Making purchases using a credit card are all well and good. But when it comes to paying the monthly bills, this is when life can be quite difficult. It’s worse when you start getting deeper into debt and you have no way to pay off your bills.

But with the prepaid card option, you can really start to notice the advantages. One advantage is that a prepaid card needs to be loaded with cash before you can use it. Then when you spend all that you have loaded, you just have to fill it up again. This means that you don’t have to pay a monthly bill and you also will not get into debts that are unexpected and unwanted.

This is not the only prepaid credit or bank card advantage. With the prepaid cards, you don’t have to carry cash around and fear losing it somewhere or getting robbed. In the case of losing a prepaid credit card, you just have to report it and have the card replaced. All the money will still be in your account and that means you won’t lose a cent. Worried about interest rates that are tied to these cards?

You may have heard of high interest rates but prepaid credit cards do not have any interest rates at all. And you don’t have to get a credit card to make online payments. You can use the prepaid cards to do that as well. This is indeed the credit card prepaid advantage that you need to check out for yourself.

David has been writing articles for nearly 2 years. Come visit his latest website that helps people find the best flat screen TV and the best best LCD television to buy when making their next television purchase.

Are you considering applying for a credit cards?

Outlined below are the advantages of utilizing a credit
card for making purchases.

Getting rewarded for your credit card use

Nowadays, almost every available type of credit card has
some type of reward connected with it. Offering perks
and freebies is the number one method used by credit
card companies for soliciting business. They will never
go head-to-head, offering lower interest rates. When you
pay your credit card balance every month, you will earn
a tremendous amount of ‘rewards’. On the contrary, if
you neglect to make your payments in full, the amount of
money you end up paying in interest in likely going to
cost you more than of the ‘rewards’ you receive.

There are many different types of reward credit cards
available.

Some of the more popular include:

Cash rebates on purchases – Common annual
savings are 1% on all purchases. At the end of the year
you will either receive credit for the rebate total or a
rebate check will be sent to you.

Airline miles – You will earn one frequent
flier mile for every dollar that you spend. Miles are
typically worth two or three cents each.

Gas rebates – When you use your credit card for filling up your car, you will
receive a discount on gas when you use this type of
credit card.

Store and restaurant discounts – These types of credit cards offer savings at participating
restaurants and stores when used.

Free merchandise – Many credit cards offer
seasonal rewards for card holders.

Some more advantages of using credit cards….

Eliminate stress at the airport – When you use a credit card to buy a plane ticker, it is
viewed as non-suspicious by the FAA. As a result of terrorism,
using cash to pay for a ticket is looked at as very
suspicious and will likely result in you being detained and question.

Protection from bankrupt airlines – Using a
credit card to buy an airline ticket offers you
protection from losing money in case the airline goes
bankrupt.

Stop payment rights – One of the best
advantage of using credit cards for making purchases is
the ability to make stop payments in the event an item
is never received or is broken. For example, say you buy
something on the Internet, but you never receive it, you
can contact your credit card issuer and initiate a stop
payment on the product.

Improving or rebuilding credit – No matter if you have bad credit or no credit, when used
responsibly a credit card is one the most effective means of improving credit
ratings and scores. Responsible credit card use means making timely payments
every month and not going over your available credit limit. You do not have to
pay your balance in full, just on time. A good rule of thumb is to not spend
more than 15% of your available line.

Extended warranty, theft and damage protection – Many credit cards offer added warranty, theft and damage protection on purchases made with the card.

Julie Mann is the webmaster/marketer of Choice Personal Loans. You don’t good credit to Apply for Personal Loans. Bankruptcy OK!

Credit cards are becoming the only way to pay. Decades ago we wouldn’t have thought of these cards becoming the new way to do transactions. For the newcomers who haven’t had one of these cards before, this is for you. One might wonder why a person needs one of these cards. For what purpose would someone need access to credit on a card? If you are just moving out of your parents house, or are older and don’t know what the fuss is about, you might want to see the positive credit card advantages to help you make an educated decision.

