Please Help Me Get Out of Credit Card Debt

By James Johnson

A sad fact of life today is that too many individuals spend their monthly income to pay off debts. If you've been paying only the minimum on high interest credit cards all this time, you are doomed to pay a great deal more than what you spent. As disposal income diminishes and the cost of everyday necessities continues to climb, people all across the country are saying the same thing: "Help me get out of credit card debt."

If you face the situation and make a plan to get out of debt quickly, you will be much further ahead in the future. Keep in mind that the money you spend now to get out of debt will save you far more in the future.


For debt management, you have to put in writing the amount you owe and to whom. For this you can make a spread sheet on your computer or write it by hand. List the total balance that is due, the least monthly payments and the interest rate that is charged to you. Use it as your "Help me get out of credit card debt" work sheet and refer to it each time you make the monthly payment.


Once you know how much is owed, you need to get rid of the debt. You at least need to increase your monthly payment to pay more than the current minimum amount to get rid of your debt more quickly. Any "help me get out of credit card debt" plans you had in the past probably didn't work put because you didn't put more money towards your monthly payments. Its best to try for two times the minimum monthly payment.

If you have a certain amount of money each month that you can dedicate toward reducing your debt, begin by trying to pay off the credit card on which you owe the least amount of money. That will give you a big boost toward helping you get out of debt. The reason you'll wish to do this, rather than focusing on paying off the highest interest rate credit card first, is that a credit card which is paid off looks much better on a credit report than four credit card paid off only halfway.


Completely paying off at least one credit card balance will have a positive psychological effect. By paying off even the one credit card, you will have eliminated a portion of your debts and you will feel like you are making progress toward your goal. This can encourage you to continue in your quest to get out of credit card debt.


Stay firm with your goal to pay off your credit card balances and in no time at all, you will not have to say, "help me to get out from under my credit card debt." You will have your finances back under your control and will be able to put your income to use for more important matters.

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The Mistake with your Billing Statement

By Paul J. Easton

In paying your debts, you always dread to look at the billing statements because of the horrible amount you are to be paying for the next decades to come. Not studying these bills actually makes you more a victim of the credit card companies. I know that there are many emotional reasons why you prefer not to look at it but consider the small changes and you can end up saving a lot of money.

By taking the time to meticulously look at your billing statements before making payments, you will attack the problem upfront. Most utility companies do their billing process electronically. But this does not mean that an error cannot be made. Sometimes, it pays to check that you are paying the right amount or find those mistakes. By inquiring to their customer support, mistakes can be taken care of and remedied. This prevents you from paying more than the supposed payment because of one unintentional yet costly mistake for your part. They can even offer something to relieve you from that inconvenience they brought due to that mistake.

Find out too what you can do with your credit card debts. Some credit card companies offer their debtors with financial assistance when they observe that you are having some problems paying your bills. If will probably offer you a plan to consolidate your loans with lower interests and free from other charges. Always read the fine print with these deals. Make certain that you are in the position of really getting out of debt instead of acquiring more.

Compare all your bills and prioritize expenses that you can maintain and are very necessary. If you can't afford it, find a cheaper alternative or just cut off the service. One of the examples for these common expenses that keep you in a debt cycle is the cable TV subscription. Is your cable TV so expensive you are struggling with paying it on time? Try a cheaper alternative that will work just fine. This package might have lesser choices but this is part of an important move you are making to get ahead with life financially later. Moreover, you can still live without that cable package, so ditch that off now.

Another thing you can eliminate to cut costs is your landline and cell phone postpaid plan. Just choose between the two to maximize its use. Find better deals with your cell phone plan provider.

By merely looking at the bills, you become conscious of what you pay for. You become more aware of the things you are expending at and you end up making the most from the services you subscribe to. This is what you call focusing yourself with what you have. Surely, if you are paying more than the things you can afford, you might have overlooked payments in your statement. So find out how to reduce your expenses today. You'll be happier when you did it finally. Get debt-free today with tips on how to get rid of debt here.

For information on how to get rid of debt, go to http://www.Howtogetridofdebt.net/ by Paul J. Easton.

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What is the importance of a Certified Financial Planner?

By Samantha Asher

A CFP is a personal financial planner. As a financial planner, certification can help improve your credibility and income. There are four qualifications including education, experience, ethics, and the passing of an exam. All four are necessary for certification. As a financial planner, you will help ordinary people make sense of their finances, plan for retirement, and make investments.

You must know a lot about finance and money, and you must love the subject in order to do well as a certified financial adviser. Just being good at it is not enough to have a long, successful, and fulfilling career. Financial advisers can make a lot of money. It is a great career, especially if you like helping people achieve their goals.

