How to Save Yourself From Drowning in Credit Card Debt

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Credit card debt has been widely recognized as the primary reason why people are suffering from low credit scores in the country. The most likely reason why many people suffer from this vicious cycle of debt is that it is difficult to keep a track of all the points of expenditure through credit cards. This is especially true when a person is struck with some form of a medical or even non medical emergency. In such situations, it is impossible to think of the consequences of expenditure because expenses like medical bills cannot be avoided at the cost of life or fitness. Therefore, most people in a medical emergency end up getting trapped in debt. Fortunately, while it takes some doing, it is not very difficult to get rid of the problem. All it takes is a little bit of common sense and diligence. Consider the following steps through which you can get rid of your credit card debt, if you are stuck in one.

1. Find some good refinancers and pay each of them a visit

The first step of your strategy to get rid of credit card debt is to find and visit good refinancers in the region. The loan refinancing industry has grown significantly as the number of people getting trapped by different types of debts is increasing. Therefore, it would not be difficult for you to find some good refinancers in your region. You should shortlist the best ones and arrange an appointment with each one of them. During your meetings with these refinancing professionals, your job will be to try and get as much information about the kind of credit card debt settlement plan that they think would be good for you.

2. Analyze the credit card debt settlement plans that they have set out for you

After you have met with all the refinancing firms, you would have rough information on the credit card debt settlement plans that they had devised for you. If you are smart, you can get a lot of very useful information from a refinancing firm’s representative. You should analyze all the information that you have gathered in terms of different instruments, different schedules and, in a nutshell, the whole settlement plans’ structure.

3. Combine the positives of all the plans strategies and create your own

Finally, you should combine the good aspects of all these strategies that you think fit your specific situation and formulate your own customized settlement plan. Ideally, the best way to get rid of credit card debt would be to pay the debt. However, sometimes the debt is so large that it requires some manipulation through refinancing loans and other credit cards. Your own settlement plan would consist of this kind of information. Furthermore, since you took the positives and most suitable aspects from all the restructuring and refinancing plans offered to you, you would find that your customized plan would be better than all of them because it is designed to your specific needs by you.

Paul Chehade – Need Help With Debt Consolidation

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Paul Chehade – Need Help With Debt Consolidation?

Do you want to take measures to reduce your debt? Are you at wits end from the pile of bills on your desk? If this sounds like you, there is help. Continue treading to learn more about how debt consolidation may work for your situation.

Prior to taking action, do a thorough review of your own credit record. You need to know what got you in your situation. This can help you to avoid making yourself go further into debt once debt consolidation has helped you.

Think about long-term ramifications when you choose a company for debt consolidation. You want to fix your current issues, but you need to know whether a company can work with you as time goes on, as well. Some offer services and classes to help you avoid needing such a loan again.

Are you the owner of a life insurance policy? You may wish to cash it in to pay off the debt. Talk to your insurance agent for more information. Sometimes you’re able to borrow some of what you’ve paid in.

At times, filing for bankruptcy is necessary. However, filing for bankruptcy will ruin your credit score. But, if you simply cannot repay your debts, your credit is probably already damaged. You can get your financial house in order by clearing the decks and starting fresh with a bankruptcy.

An offer for a new credit card that features a low interest rate can be a powerful asset in a plan to consolidate your debts. The interest rates they offer tend to go up once the initial period of low interest ends. You will have to pay the card off quickly before the interest rate goes up.

See a company comes up with the interest rate for your debt consolidation. Fixed interest rates are ideal. That means you will understand how much you will pay in total. Watch out for any debt consolidation program with adjustable rates. If the rates go up enough over the loan period, you may actually end up paying more than the original debt.

How have you accumulated your debt? You must decide this prior to assuming any consolidation loans. Even if you do get a debt consolidation loan, you may still find yourself in debt if you don’t fix the original problem. Therefore, discover the cause(s) of why you are in debt, resolve it, and then pay off your outstanding debts.

Have you considered debt management? If you pay your debts by managing your situation, you’ll be paying less in shorter period of time. There are many companies who will help you negotiate lower interest rates.

When you consolidate debt, your goal is to have a single payment that you can afford to pay every month. Typically, you should have a plan where your debts will be eliminated after 5 years. Some individuals chose shorter or longer plans for getting out of debt. You’ll have an end date for getting out of debt, so you’ll be able to stick with your goal more easily.

If you are looking for a debt consolidation company in Florida or Maryland, realize that they do not need to be licensed. If you live in one of these states, you might want to use a firm from another state which does require licensing. You have no legal protection if you choose a local firm.