One of the main credit card advantages is in bill paying. Eighty percent of billing companies are now converting to credit card payments only. Soon checks, money orders, and cash will be an obsolete option in paying your monthly bills. Companies are seeing these credit payments made on your card as concrete ways to receive payments. Credit payments are easy to access, electronic, and hassle free. The more convenient for them, the less costly it is to maintain a smooth running business. And as for the customer, you need not go out of your house to make payments. Easy and convenient for those who are busy with chores, work, kids, and cleaning. The payments can either be called in to a set number located on the bill itself or one can pay with their card via the Internet. In essence there’s no need to get into your car to get envelopes, stamps and money orders, you can make your purchase from the comfort of your home.

In addition to the convenience in bill payments, another credit card advantage is in maintaining a superb credit score. Once you have one of these cards in your possession, you must pay off any previous total expenses plus interest. Once your payments are received in a timely fashion, the payment reflects positively on your credit score. Your credit score is a reflection of you, and how you manage your finances and responsibilities. If you pay every regularly and on time, you will be approved faster for car loans, a new house, or other forms of credit (just to name a few).

Credit card advantages might also include a scene of ease in life. Almost everywhere accepts purchases made on credit. If you go grocery shopping, clothes, furniture, or animal shopping, you can whip out your card and pay on the spot. No need to hold up the check out line by writing a check, or digging in the bottom of your purse to come up with the exact change. In this technological era speed and protection are reasons more people use them opposed to money.

These are just some of the credit card advantages that make owning a card truly rewarding. Be sure to check out this website here to read about credit builder credit cards, credit builder cards are one of the main advantages that can make owning a credit card very beneficial.

Do you currently own your own business? Do you have a merchant account? If you have your own business or if you are a manager of a certain business establishment, it would be good to have a merchant account. Why? Most businesses these days have it and that includes most of your competitors in the market. Big or small, in whatever field of business you may be in, you should have this account. Surveys show that 99.5 % of the population in the U.S. owns two to five credit cards. And it has been found out that these people usually purchase using these very plastics.

There are a number of reasons why people use cards instead of carrying cash in their pockets. In particular, there are three reasons why people prefer to swipe that handy plastic instead of pay with their cash:

1. Security and safety- Who would want to carry a large amount of cash in their bags or wallets? Anybody can get mugged these days.

2. Convenience- For some people, carrying a plastic card that weighs as light as.20 oz is more convenient than stashing a hundred dollars in their pocket, wallet or bag.

3. Budget- With a credit card, it is easier to track down one’s monthly expenses.

Those are the top three reasons why many people opt to use a credit card rather than cash. If you’ve realized that almost everyone is already using a credit card, then you will know how important it is to be accepting this form of payment. There are still many businesses that do not accept credit cards, turning down hundreds or even thousands of clients. Having a merchant account will not only bring convenience to you but will also bring in new clients. That means mean more income and more income means business is good. Of course, before you can accept credit payments, you need to apply for a merchant account.

If you want to gain more clients in your business try getting a merchant account. There are many merchant banks or account providers which can even offer you perks such as a free credit card terminal and other important devices.

Just think of it this way. When you accept credit cards, you offer your customers more payment options. And with the overwhelming number of shoppers using credit cards, you simply have a greater chance of getting that sale.

If you have an online business, you must offer an online payment option as well to your customers. This will be possible with an Internet merchant account and, of course, a trusted payment processor.

If you plan on seeking credit, a cash rebate credit card could be one benefit you need to check on. The positive facets of receiving money back through expenditures made by using a bankcard really are enjoyed by a lot of people.

When you sign up for a cash return card, the refund you meet the criteria to receive is explained in the disclosure statement you sign your name on. The conventional percentage is one percent whilst you’ll find that go higher still.

Several credit cards rebate up to 20% on certain items you buy. If you can get a card that has various percentages for the purchases you generally make, this is one you choose.

One example is, a charge card may provide 5% money back on purchases made via the internet or 2% money back for buying groceries. Certainly, there are more factors to contemplate including the annual percentage rate. Whenever the annual percentage rate is particularly high, the cash back rewards will not mean as much.

If you travel around by motor vehicle a good deal of time, a cash rebate credit card which pays rewards for gasoline purchased is going to be an advantage to you. Each time you stop and spend money on fuel, you can get paid a portion of your cash back. This can accumulate to a considerable amount over a period of time.

