So, if you’re in debt, the trick is to get yourself out of it, and set yourself on the road to becoming Debt Free. Its not going to be easy but wouldn’t you want to put some work in to live a Debt & Stress Free Life.

And that programme starts here.

To get out of debt, you need to shed the luxuries.

You buy only what’s needed and you live within your means.

You drop the flying lessons, your personal trainer and you stop eating out 4 and 5 times a week. You try to recycle your left over food into another meal, you buy cheaper food, you cut out the alcohol, you cancel your excessive subscriptions and you make significant cuts wherever you can. Every bit you can save will be able to go towards your debt program.

Yes, I know it’s unpalatable and heavy medicine, but you most probably got yourself into a mess with your own liberality and now you’ve got to take the steps that are necessary to get you out of the pickle you’re in.

So, sit down now and make two lists.

Take a sheet of A4 paper and fold it vertically in half, that’s side to side, not top to bottom.

Now you’ve got two columns, one on either side of the fold.

In the left hand column write “Must Haves”

In the right hand column write “Don’t Need”.

Now, take a moment to think about your life.

What must you have to enjoy your life and what can you sacrifice to get out of debt?

Write them all down. And be hard on yourself. This is no time to cut corners or make excuses. If it has to go – get rid of it!

You’d be surprised even if you only look at a typical month’s expenditure how much you can save if you really think about it.

But saving it on paper really isn’t much good.

The money you save in the right hand column by cutting out unnecessary extravagances must be used to attack, reduce and pay off your debt.

If you can save yourself £50 a week, then you can afford to pay off an additional £200 of credit card debt each month. Take that small step and you’ll see you credit card debt start to tumble.

Be focused. It won’t be easy and you will have to make sacrifices. But it will be worth it and you’ll soon see the effect in your pocket and in your smile.

If you’re to get out of debt, what you’ve got to do is take stock of exactly where you stand financially.

You’ve got to see and understand where you are haemorrhaging money and you’ve got to work out what you can do to stem the flow.

That way, you gain control and that’s what managing your debt is all about – you regaining control of your own money.

You see, at the moment, you don’t control your options with the money you earn. Your debt does.

That is the position we have to change.

We have to put you right back in control so that you decide who gets the money and where it goes.

And, pretty soon, you’ll have squared your debts & become Debt Free and be in a position, perhaps, to invest some of your money in a business that could make you seriously wealthy.

Now from where you’re sitting, wouldn’t that be something worth shouting about?

Stay tuned for the next post as we take the next step to becoming debt free.

Unfortunately, and based on studies, people do not deal very well with and take debt seriously, this leads to huge bills and debts accumulation and long term interest payments, one of the main villans here is Credit Card Debt.

Take the following few advices to avoid debts:

-       If you have credit card debts, which is in most cases the biggest source and the most serious of debts accumulation especially for students and newly graduates people, you must pay off as quickly as possible to avoid long term debts. Take this advice seriously, because ignoring or delaying any payment can become a nightmare and eat you alive.

-          Learn and learn how to calculate interest, I will explain step by step how to perform these calculations shortly.

-          ALWAYS check the interest rate. You must ASK first, you must receive clarifications before choosing a credit card. Always assume that you have the lowest interest rates.

-          Having multiple cards is like owning multiple weapons and you will risk injuring yourself. Keep one or maximum two credit cards with you. This way you can handle your debts easily

-          Educate yourself on how credit cards calculate interest. Then, check the interest rate on your credit cards.

-          Know what you want to pay! Never use your card for something you cannot pay for with cash. When you have a checking account and have a debit card, use it. This card is very useful for small items rather then even paying interest for small items. Credit cards make paying money easy. They also make going into debt easy

-          Always have a plan to pay back your debts. If you need to buy something, think first “how can I pay it back?”

-          I could write a whole book on this subject alone but hopefully some of the above will get you started on your road to becoming Debt Free.

In the last post we looked at what debt is,now we understand that I’m going to talk about why people get into debt in the first place and with that in mind lets get started.Let’s take a simple example; you do not have enough money and you want to live, you need food, clothes… this is life! Serious reasons can be related to circumstances changes, you lost your job, health problems and you cannot afford to pay for the treatments etc so you start to borrow money and end up in debt.

There are hundreds of reasons to get into debt. But most people do not use debts to their advantage.

People suffer lot of troubles with debts mainly because it is easy to borrow. Also people are sometimes fooled. For example some credit cards do not offer interest rate for a limited time but when that period is over, logically speaking you end up paying double the main rate.

