When people are in debt they get desperate, but that’s the time to keep a cool head. Debt scams abound for those with financial issues from fake foreclosure help to consumer debt advocacy organizations that take your money and run. Sometimes the scam is an out-and-out fraud. Other times, the level of service is so poor, you would have done better to go elsewhere. Whatever the reason, if you’re trying to resolve a debt issue, it’s important to realize that you might be a prime target for people who don’t have your best wishes in mind. (more…)

Fraud is something that we may encounter many times in our lives. There are people who wish to deceive in order to gain for themselves by stealing our information to commit fraud. With the incidents of identity theft increasing daily, it is imperative that we as consumers manage our affairs as to keep our personal business to ourselves and we must make sure that no predators get our key financial or personal information. Account numbers and personal information should be held close to our breast unless needed by a legitimate company or company representative. There are new scams occurring everyday that must be exposed as such. From ATM scams to email phishing, it is possible that our information can be breached and used by others for their illegitimate gain. (more…)

When someone is carrying a high burden of debt, they often look for help in many different locations. For instance, they might seek a debt consolidation or personal loan, a home equity loan or even roll all credit card debt into a single low-interest balance transfer offer. Many, in fact millions, turn to debt relief groups for help. While this can often be the wisest choice, the fact of the matter is that each day there are more and more reports about debt scams claiming to offer counseling or relief. (more…)

If you’ve followed the journey at No Credit Needed, you’ll know this blog’s run by a family guy who managed to pay off all his debts and now continues to live debt free. He’s just posted an inspiring list of some of the great things about having no debts, and some of the highlights include:

• He doesn’t dread going to the mailbox to find another bill.
• He can afford to fund his retirement account and education savings accounts for his children.
• He can make bigger and better plans for the future.
• He doesn’t have to be worried and stressed about late fees and changes in interest rates.
• He has peace of mind about all the “what ifs” of life - if something happened to him, he now feels confident that his wife and children would be well taken care of.
• He is now able to give money to those who need it more than him.
• He can set a better example for his children so they, too, can hopefully live a debt-free life in the future.

Take a look at the list to see what else can encourage and motivate you on the path to getting (and staying) debt free.

If you’re heavily in debt and looking for a way out, it’s quite appealing to hear someone saying they can help you get your debt reduced or canceled. Unfortunately, there are a number of illegal debt reduction and cancellation scams being operated these days, and you can end up owing more money and having a worse credit rating.

Basically, the rule of thumb is that if it is too good to be true, then it just can’t be true. Debt scammers generally use a few particular tricks, including: (more…)

credit: amishsteve
So you’ve blown the budget, spent more than you could really afford, or life’s changing circumstances mean that you’ve accumulated more debt than you want to deal with. Sometimes it might feel like a pit that you can’t get out of, but here are three basic steps to get you back on your way to financial success: (more…)

With difficult economic times making people less likely to pay off their debts, this is exactly the kind of situation when companies will be more likely to hire third party debt collectors to hunt down their money. If you have unpaid debts and a debt collection agency gets involved, it’s useful to know what your rights are:

• You are allowed to ask them to verify your debt - that is, to prove that it belongs to you, and until they do so, no other action can be taken
• Debt collectors are only allowed to contact you between eight in the morning and nine at night.
• They are not allowed to ask your employer about any details of your work (including salary or length of service) but they do have the legal right to contact your employer to verify that you work there.
• After a particular period of time has elapsed without being able to contact you (the time varies), then a debt collector is legally permitted to use other methods to try to find you, including internet searches and contacting your neighbors, relatives or friends - however, they are not allowed to disclose anything about your debt to these people.

Want to be one of those people who successfully become debt free? There is plenty of advice on how to do that around, but less on a realistic approach to the hurdles you might find on the way - but if you can expect some of these phases to occur during your experience of becoming free of debt, you might have a much better chance of making it to your goal:

• You’ll probably start out with some enthusiasm and see some obvious ways you can save money, and actually enjoy that at first; you will start to see your debt balances shrinking.
• Chances are high that somewhere along this track, some emergency will happen that requires you to dig back into these precious savings. This will be frustrating, but you should remember that you always need to have some financial contigency for unexpected situations like illness or economic hiccups.
• About this time, you might find it hard to have the same motivation to save money and eliminate your debt that you started out with. This is the point where some people give up and return to their old habits. Recognize this and try to stick to your goals, reminding yourself of why being debt free is important to you.
• Things will get better - and once you can see that you are really close to eliminating your debt, full enthusiasm will return and you’ll get there. And then you just have to remember everything that you have learned along the way and make sure you don’t fall back into any bad financial habits.

MSN Money’s Liz Pulliam Weston doesn’t think that we’re headed into the next Great Depression, but for those who do, she offers some great tips. In fact, many of Pulliam Weston’s tips just make good sense, and help us all prepare to pinch our pennies until they’re wrung dry.

• Live like you’re unemployed: If you had just lost your job, what changes would you make? How would you live? This “austerity budget” is a great way to manage your finances, even while you’re raking in the dough. Spend money on essentials, be frugal, and shop smart. For example, if you wouldn’t keep your cable subscription during a financial crisis, shut it off now.
• Pay off your debt: I know, you’re sick of hearing about paying off your debt. But it really is a priority - while you still have a steady, monthly inflow, you need to pay off debt and eliminate those rapidly-growing interest balances.
• Keep your credit card accounts open: It may seem counter-intuitive, but keep your accounts open. This will help your credit score and give you an emergency exit in case of extreme circumstances.
• Keep your job: It seems obvious, but this means that you should do every, single thing possible to stay employed. Work harder, produce more, do whatever it takes to show the boss that you are worth every penny of your salary.

As if the credit rating system which lenders use to help decide whether or not to offer you credit - and at what interest rates - wasn’t complicated enough, not many people realize that there are actually multiple credit rating systems in operation and the credit score that you get from a report may well be different to the credit score a lender gets about you. (more…)