Recent Posts

  • You’re drowning in payday loan debt: should you do it yourself or seek credit counseling?

    Credit counseling companies offer an array of services and they widely advertise that they can help just about anyone with credit repair services and debt consultations. If you are in debt with payday loans, credit card balances, and personal loans, credit counseling companies may seem very attractive. Payday loans counseling companies near me often promise to stop harassing phone calls and promise to help you. For some debtors, credit counseling is attractive because it seems to mean that someone else will handle a credit problem.

    This is not always the case. It is important to remember that credit counseling companies very widely. Some get debtors into bigger trouble with high interest consolidation loans and other services that do more harm than good. Some charge hefty fees. If you are in debt, you need to do a little credit repair yourself before consulting a credit counseling company. Here’s what to do before contacting a credit counseling service:

    1 – Work on repairing your credit yourself. In most cases, you can resolve your debt issues without intervention. Rein in spending, develop a budget, and set up a loan repayment plan to ensure that your bills get repaid as quickly as possible. If you need to, focus on increasing your income.

    2 – Research credit counseling companies. If you think you need support, carefully consider the support you need. Do you need an over-spenders support group, a talk with your bank about making smarter financial choices, or a credit counseling company? If you decide you need credit counseling, carefully research companies to find a reputable one.

    3 – Apply for credit counseling after you have tried to resolve your debts yourself.
    payday loan debt & myths
    Do you believe these myths about multiple payday loan debt?

    Myth #1: “It is the fault of debtors/payday loan companies that some people have too many payday loans.”
    The truth: Some people blame payday loan companies for high interest rates that keep debtors in debt. Some people blame debtors for getting in over their heads with payday loans. The truth lies somewhere in between. It is important to only take out personal loans you know you can repay, but some payday loans certainly make repayment very expensive with hidden or extra fees. Legitimate payday loan companies have a responsibility to be up-front about loan costs (and the good ones are) and borrowers have a responsibility to only borrow money they know they can repay.

    Myth #2: “Rolling over payday loans is not a big problem.”
    The truth: Many debtors take a casual attitude about repaying payday loans, but this is a mistake. Each time you rollover or extend a payday loan, you increase the costs and interest rate on the loan. After only a few rollovers, your interest rate may be out of control. Payday loans in NC are meant for short term emergency borrowing only. If you need a loan for a longer period of time, apply for a line of credit or a personal loan.

    Myth #3: “The best solution to payday loan debt is credit counseling or a consolidation loan.”
    The truth: If you are in over your head with payday loans, your best bet is to do everything you can to repay your payday loan during your next paycheck. This may mean selling off some stuff you don’t need in a garage sale, taking on extra temp work, reining in spending, or even working overtime. Whatever it is, make a big effort to bring in extra cash so that you can repay your loan.…

  • You’ll have an easier time getting out of debt if you avoid these mistakes

    Whether you have lots of signature loans, payday loans, personal loans, credit card balances, or other debts, if you need to get out of debt, you’ll have a better chance to getting debt free if you avoid these mistakes. Closing down accounts with balances. Closing down accounts with balances can weaken your credit rating, which is not what you want to do if you want to avoid higher interest rates. Not having savings.
    debt if you avoid these mistakes
    Many debtors try to put every extra penny into paying off their loans, sometimes at the expense of their savings accounts. This can be a mistake. You need a savings account and an emergency fund to help deal with any problems that arise. Without savings, you might need to rely on even more loans in an emergency. Not having a realistic plan and sticking with it. Getting debt-free is a long-term plan for most people. It may take you months or even years to pay off what you owe. You need to develop a plan that works for you, based on your personal budget and debt load, and you need to stick with this plan to pay off your loans.

