Reduce Your Debt

Written by John Mussi


Do you want to reduce your debt? Having trouble paying your bills? Getting dunning notices from creditors? Are your accounts being turned over to debt collectors? Are you worried about losing your home or your car?

You're not alone. Many people face a financial crisis some time in their lives. Whetherrepparttar crisis is caused by personal or family illness,repparttar 111896 loss of a job, or overspending, it can seem overwhelming. But often, it can be overcome. Your financial situation doesn't have to go from bad to worse.

If you or someone you know is in financial hot water considerrepparttar 111897 options below. How do you know which will work best for you? It depends on your level of debt, your level of discipline, and your prospects forrepparttar 111898 future.

Developing a Budget: The first step toward taking control of your financial situation, is to do a realistic assessment of how much money you earn and how much money you spend. Start by listing your income from all sources. Then, list your "fixed" expenses — those that arerepparttar 111899 same each month — like mortgage payments or rent, car payments, and insurance premiums. Next, listrepparttar 111900 expenses that vary — like entertainment, recreation, and clothing. Writing down all your expenses, even those that seem insignificant, is a helpful way to track your spending patterns, identify necessary expenses, and prioritizerepparttar 111901 rest. The goal is to make sure you can make ends meet onrepparttar 111902 basics: housing, food, health care, insurance, and education. Your public library and bookstores have information about budgeting and money management techniques. In addition, computer software programs can be useful tools for developing and maintaining a budget, balancing your cheque book, and creating plans to save money and pay down your debt.

Contacting Your Creditors: Contact your creditors immediately if you're having trouble making ends meet. Tell them why it's difficult for you, and try to work out a modified payment plan that reduces your payments to a more manageable level. Don't wait until your accounts have been turned over to a debt collector. At that point, your creditors have given up on you.

Knowledge is Power When Mortgage Shopping

Written by John DiDomenico


Knowledge is Power When Mortgage Shopping Knowledge is power when it comes to shopping for home mortgage loans. Shopping forrepparttar best rate doesn’t have to be frustrating provided you haverepparttar 111895 proper knowledge when comparing mortgage loans. Lenders love to play tricks in order to entice you to give them your business. However, when you compare loan programs it’s essential that you not only compare interest rates when choosing which lender to go with. For example a lender this afternoon offered me a rate of 5.625% fixed for thirty years with zero points. The loan sounded very good until he said there was a lender fee of $2,495 in addition torepparttar 111896 credit report fee, government charges, local taxes, and appraisal and attorney fees. This particular lender said this fee was forrepparttar 111897 application and commitment fee. The loan amount was approximately $200,000 which was equivalent to almost a 1 point loan, (meaning 1 percent ofrepparttar 111898 total loan amount). Therefore, the

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