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What is consumer credit counseling services?
Many of us at one time or another have made bad money decisions. The trick is not to made too many of them and that we learn from our mistakes. I find it disturbing that in a society where money and debt are major parts of our everyday lives, that many of us are ignorant of some basic principles. You would think that more time and effort would have been spent on teaching about money management while we are in grade school and high school. Most of us only get some basic instruction.
For those who have crossed the point of no return, some form of consumer credit counseling services may be in order. There are various companies, such as the ones offered at the main page of this website, that can help you develop an effective debt management plan. Consumer credit counselors will give you advise on managing your money, offer solutions to alleviate your current financial dilemma, and can help you develop a plan that will help steer you away from bad financial decision making in the future.
Finding the Right Consumer Credit Counseling Service
No matter what your particular financial need is choosing the right credit counselor is essential. The United States Senate discovered that some of the newer companies coming into the field have a ‘for profit’ business model, so that their non-profit credit counseling organizations generate huge revenues for affiliates. The same report applauded the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) for their low cost credit counseling services.
It would be prudent for the consumer to shop around the different agencies with a preselected set of questions. When speaking with one of their counselors or agents ask the following:
1. Are they affiliated with a national organization such as the NFCC which have high ethical standards?
2. Do they have third party accreditation? You do not want get involved with agencies that are self accrediting. The Council on Accreditation (COA) is a reputable third party accreditation body which the appropriate checks and balances designed to protect the consumer.
3. Is it registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit? While this is not an absolute guarantee that the firm is legitimate, it’s a good sign.
4. Are the Board Members compensated by the agency or have family ties to it’s members. They should answer no to this.
5. Exactly what services do they provide? A good sign is if they offer a wide range of services such as debt management, credit counseling for those who are not in debt as well as those who are, counseling for first time home buyers, reverse mortgage and foreclosure prevention to name a few.
6. What are the fees? Find out what are the costs involved with their services. Do not pay up front. Find out if there are any set up fees, or monthly service fees. Set-up fees should be around $50-$75 and monthly fees should be about $25.
7. Is your personal credit counselor accredited by the NFCC?
8. Will the agency work with all your creditors? There are some firms which will not work with any creditors who will not pay them directly.
9. How long will your credit counseling last? Short credit counseling sessions are inadequate to access your financial position. Your initial session should take at minimum one hour.
These are some of the more important questions that you need answered so that you can make a informed decision about which agency is the right one for you. Do not rush into a decision. It took you some time to get into your financial position. So take a little time to find the right one.
By admin
There are two priorities that everyone has when shopping for insurance: great price and great coverage. The challenge of finding great insurance at at the right price is a hard task to fulfill for individuals as long term insurance may not be what is needed. Can anyone find short term insurance that doesn’t cost a fortune?
Absolutely. It’s called, quite obviously, short term insurance. As you may expect from the name, short-term health insurance provide health insurance coverage for unique situations in which people need coverage for a flexible time period or a brief time period. People between jobs, people transitioning from school to a job, or those who are planning to get married in the near future, find this type of health insurance arrangement very beneficial. Short-term insurance may also be referred to as temporary insurance, and usually provides coverage for anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. A few insurance plans even provide coverage up to thirty-six months, due to the fact that unemployment concerns have become more acute.
Advantages
- The cost-per-month for short-term insurance is usually less than typical insurance coverage. This is great news for those who are in between jobs and need to save as much money as possible.
- Applying for short-term insurance is much easier and takes less time and hassle than standard insurance.
- A short term plan can work well for those unsure of how long they will need the coverage. The plan can be easily extended if needed.
Disadvantages
- Short term insurance will not cover routine well care visits, physical exams, immunizations, dental cleaning or procedures, or vision coverage. In this respect, short-term insurance is more of a form of protection against serious injury than it is a full-fledged insurance policy.
- One of the most significant disadvantages under temporary medical insurance is that it does not cover any preexisting medical conditions. A pre-existing condition refers to an illness or condition that existed anywhere from 3-5 years before the actual insurance coverage started.
Alternatives to Short-Term Insurance
- COBRA. While short-term insurance has some great advantages, it does not address all the concerns of an individual who may need short-term coverage, especially if he or she has a preexisting condition. There are options. If you are ending a job at which you had insurance coverage, you may be able to extend this coverage under a program called COBRA, which stands for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. COBRA coverage will extend your existing coverage, but at a very high price.
- HDHP. Higher Deductible Health Plans is an option that has a high deductible (as mentioned in the name) and zero coverage for out of pocket expenses. Because of this, the cost of an HDHP is usually much lower than a typical health insurance plan. HDHPs do not allow coverage by any other health insurance plan.
