Finances

In all the technical discussion you hear about credit card debt, the best ways to manage it and pay it off and all the rest, one thing goes largely ignored. Credit card debt is extremely stressful, and can have a very negative effect on your life, if you let it. It’s as bad as an addiction, always hanging over you, bringing you down, making it hard to life your life the way you want to. In this article, we’ll take a look at how you can recognise debt stress, and what you can do about it.

The Symptoms of Debt Stress.

There are an awful lot of symptoms that can be caused by stress. Some of the most common ones are: headaches, not being able to sleep, feeling depressed and irritable, and being forgetful and unable to concentrate on what you’re doing. If you’re not sure whether your symptoms are related to stress or something else, you should go and see a doctor.

Who Gets It?

Debt settlement is the process of negotiating with your creditors so that you are able to pay off a certain percentage of the debt amount that you owe. A debt settlement company will use different types of strategies to negotiate with your creditors so that you get the best outcome. You’ll want to hire a debt settlement company that has arbitrators who are experienced and licensed so that they can negotiate a deal for you with your creditors. You can expect to lower the balances on the debt that you owe by anywhere from 40% to 60%.

But how does the debt settlement process work? And why are creditors willing to negotiate with you so that your debt balance is reduced? The answer is simple: creditors know that if you end up declaring bankruptcy that they may not have any chance at all of seeing any of the debt that you owe repaid to them. Studies show that approximately 25% to 30% of all bankruptcies that are filed each year are "current debt". Many people obtain more credit to pay off another creditor. After a period of time these people run out of credit to pay off their existing debt. And this is when many bankruptcies are filed.

Last April, Congress passed the Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Protection Act, the most sweeping reform of our nation’s bankruptcy laws in more than twenty-five years. Proponents of the bill argue that most consumers who file for bankruptcy do so simply because they do not wish to pay their bills. That is an arguable point, as studies show that most bankruptcy filers have suffered illness, injury or job loss. Regardless of the reasons, Congress has made the changes, and millions of Americans will be affected when the new law takes effect on October 15.

Here is a short list of the changes and how consumers will be affected.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book The Scarlet Letter states in Chapter 2, "On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A." The letter A stood for the word adulterer and represented one of the worst insults in society. One would have thought that today we are a lot more civilized than 200 years ago, but unfortunately it is not true. Society has abolished the letter A alright, but it has latched onto a new one, the letter B, which stands for bankruptcy. People do not see it on their chest and think it does not affect them, but it does. Bankruptcy is as insulting and as damaging to one’s financial, emotional, mental, and even physical well- being as any major failure or stigma.

Let’s look at a real world example: A woman purchased a new $4,000 large screen TV a few months ago based on the knowledge her monthly payment was going to be $175, and based on the 9% interest rate charged by her credit card company. For five months straight she made all her payments on time, but in the fifth month she was late paying her mortgage bill, for reasons unknown. She found out a month or two later that her credit card company doubled her interest rate to 18%, thus increasing the payment for the TV to about $190 per month. Even though she was never late on any other payments, she found most of her other credit cards raised their interest rates as well. Even her car insurance company raised their rates. The net effect was she ended up paying nearly $200 per month more because she was late on a single mortgage payment.

This is a common result of a very little known or understood clause found in nearly every credit card agreement today. How would you feel if the company who sold you a product, based on certain arrangements (including the interest rate), called you up and said they were increasing your monthly payment for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with them? Is this really fair?

1) Use your Assets

If you have assets with some significant equity, such as a home or a car you may be able to use these to get control of your debt. For example, you could get a loan on your home sufficient to pay off your debts. You could be saving a considerable amount of money on interest if you pay off high interest credit card debt in return for lower cost debt.

If you have a car, consider selling it, paying off your debts and buying a cheaper car. Be careful though! Your don’t want a “cheaper” car that will cost you a fortune in repair costs.

