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How to Reduce Debt Fast

Written on June 17, 2011 – 8:59 am | by Alicia Ross

Mr. Credit Card,

I’ve looked around your site and it looks like you are pretty good at helping people work down their debt. Will you help me?

I have about 17,000 worth of credit card and medical debt. I have a job and I am making the payments. It’s slow, but I am not past due on anything.

Is there any faster way to reduce this debt? Can I negotiate? How do I do that? What do I need to do to get the debt to go away faster? I read somewhere that I had to pay taxes on the forgiven debt. Is this true?

Thanks,
Phil

Phil:

The state of the economy has left a number of people, just like yourself, looking for a way to get rid of their debt the fastest way possible. Besides continuing to pay on your bills, there are a couple of ways to reduce the debt a little quicker. Fortunately, you are not past due on any of your debts, and the key to keeping your credit clean is to continue to be vigilant in paying these bills (no matter how slowly).

Medical Debt

We’re going to take a look at reducing medical debt first because there are only so many options in paying medical bills off quickly, aside from just making larger payments. Here

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Tags: Debt

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Pros and Cons of Paperless Billing Statements

Written on June 13, 2011 – 5:35 am | by Nicole Gutierrez

Many credit card companies, store charge cards, and other companies are moving toward a greener approach with their billing statements. You’ll often notice when you log into your account online that there is a big push to get consumers signed up for paperless billing. Often a screen pops up before you can access your account details, giving you a pitch to sign up for the paperless statements. You’ll even notice that the button to accept these greener statements has a more enticing appearance than the button to decline them. Before you click that button to accept paperless billing statements, it’s important to consider the pros and cons of both options.

Pros of Paperless Billing Statements * It’s an eco-friendly, green approach that is good for our planet. * Reduce the amount of mail you have to go through every month. * Sometimes companies give you a statement credit or a special reward or promotion when you sign up for paperless billing. * This definitely helps you to embrace the digital age.

Cons of Paperless Billing Statements * Without a physical paper statement in the mail, it becomes more likely that you will forget to make a payment, causing all kinds of bad situations with your credit.

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Tags: Billing Statements, Statements

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Instant Access Savings Account

Written on June 12, 2011 – 11:27 pm | by admin

If you want to open a savings account, but you are afraid you might need to withdraw some of the money at times to cover emergencies that may arise, then you should consider getting an instant access savings account from your hometown bank. With an instant access account you can get to your money anytime of the day or night that an emergency should arise. You will be issued a debit card by the bank the money is being kept in, and you will be able to withdraw the money from your savings by going to an automated teller machine for your bank.

For your safety the bank will set a limit on the amount of money you can withdraw from this type of account in one twenty four hour time period. This keeps you from having your information stolen, and someone cleaning out your savings account without your knowledge. If you need to get more money out of your account than your limit allows, you can always go into the bank and withdraw additional funds, with the proper picture ID.

You can also find these types of savings accounts at online banks. Read more…

Tags: savings account

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Personal Finance the Lazy Way

Written on June 11, 2011 – 11:09 am | by Adam Gomez

A lot of people ask me why I go by the name Lazy Man. I wanted to convey the message that managing your money doesn’t have to be a lot of work. If a Lazy Man like me can do it anyone can do it. It’s about thinking smarter, not working harder. I like to divide most money management into three areas: saving your money, growing your money, and protecting your money.

If you are like me, you have a friend who spends money everywhere… and then complain that they have no money. You see them buy a designer purse or fancy tablet computer and just shake your head. In the Lazy Man plan to being rich, the smart person watches his/her spending. I don’t budget every dollar. I just think twice before I make a purchase. The more expensive the purchase the longer I think about it. During this time, I’m able to research prices and pounce on the best bargain.

To help you save money, I created a page with links to literally hundreds of a ways to save money on just about anything.

Assuming that you are saving money from the first step, the next thing you want to do is grow the money. How are you going to do that? The simple answer is investing. People wr

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Tags: Lazy, Lazy Way

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Keeping a Happy Marriage with Separate Finances

Written on June 1, 2011 – 2:06 am | by Nicole Gutierrez

Some things in life are meant to be shared while others most certainly are not. Of course, then there are those in-between things that could arguably go either way. For many couples, finances are a black and white issue. Most couples either have combined finances or separate finances, depending on their preferences and financial situations. Some couples may have separate accounts as well as combined accounts. It really comes down to a comfort level in most cases.

Sometimes couples choose to keep separate finances to avoid one person taking on the other person’s debt. Others feel finances are a private personal matter, which can be a bit concerning in cases of marriage with separate finances. When you look at the whole picture, a couple’s decision to combine or separate finances really does come down to the individual couple, their habits, and their communication style.

Money is a common point of contention for many couples at one time or another in their relationships. If it’s not overspending, it could be where to spend. It could be how much to spend, how much to save, and how much to invest. It could be related to a child’s college fund or your own retirement fund.

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Tags: Finances

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Increased fees on prepaid cards for the unemployed adds to their woes

Written on May 31, 2011 – 3:14 pm | by Nicole Gutierrez

It is common knowledge that the unemployment benefits are given to those who are in need of cash. Hence, it would seem really unfair for those people to get their jobless benefits via their prepaid cards where they are subject to a wide range of fees, which they cannot afford to pay.

Banks are steadily eating into the funds that these people get by way of jobless benefits. The fees that are centered on this are termed as ‘junk’ by the center.

Prepaid cards are generally used by these jobless recipients as they don’t have other accounts with the banks such as a savings or a checking account. These individuals are also ineligible for direct deposit. These jobless benefits are normally distributed at the state level and the practices vary from one state to another. The terms of agreements are negotiated by the state with the card issuers. In some states charges are applied for usage of the ATMs (even if they belong to the network). Charges are levied for not using the card enough and even for checking balances.

This report has criticized the practices by US Bank as it charges an overdraft fee of $10 to $20 if the recipients go over the limit on their cards. This

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Tags: Prepaid, Prepaid Cards

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