Credit card payments can take a big bite out of your monthly budget. It can be even more frustrating when you are just making the minimum payments and your credit card balances do not seem to go down at all. Most of us have dreamed about simply walking away from our credit card burdens and stop paying them. The negative impact this can have on your future purchasing power and employment opportunities makes this impossible. There are, however, legal ways to stop your credit card payments and eliminate your debt.
Step 1 – Stop Charging
The first step to stop paying your credit cards is to stop using them to charge purchases. You should only be buying what you can pay for in cash. By not incurring new charges every month, you can begin to eliminate your credit card debt instead of being a part of an endless cycle. Start by creating a budget. Once your monthly bills are paid for, the leftover cash is what you can use for unnecessary purchases. If you want to make a large purchase, you will have to get it the old fashioned way, save for it. Set aside money each month until you have enough to pay for the item in cash.
Step 2 – Pay Down your Balances
To legally not have to pay on your credit cards, you will need to pay down the balances and eliminate your debt completely. There are various ways to accomplish this. You can start by paying more than the minimum on the card with your lowest balance. Once you have eliminated this balance completely, apply the payments to your second card. You can continue doing this until all cards are completely paid off. Look for ways you can cut other expenditures in your monthly budget and apply those savings to your credit card balances. You can also look for extra means of income, such as a part-time job, and use the proceeds towards your credit cards. Once you are committed to ridding yourself of your credit card burden you will be amazed at the creative ways you will think of to achieve this.
Step 3 – Bankruptcy – The Last Resort
If your credit card burden is tens of thousands of dollars and you have exhausted every available resource to paying them off, you may have to consider declaring bankruptcy. Laws vary by state, but basically there are two types of bankruptcy. Filing Chapter 13 Bankruptcy will result in a judge issuing a debt repayment plan which you must follow. Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy will result in a judge authorizing the sale of your assets to pay off your debts. Filing either type of bankruptcy will have consequences for many years, so you should always consult your lawyer before deciding to do this.
By following these steps you will be on your way to stop paying your credit cards and achieving financial freedom.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 2010
4 Easy Steps to Get Hired after You’ve Been Canned
The old adage that you must have a job to land a new job is not entirely accurate. In today’s work environment and economy it is more likely that circumstances will be that you do not have a job when you are seeking new employment. Many employers have cut back on expenses, and the easiest way to make drastic cuts is to cut down on their number of employees. This can take many employees by surprise, leaving you in the unfavorable position of trying to find a new job after being fired from your current job. Don’t despair, however, because it is possible and can even be easy to get hired after being fired. Follow these 4 easy steps and you will be well on your way to a new job!
Step 1 – Get Your Resume Updated
It may have been years since you have updated your resume. You must make your resume current before you can begin to look for or apply to jobs. You will need to decide if you have the skills to update your resume yourself or if it would be beneficial to enlist the services of a professional resume writer or company. The basics such as making sure there are no spelling or grammar errors are the first components. A simple error can flag your resume to be immediately thrown away before ever making its way to the hiring manager. The next component of updating your resume is to show your last position, as well as any education, training, or special skills you have acquired. Be sure to highlight what you accomplished for the company at each position, not just your daily duties and what you were required to do. You want new hiring managers to see what a positive impact you have made on past employers and what you can bring to them if they hire you.
Step 2 – Join Online Job Sites
You can find many posted jobs from employers on national websites such as CareerBuilder.com and Monster.com. You can search based on location, job category, or keywords. If you join these sites and become a registered user you will be able to access such features as uploading your resume for potential employers to see. It also makes applying for jobs simpler if your resume is already uploaded. When you register you will be asked to create a profile and can sign up for email alerts when jobs matching what you are searching for become available.
Step 3 – Social Media
You should join professional social networking websites such as LinkedIn. Many employers are utilizing social media and networking to post job openings and search for potential employees. You will create you profile, upload your resume, and start building your network. These websites make it easy to reach out to past colleagues and professionals in your industry to create contacts and connections. Through these contacts, you may find unadvertised positions before they become public.
Step 4 – Utilize Your Follow Up Skills
Many job seekers think their job application is over once they hit the apply button and send their resume. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Remember that you are selling yourself and anything you can do to distinguish yourself from the masses of other job applicants will help your chances of getting an interview and ultimately a job. Make sure you follow up your application with a phone call to the proper person or department. Always remember to send thank you notes to anyone who interviews you or helps in any way. This will set you apart and perhaps keep you in their files even if you aren’t the right fit for their current opening.
By following these four easy steps you will be hired in a new job fast and quickly forget about being fired from your last position.