2) Get a Second Job

Use the money from this job to only pay off your debts. List your debts noting the interest rates. Pay off the debts with the highest rates first and work your way down the list.

3) Put your Credit Cards on Hold

One of the best steps you can take to get out of debt is to immediately stop using credit cards. At the very least destroy all your cards keeping just one card for emergencies.

4) Set up a Repayment Plan

WILL MY CREDITORS STOP HARASSING ME?

Yes, they will! By law, all actions against a debtor must cease once bankruptcy documents are filed. Creditors cannot initiate or continue any lawsuits, wage garnishees, or even telephone calls demanding payments. Secured creditors such as banks holding, for example, a lien on a car, will get the stay lifted if you cannot make payments.

WILL MY SPOUSE BE AFFECTED?

Your wife or husband will not be affected by your bankruptcy if they are not responsible (did not sign an agreement or contract) for any of your debt. If they have a supplemental credit card they are probably responsible for that debt.

However, In community property states, either spouse can contract for a debt without the other spouse’s signature on anything, and still obligate the marital community. There are a few exceptions to that rule, such as the purchase or sale of real estate; those few exceptions do require both spouse’s signatures on contracts. But the day to day debts, such as credit cards, do NOT require both spouses to have signed.

Your bankruptcy lawyer will be able to guide you in this regard.

WHO WILL KNOW?

It’s never pleasant to realize that you’re in financial hot water, but pretending the situation doesn’t exist is NEVER the way to deal with the problem. If you’re having trouble meeting monthly payments, find yourself borrowing or using credit cards to meet daily expenses, or have one or more of your credit accounts turned over to a collection agency, it’s time for you to get proactive and bring your debts back under control. Below you’ll find five ways to reduce your debt. Some take time, all take some level of commitment and effort - but it’s worth putting in the time to start cleaning up your debt situation.

1. Develop a budget - and stick to it.

The first step toward getting control of your finances is to realistically assess your situation. Sit down and draw up a budget that takes into account all your income and expenses. First, list all your income. Next, list each of your ‘fixed expenses’, the ones that don’t vary from month to month. Those may include your rent or mortgage payment, your auto loan payment, and your utilities if you’re on a budget plan to pay for them. Next, add in necessary expenses and payments on bills that vary from month to month. Finally, list all your daily and regular expenses for entertainment, transportation and the like. Your goal is to develop a budget that lets you meet all of your monthly fixed expenses, and figure out where you can cut expenses to start paying down your credit card and other debt.

Do you have multiple debts? Do you have just one large debt which you could afford, but your circumstances have since changed? Are you finding it harder each month to meet the payments on your debts?

You know debt is a problem, but maybe do not have any idea what the best way out is. Financial problems rarely just go away, so a solution of some beneficial sort is needed. Otherwise the problems just keep piling up and eventually overwhelm you.

While there may not be any instant debt solution, there are a number of things that can be done. Some of those things that can help you, apply across all methods of improving your debt situation, so let us have a look at those first:

1. Change Your Attitude Towards Debt And Spending

While debt is almost contagious these days, it is possible to be different from the crowd. Once you are determined not to follow social trends just because they are there, your mind can become a powerful ally in finding and achieving a solution to your debt problems.

The financial and psychological burden of being in debt causes us and our families continuous emotional stress. That stress eats away at the quality of our lives and leaves us feeling powerless, angry, depressed and helpless.

But there is a way out ? in fact, there are five simple and straightforward ways out of debt - and if you apply this five point plan to your life today you will have taken the first step on your personal road to debt free living for life.

1) Acquire No New Debt.

You have to make the commitment to yourself and your family that together you will take on no new forms of debt TODAY. Agree from this point forward that you will not take out a loan for a new car, you will not re-mortgage and cash in your equity to afford home improvements, you will refrain from filling in new credit or store card application forms and you will destroy all those credit and store cards you already have.

Break the pattern of living beyond your means TODAY.

2) Begin To Track Your Money.