Credit Card Debt Reduction Strategy

Credit Card Debt Reduction Strategy - A Simple 3 Step Mantra
By Gary Worthington

Sometimes, you know things are quite uncontrollable. Einstein was once asked by someone as to what according to him was the greatest force. And in his humor, he had replied, Compound Interest. Now that is precisely what hinders, and to a great extent pulls you down in your attempts to formulate and execute any credit card debt reduction strategy that you think is your "damnedest best"!

No, I do not mean to sound like that, but the thing most people do not understand about debt reduction solution is that your efforts to reduce the credit card debt or pay them off is seriously devastated by interest on your balance. If you don't know how to proceed exactly, you will find yourself deep in debt - even if you had tried very hard to divorce your credit card!

One of the main reasons people don't succeed in paying off credit card debt is inconsistency and impatience. Aside from that, in many cases, I've found that people are not especially calculative about their debt reduction strategy. Here's a plan that works wonders when you follow it seriously...

I call it the 3E formula. Estimate, Enumerate And Execute.

1. ESTIMATE
Number one thing you need to do before you actually start - and if you wish to have a great start - is to estimate the total debt, the APR or the EAR (rates of interests), and other such trivial and important details. That is the first and best part of any debt reduction strategy or plan. Once you estimate and understand your position, you will know how long you need to be patient and put-in the effort.

Remember, no debt is non-eliminateable - if that word exists. You can eliminate every debt, but by constant efforts. Estimate.

2. ENUMERATE
This is a number game. Supposing there's an amount of balance that seems frightening, we tend to move away from it - and in the process, do not pay up at least (and even) a part of it. What happens then is that as Einstein said, compound interest increases the balance and in the end, you have got a terrifying amount. If the initial balance was frightening, this one was terrorizing!

What you need to do here, is to find out an approximate percentage of the balance - say about 3-8% - and pay that every month. That way, you decrease the balance for which the interest is calculated and thereby, the percentage of amount you pay also decreases! And by the end of an year or so, who knows? You might just become a debt-free man or woman!
Enumerate!

3. EXECUTE
This is where most of the credit card debt services tend to lose their reputation. Psychologists say, you need to be motivated bluntly to get you started in the actual process of "credit card debt pay off". I do not completely agree with them, but I think sometimes they are wiser. So, here I am, forcing you plainly, screaming in your face bluntly, GO AND DO IT.

Start your game today, and you will be debt-free soon. Think about doing it tomorrow, and you are lost. Which do you wish to be? A Winner or A Loser?

Gary is a debt-management freak - who loves to help people solve their debt-problems. He is so "freaky" that he has a personal blog on paying off credit card debt where he frequently rants about credit card debt reduction strategies. Visit his blog to know more about credit card debt pay off.

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Identity Theft

Identity Theft Vicitms - Immediate Steps
By Jason Louis

If you are a victim of identity theft, take the following four steps as soon as possible, and keep a record with the details of your conversations and copies of all correspondence.

1. PLACE A FRAUD ALERT ON YOUR CREDIT REPORTS, AND REVIEW YOUR CREDIT REPORTS.

Fraud alerts can help prevent an identity thief from opening any more accounts in your name. Contact the toll-free fraud number of any of the three consumer reporting companies below to place a fraud alert on your credit report. You only need to contact one of the three companies to place an alert. The company you call is required to contact the other two, which will place an alert on their versions of your report, too.

- Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241

- Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742) ; www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen TX 75013

- TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

Once you place the fraud alert in your file, you're entitled to order free copies of your credit reports, and, if you ask, only the last four digits of your SSN will appear on our credit reports.

Once you get your credit reports, review them carefully. Look for inquiries from companies you haven't contacted, accounts you didn't open, and debts on your accounts that you can't explain. Check that information like your SSN, address(es), name or initials, and employers are correct. If you find fraudulant or inaccurate information, get it removed. Continue to check your credit reports periodically , especially for the first year after you discover the identity theft, to make sure no new fraudulent activity has occurred.

2. CLOSE THE ACCOUNTS THAT YOU KNOW, OR BELIEVE, HAVE BEEN TAMPERED WITH OR OPENED FRAUDULENTLY.

Call and speak to someone in the security or fraud department of each company. Follow up in writing, and include copies (NOT originals) of supporting documents. It's important to notify credit card companies and banks in writing. Send you letters by certified mail, return receipt requested, so you can document what the company received and when. Keep a file of your correspondence and enclosures.

When you open new accounts, use new Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) and passwords. Avoid using easily available information like your mother's maiden name, your birth date, the last four digits of your SSN or your phone number, or a series of consecutive numbers.

If the identity thief has made charges or debits on your accounts, or on fraudulently opened accounts, ask the company for the forms to dispute those transactions:

- For charges and debits on existing accounts, ask the representative to send you the company's fraud dispute forms. Write to the company at the address given for "billing inquiries," NOT the address for sending payments.

- For new unauthorized accounts, ask if the company accepts the ID Theft Affidavit. If not , ask the representative to send you the company's fraud dispute forms.