Step 1 – Get Your Resume Updated
It may have been years since you have updated your resume. You must make your resume current before you can begin to look for or apply to jobs. You will need to decide if you have the skills to update your resume yourself or if it would be beneficial to enlist the services of a professional resume writer or company. The basics such as making sure there are no spelling or grammar errors are the first components. A simple error can flag your resume to be immediately thrown away before ever making its way to the hiring manager. The next component of updating your resume is to show your last position, as well as any education, training, or special skills you have acquired. Be sure to highlight what you accomplished for the company at each position, not just your daily duties and what you were required to do. You want new hiring managers to see what a positive impact you have made on past employers and what you can bring to them if they hire you.
Step 2 – Join Online Job Sites
You can find many posted jobs from employers on national websites such as CareerBuilder.com and Monster.com. You can search based on location, job category, or keywords. If you join these sites and become a registered user you will be able to access such features as uploading your resume for potential employers to see. It also makes applying for jobs simpler if your resume is already uploaded. When you register you will be asked to create a profile and can sign up for email alerts when jobs matching what you are searching for become available.
Step 3 – Social Media
You should join professional social networking websites such as LinkedIn. Many employers are utilizing social media and networking to post job openings and search for potential employees. You will create you profile, upload your resume, and start building your network. These websites make it easy to reach out to past colleagues and professionals in your industry to create contacts and connections. Through these contacts, you may find unadvertised positions before they become public.
Step 4 – Utilize Your Follow Up Skills
Many job seekers think their job application is over once they hit the apply button and send their resume. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Remember that you are selling yourself and anything you can do to distinguish yourself from the masses of other job applicants will help your chances of getting an interview and ultimately a job. Make sure you follow up your application with a phone call to the proper person or department. Always remember to send thank you notes to anyone who interviews you or helps in any way. This will set you apart and perhaps keep you in their files even if you aren’t the right fit for their current opening.
By following these four easy steps you will be hired in a new job fast and quickly forget about being fired from your last position.
Monday, November 30, 2009
How to Get Your Debt Erased
Having a debt problem is a little like having put on an extra weight. It didn’t happen overnight and while it will take time to correct the problem it is possible to get your credit back in shape.
Just as you would with a diet or exercise program you need to know just what the situation truly is so you can repair it. Instead of taking a long look in the mirror this time you need to take a long hard, honest look at your finances.
Start with a base line of you basic needs. Find out how much you’re spending every month on life’s necessities. You should start with the most important like keeping a roof over your family’s heads. How much is your rent or mortgage? Grab a paper and a pen and write that down, or use an online budget sheet such as the one found on the bigall.com site on their “personal and household budget” calculator.
Next how much do you typically spend on groceries? Look through you old bank statements, checks and receipts to get the figure. Don’t hedge and try to opt for a low number. Chances are good prices will go up, so while it’s true that if the whole family learns to economize, clip coupons, and buy the least expensive products the cost of keeping everyone feed will not go down much. Also remember to include school or work cafeteria charges to this part of budget.
Utilities might go down a bit if your family works at keeping use of electricity, water or gas to a minimum, but again the cost is bound to rise so be honest with yourself about how much this usually is a month.
Think of other costs that occur on a monthly basis like vehicle, health or life insurance, gas for the car, clothing, or other needs of your household.
Next write down the real income the family makes after everything is taken out for state and local taxes. If some or all of the family monthly wages is based on commission, tips, direct sales or similar wage payment arrangements then look at the total for each month of the last year and take out the largest figures then average out the remaining months. This gives you a realistic figure to work with as a typical monthly average.
Deducting the amount of the average monthly spending from the average income earned gives you the figure you can work with to pay off debt.
Next get a copy of your credit report to see what is listed as outstanding. A free copy of your report can be obtained from www.freecreditreport.com.
Step two:
Now that you know exactly where you stand you can look for someone to help you either directly by paying off debts, consolidate your debt into one loan, or work out a payoff plan with creditors.
Step three:
Looking at your income earned before taxes are taken out find out if you qualify for any type of services or debt assistance. Check online at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services at www.liheap.ncat.org to see what assistance might be available for your family.
For instance if you have medical bills you might qualify for elimination of this debt if your annual income is not above 200% of the federal poverty level, and if your income exceeds this you might still qualify for reduced financial aid. If your medical debt to income ratio is within or above the 30% range meaning your medical bills exceeds you income by this percent then many financial aid departments will pay for the portion of the debt that is over the 30% point. You might find yourself having to call around seeking informing and filling out lots of paperwork, but getting assistance when your family needs it is worth the struggle.
Step Five:
If you find you qualify for no assistance then look for a certified credit counselor to help you such as you find online at http://www.advantageccs.org. Find out what whether you best solution will be a debt settlement, bankruptcy and or consolidation of your loan.
Step Six:
If you work directly with creditors then you can improve you credit by paying off or settling debts with credits with creditors. Whether you speak with creditors directly or go through a counselor keep your budget sheet handy as well as copies of any contracts, agreements, or statements regarding your debt.