By admin
Don’t be too hasty to opt into that Roth IRA conversion you’ve been hearing so much about. If you don’t completely understand all the new rules and regulations your retirement nest egg could end up looking like Humpty Dumpty when he fell off that wall.
Sure, it sounds great to be able to look forward to zero taxes when you start withdrawing from that Roth IRA after you retire. And a Roth IRA has several other benefits, too, such as there’s no age requirement on withdrawal and you can use it as a tax free legacy for your heirs.
But as in all things in life, the end doesn’t always justify the means. The money that you have in your traditional IRA has not been taxed yet - it’s taxed on withdrawal. And you know Uncle Sam ALWAYS gets his cut. So when you participate in that Roth IRA conversion you’re going to need to pay taxes on that money - when you do the transfer. And out of your available money - not out of the IRA itself.
Which is fine - sort of. But how much money are you converting? What will that tax bill be? And do you have that much cash on hand? Not to mention - how close are you to retirement, how much more do you plan to contribute, and what will the tax rate be THEN?
A lot of investors use a Roth because they don’t have to start withdrawing at the age of 70 ½, like you do with a traditional IRA. In fact, you never have to withdraw a cent if you don’t want to. Uncle Sam already has his cut. A lot of people use it for the reason stated above - it’s a great way to leave your heirs a big chunk of tax-free money. But not if you eat it all up in the conversion.
As you can see, before you invest your hard earned nest egg in a Roth IRA conversion there are a lot of questions you need to consider. If you’re not sure which IRA is right for you, then your best bet is to consult your financial planner so you don’t end up with a bunch of scrambled eggs instead of that nest egg you were counting on.
By admin
Building insurance is typically for those people who are the owner of buildings or buildings such as apartment, even houses, offices, condo, etc. This provides security to your establishment against any sort of damage such as fires, explosions, theft, storms etc.
When you take out a house loan to purchase your dream house the lender usually asks that you safeguard the house with buildings insurance. This is to make sure that if the building was damaged your house would be rebuild. It moreover provides you with peace of mind as if the most horrible happened to occur and you did lose the whole thing the costs to reconstruct do not come out of your pouch and that you are not left paying for a home loan on a assets that no longer exists.
Unlike buildings insurance, House Contents insurance is an individual option. But, it can be a wise selection as buildings insurance does not cover up your contents. If your house was totally damaged buildings insurance covers economic loss of the shell but you still have to pay to put back all the contents of your house that were vanished. If you have contents insurance this allows a claim to be made for everything damaged that you take with you if you move house. If you would like total security, you may desire to take Buildings & Contents Insurance out jointly with the same supplier.
In short, whichever things that you can pack and take away may be roofed in your contents insurance. While considering contents security keep in mind that few providers propose new for old safety whilst others may perhaps consider tear and wear on your contents. If you wish for brand new replacements then new for old insurance is required. The plan typically protects against several perils, which may include theft, fire, storm, vandalism and damage. However, always verify the precis of any House Contents Insurance Quotes and buildings insurance quotes you are thinking to take so that you know precisely what security you have.
By admin
Personal injuries can encounter at just about any phase of our life. A lot of times, these injuries pertain because of other’s negligence. In case you have received a personal injury, you can be eligible for a personal injury settlement. Whether it is a medical malpractice, a dog bite or a vehicle accident, you can be entitled to receive a suitable financial compensation which is in the form of a personal injury settlement.
First Reaction
What your first reaction is to a personal injury that occurs due to someone else’s mistake is very important. In case you are hurt, it is important that you seek medical advice immediately, regardless of how insignificant your injury is. If it is an accident because of which the injury has happened, immediately report the incident to a police officer. Without legal or medical proof, it is almost impossible to receive a financial compensation.
Claim vs. Lawsuit
It is important to decide on whether you just wanted to obtain a claim or file a lawsuit. If you file a claim, both parties involved are taken care of by your insurance company. The insurance companies are bound to disperse a set amount to both the parties that the insurance company feel is the worth of injury.
In case you’re not satisfied with the claim amount you can file a lawsuit by suing the negligent behavior of the person you feel is responsible disbursing a wrong financial compensation. However, generally it is hard to win such cases. Therefore it is recommended that you do not file a lawsuit till the time you feel that you have received severe health effects like broken bone or disability.
You do not necessarily have a lawyer for claiming personal injury settlements or carrying on with lawsuit proceedings. However, if the case is serious, a lawyer can help in maximizing the settlement amount. In turn, the lawyer will also cost you a fee, so you have to take your own decision.
For claiming a personal injury settlement with the insurance company, you need to fill out the necessary paperwork. You may need to attach missed workdays, proof of medical expenses, police reports, medical records and any other paper that proves the severity of your condition.
