’t get the job done, their creditor clients will use a different debt collection agency next time. When consumers are contacted by debt collectors, they should be polite and positive, and should try to sound cooperative. It won’t do any good for consumers to fight and argue with collectors, especially considering that debt collectors can always sue consumers for the money owed. So whenever possible, consumers should demonstrate that they really want to resolve the debt that the debt collector is trying to collect. Don’t forget, you can download the book, like I did, at StopDebtCollectors.com . Source: Stop Debt Collectors - 100 Pages of Good Advice Other Related Articles to Read Deborah Wants to Write Letters to Creditors. But is That a Waste of Time? Would You Like to Be a Debt Collector? Double Standard For Debt Settlement. Not So Sleazy Now, Ask Hilary Clinton, John Glenn and the FEC. Debt Collectors Buying Bad Debts Make a Killing in a Bad Economy Complaints About Bill Collectors Rocket as Debt Collectors Get Tough