Lots of individuals do a considerable amount of online shopping. If you find a bank card that promises money incentives for internet purchases, the prudent move to make would be to get hold of one of these cash rebate credit cards. These days, with the current weakness of the economic system, everywhere you can save money has to be put into use. Acquiring the things we will need for the least amount of money is a must.

If you discover a card that provides cashback on groceries you might want to obviously examine this. Food are a must and this particular cost is one that keeps on increasing. For people with a family, you recognize the grocery bills are growing consistently. The cash back credit cards that gives you cash back for buying food could be quite helpful.

Keep in mind when you find yourself looking around for the perfect cash rebate credit card to meet your requirements, often the financial institutions change up what they give money back on every 4 months. In order to obtain the refunds, you will want to sign up for each special offer.

Stop by CreditCardCandor.com to get the most suitable cash rebate credit card for you by comparing the finest cash back credit cards.

I have been working in the credit card debt negotiation industry for almost a decade now and have helped thousands of people find the right path to debt freedom. I will state right up front this will be a rather long article as I will be going over what credit card debt negotiation is, the benefit of the process, the disadvantages of the process, and I will also explain the differences between how a debt negotiation company works vs. a law firm. There are quite a few differences in some key areas concerning the debt negotiation process and it is important to understand these differences before making a decision.

I would also like to say that this process is not for everyone, some people simply do not have the financial resources to make it happen and others do not have the right mind set.

For starters what is the debt negotiation process? This is a process of negotiating on past due accounts to reduce the amount owed from the original balance; the benefits of doing this will be saving money on what is owed (in many cases debtors save up to half of what they owe) and getting out of debt much quicker than paying monthly minimum payments.

You will notice I said “negotiating on past due accounts”. You must fall behind for the creditors to be at all willing to negotiate on an account. If you think about it why would they take less than what you owe if you are current? When you just pay your minimums they have you precisely where they would like you. This is referred to by many as the “credit treadmill” the cycle of paying monthly minimum payments at high interest; these schemes are set up to keep consumers in debt for over three decades and lose at least five times the original balance in interest alone. Thus making the fact of getting out of debt within 2-4 years through debt negotiation such a motivating factor for many people stuck in this position.

Unfortunately the prospect of falling behind for many debtors is quite scary. Naturally when falling past due on these credit card bills your credit score will go down, there is simply no avoiding this. The trade off for saving thousands on what you owe is a temporarily lower credit score. Now I say temporarily because the damage is not permanent and once you actually begin putting the negotiations through and show you owe no more credit card debt your score will naturally rebound. Approximately one third of your credit score is your “debt to credit ratio” which will be in much better standing after you clear out your debts.

This brings me to where a credit card debt negotiation law firm can offer a vastly different and more beneficial service than a standard company; because most of the benefits a law firm can offer have to deal with the negative effects of falling behind on these accounts.

One of the negative side affects of falling past due is the creditors will be attempting to collect the debt, meaning they will be calling and harassing you the debtor. Now for the first few months of falling behind the debt stays in house with the original creditor and no one can legally stop them from calling to collect the debt. However once the original creditor passes the account to a third party collector is where things can change. If you have a law firm representing you they will notify the collector upon them being retained, that you are a client. According to the FDCPA (Fair Debt Collections Practices Act} at this point the collector legally cannot call you and must deal with the law firm only. This is a huge benefit and can greatly reduce the level of collection activity you will receive while going through the debt negotiation process.

A standard debt negotiation company does not have the legal power to stop any collection calls. Many times they will tell you to go and send out cease and desist letters on your own time, which is the extent to which they will help you concerning calls. Any companies that are not law firms and claim to you to have the ability to stop calls are not telling you the truth and it would be wise to avoid using them.

Another adverse affect to falling past due is the possibility of a law suit. The creditors hold the legal right to take you to court in an attempt to collect the debt. However you must realize that this is not their normal course of action it simply costs to much money and time to take you to court with no guarantee of collecting any money.

Nevertheless a law suit is a possibility and you want to have all of your bases covered when making any important financial moves. If you retained a law firm they will still have the legal right to contact the opposing collectors’ attorney and negotiate a settlement, keeping you from ever stepping foot in court. This is favored by the collectors because they know for sure they will be receiving money without the hassle of going to court. On the other hand if you hired a standard debt negotiation company they will not be able to legally do anything for you if you were to get sued; they cannot offer legal advice nor can they contact the opposing attorney and work out a settlement. You will be left trying to figure out what to do on your own and may very well end up with a judgment. This is a huge benefit the law firm has over a company.