It is not necessary that you will always encounter some problems while claiming personal injury settlement. Personal injury settlement is a great way to bring your life to track after an accident.
By admin
Ok so here I am on the train back from the city trying to recall the seminar I have sat through this afternoon on CSR and ethics. Personally I think the 2 things are absolutely intertwined and we need to be sure they are both adhered to. It was interesting listening to Tom from Sedex, Martin from ETI delivering content based on our clients demands. Both organisations grow based on the basis of peer pressure, if so and so does it en we nuts also do it. How many of these organisations are doing it from a philanthropic base rather than a what’s in it for me base remains to be seen? It is this that concerns me the most because I really do care, but I am being forced to comply with oodles of red tape that is really difficult to understand.
Anyone tried to supply goods to LOCOG? (London Olympics 2012) If so you know what I mean! Somewhere along the supply chain must come the sharing of this data to allow more than one company to benefit from the social audit that has been carried out by an independent assessment firm of a particular factory. Rather than all of us doing the same audit over and over again. This is where Sedex really could come into it’s own. The cost to industry of compliance is huge and still growing, so come on big business do you really need that extra bit of Social Accountability or will the one carried out a few months ago by another company suffice?
So interestingly in a room of 40 or so people only around 10-12 promotional products distributors were represented. Does that mean that only 0.5% of our industry cares about this topic or is it just those that are being forced to comply that were there? It scares me a little about the cost of these compliance issues, who will pay. Will it be the end user who may be driving down the price of a product whilst asking for more and more compliance and quality. With a ‘grown up discussion’ it may well be, but this will only be true of certain corporate who really do get the whole ‘partnership ethos.’. I guess in reality it will be the distributor who will continue to have their margin eroded to conform to our clients needs.
Listening to both a supplier and distributor ( direct competitor but a really good firm!) give a presentation each on what it means to them, I can see that it is not just me that is fearful about the reasons why we are being asked for so much compliance. This is going to be one hell of a learning curve with many companies doing it differently to one another. Clearly this means that the client will have options, but not necessarily being able to compare ‘apples with apples’. As with most things in life there are many companies out there offering different levels of compliance, this is due to the different market forces but ultimately with audits you get what you pay for! So beware of people offering really cheap audits because if it looks too good to be true, it probably is!
We must all remember that Social Accountability is not just about child labour there are many other aspects and we at Merchandise Mania check for them all.
By admin
The biggest financial commitment you’ve ever had is your mortgage loan. Being consistent with your payments serve you good in the long run. Timely payments reflect positively on your credit report. You also get to hold on to your collateral and there would be no risk associated with it. There may be insurance cover for both employed as well as self employed. Choose for a more comprehensive package which covers accident, sickness and unemployment.
If you were to fall ill, become bed ridden or meet with an accident, you must take precautionary measures to protect your income. Incase of an inevitable occurrence, you will be paid by the mortgage insurance company. Your redeemed amount will cover up your monthly mortgage payments. Besides this, you will also get to cover up your grocery bills, medical bills and other expenses. Your sickness, inability to work, accident or redundancy will not hamper you from making your monthly secured loan payments.
You may wish to take a separate cover for redundancy. For this, you have a different option known as redundancy protection insurance cover. These standalone policies will cover separate sections and are not comprehensive and inclusive of all. For a more comprehensive cover, you can opt for payment protection insurance which covers all the aspects.
In a nutshell a mortgage payment covers:
It is an Accident, sickness and unemployment protection cover.
You will be paid a compensation each month for your monthly expenses.
Financial compensation is paid till you resume back to work.
It will be paid directly to you, in addition to any other benefits
Take advantage of a comprehensive policy right away! Most companies will pay some level of sick pay if their employee is off work due to sickness or injury. The issue is that sick pay only lasts for a short period of time and not all employers pay full salary sick pay. If the employer pays full sick pay then an individual considering MPPI should set the deferred period of their policy equal to the length of their sick pay.
By admin
Fighting the good fight of faith is about acting faithfully to the needs of the given moment.
If we see that acting faithfully requires from us a flow of momentary courage - a thing never subsiding if perfectly manifested - then we can get on, and stay on, the right track.
But what happens is we struggle in and out of the pattern of this courage. Don’t worry, we all do - all of us ‘normal’ people.
We underdo and overdo our reactions and responses to life so far as this eluding momentary courage is concerned.
And this is what, essentially, this is about.
Having the courage to do what is honest, fair, just and right in our moments is not always that easy is it? It requires a strong heart colluding, simultaneously, with a sound mind - “all the planets aligned,” in holy congruence with God’s will.
