Christmas credit card debt - can't pay Christmas debts? Help to pay Christmas bills.
Christmas credit card debt? Get help to pay Christmas bills, plus read our free tips on how to avoid getting into debt and how to dispute fraudulent credit card charges.
Reduce Christmas credit card bills and unsecured Christmas debts
Don't want to consolidate Christmas bills? Here are free tips to help pay off Christmas debt fast:
Pay more than the monthly minimum to pay off Christmas credit card charges before next Christmas.
Don't pay Christmas debts that don't belong to you! The Christmas shopping season is hectic, making it possible to have charges placed on your card that aren't yours. Scrutinize your credit card statement.
Watch for after Christmas sales. If an item you bought before Christmas goes on sale after Christmas, ask the merchant if they'll reverse charges to your credit card in the amount of the difference.
If your Christmas credit card debt is beyond control, consolidate Christmas bills and you'll be able to reduce monthly payments.
Overdue Christmas credit card debt can cost you high interest. Now is the time to begin planning on how you will repay Christmas bills, so you will be financially sound before the next Christmas shopping season.
With credit counseling you can lower your monthly Christmas bills to make re-payment easier, and you may be able to maintain or improve your credit.
With debt settlement, you can negotiate a lower Christmas debt total and get bills paid off faster, but this may jeopardize your credit and your ability to get credit again next Christmas.
Christmas Credit Card Debt Tips to Eliminate High Balance Charges
Begin Christmas shopping early so your credit card charges will not be high because of doing last minute shopping. By starting early, you can make manageable charges that you can make monthly payments without facing the New Year with the full, high credit card balance.
Eat at home before doing Christmas shopping. Shopping usually has consumers stopping to eat out. This can lead to more credit card charges and taking more time to get the shopping completed. Think of the money you may save by eliminating this extra expense that can be used toward a gift.
Eliminate spending money to get your nails and toes done, do it yourself at home and have more money for Christmas spending.
Make lists for Christmas gifts and activities to keep you focused and to avoid needless spending. Set a price for each gift and stick to it. Then you will know about how much you will be charging for gifts.
Use a Rewards credit card for Christmas Spending, earn points for travel, for Christmas gifts, or get cash back that can be used toward paying down the credit card debt.
Use a credit card and shop online with companies who offer free shipping. The great thing is you can have items shipped directly to the destination and you don't have to pay for it or package the gift.
Use credit card statements to track Christmas spending and to make returns easier and quicker at department stores.
Give family gifts instead of individual gifts, save money and time as this makes for a shorter list and can help you avoid some Christmas debt.
Shop online or use sale papers to be able to compare prices. Why not get the best bargain and spend less to stay out of debt.
Start a jar to drop loose change into and when it is full, get the cash or give the jar to your kids as a gift.
Remember to make more memories with fun, free activities instead of trying to purchase expensive gifts for everyone. You can eliminate some Christmas debt by spending quality time with family instead time shopping. Tour the town and view the lights, have family events, or offer your time to charities.
Make homemade gifts and food to give as gifts. This will help you avoid over charging during the Christmas season.
Get more information about debt, and read our articles on how to get out of debt.
Tips to Payoff Bills: To get started on paying off bills, figure how much extra can be spared every month toward paying off a debt with the highest interest first. However, some consumers like to start with the smaller, high interest accounts. This can give more positive reinforcement as at least one small debt may get paid off faster. The benefit either way it to eliminate high interest debts and save money by eliminating added fees. The money that is saved, can then be used toward other debts.
It can be best to stay with one bill until it is paid off, rather than trying to spread around any extra money to several bills at the same time. Once a targeted account is paid in full, begin on the next account on the payoff list. This can help keep a consumer focused and living within a budget. Do not let up until all debts are paid off. Below are a few helpful steps for paying off bills:
*Create a budget
*Work on building an emergency fund
*Decide which accounts to payoff first
*Track all spending to determine wastefulness
*Review and adjust the budget frequently
*Cut out wasteful spending to have more money for bills
One important factor in becoming successful with paying down debt, is to have a budget and control spending, along with knowing where the money goes. By tracking expenses, it is easy to determine wasteful spending. If this does not work over time, consider the help of a professional. Some consumers are able to get their finances back on track, while others must hire a professional to help them set goals. Waiting until debts are out of control, only makes getting out of debt harder and can take longer to accomplish.
Here are some possible warning signs that debts are getting out of control:
*Charge card balances are getting higher
*Only the minimum or less is paid on account balances
*Debts are being shuffled from paycheck to paycheck
*Constantly applying for more charge cards
*Credit card balances are at or over the credit limits
*Constantly charging more on cards than is paid on them each month
*Having problems keeping up with bill payments
*Don't know how much is owed and don't want to know
*Getting phone calls or letters about delinquent bill payments
*Using credit cards for basic purchases like food
*Using credit cards because there is no money
*Using a savings or an IRA to pay monthly bills
*Hiding financial problems from a spouse or partner
*Constantly applying for credit card offers sent through the mail
The signs above can be a warning that financial trouble is real. The worst thing to do, is to do nothing. There are ways to get out of or manage debts, but getting out of debt certainly must not be put off or brushed aside. For many consumers it takes a professional to help point out problem areas or possible solutions for getting a hold on debts. Many companies offer a free consultation and a quote. Why let bills stack up with added high late fees or interest rates when it is easy to get quotes online, in a matter of hours. It could make life less stressful once debts are tackled.
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Pay As You Settle® (PAYS®) is a debt settlement program founded by Prestige Financial Solutions which is designed with the best interests of the client in mind. Unlike some programs with large up-front fees, we never charge until we have done what we promised and settled your debt.