There are many people who don’t have a proper understanding on how debt consolidation works and what it can do for you. It can be tough to go through, but easier than having the heavy burden of debt. Take the information in this article and use it to get back on the path of financial stability.

Paul Chehade

Solidary Foundation

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Get a Rewards or Low Interest Credit Card that is Right for You

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Obtaining a credit card with the kind of interest rate and rewards scheme you would like is never easy. Being there are many types of low interest credit cards from the likes of Visa, MasterCard, and American Express to select from. It only makes sense to stick with card that you can benefit from. Either being from a set rewards scheme or from a really great low interest rate. For example, say you are a Major League Baseball fan and would like to earn rewards and/or save money while participating in your favorite pastime. In this instance, the Major League Baseball Extra Bases Credit Card might be the best selection for you. With this credit card, The only credit card on the planet that earns you points towards autographed memorabilia by past and current players, VIP access, field-level game tickets, travel rewards and even cash rewards; you might be satisfied.

Remember, there are also a number of low interest and rewards credit cards to serve a number of folks interested in other sports as well. Take a look at the NFL Extra Points Visa Card for example. With this credit card you can perhaps earn a NFL Shield Short Sleeve Gray T-Shirt, or receive a Autographed Authentic Jersey – signed by a Former Player! The many types of rewards you can get with all the wonderful possibilities out there are seemingly endless. For just about every major sport there is a credit card rewards program out there.

I have often told many people that credit card rewards are living proof that you are already being charged to much interest. This stands to reason just as much as rewards are what you get for paying to much interest. Money saved is truly money earned as well. It makes perfect sense for one to reflect of the value of potential savings made from the reaping of rewards from credit cards. Many people however seem to forget that the credit card they select should bear them some sort of reward in the end. For example, if you applied for and received a Subaru Platinum MasterCard from Chase, but did not follow through with your planned Subaru Outback purchase, it is a safe bet to say you selected the wrong credit card as you will likely not come across any meaningful reward scheme. Not that the card of your selection was bad at the time. Now for a person about to actually own or lease a Subaru this card is a very good card to have. It is just a simple fact that the cards we carry must fit a real world scheme in order to be useful, rewarding, and save us money.

It is also wise to be aware of the disclosures for the low interest rate credit cards you select. Back in 1988, new requirements were implemented for credit card disclosures that were intended to help consumers better compare pricing information on low interest credit cards (and all other types of credit cards for that matter). These new requirements mandated that credit card issuers use a tabular format to provide information to consumers about interest rates and fees on solicitations and applications mailed to consumers. It is very easy to find these tables rather quickly on just about any credit card offer you can come across on the internet. This format, which is known as the Schumer box is claimed by issuers, consumer groups, and others; to helped increase consumer awareness of credit card costs. With this information in hand, it is much easier to make informed decisions concerning finding the best low interest rate credit cards before completing the credit card application.

Portable Credit Card Machine Accept Credit Card Payments On The Go

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Portable Terminals, A Brief History

A credit card machine is an instrument a machine or a terminal used to process credit card transactions at point of sale. The machine empowers you the merchant to swipe credit cards of your customers capturing the necessary data for transaction approval and funding.

A number of solutions exist, ranging from integrated registers to wired terminals, but portable options allow merchants to carry the capability to make a sale wherever they go.

Of the portable solutions available, you might want to consider a mobile or wireless processor that integrates with your smartphone. These phone systems are fast becoming the portable standard due to their convenience, easy setup and integration easy access.

For more professional or high volume needs, merchant account providers offer portable terminals for operation in the field so to speak, enabling your sales staff to meet and greet with customers, confident and capable of being able to close a sale on location.

With a portable machine you can offer your products or services on their doorsteps, and receive payment from them right away.

Incredibly convenient.

With portability in mind these credit card machines have been designed to be lightweight and easy to bring along. A number of terminals are being offered currently that you can carry in your pocket as unobtrusively as your cell phone.

Going Beyond Simply Accepting Payments

Basic functions of credit card processing machines include:

Accepting credit cards, debit cards, and other types of charge cards as a means to pay for the products or services purchased.
Secure transmission and processing of the data from the cards, allowing for instant payment verification.
Portable hand-held machines perform the two basic functions above wherever and whenever the merchants need the same.
Terminal Types

Portable credit card transaction processing machine are available that offer:

Wireless machines that can sit stationary on your location but are easily movable and transportable as the need arises.
Mobile phone processors perform the same functions as the wireless credit card machines except that these processors are hand held devices that can easily fit into the pocket and carry anywhere you need integrating with your current smartphone
Features

Basic features you can find in portable or mobile solutions are:

Magnetic strip readers that reads the data contained in the card
Key pad to input data for manual transaction processing
Receipt printer that prints out the transaction automatically
Screens, color, digital and touch that serves to provide instructions or can be used for point of sale signatures
There are certain models with additional features to extend or enhance the basic functions of the machine.