Another very frequent reason about falling into debts, people especially young, pretend or believe that they are managing their debts in the good way by paying the minimum amount every month without recognizing that paying the minimum leads to years and years to pay off a small amount that can be paid in few months.

Thus, the aim of this Blog is to show how to manage and create a debt reduction plan and become debt free.

The above is by no means an exhaustive list you may have lost your job, been made redundant, marriage break up, divorce and many more besides

Take this advice, do not ignore debts, it will only get much worse, much worse. I use to ignore my debts, thinking that a magical solution would appear tomorrow.

Well, tomorrow always came and went but no magical solution appeared.

Before we can start to deal with our debt we need to understand exactly what Debt is.

Debt is simply the money you owe; it is an amount of money or other property that is owed by one person, organization or company. It is not the credit you owe as credit turn into debts. Getting into debt is very easy and maybe it is fun for some people as it might impress them. As a first look, people are happy, they can buy without having cash, and they can afford to get a car even without having the budget etc. but they missed the best part, they will live and drive this car for 12 years to make payments and pay huge interests for what already impressed them!

Who never heard of cholesterol? Much like cholesterol, where there is a good and bad cholesterol, debts comes in two versions. Good and bad debts. Debts can make your life easier or ruin your life but however bad your debt problems, there is a solution. People and businesses who know how to handle debts and how to manage their credits can take advantage of debts while people especially young who does not have a big knowledge in debt management and creating debt reduction plans are always in troubles.

Debts can also be classified as temporary or chronic debts.

In most cases, there are very good reasons to take on debt. For example, students take loans which are a good thing but we insist that you must know how to handle and pay off your debts after graduation.

Also taking debts for setting up a business is good but it depends how the structure is going to be setup. You must have a clear plan, and know how much money you would need and the most important, how to pay it back. In such cases, debt is a part of the business success.

If you can afford to pay cash and limit the risk of taking debts, do it! Do not hesitate to pay by cash when you have the money.

The problem is when you borrow money but do not use it productively. More clearly, debts are good when you invest it and NOT simply spend it. Taking debts simply to spend it is the bad thing ever. Debts must be under control. You must know very well how to pay back your debts. Create plans, especially rapid reduction plan. We hope that by following this Blog we will show you how to proceed with managing your debts and become debt free in half the time.

My name is Mark Burrows and I have real passion helping people with their Debt problems, and through my blog I want to help you become Debt Free, just so you know where I’m coming from I thought I would tell you a little bit about myself so you can relate to the debt help advice I hope to give you on my blog.

I’ve also had to deal with debt and free myself from its clutches.

Thankfully, I’ve been able to do that and I’m making rapid progress toward realising all of my own personal dreams.

But it wasn’t always that way.

I started with little and had to learn how to manage money properly to give me the things I wanted.

And that’s my task here on the debt and credit blog.

So let me just tell you a little bit about my background.

Well during my married life of 33 years I think I have been through just about every form of debt you could imagine and I would not wish my experiences on anyone. Apart from the daily stress it causes it also effects all aspects of daily life, Im lucky to have such a great supportive wife but at times our debts caused more rows than any thing else. But we got through it all and now live a relativly comfortable life.
So if I can sort myself out I am sure there is hope for anyone else out there in trouble.
During my married life my debt problems have included the following.

* Late payments and unable to pay loans

* Taking out another loan to pay other debts

* Many visits from bailiffs

* Frightened to answer the door

* Having an administrative order

* Have had many County Court Judgements

* Declared Bankrupt

* Finally ONE PHONE CALL AWAY FROM HAVING MY HOUSE REPOSSESSED

So as you can see I have probably been in your situation, I can relate to it and I know what it feels like. So I am speaking from experience. I dont profess to know all the answers but as I progress with the Debt Help & Credit Repair posts I will be trying to make my own small contribution to help .
In nearly all the debt problems I just mentioned , they could have been made a lot easier if I had sought help at an early stage, instead I would stick my head in the sand and think a solution would magically appear tomorrow. The problem with that was tomorrow always came and went but the solution never appeared.

I want to show you what life has taught me about how to manage money and how, when it is used sensibly and wisely, money can do great things for you. Even if you don’t have very much to start with.

And that’s the thing.

Once you understand the debt and credit balance you can start to control your life. And when you do that, you can begin to make great things happen in your life because with control comes knowledge and with knowledge comes opportunity.