Before you jump into anything though, you need to understand that it will take a bit of work. You don't have to be certified to be a financial planner or adviser, but it will make getting a job and getting clients much easier and you will make more money. You need to have an education. Without one, very few people will trust you and it will be very difficult to develop a good reputation. A bachelor's degree in Accounting or Finance, or a double major in both, is a great starting point.

You will probably need at least an MBA in order to fill the education requirement. A CPA will have all his education requirements filled. Get a job in finance to fulfill your experience requirement. Also, don't for get to take the CFP exams.

Once you have the education and you are certified as a financial planner, you can move out as a financial planner. There are several different avenues you can take. You can work for a large firm, or you can set up your own practice.

People skills are important in financial planning and advising. Without them you will not be able to hold on to clients. If you are week in this area, look into strengthening them. Try public speaking classes or getting a job that works with people.

Once you have gotten a job or set up a practice, you need to start getting clients. If you have your own practice, start with people you know. As you were preparing for you new career, hopefully you have developed some good relationships with possible clients.

Once you are certified and have a job, let your career take off. If you are interested in being a CFP, don't hesitate to look further into it.

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Financial planning can be a fulfilling career. Learn more about basic financial planning and more about personal financial planning in order to help teach others to plan their finances.

What's your Credit Score?

By Samantha Asher

If you have never seen the commercial about your credit score, you probably don't know what a credit score is. If you do, you probably don't know what your score is. It is, in fact, important. You should know what it is and where it should be.

Unfortunately, just knowing your credit score is not enough. First, you need to know what it is and why it should be as high as possible. Until your score hits the maximum, you should always shoot for a higher score. Your credit score is your grade on your credit history. Your credit history can be found in a statement called a credit report. There are three different credit reports and if you are interested in getting a free copy of all three, check out the link below.

If you pay your bills on time every time, it will show in your credit history. If you rarely pay your bills on time or at all, that will also show in our credit history, and negatively. Your report shows a history of how well you are in paying back lenders. This goes for any loan from car loans to student loans, credit cards to home mortgages. They all count and any of them can make or break your credit.

There are three credit bureaus that each make a credit report of your credit history. Whenever you apply for a loan, the lender or creditor will bring up your credit reports and check them to see how good or bad your credit is.

The creditors will look at several factors in deciding if they'll give you a loan including how much money you make and how steady your job is. More importantly they look at your credit history to see if you are worth lending money to.

When lenders lend you money, they are taking you on as a risk. If they see that you never pay people back or that you always pay late, how can they trust that you'll pay them? They can't, and that's why they turn down your loan.

Even if you get a loan with a not-so-good credit history, the terms of the loan will be pretty bad. For example, you might show that you make a lot of late payments, so they give you a loan with a high interest rate and they only give you a small amount of money.

You should periodically check your credit reports just to make sure that everything is in tip top shape for if you ever need a loan. You can get 1 free copy of each of your 3 credit reports once a year.

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What is a credit report? Find out how to receive a free copy of my credit report and what your credit score means to you.

Starting a Business but don't have Enough Capital?

By Paul J. Easton

Are you starting a business but cannot raise the necessary capital to invest? Why not try to consider opening a self-directed IRA? This tool will let you finance a business with your retirement funds.

Have you heard about Guidant Financial and their offerings? Guidant Financial offers you the ability to set up and manage a self-directed IRA. In addition to that, it enables you to use your retirement funds to finance a business later. Financing a small business using retirement funds is now possible with Guidant Financial.

The popularity of self-directed IRA to finance small businesses catapulted the Guidant Financial Group from a mere start-up business founded last 2003 to a market leader in the industry of financing small business. This steady growth of the company enabled them to provide better control and services to their more demanding clients.

When looking for an instrument to invest with, Guidant Financial provides you with much greater control of your IRA using this self-directed model. A self-directed IRA model gives its policyholders complete control over where the money is invested in. Unlike most IRA where the money invested is trusted to an investment department or managers, you are given the opportunity to direct where your funds will be invested. You can venture in real estates or invest in private businesses you have already entrusted. And most certainly, you can have personal loans as well.

Guidant Financial also has an amazing product which allows you to invest your retirement funds for a new business venture. By investing them in a new startup or a franchise, they provide you more flexibility by eliminating the incurring distribution penalties. That's like working to grow your own business and have a direct positive effect on the value of your IRA.

This type of money management is not for everyone though. Many individuals especially with business background find this form of retirement vehicle more worthwhile to invest in. A lot of skeptics doubt the management of their IRA funds and they can't be blamed for that. With the proper skills and the knowledge, they believe that they are able to achieve much better interest gains in the long run. As an additional bonus, the freedom of controlling your IRA is definitely considered a great feature of this model according to most account holders. So get your IRA account in a self-directed model now.