Relevance

In todays competitive world of business, merchants who want to grow their business and increase their profitability should have the ability to go mobile should the need arise.

To accommodate mobile or offsite credit card transactions, portability offers you flexibility and sale closing capability to seize the moment.

Benefits

Here are some of the most important benefits and how you can get the most from your machine:

Portability It would not earn its name if such machines were not portable. Portability is in fact the most obvious benefit you can enjoy. Just as you need to be mobile, you can easily carry the machine and enjoy its lightness and compactness.
Convenience Because the mobile credit card machine can always be with you, you are ever ready to make an important sale.
Perceived Value to Customer Your customers and clients will appreciate the ease of completing the purchase without unnecessary steps.
Cost Saving Being able to avoid manual processing after the fact of a sale or because of a phone sale will qualify you for lower discount rates with most merchant account providers, meaning less of your charge amount is deducted. The savings can be significant..
Portability opens up opportunities to expand your operations to cover off-site transactions resulting in sales growth and increased profitability.

Increase in Privacy and Security You no longer have to document the credit card transaction manually, reducing the risk to security breaches and privacy problems. With manual documentation and processing of the transaction, you write the credit card and all necessary information on a prescribed form, which carries the risk of getting lost, stolen, or misappropriated.
The above risks make customers hesitant to give their credit card information when you require manually processing the transaction off-site. With credit card swiping with a portable device you increase your customers trust and increase the odds of their willingness to do business with you.

Strengthens customer relations You increase customer satisfaction when you make it convenient for them to do business with you. Your customers will enjoy the convenience of carrying and using their credit cards instead of cash.
Especially with large purchases, a portable solution makes it convenient and secure for your customers, as they do not have to worry about bringing hefty sum of money.

They benefit from the convenience and security; your business gets to enjoy an increase in sales volume.

In the conduct of todays businesses, the capability of being mobile or on the go is an advantage that every merchant can benefit from. Using a portable credit card machine opens up new markets that you could not otherwise reach.

Decide to use a mobile solution for your processing needs and you might surprise yourself with the expanded options and flexibility your business can enjoy.

How Credit Card Debt Settlement Can Increase Your Credit Score

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Credit card debt settlement has costs and it comes in the form of negative marks on your credit score. If you are already missing payments, however, this is unlikely to do any additional damage in a practical sense because you arent going to find people that are willing to loan you money with past due accounts at least not at a reasonable interest rate, anyway. Credit card companies have several priorities. The first is to generate profit for the parent company and its shareholders. When it becomes evident that someone may be unable to pay his or her balance, there is a priority shift that happens that can work to your advantage. The main concern of the bank or credit card company is to get as much of the balance back from you as possible and closing or restricting your account. This will allow them to avoid charging off the amount on their income statement, which would cause their stock to fall. Management will get lower bonuses, and consequently, dividend payments to shareholders will be reduced. If you declare bankruptcy, it is possible that the entire credit balance will be wiped out because credit card debt is known as unsecured in most cases and that means it isnt backed by any specific collateral, just your promise to repay and they will no longer be able to recover their investment. This would be the worst-case scenario for the credit card company. If you have missed several payments already and your credit score has been affected, all it takes is a series of phone calls to the company explaining that you are seriously considering bankruptcy but you want to avoid that. Tell your creditor that you want to make good on as much debt as you can but you dont know if its still possible. Heres the best credit card debt settlement tip: Negotiate with your creditor by offering to pay off 25% of your credit card debt balance over the next few months in exchange for the company freezing interest costs and closing the account. Closing the account will make the matter worst for you in as much as it will affect your credit score. You may have to spend some time on the phone or meeting with your creditor. You need to let them know that you are on the brink of declaring bankruptcy but you want to avoid it at all costs. Tell them whatever story you need to think up to get them to believe that you are coming up with everything you possibly can and this is the best they can hope for because the alternative is likely nothing following a discharge of the debt in bankruptcy court. If you can convince them of that, you have a very good chance at reaching a credit card debt settlement agreement. After your debts are settled, its time for the healing process to begin by repairing your credit. A good debt settlement company should provide you with free credit repair as part of their service. Credit card debt settlement can increase your credit score if you are able to pay off your debt and your credit card is not closed contrary to declaring bankruptcy which will adversely affect your credit score and leave you with bad record.