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Credit Card Debt – Watch Your Credit Report and Your Bill
Most consumers are aware of the importance of their credit report. This document, offered to consumers and lenders by the three major credit bureaus, offers a fairly complete list of financial transactions and debts incurred by a consumer. Lenders...
Credit Card Interest Rates 101
So you just opened an envelope that contained a shiny piece of
plastic with your name on it. Awesome ... a bank or financial
institution just gave you a line of credit! Before you start
joyously swiping it on just about any cash register, take...
Finding the Right Credit Card
There are so many credit cards out there to choose from that deciding which one to get can feel really daunting. What makes one offer better than the hundreds of others you’ve seen? Take this little quiz to find out what you should look for in a...
Knocking Down the Debts with Credit Repair
If you take a hard look at your situation and analyze your debts
carefully, you might just find a solution to knocking down the
debts. Debts are bills we owe to creditors, someone or source
that has extended us a line of credit believing that we...
The 7 Rules of Credit Card Balance Transfer
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The 7 Rules of Credit Card Balance Transfer
Credit card balance
transfer is a great way of consolidating your credit card debt, and also
finding a way of avoiding the terrible burden that debt can bring. Transfer...
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Mandatory Credit Counseling for Those Considering Bankruptcy
Most Americans are aware of the sweeping changes in U.S. bankruptcy law that were made by Congress recently. These changes, strongly supported by the credit card industry, were designed to make it more difficult for Americans to file for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 of the Federal bankruptcy code. Chapter 7 allows consumers to essentially have all of their debts wiped away by the court. While many people will still be able to file under Chapter 7, many more will have to file under Chapter 13, which requires the establishment of a repayment plan. A less publicized provision of the bankruptcy bill is the one that requires debtors who are considering filing for bankruptcy to first undergo credit counseling. What does this mean for consumers?
Actually, the details are not yet known. The law, which takes effect on October 17, 2005, does require that debtors considering bankruptcy receive credit counseling at least six months before filing for bankruptcy. The law also requires that they receive additional counseling before the case is finalized and that any agency providing counseling services must charge an undefined “reasonable fee.” Other than that, there are no details yet. The portion of the law that deals specifically with credit counseling hasn’t yet been written, and the full
details are not expected to be released until mid-summer. Even those who work in the credit counseling industry do not know what will be expected of them once the law takes effect.
For consumers with problem debt, this confusion is only making a bad situation worse. In the Fall, more steps will be required of those filing for bankruptcy, but no one knows what those steps are, what they will cost, or how involved they will be. Anyone who has a current financial situation that they feel may lead to bankruptcy would be well advised to consider filing now. Bankruptcy should be considered a last resort for those with problem debt, as a bankruptcy filing will stay on a credit report for at least ten years. If bankruptcy appears inevitable, however, filing now will probably be easier, cheaper, and faster than filing after the new law takes effect in October.
About the Author
©Copyright 2005 by Retro Marketing. Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including End-Your-Debt.com, a Website devoted to debt consolidation information and StructuredSettlementHelp.com, a site devoted to information on structured settlements.
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| Credit Reports - Credit Cards - Car Loans - Home Loans - Credit.com |
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| The FTC's web site on Credit |
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| Federal Trade Commission - Consumer Credit Center |
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| AnnualCreditReport |
| Site set up by the big three credit reporting agencies in the United States, to furnish free annual credit reports, as required by federal law. |
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| Springboard - Non-Profit Consumer Credit Management |
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| Experian: Free Credit Report and Credit Score, Credit Check ... |
| Credit referencing and consumer targeting for the USA and other countries. |
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| National Credit Union Administration - Home Page |
| An independent federal agency that supervises and insures 7152 federal credit unions and insures 4240 state-chartered credit unions. |
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| Credit - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| Debits and Credits, a type of bookkeeping entry; Credit (creative arts), acknowledging the ideas or ... Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit" ... |
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| Credit (finance) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
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| en.wikipedia.org |
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| The National Foundation for Credit Counseling |
| DebtAdvice.org is a service provided by the Members of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC), most of them known as Consumer Credit ... |
| www.nfcc.org |
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| FreeCreditReport.com | Free Credit Report and Credit Score Online ... |
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| The Credit Card Prank |
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| Credit magazine, corporate bonds, derivatives, structured credit ... |
| Credit magazine provides information on the international credit markets for credit investors, issuers and market professionals. |
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| CUNA: The Credit Union National Association |
| News and resource directory about credit unions. |
| www.cuna.org |
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| Credit/Debt Management - Tools and Advice for Managing Credit and Debt |
| Drowning in debt? Trying to improve your credit score? This is the place for you. Get real world information and tips, as well as the legal low down, ... |
| credit.about.com |
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