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How to get Rid of Credit Card Debt Fast with FREE Articles Tips at DollarGuides.com. Help tips and more plus Credit Card Debt Information

UK credit cards targeted by fraudsters

By James Gladstone

Credit card fraud has hit new heights, with London being named as the credit card fraud capital of Britain for the second year running. Figures released by insurance company CPP showed that 38% of people had been victims of credit card fraud in 2008. In 12 months, almost three million people in the capital were affected " a third of all cases in Britain and a 10% jump on previous figures. The average amount stolen was 650, although some had lost considerably more. Often, victims were only made aware of the crime when they had been contacted by their bank and hadnt been aware up until that point that their details had been stolen.

These worrying statistics show just how easy it is for determined criminals to get access to sensitive personal details, pin numbers and credit card information. Online fraud is of particular concern for many people as millions of very convincing but utterly fraudulent emails are sent to accounts every day, pretending to be from legitimate banks and asking for customers to confirm their details. These emails " known as phishing emails " look like the genuine article and once a customer has responded to the request their details are in the hands of the criminals and the bank account starts to empty very quickly.

The simple truth is that it is relatively easy to protect yourself, both online and in daily life. No bank will ever legitimately request a customer to confirm details via email or by telephone, and so you can be sure that any emails that do ask for sensitive information are scam or phishing emails. The basic rule is never respond to these emails and if you are unsure about the authenticity of an email (as some of them are now extremely convincing), contact your bank directly. The advent of online auction sites and Internet purchasing has opened up another route to a wealth of private details for high-tech fraudsters, but again it is relatively easy to protect yourself and your details from being scammed. By simply checking that the site is a secure one (indicated by the https section of the URL and a padlock icon in the bottom right hand corner of the screen), online purchasing should be safe. If either of these indicators is missing then the site is an unsecured one and your details are vulnerable.

Skimming credit cards has become an increasing problem in Britains busy high streets and 21% of credit card fraud is a result of this practice. The insertion of readers that skim the details of your credit card as you use an automatic cash dispenser or a small camera that photographs pin numbers as they are punched in are examples of increasingly high tech methods employed by fraudsters. If an ATM machine shows any indication of being tampered with, avoid using the machine and report your suspicions to the bank. Covering the keypad with your hand is a very low-tech way of beating any spy cameras that may be trying to photograph your pin number as you enter it.

Passwords are another weak link in the chain, with many people using the same password for all their Internet activities. The problems can start once this password becomes common knowledge to a fraudster as they will then test its use against your other activities. Keep your passwords secure at all times and dont go for the obvious such as pets names or mothers maiden names. All of these are simple measures that the average person can take to give themselves a level of protection against fraud, but what are the banks doing to ensure that your details are safe?

Banks and credit card companies are now much more aware of the dangers of identity theft and spurred on by reports of customers details being left out for the bin-men are implementing much stricter security protocol to ensure the safety of sensitive information. They are also working closely with the Police (both nationally and internationally, as many of the fraudsters operate outside the UK) to combat credit card fraud and cyber-crime. It is an ongoing battle, but by using simple methods to protect your credit card details combined with the financial institutions initiative against fraud there is a good chance that Britain will be able to shake off the image of being an easy target for credit card fraudsters.

About the Author:

James Gladstone is a financial writer who has written articles for various popular websites. You can find out more information on the credit card topic here.

Fixing Up Your Bad Credit

By Darren Cason

The term "bad credit" really means a poor credit rating. A credit history that is less than ideal can result in the rejection of an application for a loan, especially with the more conservative lenders such as banks. However, bad credit does not have to be a hindrance any more because there are lenders out there who are willing to offer packages to assist people in financial difficulties. It is possible that you won't even have to offer any security to obtain the loan. If you are in this situation, it may just mean that you have to pay a higher interest rate to offset the risk that the lender is taking with you.

There is a solution to your problems now, even if you are unable to make a payment at some stage. It is possible to repair your credit, but to do this you have to work out what resources you have to assist you in the repayment of the loan. There are some kits available in the market to help you with this dilemma and there are also resources in certain libraries that you can research. You should be able to make photocopies of any relevant information. This information will also assist you with any negotiations you will make with your prospective lender. Most kits will guide you step by step through the process.

Your intial step should be to obtain copies of credit reports from the credit agencies. Clear up any discrepancies or false information as this will be of benefit to you in the future when you are establishing your creditworthiness.