This next issue I am bringing up is very important to understand; many people do not and end up finding out the hard way. This has to do with how the organization is set up to work in compliance with your states laws and regulations concerning debt negotiations. The vast majority of standard debt negotiation companies are not correctly set up to work in all states, and quite frankly many of them are not even set up to properly run in their own state. This can cause huge problems for their clients! Why? Because the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) has been severely cracking down on debt negotiation companies that are not set up right and promptly shutting them down. When this happens often times the company does not have the funds to refund its clients their fees for services they will now not be able to carry out. Leaving people still stuck in debt with no one to negotiate for them and having lost in some cases thousands in fees.

When you retain a law firm they will be in compliance with all state laws to properly execute the negotiations; they will also have a sound working knowledge to how the laws work within your particular state, whereas many national debt negotiation companies do not. Please do not allow yourself to fall into this nightmare of a scenario this can be the difference between you losing money and having to file for bankruptcy or you achieving debt freedom effectively through credit card debt negotiation.

One more issue you must realize is that a law firm must offer full disclosure to potential clients. Meaning they must fully explain both the good and bad concerning credit card debt negotiation and then extensively review your individual financial situation to determine whether this would be the right path for you.

Many debt negotiation companies just go on and on about how great their program will be and never discuss any of the potential pit falls to this process. This behavior is what often times gives the debt negotiation industry a bad name.

I know I have been pretty much focusing on the negative aspects of credit card debt negotiation because I feel it’s important for people to understand the whole picture; but for millions of people this process is helping them escape a financial nightmare. Especially with the state of economy right now people are in dire need to save as much money as they can and get out of debt quickly to get ahead in life. And the facts are credit card debt negotiation if done properly will save you a tremendous amount of money and you will be debt free very quickly. Imagine all the money you put out each month for minimum payments being able to stay in your pocket? How would that change your life?

Like I said I have been in this industry for almost a decade now and currently I work for an outstanding law firm with a great history and an amazing record with the BBB. If you want an up front and honest evaluation of your situation to see if this is the right fit of consumer debt relief for you than follow the link below in the signature file and fill out an application. I will go over in extensive detail how this process works and whether you are an ideal candidate. I hope after reading this article you feel more educated as to how this process works and what to look out for when you are interviewing companies to potentially help you out.

Steve Bis is a senior debt analyst and research assistant with the LHDR which practices primarily in credit card debt negotiation.

It is very important to get a cheap credit report if you want to save your credit card. You might have seen hundreds of stories where people lost their identity unknowingly and their credit got ruined. It only happened because at one time, they failed to get this crucial information. It is essential for you to be informed about your credit history and make sure that you get a cheap credit report. It will save you from possible identity theft and will give you peace of mind as well. Getting your credit report annually enables you to keep your personal information safe and sound. It also helps you to check thoroughly and correct any errors if you find any. You should not forget one important thing; if you want to buy a car or a home, the lender will only look for your credit score. And if there are inaccuracies or errors in your credit report, it can cost you higher interest rate and there are possibilities that a lender will deny a loan to you. It does not matter if you are actually eligible. These reports are available online world-wide.

When you sign up for any credit agency, you are able to get advantages from those company on top of offering you a cheap credit report once you have register with them. So you should get those services which provide your cheap report only if you try out for their services. The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act says; every individual is entitled to get a free copy of their credit report from any of the three credit agencies, Equifax, Experian and Trans Union annually.

You can obtain your cheap credit report by requesting any one of them or you can find out any agency online which can provide you a form to fill and get the history of your credit. It is important to mention here that it is not enough to check your report once a year. What if you check your credit in October and somebody steals your identity in December? Obviously it will damage you a lot. So in order to be updated, registering yourself with any credit monitoring service is highly advisable. It offers you the latest update of every transaction you make and if there is any matter which is causing any doubt, you can check right away and solve that problem efficiently. So without a doubt, checking your credit on a monthly basis is the safest way to ensure your credit history is safe. Not only will this investment give you peace of mind, but will also ensure you never pay too much for a loan, mortgage, or any other large purchase where you credit history may be taken into account.