Perfection is not to become us; none of us will reach it and find our home with it permanently. Perfection of courage, then, will be a fleeting guest sitting at the table of our moments, soon to seek leave from the meal that is our current problem… us there asking it as it passes our chair, “Do come again, soon!”
Perfection of Courage - Not the Real Point
Where we can endure honesty into the painful reality that is ours we instantly touch this perfection of courage - and it seemed almost too easy. Once we have it we enjoy it, but we don’t clamour after it for it will be sure to vanish as controlling fear ascends the moment.
We see here that perfection is not the point. Honesty is.
Honesty is the process getting us to the destination: courage. Honesty has us acting faithfully; faith, the momentary variety, is not that hard after all.
Our issue, then, is to string one faithful moment together with the next - a daisy chain of beautifully moral action; to the virtuous proportions akin of the Almighty God.
And this at last is the achievement of God’s will for our individual lives, so far as we’re set in the world.
By admin
The successful repayment rate by student loan recipients has spawned the private student loan industry. Over the past decade privately financed student loans have increased from 7% of the total market to over 23%. The seizing up of credit due to the financial and stock market crisis has forced a number of private student lenders to exit the market. The remaining lenders while continuing to provide lending services have begin implementing stricter lending policies which make loans more difficult to obtain and a lot more expensive.
Private student loan lenders offer loans with variable interest rates which can extend into the double digit range. They provide little to no relief for student borrowers who have trouble repaying their loans and often allow the students to borrow large amounts which generally make it easy for them to over extend themselves and develop repayment problems. Students with average or no credit rating are generally required to obtain a co-signer to qualify for a private student-loan. The interest rate levied against the funds is usually calculated based on the borrowers or co-signers credit rating. To establish a more realistic estimate of what the student loan will cost, you should not base your calculation on the low APR advertised. The lender mid to high range variable rate is the more likely interest charge the loan will be approved for.
Because of the higher variable interest rate, the stricter lending policies, and the lack of repayment options for distressed borrowers, private student lenders should not be the initial college financial choice sought. It would be better to allow the student to max out their federal student loans first and opt into the private student loan market as an alternative of last resort. If this action becomes the only viable option be sure your student borrower compares all available lender options and loan terms. Web sites which provide this information are finaid.org, studentlendinganalytics.com, and simpletution.com. Shop for your private student lender with the same care and scrutiny you would for your mortgage or an auto lender.
When evaluating a private student lender here are a few facts to take into consideration; Study the interest rate that will be charged and whether it is pegged to the prime rate of the London Inter Bank Offering Rate (LIBOR) index. The LIBOR is an international index which follows the world economic condition. It allows international investors to match their cost of lending to their cost of funds. Review the cosigner guidelines. Compare lenders and calculate the total cost of the loan. Find out how often and when interest will be added to the principal.
Once your research is completed and you have selected the most promising lenders, attempt to limit your list to 3 to 5 lenders and apply to all of them within a 3 to 4 week period. Applying for too many student loans over an extended period of time will generate a large number of inquires on the co-signors and/or the student borrower credit report which can have an adverse affect on your credit score.
Private student lenders do fulfill a need in the student loan market, however, their stringent practices make them less attractive than the federal student loan program. New Federal Reserve rules due to go into effect in 2010 will demand lenders disclose more and better information about their interest and fees. Until that time, do your research and select your private student loan lender wisely.
By admin
Any time refreshing mint and lemon drink is a perfect welcome drink for your guests. This minty-lemony drink could be a huge hit in all the parties and family functions. The first timers who are used to colas get little hesitant to try out the green color welcome drink. But after the first sip no one could just stop with one.
Minty lemony drink is a permanent feature in my refrigerator during the hot summer months. My kids love to take this in a small bottle along with their lunch bag to school. The recipe below is for making a concentrate of the drink and store in the refrigerator. Mix with water and top it with crushed ice to and enjoy this refreshing drink the whole year. Set the scene for smiles and get the party rolling, with Minty-lemony drink.
Ingredients;
* 2 cups of fresh mint leaves
* 6 large lemons
* 1 Kg of sugar
* 1 liter of water
* 1/2 tsp of freshly grated ginger
* A pinch of green color (food grade)
Method: Pick the mint leaves and wash it in running water. Clean and grate the ginger. Heat water in a vessel and add sugar to it. Let the sugar dissolve; filter the sugar syrup with a thin muslin cloth. Boil it further on medium heat till the syrup becomes a bit thick, about 20 minutes. Take off heat and cool the syrup. Now add the mint leaves, grated ginger and juice of lemons. Leave it aside for 4-5 hours to let the mint flavor seep into the syrup. Add green color if required.
Store the concentrate in a clean glass bottle. To make the drink, pour about 1 tbsp. of the concentrate and add water to suit your taste.
