Posts Tagged ‘visa’

Calling The Debt Collectors On Abusive Behavior

Thursday, October 29, 2009

People dread getting calls from bill collectors. And it’s not always because they can’t pay. It can be a degrading experience, especially with third-party collectors who are overly aggressive, even threatening.

A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for major reform to the law that governs how companies collect old debt from consumers.

The reform can’t come soon enough. Debt defaults are at the highest level in 18 years. About 6.6 percent of credit card holders were 30 days or more past due in the first quarter of 2009. In 2008, credit issuers had more than $23 billion in unsecured debt that was between 30 and 180 days delinquent.

Read More…

Get Out Of Debt Fast…

The Credit Card Fix!

It’s been years since I’ve used a credit card.  I’ve only used debit cards since I started my debt free campaign.  But it hasn’t been an easy task.  They make it so attractive.

• Use now and pay us later!
• Low or 0% interest!
• Rewards for vacations, airline tickets, etc.!
• Points toward FREE $$$!
• The Best Line…Use our money and save yours!

I must admit that when I get these offers in the mail they are tempting, but I just remember why I stopped using credit cards and just have fun ripping them up and throwing them in the trash.

My advice to you is to stay away from credit cards altogether.  You might be saying that you need a credit card for emergencies?  No you need to have an emergency fund of cash for emergencies.  Credit cards will make a trip to the mall with not enough cash into an emergency.

Some might say you need it to rent a car when you’re on vacation.  We’ll any rent-a-car company will rent you a car if you have your return tickets for you flight.

Credit Cards are nothing but trouble.  Currently 25% of credit card holders are behind 60 days or more on their credit card payments.  The average balance is about $8,000 to $10,000.  I just finished working with a client that had over $108,000 in credit/department store credit cards.

He didn’t get into the situation overnight, it started with 1 credit card.  Easy money he told me.  “They just kept sending me new credit card offers.!”  But now after the years have gone by he’s struggling to pay the minimum payments on his credit cards.

The good news is I was able to put a plan together for him that will have him totally debt free in 5 years including his mortgage.

Pay Off Those Credit Cards Fast!