Randall White searches for the best credit report offers and compares them at http://www.creditreportcomparisons.com/.

If you already know your score and are trying to fix it then be sure to check out Credit Repair Direct!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5078715

Every consumer in America has the right to a free credit report once every year by law as of September 2005. But since that law has passed there has been nothing but confusion.

The web sites that say they are offering this so called free credit report, are asking us to give them our credit card information. Does that sound like a free credit report to you?

You may have even given your credit card number to these companies to sign up for a thirty day trial for a credit service that has almost nothing to do with getting your free credit report.

In all fairness, you can cancel this service after thirty days. But how many people do you think forget and end up with monthly or even annual credit card charges?

In fact, these companies are counting on you forgetting about the thirty day trial and charging that fee on your credit card. But if the law says you get a free report, what’s the deal?

A lot of people are confused about these free credit reports because of how some companies are marketing the free credit report. Hopefully, this information will clear a few things up for you.

For people who just want the bottom line, a free credit report is available at http://www.AnnualCreditReport.com and this is the only official site that helps consumers to obtain their annual free credit report.

This site’s security protocols are excellent with physical and technological security and encryption. That’s important for identity theft purposes because the information on your credit report should be seen by your eyes only.

So if this site is readily available and anyone can get a free credit report once a year, what’s the catch? Here is the catch: the credit report you get from http://www.AnnualCreditReport.com does not have any credit scores.

Now you may be asking, “Then what good is getting this free credit report without a credit score?” There are a few good reasons why you may want to look at your credit report even without a credit score.

Did you know that more than forty percent of all credit reports have errors? If you spot these errors, you can get them cleared up before it affects your credit score. If you contact a credit bureau about an error, they have to clear it up or remove it after thirty days by law.

If you monitor and review your credit report, you can check to be sure that you are not a victim of identity theft. If someone takes over your accounts and charges up thousands of dollars in debt, they can destroy your credit score in a matter of hours.

These are just a couple of good reasons why you want to get your free credit report once a year and inspect it just to be sure everything looks like it should. You can get your free credit report online at http://www.AnnualCreditReport.com or by phone or through the mail.

So where do you get your credit score from? This is where the confusion comes in and here is the answer. The law Congress passed did not say anything about a credit score just one free credit report a year per consumer.

You have to pay a service to get your credit score and some companies are confusing people with the way they are marketing this. They offer you a free credit report and score and many consumers believe it’s their annual free credit report.

But if you have to sign up for a credit service they offer for a 30 day trial period, does that sound free? What these companies are counting on is you forgetting about the 30 day trial and charging a fee on your credit card once that trial period is over.

It’s in the fine print, but how many people actually read that. So here is a good common sense rule of thumb. Any time you have to give your credit card information, ask yourself, “is this really free?”

Many of you probably know this is happening because you have been trapped with this kind of marketing tactic. But for those of you that just want your annual free credit report, you can at least be aware as to what is really going on and have a no nonsense way to get it.

Copyright © 2006 Credit-Repair-Facts.com All Rights Reserved.

This article is supplied by Credit Repair Facts.com where you will find credit information, debt elimination programs and informative facts that give you the knowledge to correct your own credit and credit report. For more credit related articles like these go to: Credit and Debt Articles

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/321877

You’ve got bad credit and dealer after dealer is wanting money down. To buy a car with bad credit, with no money down, you need to know a few things.

First, there are only two reasons that a dealer would want a down payment…

The most common reason is because it adds profit to the sale. The other less common reason is because it’s needed to lower the total amount financed for approval by the lender.  Trying to figure out which is the real motivation to pressuring you for cash is a little difficult so long as, you are depending on the dealer to get you approved.

Most people think that if they have bad credit, they have to use the financing offered through the car dealership. After all, the local bank won’t give you a loan right? This is a common mistake that can cost you thousands of dollars in outrageous finance charges.

Let me fill you in on a little BIG secret…

Car dealerships mark up the price of the car. Everyone knows that. Did you know that they ALSO mark up the interest rate? Yes, they do. They submit your credit application to lenders. The lender responds with an offer. Let’s say that they approve you for a rate of 9%. Guess what? The dealer, knowing that you know you have bad credit will try to convince you that you are approved at 12%. The 3% difference becomes nothing more than profit that the finance manager gets paid a commission on. Guess you pays for it… you. Your payments go up 10, 20, 30, 50 or even $100.00 per month simply because the dealership marked up the interest rate.

