Reducing Credit Card Debt

Written by Neil Brown


Great as credit cards can be, one ofrepparttar easiest "things" that can happen in life isrepparttar 147077 building up of a large credit card debt. For whatever reason, making purchases with credit cards always seems much easier than spending cash to obtain a product or service.

Maintaining high levels of credit card debt is not prudent. The interest rates associated with most credit cards is high. In fact, many people have managed to rack their card balances up so high that onlyrepparttar 147078 minimum payment is made each month. As a result, these people are taking years if not decades to pay down their credit card balances, allrepparttar 147079 while wasting an incredible sum of money in interest payments alone.

In this article, a number of strategies to reduce credit card debt are presented. These tips are general in nature but will provide a person with credit card debt a solid plan for reining in credit card balances.

Targetrepparttar 147080 highest rates of interest. If you can, transferrepparttar 147081 balance to another credit card, where you will achieve a zero or low interest rate for a set period. While this balance is not costing interest you can target other debts that are. Make sure you are prepared for whenrepparttar 147082 offer period runs out and have another balance transfer offer ready to take over. You should look to have your credit card application a few weeks before your current offer period runs out. If you cannot transferrepparttar 147083 balance then pay off as much as you can afford, sorepparttar 147084 balance reduces as quickly as possible.

Credit card companies are very competitive and as such there are some very good 0% balance transfers and purchase offers available. Look to take advantage of these, but make sure you have a plan in place on how to deal withrepparttar 147085 balance whenrepparttar 147086 offer finishes. Remember thatrepparttar 147087 debt has not gone away.

As mentioned previously in this article, credit card accounts usually have high interest rates. The combination of high interest rates and free spending patterns can result inrepparttar 147088 rapid escalation of credit card debt.



Ten Ways Of Financing Real Estate

Written by Steve Gillman


Do you remember when real estate financing meant you saved up enough to put 20% down on a house, and then you got a mortgage loan forrepparttar other 80%? Well, you can still do that, but there are many more options now. Here are ten of them.

1. Gifting programs. In some parts ofrepparttar 147055 country, builders fund foundations that give you a portion ofrepparttar 147056 downpayment, so you can get into a home with as little as 3% downpayment from your own pocket. FHA and other lenders have so far approved of or allowed this.

2. No-doc loans. These and "low-doc" loans, meaning no or low documentation requirements, are back, and you can find them through online banks. These are for those of you with bad credit but 20% to 30% to put down on a home. You don't even have to have a job.

3. FHA loans. The Farm Home Administration doesn't actually loanrepparttar 147057 money, but guarantees your loan forrepparttar 147058 bank, so they can loan up to 97% ofrepparttar 147059 purchase price, depending onrepparttar 147060 particular FHA program.

4. VA loans. If you have been inrepparttar 147061 armed services, have a decent job, and can save two or three paychecks, you can probably get a home with a VA loan. 5. Land contract. Also called "contract for sale" and other names depending onrepparttar 147062 part ofrepparttar 147063 country you are in, this just means that you make payments torepparttar 147064 seller instead of a bank. It's up to you and them to negotiate downpayment amount, interest rate, andrepparttar 147065 term ofrepparttar 147066 loan.

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