If the company already has reported these accounts or debts on your credit report, dispute this fraudulant information.

Once you have resolved your identity theft dispute with the company, ask for a letter stating that the company has closed the disputed accounts and has discharged the fraudulent debts. This letteris your best proof if errors relating to this account reappear on your credit report or you are contacted again about the fraudulent debt.

3. FILE A REPORT WITH YOUR LOCAL POLICE OR THE POLICE IN THE COMMUNITY WHERE THE IDENTITY THEFT TOOK PLACE.

Then , get a copy of the police report or at the very least, the number or the report. It can help you deal with creditors who need proof of the crime. If the police are reluctant to take your report, ask to file a "Miscellaneous Incidents" report, or try another jurisdiction, like your state police. You also can check with your state Attorney General's office to find out if state law requires the police to take reports for identity theft. Check the Blue Pages of your telephone directory for the phone number or check www.naag.org for a list of state Attorneys General.

4. FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION.

By sharing your identity theft complaint with the FTC, you will provide important information that can help law enforcement officials across the nation track down identity thieves and stop them. The FTC can refer victims' complaints to other government agencies and companies for further action, as well as investigate companies for violations of laws the agency enforces.

You can file a complaint online at www.consumer.gov/idtheft. If you don't have internet access, call the FTC's Identity Theft Hotline, toll-free: 1-877-IDTHEFT (433-4338); TTY: 1-866-653-4261; or write : Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580.

Be sure to call the Hotline to update your complaint if you have any additional information or problems.

THE IDENTITY THEFT REPORT
An identity theft report may have two parts:

Part One is a copy of a report filed with a local, state, or federal law enforcement agency, like your local police department, your State Attorney General, the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service, the FTC, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. There is no federal law requiring a federal law requiring a federal agency to take a report about identity theft; however, some state laws require local police departments to take reports. When you file a report, provide as much information as you can about the crime, including anything you know about the dates of the identity theft, the fraudulent accounts opened , and the alleged identity thief.

Note: Knowingly submitting false information could subject you to criminal prosecution for perjury.

Part Two of an identity theft report depends on the policies of the consumer reporting company and the information provider (the business that sent the information to the consumer reporting company). That is, they may ask you to provide information or documentation in addition to that included in the law enforcement report which is reasonably intended to verify your identity theft. They must make their request within 15 days of receiving your law enforcement report, or, if you already obtained an extended fraud alert on your credit report, the date you submit your request to the credit reporting company for information blocking. The consumer reporting company and information provider then have 15 more days to work with you to make sure your identity theft report contains everything they need. They are entitled to take five days to review any information you give them. For example, if you give them information 11 days after they request it , they do not have to make a final decision until 16 days after they asked you for that information. If you give them any information after the 15-day deadline, they can reject your identity theft report as incomplete; you will have to resubmit your identity theft report with the correct information.

You may find that most federal and state agencies, and some local police departments, offer only "automated" reports - a report that does not require a face to face meeting with a law enforcement officer. Automated reports may be submitted online, or by telephone or mail. If you have a choice, do not use and automated report. The reason? It's more difficult for the consumer reporting company or information provider to verify the information. Unless you are asking a consumer reporting company to place an extended fraud alert on your credit report, you probably will have to provide additional information or documentation when you use an automated report.

Hopefully this article has provided you with some useful information. You can learn more about identity theft by visiting my blog at http://identitytheftissues.blogspot.com/

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Bankruptcy IS NOT The End

Guidelines For Buying Things After Bankruptcy Proceedings
By Wade Robins

There are special guidelines you need to follow when filing for bankruptcy. There are also things to remember about buying things after a bankruptcy. Can you get a loan? Can you Can you get a credit card? The answer is simple, do you want to get back into debt after getting out.

After bankruptcy, you may find it a little harder to obtain a loan or a mortgage, but it can be done. Many bad credit programs pop up everywhere and make it easier for people who had the unfortunate bankruptcy filings on their credit report to obtain financing for a loan or a mortgage, even a credit card.

More companies want to help people with bad credit obtain car or home loans and offer many different types of loans for this specific reason. Many people who want to purchase a car or a mortgage will want to check into the many different options. One reason people become qualified is that people cannot file for bankruptcy again for at least seven years after the first filing. This is all part of the guidelines for bankruptcy that you receive when you file.

Before trying to buy anything after a bankruptcy, you should work on building your credit score and watch any credit card balances to make sure that your total debt is not over fifty percent of your income. By adding positive credit history to your credit report helps to raise your credit score. You can apply for a credit card even if it is small as three hundred dollars for the limit, use it, and pay it off many times. This builds positive credit.

Knowing what creditors look for when giving out credit helps you prepare for obtaining credit. You might need to talk to creditors or a credit repair counselor to see what you might do to help your chances of getting a loan. Every lender has a different standard when it comes to dealing with people with poor credit reports and scores.

Two things you can count on them wanting are a down payment and income verification, but also they want you to wait at least two years after bankruptcy to apply for a loan. Of course, you need to make all payments you have for anything, on time, including your repayment plan.

