Featured Links

Other Topics






Quote of the Day

"Poetry is ordinary language raised to the Nth power. Poetry is boned with ideas, nerved and blooded with emotions, all held together by the delicate, tough skin of words."

Paul Engle








 




 
Featured Debt Articles

Debt And Bill Consolidation
Debt and bill consolidation is the practice of paying off many loans with one loan. Debt and bill consolidation is the practice of paying off many loans with one loan. This is undertaken by debtors for lowering their interest rates on loans and ...

Debt Reduction Program To Become Debt Free
Designing a debt reduction program can be the best way to solving your financial crisis when you are in a lot of debt. Debt and the interest rates attached to each debt makes the balance increase at fast rate. This is especially true when you either pay ...

Getting (and Staying) Out Of Debt
Get Out of Debt If you are in debt, then you know the feeling, the stress, the anxiety, the calls from creditors and letters from banks. If you are in debt then the first thing you would like to do is run. However, you don't have to run away from your ...




Face it - Debt is an offshoot of the way of the normal American life.
 
You have that "American Dream" - the 2.5 kids, the puppy dog, the white picket fence, and the big back yard. But don't forget the two cars, the impending 2.5 college educations, the kids' clothes, toys, and schooling, along with clothes, vacations, furniture, Christmases, Hanukahs, and every other expense on your credit-card statement.

The reality of the cost of living in America, or anywhere in the Western world, can be a hard pill to swallow, especially if you don't have the cash flow to help that pill go down.

What's the easiest solution then for most Americans?

Go into debt. (That's how the American Dream can quickly transform into the American Nightmare.)

If you're in this situation, stop beating on yourself.

Kicking yourself while you're down for things you've done in the past is no way to solve your problems in the future. Instead, consider ways that you can constructively and positively get rid of your debt.

No - one way is not to open up another credit card and transfer your debt there. That only means higher interest payments for you down the road.

No, the best way in many cases for you to solve your debt problem is to take advantage of what's probably right under your feet as you read this.

The carpet?

Close. What's under your carpet?

An old hardwood floor?

OK, now you're getting colder as well as silly.

Let me help you with a huge clue -- you've been paying a monthly mortgage on it for the last x amount of years.

taht's right, you've got it -- your house!

Use the equity that you've built up in your home to your advantage. That's where a home equity line of credit or a home equity loan comes in, to help you consolidate your debts.

A home equity line of credit is like loan that works like your credit cards. You take out a lump sum of credit, based on your equity, to pay off your debts and then you pay off what you owe monthly or just pay the interest.

Obviously, however, for someone who's had problems with credit cards in the past, the line of credit might not be the best.

Instead, there's the basic home equity loan. Home equity loans act like lump sums that you can use to pay off your debt in one fell swoop.

With home equity loans, you agree to take out a loan for the set amount of money that you need, say, to pay off the total amount of your credit card debt. That loan is in essence taken out on your house!

Of course, that's not your money. You need to make payments every month for the term of the loan, like you would for your regular mortgage or for your car loan.

So what's the benefit of that if you still have to pay a regular monthly amount?

Well, chances are, those monthly payments have less interest attached to them, so your total monthly payments would be less than they would be on your typical plastic cards - and in many cases it does work out to be considerably less!

Plus, instead of having to send out two, three or even ten checks to all of the credit card companies that you owe money to, you only need to send out one check to the loan bank.

About the author:

Duncan Roberts is a Debt Consolidation guru - having had to do it himself numerous times. You can read more Tips and Tricks at Debt Consolidation


Google


Debt News

Treasurys rise after jump in unemployment rate - International Herald Tribune
NEW YORK : Treasury prices rose Friday, sending yields lower, after the government reported a big jump in the unemployment rate. When economic readings are poor, safe government debt becomes a more attractive investment. The Labor Department reported ...

Jobless rate in U.S. rises to 7.2% - Detroit Free Press
WASHINGTON — The government says the nation's unemployment rate bolted to 7.2 percent in December, the highest since early 1993, as employers slashed 524,000 jobs. The Labor Department's report underscores the terrible toll of the deepening ...

Cannizzaro withdraws request for authority to file bankruptcy - WWL-TV
New Orleans' district attorney has withdrawn a request for his office to have state authority to file for bankruptcy protection. District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro had warned state officials that his office may need to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy ...

Verizon Wireless completes $5.9B Alltel buyout - BusinessWeek
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. Verizon Wireless said Friday it has completed its $5.9 billion purchase of Little Rock, Ark.-based Alltel Corp., making Verizon the nation's largest mobile phone company. Verizon said Friday it will also take on $22.2 billion in ...

Jobless rate jumps to 7.2 percent in December - Forbes
The nation's unemployment rate bolted to 7.2 percent in December, the highest level in 16 years, as nervous employers slashed 524,000 jobs, capping one of the worst years in modern history for American workers. The Labor Department's report, released ...

Teacher retirement official had $110,00 Vegas debt - San Antonio Express News
AUSTIN -- A Houston investor who resigned Friday as the head of the board overseeing Texas Teacher Retirement System investments had a $110,000 judgment against him from Bellagio Inc. in Las Vegas for an unpaid gambling debt. Court records show the ...

Houston investor who quit board had gambling debt - Houston Chronicle
AUSTIN — A Houston investor who resigned today as the head of the board overseeing Texas Teacher Retirement System investments had a $110,000 judgment against him from Bellagio Inc. in Las Vegas for an unpaid gambling debt. Court records show the ...

TOPIC: Re:Lack of donations forces Provo shelter project into debt - Daily Herald
Lack of donations forces Provo shelter project into debt 6 Hours, 27 Minutes ago Karma: -62 This thread discusses the Content article: Lack of donations forces Provo shelter project into debt The building at 920 S. 300 East will house dozens of ...

Fed buys $1.4 billion of Fannie, Freddie, FHLB debt - Reuters
NEW YORK, Jan 9 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve bought $1.4 billion of Fannie Mae ( FNM.P ), Freddie Mac ( FRE.P ) and Federal Home Loan Banks debt in permanent coupon purchases on Friday in an ongoing effort to lower mortgage rates. Dealers ...

How to Get a College Degree Debt-Free - Street.Com
More from Jeffrey Strain Baby Steps for Improved Personal Finances 10 Commandments for Frugal Living Personal Finance Predictions for 2009 Gift Cards -- Use 'Em or Lose 'Em Set Personal-Finance Course for Rough 2009 The credit crisis has been a mixed ...