Fill out all paperwork completely and honestly. Once agreements to erase debt or accept payments have been made than keep copies of these agreements in a safe place.
Keep up with these payments or new agreements and the debts will start to vanish from your credit report.
Just as you would with a diet or exercise program you need to know just what the situation truly is so you can repair it. Instead of taking a long look in the mirror this time you need to take a long hard, honest look at your finances.
Start with a base line of you basic needs. Find out how much you’re spending every month on life’s necessities. You should start with the most important like keeping a roof over your family’s heads. How much is your rent or mortgage? Grab a paper and a pen and write that down, or use an online budget sheet such as the one found on the bigall.com site on their “personal and household budget” calculator.
Next how much do you typically spend on groceries? Look through you old bank statements, checks and receipts to get the figure. Don’t hedge and try to opt for a low number. Chances are good prices will go up, so while it’s true that if the whole family learns to economize, clip coupons, and buy the least expensive products the cost of keeping everyone feed will not go down much. Also remember to include school or work cafeteria charges to this part of budget.
Utilities might go down a bit if your family works at keeping use of electricity, water or gas to a minimum, but again the cost is bound to rise so be honest with yourself about how much this usually is a month.
Think of other costs that occur on a monthly basis like vehicle, health or life insurance, gas for the car, clothing, or other needs of your household.
Next write down the real income the family makes after everything is taken out for state and local taxes. If some or all of the family monthly wages is based on commission, tips, direct sales or similar wage payment arrangements then look at the total for each month of the last year and take out the largest figures then average out the remaining months. This gives you a realistic figure to work with as a typical monthly average.
Deducting the amount of the average monthly spending from the average income earned gives you the figure you can work with to pay off debt.
Next get a copy of your credit report to see what is listed as outstanding. A free copy of your report can be obtained from www.freecreditreport.com.
Step two:
Now that you know exactly where you stand you can look for someone to help you either directly by paying off debts, consolidate your debt into one loan, or work out a payoff plan with creditors.
Step three:
Looking at your income earned before taxes are taken out find out if you qualify for any type of services or debt assistance. Check online at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services at www.liheap.ncat.org to see what assistance might be available for your family.
For instance if you have medical bills you might qualify for elimination of this debt if your annual income is not above 200% of the federal poverty level, and if your income exceeds this you might still qualify for reduced financial aid. If your medical debt to income ratio is within or above the 30% range meaning your medical bills exceeds you income by this percent then many financial aid departments will pay for the portion of the debt that is over the 30% point. You might find yourself having to call around seeking informing and filling out lots of paperwork, but getting assistance when your family needs it is worth the struggle.
Step Five:
If you find you qualify for no assistance then look for a certified credit counselor to help you such as you find online at http://www.advantageccs.org. Find out what whether you best solution will be a debt settlement, bankruptcy and or consolidation of your loan.
Step Six:
If you work directly with creditors then you can improve you credit by paying off or settling debts with credits with creditors. Whether you speak with creditors directly or go through a counselor keep your budget sheet handy as well as copies of any contracts, agreements, or statements regarding your debt.
Fill out all paperwork completely and honestly. Once agreements to erase debt or accept payments have been made than keep copies of these agreements in a safe place.
Keep up with these payments or new agreements and the debts will start to vanish from your credit report.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Tips for Choosing Inexpensive Gifts this Holiday
Hey, times are challenging right now which means that we have to be more creative this year with our holiday gift purchasing. In this article, we will discuss how to choose inexpensive gifts for a friend this holiday. Holiday gifts that don’t cost an arm and a leg but will truly demonstrate that you care about and appreciate all that your friend does for you on a daily basis. Let’s begin.
Invite your friend to dinner and/or dessert at your house. Most home-cooked meals and pastries are not only delicious but they are a great way to connect with your friend. By inviting them to your home, you demonstrate how much you care and appreciate them. Another option is for you to cook an extra meal and give it to your friend to enjoy at a later date. Working parents and elderly friends really enjoy this holiday gift. It is truly a gift of love.
Take your friend to breakfast. A friend has to eat and breakfast is the most important meal of the day so treat your friend to a breakfast. Not only is breakfast less expensive than lunch or dinner, most restaurants are less crowded in the morning so you’ll be able to avoid the rush and just spend some quality time with your buddy. Some great choices are the Original Pancake House, Cracker Barrel, Old Country Buffet, etc.
Take your friend to a movie. Just about everyone loves a great movie. Therefore, make a movie date with your best buddy and take them to see a movie that they’ve been trying to see. If you get there before 2:00 p.m. you will likely pay matinee rates. In addition, if you sign up for a special program like the one offered at AMC Theaters, by using your movie card every time you go to the show, you will get a free movie after you’ve accumulated so many points. This is the gift that keeps on giving and next year you will get a gift from giving your friend this gift. Isn’t that working the economy?