If you need a down payment, you can borrow from family or friends or try a program for assistance for receiving a down payment. You might obtain a grant from these organizations and use that towards your down payment. Another way to obtain a down payment is by borrowing from your 401K plan as a way to provide you with a down payment.

You can also find more info on Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and Personal Bankruptcy. Filingpersonalbankruptcyhelp.com is a comprehensive resource to get help in Bankruptcy.

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Fix Your Bad Credit in 8 Simple Steps

How to Repair Bad Credit in 8 Simple Steps

By: Garret Belisle

Here is STEP 1: Read your credit report to discover what things are listed on the report that have led to your bad credit rating in the first place.



STEP 2: If you note inaccuracies on your credit report, you'll need to dispute those with the individual creditors reporting them. You can't dispute accurate information even if it does reflect poorly on your credit report, but you can make repairs and improve your credit.



STEP 3: Contact individual creditors and ask if they're willing to work with you to create a repayment plan you can afford, but also assures the creditor of your intent to repay the debt owed them.



STEP 4: Contact your credit card companies and ask for a reduction in the interest rate applied to your credit cards. Some may not be willing, but many credit card companies are willing to do so for cardholders. Use the reduction of interest applied to a credit card account to pay the debt you have on it down faster.



STEP 5: Gather pay stubs and statements for monthly, quarterly, and annual bills (utilities, phone, mortgage, home insurance, retirement account contributions) and create a budget to keep from spending beyond what you actually bring in. You'll also find ways to spend less and use those savings to pay on the debts causing you bad credit



STEP 6: Maxed-out credit cards? Barely able to make the minimum payments on them? Stop using them! Hide them away in a drawer so they won't tempt you to use them and add even more debts to them.



STEP 7: Contact a credit counseling service if your debts are so large that you cannot make regular payments on all of them. A credit counseling service can help you create a plan of action to take care of the debts that are responsible for your bad credit. They can often times speak to your creditors and get you reduced rates and extended payments plans as well.



STEP 8: Apply for a bank sponsored debit or prepaid credit card. As you use this for purchases and make regular payments, you will slowly rebuild bad credit into good credit.



No matter how bad a credit problem may be, it can either get better or worse. In many cases much, much worse. Almost everyone has had credit issues at one time or another in their lifetime. The fact is that our credit rating has a very large effect on our every day lives. Always remember that the better your credit becomes the more money you can and most certainly will save on a variety of things such as; mortgage rates, credit card interest, car payments to name but a few.



Stick to a budget and both you and your credit will be happier for it. Good luck.

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Author Bio

Garret Belisle authors for www.need-to-get-some.blogspot.com, he is also a business consultant for several companies within his community. This is a fun blog that changes daily, not keeping to any particular topic. Check it out, you never know what you'll read (or possibly learn:-)

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Know what's in your Credit Report!

What Does Your Credit History Look Like?
by Cornie Herring

If you have ever taken out a loan, used a credit card or taken advantage of a "buy now, pay later" offer, you will have a credit history. Whenever a financial institution, such as a bank, a credit card company, or any other business gives you credit, it may send information about whether or not you make your payments on time to a credit-reporting agency.



It is important to get a copy of your credit history. You may think your credit history is perfect because you have never been late or missed any of your loan payment, but recent studies have shown that perhaps as many as 50% of all credit histories have errors in them. And these errors could be a problem for you.



Today, you credit history is used as a measuring tool more than simply applying for a loan. Statistic shows that 92% of insurers are using credit history to predicting potential losses and apply appropriate rate for their customers. A potential employer, especially financial industry may want to review your credit history before they offer you any of their job positions. With tight rental market in many metropolitan areas, landlords want to see prospective tenant's credit histories. Whether you are going to be able to pay the rent of not is foremost on their minds.



Your credit report contains information about your past and present personal and financial situation. Credit cards that never been formally cancelled will appeared on your credit history as an open line of credit. Beside that, credit-related court judgment against you in a lawsuit such as bankruptcy, if any will be recorded in your credit report and follow you as your credit history for many years. If you have any delay or unpaid debts, they will be appeared in your credit report. These can potentially cause problems because, if you are applying for a loan such as a college loan, a home mortgage or job application, they will be entered into the credit formula as debt and affect your credit ratings. Bad credit ratings prevent you from getting the best offer in term of best interest rate, approve with higher loan amount, or getting hire in your job application.



Hence, your pass credit records are important to you and if you have a good record, make sure that they appeared correctly in your credit history as you should be. There are three major reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and Trans-Union, and they do not share information with each other, so you need to check your history from all three agencies. If you find errors, you can write to the agencies explaining the error, and they have 30 days to correct the error. You will want to check your report again after you have sent the corrections to be sure the changes were made.



In summary, it is your responsibility to ensure that your credit report is displaying your actual credit history. Take your initiative to confirm the correctness of you credit report so that you won't face any problem when come to the time you want to use it for any purpose.



Cornie Herring is the Author from http://www.studykiosk.com/CreditBasics/. An informational website on credit basics, debt consolidation & bankruptcy. Learn more about money from our Money Lessons.



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