Once you have obtained the reports, carefully examine your credit score and evaluate your financial situation and if you are finding it difficult to meet your minimum payments, consult with your lenders to decide upon a mutually satisfactory solution. Most lenders will be more than happy to work with you as they realize that it is better to have some repayments happening than none at all. Explain your situation in detail; don't try to embellish the truth so you can have honest suggestions on how to improve your credit score.

Once you have made the first difficult step in repairing your credit rating, it is important to maintain your rate of payment to transform a "bad" credit into an "excellent" one.

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Gamma Scalping-useful Option For Trading?

By Walter Fox

Those with a little trading experience under their belt will often hear the terms 'gamma scalping' and 'theta decay', but are confused by what they mean. This is understandable since gamma scalping is something typically utilized by professionals as part of their option trading strategies.

Defining the basic terms may help to clear up some of the confusion regarding this option trading tip. First, to reference 'delta' is to reference the rate at which an optionas value fluctuates. Second, when that change is a positive number, it is represented by agamma.a aScalpinga refers to the practice of achieving a small gain with buying and selling.

What unfolds now is a process called 'gamma scalping,' in which, one hopes, the trader is able to buy low and sell high. The basic concept seems quite simple, and is aimed towards reducing risk and maintaining the market in a fairly neutral zone. If everyone is scalping with too much regularity, this practice becomes a lot more complicated.

The concept of the gamma is reliant on the constant change, up or down, of the delta. A stationary level in the delta would create neither loss nor gain, and the option trading system would stagnate and fail. A helpful tip is to look at the length of time you have held your options.

A state in which gamma is positive can create negative theta, in which case, your options' values decrease over time. Gamma scalping can earn you more, but only in the short term, as theta decay takes away value if you miss your window of opportunity.

There are those who posit that gamma scalping is trading actual market volatility against the market's implied volatility. In this case, if the actual volatility is at least matching the implied volatility, the trader turns a profit. If not, and the implied volatility falls short of the market's actual volatility, the trader takes a loss. For this reason, gamma scalping is much more geared towards working efficiently in the short term, but not the long.

While this method may be beguiling, the long term unpredictability has caused a large number of professionals to deem them bad option trading tips. In addition, the current state of our economy can be attributed in no small part to the many who abused the option trading tip of gamma scalping.

Does this mean that this strategy is bad, unethical, or to be avoided? No, rather, care should be taken when considering this tactic. Used at its best and as it is intended, gamma scalping can be used to soothe the deltaas potentially flammable swings.

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TheScienceOfTrading.com provides 90 free minutes of videos on option trading systems and provides a complete and detailed stock trading course for beginners to experts.

Safe Investments with Self-directed IRA

By Paul J. Easton

More investors as of now want a safe yet innovative option to invest for their retirement in the near future. With the baby boomers having the most influence in the economy today and they are retiring soon, this market of investment-seekers are going to grow dramatically even with the gloomy financial outlook.

Guidant Financial, as the leader in providing self-directed IRA services today, allows investors the control to make alternative investments in real estate, franchises, and businesses. The company, along with most financial services firms, anticipated the significant downturn in their business. But the trend in their business analysis shows that the traditional financial turmoil appears to encourage many investors to consider other platforms of investments for their security in their retirement. People have been traumatized by the meltdown in the real estate market and the volatility of the stock markets. With the instability in these markets, many people are avoiding the traditional securities markets altogether. People are more intelligent right now with their money and wanted a new and secure way of controlling their assets. This is probably the driving force behind the staggering growth of the Guidant Financial Group.

More investors are afraid of investing further and some are deciding to transfer their retirement savings out of the stock market. These investors are looking for other asset classes offering better control and monitoring for their money. They found that self-directed IRAs offer them the chance to control their investments without first committing to a specific investment. This concept, though had been there for a long time, was not very much promoted due to the absence of middleman profits for financial companies. Now, it has steadily gained some popularity since last year.

Guidant Financial Group's self-directed IRA is a form of retirement account where the investor has the ability to invest in both traditional and non-traditional assets. Most Guidant clients prefer to invest in rental properties or private loans. Similarly, they also considered private stock and tax liens with a little education in these fields. These alternative investments generated cash-flow opportunities making them a very attractive option for those retiring soon.

With more direct form of management, they have saved a few thousand of dollars from holding and administrative fees. They also monitored personally where their money is invested. This is peace of mind for most of them. This is the major reason behind the unexpected growth in Guidant's self-directed IRA business.

For more information on financial directory, get FREE Articles Tips at DollarGuides.com. Get debt-free today with tips on how to get rid of debt here.

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How to get Rid of Credit Card Debt Fast with FREE Articles Tips at DollarGuides.com. Help tips and more plus Credit Card Debt Information