The truth is this. You can buy a car with bad credit with no down payment and also with lower interest rates by simply avoiding the dealer finance department altogether. If you know where to look and prearrange your financing (yes it’s done everyday), then you can have the confidence to walk into a dealership, pick out the car of your choice based on the amount the finance company preapproves you for and had the dealer a check. This puts the power of negotiating price in your favor.

Car dealers will be jumping over backwards for your business.

Find Legitimate Lending Sources Here: Buying Cars with Bad Credit.

(http://www.BuyingCarswithBadCredit.com)

Jason Lanier, Expert Author.

How To Settle Credit Card Debt On Your Own (“Do It Yourself” Debt Settlement)

I’m often asked, “How can I settle credit card debt myself?”

This is a great question.

There’s lots of info floating around about debt settlement in general; some good info mixed with some dangerously incomplete info… And watch out for all the bad and inaccurate info!

Here’s a quick step-by-step guide for you to accomplish your goal of settling credit card debt yourself:

First, let’s clear up a few things. Then I have three “keys” for you to follow to successfully settle your own credit card and unsecured debts…

• Considerable time is required to document, communicate, negotiate and follow up to achieve these results.
• There are many strategies and factors to consider that may impact results.
• There are plenty of pitfalls to avoid.
• Settling yourself for 2/3rds can be a reasonable goal.

The general consensus of industry professionals and insiders I know tell me overall, “doing-it-yourself,” consumers settle credit card debt on their own for about 75% on average.

My close friends, however, who are pros and found themselves in financial hardship during recent years, have achieved 10% settlements on many of their own personal credit card debt accounts — but this is only because they were willing to go the extreme distance and knew exactly what they were doing. These folks are the exception to the rule.

Many people are unsuccessful getting any reduction of their debt at all on their own, without even any relief from double-digit interest rates. These folks remain stuck on the exhausting treadmill of slavery to debt and money.

Professional negotiators (including attorneys and arbitrators) average about 50% settlements (some much better than others), and usually charge about 15% in fees (may vary by program type), putting the total cost to use a professional debt settlement service at an average of about 65% or less of your total unsecured debt.

Creditors DO give professionals representing a large volume of debt “special treatment” because large professional negotiators are the “bread and butter” for most collectors. They deal with each other every day. When a professional debt settlement negotiator comes to the table representing millions of dollars of client debt held in “bulk” with a single major creditor, it creates serious leverage for the consumers represented by the professional. Creditors are often willing to do these “bulk settlements” for substantially less than individuals would normally ever be able to achieve on their own.

Still, I’ve helped many folks who have a knack for communicating, negotiating, documenting and following up (the four critical skills you’ll need to do this) to get settlements as low as 45-60% regularly.

Make sure you’re ready to do all the communicating, negotiating, documenting and following up required all on your own before you start.

If you are…

Here are the three keys to settle credit card debt on your own:

KEY # 1) The accounts must be delinquent.

Creditors will not settle for anything less than the full balance until your accounts are seriously past due. While good settlements are possible after only 60-90 days, typically settlement take place after 180 days + when accounts are “chargied off.” This is because when creditors “charge off” an account (an accounting entry), they are taking a tax benefit on the account by writing it off as a loss. This de-values the account, and it is no longer worth the full balance owed. In fact, the normal course of business is to sell the account as “bad debt” to a third party debt collector.

STARTLING FACT: In 2006, “bad debt” was sold to collectors for an average of $0.034 cents on the dollar. That’s 3.4%! Can you imagine? This means a $10,000.00 account is typically sold for only $340. Keep this in mind. This is exactly WHY debt settlement works so well, because it’s a better deal to the creditor or collector than any other option, such as a lawsuit, collections or bankruptcy.

With the economy getting worse and bad debt more than doubling in 2009, expect the value of bad debt to drop even further, which means better settlements and more savings for you!

KEY # 2) Documentation BEATS Conversation, every time.

DO NOT make any payments by phone.