New FTC regulations demand that debt settlement companies stop charging fees to their clients prior to delivering services. We agree with the FTC that this is the only ethical way of offering debt settlement services and protecting the consumer’s interest -in fact, we have been conducting business using a consumer-friendly model that complies with all these new regulations for four years.
We are the first debt-settlement company in the industry to help consumers with such a client-friendly debt-settlement program. As a result, while other companies are struggling to create and implement fee-for-performance models such as ours, we have the advantage of years of experience using our existing FTC-compliant system.
The Prestige Financial Solutions PAYS debt settlement program encourages clients to complete the program, eliminates the consumer’s financial risk, and provides outstanding customer service. That is why PAYS is the best debt-settlement program in the industry.
How it works:Essentially, the debt settlement company negotiates on the borrowers’ behalf with creditors to reduce the overall debts in exchange for an agreement upon regular payments to be made. Only unsecured debts, such as medical bills and credit card debts can be handled, not student loans, auto financing or mortgages. For the debtor, this makes obvious sense - they avoid the stigma and intrusive court-mandated controls of bankruptcy while still lowering, sometimes by more than 50%, their debt balances. Whereas, for the creditor, they regain trust that the borrower intends to pay back what he can of the loans and not file bankruptcy (in which case, the creditor risks losing all monies owed).
There are obvious drawbacks - credit reports will show evidence of debt settlements and the associated FICO scores will be lowered as a result. However, if a “paid in full” letter is obtained from the creditor, the debtor’s credit report should show no sign of a debt settlement. There’s always the possibility of lawsuit whenever debts lay unpaid. Though few creditors wish to push borrowers toward bankruptcy - and the potential of governmental protection against all debts. In addition, the specific debts of the borrowers themselves affect the success of negotiations. Tax liens and domestic judgments, for reasons that should be clear, remain unaffected by attempts at settlement. Student loans, even those not federally subsidized, have been granted special powers by recent legislation to attach bank accounts without possibility of Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. Also, some individual creditors, including Discover Card, for example, tend to have an aggressive resistance against negotiations.
Debt Settlement Companies: In order to work with a debt settlement company, a consumer needs lump sum cash (best scenario), or build up enough funds over pre-determined period of time. Once enough funds are built up the negotiation process can begin with each creditor individually. Accounts can be held by credit card companies or may be sold to collections agency for an average of a few cents. In which case debt can still be negotiated. The debt settlement company negotiates with the credit card companies for a percentage of the existing balances. The debt settlement companies typically have built up a relationship during their normal business practices with the credit card companies and can come to a settlement agreement quicker and at a more favorable rate than a debtor acting on their own. Once the consumer pays the agreed upon amount, some debt settlement companies take a percentage of the savings of the forgiven debt as the fee. With the current economic crisis, more and more credit card companies may be willing to settle existing credit card debts rather than add to their already large written off bad debt.
Because many debt settlement companies are for-profit and their employees are paid based on commissions, many frequently don’t even contact the debtor until the account has charged-off. In many states this practice is considered unethical.
Debt Negotiation Companies: Also a type of debt settlement firm, they offer a consumer a different way to get out of debt. These companies work with consumers who have no cash to make settlement offers with the credit card companies. Debt Negotiation companies set up “trust” for you - though they are not always a licensed bank. They collect a monthly fee to maintain the account, with the idea being that you are saving enough money to settle the accounts at a future date. A portion of the monthly payment towards the “savings account”, while a part of the payment is taken as a fee for the debt negotiation company. Unlike consumer credit counseling services, they do not pay your creditors each month, they put money into your “trust”. A legitimate company will use an FDIC insured bank for the trust account and give you access to it online 24 hours per day. They should also provide you with access to the negotiation correspondence with the credit companies.
The drop out rate of consumers from debt negotiation companies is high. [4] The debt negotiation companies do not handle calls from the credit card companies, nor the collection agencies. Credit card accounts typically go into collection after they are charged off, typically 180 days after the last payment on the account. The length of the program is often 3-5 years, and many consumers cannot keep up the payments for this period of time. Often, consumers wind up being sued or even more deeply in debt with added interest and fees piling up. This can be avoided by using companies with good standings and practices that protect consumers from these procedures.
Debt Settlement Choices: Debt settlement is a legitimate way to reduce debt and be on your way to financial freedom. Traditionally, there have only been two choices for debt settlement solutions, (1) a traditional debt settlement company model or (2) the law firm model. With the Pay As You Settle® (PAYS®) debt settlement program, consumers gain another choice - a better choice. With PAYS, we do not require the upfront fees of the traditional debt settlement company or give the consumer a false impression that attorneys are working on their case. We work directly, and 100% for you. And you only pay for our services after your debts are settled.
We continually develop and maintain relationships with creditors throughout the country. Creditors are always looking to avoid the ineffective and costly efforts of an outside collection company. They know that working with us will generally yield better results for them in the long run. Creditors are typically willing to negotiate favorable settlement offers with us, on our client’s behalf, because of these longstanding professionally cooperative relationships.
Pay As You Settle®
5005 W 81st Pl. Suite 401
Westmister, CO 80031
1-800-441-7297
Chargeoff credit card - How to charge off credit card balances yourself, or get professional help from a debt settlement company.
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Can't pay credit card bill? Figure out how much you can afford to pay in monthly installments: *Add up all your credit card balances. *List all your monthly expenses. *Calculate the difference between your total income and your total debt. If the remainder is low or is a negative number, work on cutting expenses you can live without (such as movie rentals, dining out, etc). Continue slashing your expenses until you finally have enough money to pay credit card bills.