    Taking out new debt to deal with existing debt. It can be tempting to take out consolidation loans to make smaller payments. This may be a good idea, but not necessarily. Do the math to ensure that consolidation will really help you repay your debts faster. It can also be tempting to take out payday loans to pay off personal loan payments, but try to avoid this as well. Avoid any new debts while paying off your current loans. Having a lousy attitude. Feeling that you will never pay off your debt or feelings of helplessness will not help your case.…

  • Reducing your medical costs

    Medical costs account for a large part of many people’s budgets. Many patients need to scrimp or even take out personal loans and payday loans in order to cover medical expenses. However, there are many ways that you can keep your medical costs down: Take good care of your health. A healthy lifestyle and regular physical check-ups will ensure that you are less at risk for expensive and painful illnesses which are simply caused by poor diet, lack of exercise, and inadequate care. Save on drug costs. Buy generic drugs or make use of samples that physicians offer in order to cut your medication costs. Get great medical insurance. Buy the best medical insurance you can afford and hope you never have to use it. Not having adequate insurance can add considerably to your costs, as many of your expenses will come out of pocket if you are ill without good insurance.

    Reducing your medical costs

    Have a medical emergency plan. Know exactly what to do in the event that you are suddenly faced with a medical emergency and a costly procedure. Will you travel overseas through medical tourism? Do you have an emergency fund you can draw upon? Will you get a payday loan to take care of minor medical costs? Think ahead. Consider a higher deductible. If you need good medical insurance but costs of premiums are not very accessible, consider higher deductibles. If your insurance provider allows deductibles, having higher deductibles means that you enjoy lower premiums and more coverage. Just make sure that you always have the entire sum of your deductible in your emergency fund at all times.…

  • For most of us, retirement seems like a long way off

    Whether it’s 10 or 40 years away for you, you need to start saving for it – now. The earlier you start saving, the less painful it will be for you, since starting early means you can enjoy more cash with much smaller monthly contributions. Even if you’ve waited a while, you can still make your retirement plans a reality. Here’s how:

    1) Create an aggressive war plan for your debts. Whether you have rolled over payday loans, credit card debts, or personal loans, debts delay retirement (you need to keep working to pay those things off) and rob you of cash you could be putting towards retirement.

    2) Talk to a financial professional about your goals. Even your bank can offer free services from a qualified professional who can help you determine how much you need to have at retirement to live at your level of comfort and can help you determine how much you need to set aside each month to retire on schedule.

    3) Make savings automatic. Have your employer or bank automatically deduct your retirement contribution from your paycheck so that you don’t have the chance to spend it or miss it. Automatic contributions also mean one less thing you have to budget for.…

  • How to retire really early

    Do you dream of retiring early? Sleeping in and traveling the world? Not having to show up to work? Plenty of people do it – retire in their 30s or 40s or even earlier. You don’t have to have a huge stock portfolio or a fancy job to get there. Here’s what you do need to do:

    1) Buy assets. In addition to a retirement fund, you’re going to need assets – such as a home that is fully paid off that you can live in. To get there, you’re going to have to pay down personal loans, credit cards, and other debts and start saving for a home.

    2) Create passive forms of income. Many people who retire early do so because they create a passive form of income. They create something that brings in royalties or they buy discount real estate and collect rent on it. Investigate the types of passive income you could tap into.

    3) Monetize play. Some people who retire early simply retire from their job. They instead start collecting cash from a hobby – such as a craft they sell online or a hobby that they create a small side business around. If you have assets and another form of passive income, making a few hundred dollars a month for a few hours of work here and there is a nice way to semi-retire early.

    4) Make saving a lifestyle. Even if you have assets and some alternative forms of income, you’re going to need a retirement fund. Talk to a financial professional to determine how much you will need in your fund to retire with the lifestyle you want. Then, start saving as much as humanly possible to get to that magic number as soon as you can. Be sure to read our guide to increasing your income to find even more cash to contribute to your fund.…

  • Have you paid off holiday credit card debt yet?

    The holidays are long gone, the tinsel is thrown out – but are you still paying for holiday indulgences with bills and credit card debt? If you haven’t paid off all your holiday bills yet, you could be racking up big interest and even hurting your credit score if your accounts are outstanding. Here’s how to get back on track:

    1) Develop a budget and repayment plan. How much can you put aside for holiday debts today and this month? How long until you are debt free?

    2) Rein in your spending. Most retailers have very tempting January sales, but put on blinders and focus on paying down your bills. You’ll feel much better all year for it – and those sales will still happen in July.

    3) Don’t forget to pay yourself. Even if you are facing a mountain of debt, don’t forget to put aside some money into an emergency fund and a savings account. It’ll keep you out of financial trouble and will ensure that next December you don’t have to pay for everything with a credit card.…