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How to Figure Debt to Income Ratio
Ever wonder how to figure out you debt to income ratio? Lenders use your debt to income ratio to help them evaluate your creditworthiness and debt load.
Mortgage lenders use your debt to income ratio to calculate what percentage of your...
How to Pay Off Your Credit Card Debt
This method is simple, but requires some discipline.
First, you have to stop any new spending on your cards.
Second - you'll need to examine all of your spending. You'll...
Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA): The New Debt Solution?
The UK is facing a debt crisis fuelled by over spending and over borrowing. In June of this year personal debt in the UK broke through the £1.1 trillion barrier and Britain's personal debt is reported to be rising by £1 million every 4 minutes....
Reducing Debt Through Lower Interest Loans
It happens to the majority of us, credit card debt accumulates and before we quite realize it, we are carrying a debt load that is far beyond our means. When this happens, we need to take immediate positive steps to knock down the debt as quickly...
When Bad Debt Happens to Good People
An overview of ways to stop the cycle of credit card debt and cultivate a healthy, healing attitude.
Now that the holiday shopping frenzy is upon us, I thought it would be a good time to bring up the issue of “bad” debt. You know what kid of...
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Debt Counseling - Don't Fall for the Scams
If you are overwhelmed and decide to seek the services of a debt counseling agency, make sure you find a good one.
Before we delve into this topic, let me say that every trade has good people and bad people. Unfortunately, some debt counseling agencies give the good ones a bad name. With that said, there are PLENTY of legitimate Debt Counseling organizations that will help you manage your money and develop a budget that is suitable to your situation.
The first thing to do is RESEARCH. Look for a debt counselors in your area of residence that will work with you face-to-face. You may want to check with the State Attorney General or the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to get a sense of their reputation. Both sources can tell you if complaints have been filed against the counseling agency.
The FTC recommends asking questions such as the following, when looking for a good credit counseling service:
· What services do you offer?
Stick with debt counselors who offer a full range of services including budget counseling, savings and debt management classes. Avoid organizations that do not encourage you to analyze your current debts or financial situation. This is important as we discussed in step #4.
· Will you help me develop a plan for avoiding problems in the future?
· What are your fees? Are there set-up and/or monthly fees?
Get a specific price quote in writing.
· Will I have a formal written agreement or contract with you?
Do not sign anything
without reading it first. Make sure all verbal promises are in writing.
· Are you licensed to offer your services in my state?
· What are the qualifications of your counselors? Are they accredited or certified by an outside organization? If so, by whom? If not, how are they trained?
· What assurance do I have that information about me (including my address, phone number, and financial information) will be kept confidential and secure?
In addition, avoid organizations that promise to:
· guarantee they can remove your unsecured debt
· promise that unsecured debts can be paid off with pennies on the dollar
· claim that using their system will let you avoid bankruptcy
· require substantial monthly service fees
· demand payment of a percentage of savings
· tell you to stop making payments to or communicating with your creditors
· require you to make monthly payments to them, rather than with your creditor
· claim that creditors never sue consumers for non-payment of unsecured debt
· promise that using their system will have no negative impact on your credit report
· claim that they can remove accurate negative information from your credit report.
About the Author
The author is the owner of the information-rich website www.poorcreditgenie.com. The website offers free advice on how to rebuild credit and manage debt. The site also features numerous articles and news stories on credit report, credit cards and bankruptcy.
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| Advertisements Promising Debt Relief May Be Offering Bankruptcy |
| Cautions consumers about ads in newspaper, magazine and telephone directories that offer quick fixes for debt problems. |
| www.ftc.gov |
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| Welcome to Debt Relief International |
| Welcome to the web site of Debt Relief International. |
| www.dri.org.uk |
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| Debt relief steps, your free guide to debt help. |
| Articles on debt relief, and credit management and repair. |
| www.debtsteps.com |
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| Factsheet - Debt Relief Under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries ... |
| The HIPC Initiative is a comprehensive approach to debt reduction for heavily indebted poor countries pursuing IMF- and World Bank-supported adjustment and ... |
| www.imf.org |
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| Special report: debt relief | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited |
| February 6: A year ago the Guardian set out to track the west's promises of action for Africa on aid, trade, health and debt relief. As G8 finance ministers ... |
| www.guardian.co.uk |
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| Debt Relief Options - Findlaw for the Public - |
| Welcome to Debt Relief Options. This section contains information about the ... To begin, select one of the Debt Relief Options topics from the list below ... |
| bankruptcy.findlaw.com |
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| William Brewer |
| The Brewer Law Firm. William E. Brewer, Jr., Attorney at Law Board Certified Consumer Bankruptcy Specialist. 619 N. Person Street Raleigh, NC 27604 ... |
| www.debtrelief.com |
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| Debt Relief - InCharge Debt Solutions |
| There are many ways to get out of debt, for good, and it may be easier than you think. The first step is knowing your options, the second step is taking ... |
| www.incharge.org |
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| Economic Policy and Debt |
| May 2006, IMF And World Bank Support Cameroon’s Completion Point Under The Enhanced HIPC Initiative And The IMF Immediately Grants 100 Percent Debt Relief ... |
| www.worldbank.org |
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| Economic Policy and Debt - The Enhanced HIPC Initiative |
| The Initiative’s debt-burden thresholds were adjusted downward, which enabled a broader group of countries to qualify for larger volumes of debt relief. ... |
| www.worldbank.org |
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| Debt relief - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| Debt relief is the partial or total forgiveness of debt, or the slowing or stopping of debt growth, owed by individuals, corporations, or nations. ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
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| Debt Analyzer, Debt Reduction Software, Home Page |
| Debt Elimination at its best! Potential savings of hundreds or thousands of dollars! Build debt reduction, timed elimination or consolidation schedules. |
| www.debtanalyzer.com |
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| Superior Debt Relief |
| We help you get rid of credit card debt much faster than you may believe possible with credit card debt settlement and negotiation tactics, providing debt ... |
| www.superiordebtrelief.com |
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| Debt Relief - Social and Economic Policy - Global Policy Forum |
| Aid Inflows, Debt Relief Yet to Translate into Reduced Poverty (March 20, 2006) ... Fearing that the IMF could tie debt relief to economic benchmarks, ... |
| www.globalpolicy.org |
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| Debt Relief - Global Policy Forum - Social and Economic Policy |
| Debt Relief - Global Policy Forum - Social and Economic Policy. The Debt Relief Page Has Been Moved to: ... |
| www.globalpolicy.org |
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| BBC NEWS | Business | Q&A: African debt relief |
| BBC News looks at the progress of international debt reduction efforts, and the sticking points which continue to hamper the process. |
| news.bbc.co.uk |
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| Debt Relief Australia - Start Reducing Debt Today! |
| Debt Relief offers Australians in debt assistance with finding the most appropriate debt relief solution. |
| www.debtrelief.com.au |
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| Debt Consolidation Australia, Debt Relief & Bankruptcy Information |
| Specialising in debt agreements, mortgage refinancing and bankruptcy. Company profile, calculators, solutions, media releases, testimonials and existing ... |
| www.foxsymes.com.au |
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| Oxfam - Debt and Aid - Debt Relief for Nicaragua: breaking out of ... |
| Oxfam policy paper on relationship between international debt servicing and poverty. Linked to table of contents and also zipped for download. |
| www.oxfam.org.uk |
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| What debt relief means for Africa | csmonitor.com |
| This weekend's $40 billion debt cancellation deal could spark major improvements in the lives of the world's poorest people. |
| www.csmonitor.com |
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