Invite your friend to dinner and/or dessert at your house. Most home-cooked meals and pastries are not only delicious but they are a great way to connect with your friend. By inviting them to your home, you demonstrate how much you care and appreciate them. Another option is for you to cook an extra meal and give it to your friend to enjoy at a later date. Working parents and elderly friends really enjoy this holiday gift. It is truly a gift of love.
Take your friend to breakfast. A friend has to eat and breakfast is the most important meal of the day so treat your friend to a breakfast. Not only is breakfast less expensive than lunch or dinner, most restaurants are less crowded in the morning so you’ll be able to avoid the rush and just spend some quality time with your buddy. Some great choices are the Original Pancake House, Cracker Barrel, Old Country Buffet, etc.
Take your friend to a movie. Just about everyone loves a great movie. Therefore, make a movie date with your best buddy and take them to see a movie that they’ve been trying to see. If you get there before 2:00 p.m. you will likely pay matinee rates. In addition, if you sign up for a special program like the one offered at AMC Theaters, by using your movie card every time you go to the show, you will get a free movie after you’ve accumulated so many points. This is the gift that keeps on giving and next year you will get a gift from giving your friend this gift. Isn’t that working the economy?
Friday, November 13, 2009
How to Find Credited Courses Online
With credited online courses, many individuals are finding it easier to earn college credits even if they have a busy life schedule. Stay at home moms and dads as well as individuals with full time jobs are able to get the credits they need in order to improve their lives. If you’re looking for some great opportunities, here is some information on how to find credited online courses.
Get a Tip from a Buddy. Do you know someone else who is taking credited online courses? Perhaps a family member, a friend, a co-worker or associate has been taking courses and is satisfied with the way things are turning out. Why not ask him or her for the name of the organization he or she is using to take the courses? Along with the recommendation, you can find out some advantages and disadvantages of that particular course. By asking for a recommendation you can really save time when looking for credited online courses.
Call Your Local College. Call the office of your local college and find out whether or not they offer credited online courses. Because of the convenience and the number of people who are choosing to take online courses, many different universities are now offering online courses. By calling your local college, you can learn about the availability of their courses and which ones they offer over the internet. You can probably also find out some information regarding registration and price.
Search Online. Another option for finding credited online courses is to perform an online search for credited courses. You may even include the type of courses you’re looking for. Simply perform a search on a major search engine like Yahoo, MSN or Google. You will be supplied with a list of results that will help you find what you’re looking for. You may want to write down the names of several different organizations offering credited online courses. This will help when you do research to determine which one to choose.
Do a Bit of Investigation. Take the names on your list and visit each site. You want to find out some important information that will help you select some credited online courses. For instance, which courses are offered over the internet, what is the price per semester or class and what features will you get with the price of tuition? Now that you have gained the information you need, you can compare the different features and prices to determine which courses you’d like to take.
Select the Courses for You. By now you have done your research and compared the different services that are offered by each of the sites you looked up. You should have the right amount of information to select a course that is right for you. Although it can be a bit difficult, you can find the information you need by following the steps above.
Get a Tip from a Buddy. Do you know someone else who is taking credited online courses? Perhaps a family member, a friend, a co-worker or associate has been taking courses and is satisfied with the way things are turning out. Why not ask him or her for the name of the organization he or she is using to take the courses? Along with the recommendation, you can find out some advantages and disadvantages of that particular course. By asking for a recommendation you can really save time when looking for credited online courses.
Call Your Local College. Call the office of your local college and find out whether or not they offer credited online courses. Because of the convenience and the number of people who are choosing to take online courses, many different universities are now offering online courses. By calling your local college, you can learn about the availability of their courses and which ones they offer over the internet. You can probably also find out some information regarding registration and price.
Search Online. Another option for finding credited online courses is to perform an online search for credited courses. You may even include the type of courses you’re looking for. Simply perform a search on a major search engine like Yahoo, MSN or Google. You will be supplied with a list of results that will help you find what you’re looking for. You may want to write down the names of several different organizations offering credited online courses. This will help when you do research to determine which one to choose.
Do a Bit of Investigation. Take the names on your list and visit each site. You want to find out some important information that will help you select some credited online courses. For instance, which courses are offered over the internet, what is the price per semester or class and what features will you get with the price of tuition? Now that you have gained the information you need, you can compare the different features and prices to determine which courses you’d like to take.
Select the Courses for You. By now you have done your research and compared the different services that are offered by each of the sites you looked up. You should have the right amount of information to select a course that is right for you. Although it can be a bit difficult, you can find the information you need by following the steps above.
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