Getting your debt under control is simply matter of taking control. But from where you’re sitting right now, that is probably easier for me to say than it is for you to do it.

However, by posting helpful debt help articles for you, I am going to show you how you can punch a hole in your debts and how you can create a life of opportunity and riches by addressing your debt and finally live debt free.

Trust me, nothing is impossible and for you a much brighter future starts here.

The world, Americans included, is suffering from a serious disease – the disease of excessive debt. The problem has been an availability of very cheap credit in recent times, and no real regulation on who can or cannot take on debt. It has meant that many people have taken out credit cards and loans that they can barely afford. Sometimes, this has led to people taking large loans or mortgages for real estate they cannot realistically afford on their salaries. In other cases, it has resulted in people taking on several credit cards and blindly purchasing products & services and just “charging it”.

For some, it has been managable. Sadly, for an increasing number of people, it has resulted in an inability to pay their debts. This site is here to help people understand what debt is, how it can be managed and what to do if you find yourself in problems regarding debt or credit status.

The average family carries a balance of between $7,000 and $10,000 on all their credit cards. Over $1,000 per family goes on interest every year. And that’s just the average – some people owe much more!

Overall, Americans spend over $1 trillion every year on their credit cards, and owe more than $500 billion of it. If debt continues at the current rate, then one family in a hundred will be forced into bankruptcy. Over 90% of Americans’ disposable incomes are spent paying back debts.

When you add credit card debt to the regular bills we have to pay each month, which can tax anyone’s budget. As a result, some bills go unpaid and others are paid late.

Both of these instances can damage your credit sometimes so much that you think there’s no way you’ll ever be able to get out of debt and get credit for something important like a home or a car.

The truth is that you can get out of debt and repair your credit nearly to what it was before you had credit problems. It takes some time and a little work on your part, but it IS possible.

Loan approvals and such depend on your credit score. That number is what determines if you can get credit, what your interest rate will be, and how much money potential lenders will give you. A good median score is 750, but the higher your score is, the more financially sound you are.
While it’s always a good idea to try and stay away from credit, not everyone has a hundred thousand dollars lying around to buy a home or twenty thousand to buy a car. Heck, for some people, scraping together five thousand dollars for a good used car is difficult. That’s why we need credit. So we can buy that which we cannot afford.

Where the trouble comes in is when people begin to buy everyday items such as groceries and clothing on credit cards. Then those bills begin to get bigger and bigger until pretty soon, they’re paying the minimum amount due which will take forever to pay off. Plus, a lot of people just continue charging things even when they have a large balance on their account.

Your credit score defines who you are to businesses and you want it to be as high as it can be. It doesn’t matter how bad your credit is now. There are ways that you can raise your credit score no matter how low it is now.

Why is it important to have a good credit?

With today’s society becoming more and more business oriented, establishing and maintaining good credit is vital if you plan to do any of the following:

1. Apply for employment
2. Rent an apartment
3. Open a bank account
4. Setup an account with public service or the telephone company

It used to be that establishing good credit was important only if you planned to buy a home or car, but not anymore. The simplest task, such as applying for employment could very much mean that you need a good credit.

Having bad credit could impede your ability to survive. This is sad to say, but it is a proven fact that people have been turned down top quality job positions just because of their credit rating despite the fact that that particular job could be exactly what a person needs to fix their credit. That’s a scary catch twenty-two don’t you think?

Ok, I’m caught in that scary catch twenty-two, what should I do?

Start by requesting a copy of your credit report in writing. You are entitled by Federal Law to receive a free annual credit report. There are three major credit-reporting agencies that you need to contact, you can run a search on the internet or find their information in a phone book. If you have already received a credit report for that year, you may also use any letter of credit denial by sending in a copy of that letter within 60 days of its receipt with your written request. Be sure to include a copy of your state issued ID, proof of your address and your last known addresses for the past 5 years. It is very important to include a copy of your social security card.

What does is mean to have good credit? Who cares who sees it?

Unbelievably, your credit report is public information to anybody where you are asking for a line of credit. Any time you apply for employment, an apartment, or attempt to make a big purchase, you are asking for credit and permitting the potential creditor to view your credit report. Although your credit report does not reveal a personality diagnose, it may just as well, considering it is through your credit report how others (potential creditors) will perceive what kind of person you are.

Businesses look into your credit report and determine by your ability to pay and follow through on your promises what kind of person you are.