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Can Debt Consolidation Make My Financial Position Worse?
Debt consolidation is one of the best ways of reducing debt. Your monthly payments become much lower and this will give you more disposable income. Unfortunately, debt consolidation can also make your position much worse. The reason debt...
Debt Consolidation: A Simpler Solution
When you feel like you are swimming in a sea or bills and debt,
there are potential solutions to ease the chaos, and even save a
bit of money, while making your life a lot simpler.
Debt consolidation is a method of immediately paying off...
Getting a Debt Consolidation Loan
Should you find yourself getting in over your head with debt, you might be a prime candidate for a debt consolidation loan. These loans are designed for those with a heavy burden of debt, and are used to consolidate a large number of debts into a...
How to Negotiate Debt Settlements
Knowing how to negotiate debt settlements is the key to securing your financial future. Debt negotiation is the process where in you will contact your creditors and will appeal to them with an offer to pay off the amount you owe in easier...
Poor Credit Debt Consolidation Loans
Poor credit debt consolidation loans are an excellent option to
consider if you are an individual who wouldn't qualify for a
traditional loan, but are in need of money to pay off bills,
consolidate debt into one lower payment, and improve your...
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Debt Management – Watch Out for Bank Fees!
During the last twenty years, banks have offered a number of improvements in the area of being customer-friendly. The old 9 AM – 2 PM “banker’s hours” are gone, replaced by a schedule that makes it easy for most people to visit when the bank is open. Automatic teller machines are ubiquitous, making it easier to obtain cash even when the banks are closed. And the debit card has made it easier than ever to pay for an item – you don’t even have to write a check anymore. Such conveniences come with a price, however, and banks are charging additional fees for all sorts of services. Some of them can be quite steep, and consumers should watch how they manage the money they have in the bank.
Banks have been talking for years about how convenient it is to use an automatic teller machine. You can use one 24 hours a day and the handy machines often make it unnecessary to interact with a teller. What many banks fail to advertise, however, is that they now charge a fee for any transaction that involves a teller. Most people probably wouldn’t care to pay a $3 fee to walk into a bank to deposit a check, but since many banks charge such a fee, consumers should check their bank statements carefully. Automatic teller machines are certainly convenient, but their use is now mandatory at some banks for no-fee transactions.
Something else consumers should
watch out for is overdraft fees. Many banks now offer overdraft protection; you can use your debit card or checkbook to make purchases that exceed the balance in your account. In years past, the bank would have returned the check or denied the debit purchase; now they let the purchase go through. This comes at a cost; the average fee for an overdraft charge is $25. Should you exceed your balance by a mere $10, the $25 charge amounts to a 250% interest rate on the short-term loan of ten dollars. The overdraft business is a good one; banks nationwide earned about ten billion dollars last year on overdraft charges alone.
There are many other situations that banks use to tack on fees, and some of them aren’t all that obvious. In order to make sure that your bank isn’t charging you more than you’d like for your business with them, make sure that you read your statement carefully. If not, the “convenience” of banking could come at a high price.
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 site devoted to debt consolidation and credit counseling, and HomeEquityHelp.com, a site devoted to information regarding home equity lending .
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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. |
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| www.imf.org |
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| Special report: debt relief | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited |
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| www.guardian.co.uk |
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| Economic Policy and Debt - The Enhanced HIPC Initiative |
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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. ... |
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| Debt Analyzer, Debt Reduction Software, Home Page |
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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. |
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