Collectors will almost always ask for a check by phone. Say this:

“Unfortunately I’m unable to make a payment at this time; and am hoping to bring resolution to this matter as soon as possible. I understand you want me to make a payment right now, but that just isn’t possible. I will have $_________ (state an amount that’s roughly 35-50% of your balance, not a percentage but a round number) soon and want to settle at least one of my accounts with whoever will give me the best deal. Can you please send me an offer in writing?”

HINT: You can do this initially or in response to a settlement offer that’s too high… Write a “Hardship Letter.” Hand write or type up a letter describing your situation, your inability to pay and include information such as, divorce, medical issues, loss of job, disability or reduced income. Any information regarding your personal hardship will help your negotiation, so don’t hold back. Send this letter along with a request to settle the account for $_______ (again, a random amount roughly equal to 35-50% of your current balance).

Talking sincerely about your financial hardship, lack of income and inability to pay when requesting a settlement offer over the phone can help a lot. Think sob story, but be sincere. Still, in this game… documentation beats conversation, every time.

Track everything (documentation)… who you speak to, their name, phone number and extension, date and time. Keep everything organized in a folder, easily accessible.

NOTE: Certain creditors such as CitiBank, Discover, Kohls, Target and Chase if you live in FL, NY or OH will not settle for such small amounts. You should accept 60% to 75% in these situation and consider it good. All are more likely to pursue legal action as well.

KEY # 3) Use certified mail with return receipt.

Once you get an acceptable settlement offer in writing, send a check. But first… Write your account number for the account you are settling on the check and in the memo write “FOR PAYMENT IN FULL.” Send the check along with a COPY of the settlement offer by certified mail with return receipt.

Once the account is paid to a zero balance, you can do the normal process of credit repair and quite possibly have the account removed through disputing it and requesting verification.

But wait, isn’t “Do-It-Yourself” Debt Settlement like doing your own taxes or dental work?

Sure, it’s possible settle credit card debt on your own. Some people are naturally good at it and even enjoy it, but most of us would rather leave it to a professional to get it done right the first time.

It’s like changing your own motor oil… while most people don’t want to get their hands dirty, you certainly can do it yourself.

Debt settlement is by no means an exact science and it’s difficult for an individual lacking experience to determine if a settlement is fair or not. In addition, you have to directly handle all creditors’ calls and the harassment that come with the job. Many people are simply unable or uninterested in handling that kind of pressure, especially with the daily complexities of managing a job, household or family at the same time.

It does help (big time) to have expert guidance instead of learning on your own through trial and error (expensive and stressful). The cost of professional debt settlement programs may easily be dwarfed by the additional savings you’ll realize by “doing right” the first time.

Hiring a professional debt settlement firm with a good reputation can no doubt save you more money, give you better advice and get you out of debt in a much less stressful manner, enabling you to move on with your life.

This sums up the process of settling credit card debt on your own. A professional debt settlement program makes a lot of sense if the cost to you is the same or less than doing-it-yourself and you get to let the pros do most of the work for you.

FYI: “Credit Counselors” do not settle debt. I’m often asked a similar question, How can you settle a credit card debt without using a “credit counselor?”Credit counselors don’t actually settle debt,, but it’s a common misconception the general public shares. How many of us really know how this credit and debt stuff works? They often are able to reduce interest rates, and collect the full balance through a debt management plan where you pay them one single payment each month while they turn around and pay your creditors for you (hopefully) in full plus interest.

Of course, hiring the right professional for debt settlement services is a different discussion, but *watch out* because there are only a few “good ones” out there… mixed in with many unscrupulous salespeople who would lead you astray for their own gain in the debt settlement industry.

BUT BEFORE you can be certain debt settlement is the best for you, be sure to educate yourself on how credit works, your options for getting out of debt and how to choose what’s best for you.

No matter what…

Make it a Priority to Be Debt Free ASAP, and Stick To It.

Because nothing feels as good as freedom, after you’ve been a slave!

: )

Need More Help or Resource with Debt Settlement to Settle Credit Card Debt On Your Own (“Do-It-Yourself”) or to Find a Trusted Debt Settlement Program?

Want to get out of debt fast? Get free instant access to the “Debt Free ASAP!” video training series and download your complimentary budgeting guide by visiting DebtGoToGuy.com

Here to Be an Asset to You,

Jesse Niesen
DebtGoToGuy.com