Debt Reduction - 3 Aggressive Ways to Reduce Your Monthly Payment Today!
Unsecured debts (especially credit card debt) got you down? Yes, it's true, the winding tunnel of debt seems to get deeper and deeper due to late fees, high interest rates, and assorted penalties (the credit card companies are great at coming up with new ones all the time!) On the one hand you are bombarded by the credit card industry's direct mail marketing machine sucking you in even deeper with new card offers and on the other hand they crush you with fees.
How do we get out of this debt situation?
Well, of course there's the obvious answers like save more, stop buying Starbucks every day, cut up your credit cards, etc. Sure, that's all well and good but it may still take you 10+ years of living frugally to pay off what you owe. I don't know about you but 10 years is a long time. What are the more drastic methods people use to speed up the process?
1. Refinance
Own a home? Then continue reading (if not jump down to point number 2 below.) The cleanest and easiest way to replace high interest rate debt with more manageable low interest rate debt (thus a lower payment) is to refinance your home and use the equity to pay off your credit card debt. This is not a big secret but it must be discussed anyway.
2. Debt Management Programs
You've seen the TV ads for the "non-profit debt consolidation and credit counseling services" right?Well, these services are able to combine all your unsecured debts into 1 monthly payment with a lower interest rate and fee structure. They do much more than just collect your money and redistribute it. Most good debt management companies also offer a great amount of ongoing support and financial education so you stay out of debt once they help to get you there.
Think of this service a giant helping hand that eases the pain of your debt, reduces the collection calls, and provides you with assistance as you need it to pay down your debt in about half the time that you'd realistically be able to do it on your own. Also your credit is typically restored in the process.
3. Debt Settlement Programs
Now for the most drastic option: debt settlement. Of course, as with everything in life, the fastest way to reduce your monthly payment is also most radical choice. Why? Because debt settlement is a process in which you stop paying your bills to your creditors. Instead you make monthly payments into a trust account and once the money accumulates to a certain point, your debt settlement company will negotiate with your creditors. So for instance, if you owe $15,000 on a credit card they may approach that company once you have $7000 in your trust account and offer it as a final payment for the entire outstanding amount of $15,000. This means you do not have to pay the remaining $8000 you owe.
Sound too good to be true?
It's great but it has its risks and drawbacks. Namely, your credit score will be damaged throughout this process and the amount you save depends on the quality of your settlement company. You need a reputable and reliable debt settlement company with good relationships with the major creditors. However, if your alternative is bankruptcy, this is really the only way to go. You can be debt free in 18-36 months depending on your income and personal situation. For many people, the quickest path to debt freedom is worth the price you have to pay.


Do Overs
Do Overs!Each one of us has a very special bank accountthat receives a daily deposit of 86,400. No, notmoney, something more valuable -- time. Time tomake a difference in our lives and the world inwhich we live.Each time we get annoyed or angry with eitherourselves or with another person or situationand hold a grudge a withdrawal is made from thisaccount. We waste those precious seconds beingangry or annoyed when we could have spent thoseseconds in laughter and joy.Remember when you were small and you played a gameand something didn't go quite happen the way you hadplanned? Maybe it was while playing hopscotch and thestone went way out of bounds. Or maybe it was that timein the bowling alley that you were on your back swingand dropped your ball behind you. (Well, ok, so maybeI really wasn't all that young when I did that.) Whatwas the first thing you said? "Do Overs!" and you wavedyour hands in the air as though erasing something fromthe air. It cancelled out your mistake and you got anotherfree try.What ever happened to this magic eraser? Did we lose itor did it simply fade away with time?Every day is full of potential to make a mistake.When did we start to think that every mistake, howeverminor in the grand scheme of things, is such a seriousmatter?We start to carry around the fear that we just mightindeed make a mistake and that it will affect ourcareer and whole life. We have set the stage for lying,pointing fingers and shifting blame. We blow everythingout of proportion with imagined dire consequences. Thetragedy of this is that we begin to believe that it is true.Spiritually speaking, it is when we allow thoughts of fearand anger to influence our lives to the degree that it isimpossible to focus upon the opposite feelings that we becometrapped within a narrow little world of our own making.We become what we focus our thoughts upon. Remember,tomorrow you will again have a deposit of 86,400 chances at"Do Overs" in your special account. However, the time isalways appropriate to find that magic eraser and say,"Do Overs"! Right here. Right now.Be the change you wish to see in the world.Be Peace. Be Joy. Be Love. Be a Blessing andin return Be Blessed.****Rev. Lucinda Schersing is a Usui and Karuna Reiki Master.She believes wholeheartedly in the Basic Precepts and inthe many levels to the meaning of "We Are All Related".You may visit her website at:http://www.turtlezen.com


Good, Bad, and Ugly! How to make money (Part II)
Good, Bad, and Ugly! How to make money Part IIYou've decided to finally take charge of your financial life andstart an investment programa That's goodaYou train a monkey to throw darts at a financial board in order todecide what to invest ina That's badaThe monkey does just as well as a majority of fund managers in thefinance industryanow that's ugly!It is important to remember that prices move up and down based onsupply and demand. If there is little demand of a stock, the pricefalls to a level where people will buy. When the price is moving up,demand is rising. People are buying until the price gets too high,and people no longer will buy at that level. Then the whole thingstarts over again.Here are three important tips to help insure investment success.Three keys to investment success.#1. Be even keeled emotionally.Don't be overly emotional, or overly nonchalant. Investing isneither an exact science, nor an art form.You don't have to be Einstein or Picasso, but you do have to be Spock.#2. Develop a systematic plan of savings and investing.The time your money stays in the savings or investment account is thekey. Why you ask? Because the longer an investment has to work, themore compounding, of interest, dividends, and stock appreciation isavailable to help multiply your money seedlings.#3. Continue to feed the monkey, ice the throwing arm afterextensive dart throwing sessions to avoid injury, and make sure itgets proper rest.A healthy monkey insures its ability to compete with all the otherfund managers.Until next timeMaximize your dreamsOrganize to overcome obstaclesNetwork to net-worthEnjoy the momentYield and abundanceSensibleEnlightenmentNon-partisanStrengthExcellenceYour money coachTodd A. WilliamsEnd**********************************************************************Todd A. Williams is a Money Coach, Author, Educator, and Publicspeaker. Join his moneytips newsletter at http://www.moneybytodd.come-mail him at coach@...