Many credit card holders pay their debts every month and this has pros and cons. For many credit card holders they pay their minimum debt every month for a lot of reason. One thing is the tight budget they have, while for others they can’t bale to pay the full amount or there have been unexpected events that disrupt the cash flow. But for worst case scenario, some people just don’t have enough money to pay for it and still opt to use credit cards knowing that they are getting into trouble of paying it.

Some credit card holders are unaware that paying only for the minimum amount of their credit card balances can only lead to paying a higher amount of money than the original amount. This is because monthly interest is added to it thus can add up almost 100% of the original price. This is a great deal in losing money without you knowing it.

One issue of this credit card settlement is the credit card default and credit card holders must know about it. This takes place when you enroll for a loan scheme and wasn’t able to pay for it. This can cause a lot of problems not only to your credit card but to you as well. One of the problems brought by this is a high interest rate that could pile up to your balance that is quite hard to pay in the long run. Another problem that it can cause is that credit companies will haunt you down and you will definitely have a permanent bad record to your creditors.

In order to avoid this possible problems when you’re a credit card holder better understand these terms so that you will be able to know how to handle this.

If you want to achieve debt reduction, there are several options available to you:

Reducing balances through debt consolidation

There are some people who want to do things their way. Instead of hiring the services of debt relief companies or availing of their debt management plans, they end up looking for debt consolidation options that are open for them. Debt consolidation is the process of transferring your debts from one account to another through different bank accounts being offered by companies. It can be achieved through balance transfers or acquisition of new loans.

In getting a loan, you can apply for this from different financial and banking institutions. You must complete the necessary requirements demanded from you so that they can process your application. If you want to have a hassle free transaction, it is important that you have a positive credit report. This will help the companies evaluate your application.

On the other hand, bank transfers is all about moving your credits and outstanding balances into one account that has a low interest charge fees compared to what your creditors demand from you. this will help you save money because of the lessened and adjusted fees rates.

Understanding debt resolution and negotiation

There are also some debtors who are not really capable to pay back their creditors. If you are one of them, you may want to try consulting your creditors and see if they can offer you with any debt settlement programs. In this particular strategy, you must pay them back within a certain period so that they can offer you an adjusted rate of the fees that you have to pay. However, the problem with this is that it can significantly damage your credit report since most bureaus see this as account foreclosure.

Credit card debt reduction however is made possible if you are going to talk to your creditors. They will appreciate it if you are going to tell them the reason why you cannot pay them back so that they can suggest ways that you can do.

Of all the financial plans available for people dealing with overwhelming debt, debt consolidation is probably the most valuable and the least understood. In fact, you may already believe some of these common myths about debt consolidation. Find out the truth!

Myth #1 Debt consolidation is the same or similar to debt management, debt settlement, and bankruptcy.

Truth Debt consolidation is nothing like those other programs. In truth, it is not so much a “program” (you can even do it on your own, if you know enough) but more of a strategic approach.

In debt consolidation, you lump all of your debts together and repackage them. Debt settlement and debt management typically involve dealing with a company or counselor and the object is to reduce the amount you owe. Bankruptcy is a legal proceeding that involves a date with a judge.

Myth #2 Debt consolidation reduces your debt.

Truth No, it doesn’t. If you owe a total of $80,000 on several credit cards and loans and you consolidate that debt, you still owe $80,000.

Debt consolidation does not re-negotiate, settle, write off, or reduce any of your debt. What possible advantage is re-organizing your debt like that?

If you have a lot of loans at high interest rates, repackaging those higher-interest debts into one larger loan at a lower rate reduces your interest and the amount you have to pay. This means you can either pay less a month or (even better) pay the same amount but get the debt paid off sooner.

Myth #3 Debt consolidation will hurt my credit score.

Truth Done properly, debt consolidation will not impact your credit score or credit report negatively. In fact, debt consolidation may even improve your credit score! That’s because you’ll be paying off a bunch of smaller loans and any time a loan is paid in full, that helps your credit score.

Myth #4 Debt consolidation requires getting help from an outside agency or a lawyer.

Truth While there are companies that specialize in debt consolidation programs, you do not have to use them to consolidate your debt.

Of course, if you want to consolidate your debt on your own, you have to know a bit about how to do it and what the options are. But it can definitely be a do-it-yourself project for people good with money (or who are willing to learn enough to get good with money).

Debt consolidation is also not necessarily visible to outsiders. Your bank, the credit bureau, and other parties may not even be aware that you have consolidated debt.

Myth #5 Debt consolidation is something for financial losers and lightweights, not for people who know how to manage money.

Truth This is the most far-out myth about debt consolidation. Debt consolidation is a principle that is used in business and by the super-wealthy all of the time.  It is a way of organizing and structuring your debts in a way that is most advantageous to you.

Myth #6 Debt consolidation is just robbing Peter to pay Paul; you’re just getting more debt!

Truth Debt consolidation is indeed a way for you to pay off one debt by getting another debt. But not all debts are equal.

As an example, let’s say that you owe $10,000 and the loan is set up so that you have to pay 22% interest.  For example, let’s suppose that I go to my credit union and work out a deal to borrow $10,000 at 12% interest. While both debts are still in the amount of $10,000, the debt at 12% interest is a better deal for me. I won’t have to pay as much per month or, if I make the biggest payments I can, I can pay it off sooner.

Myth #7 Debt consolidation requires you to be a homeowner.

Truth There is a grain of truth to this, in that owning a home definitely offers an advantage to anyone who wants to consolidate debt. (It doesn’t matter if your home is paid for or not, but you do need some home equity.) However, you can consolidate debt without owning a home, too.

Myth #8 Debt consolidation will make it harder for me to get future loans.

Truth In most cases, it is unlikely that anyone but a forensic accountant could figure out that you consolidated your debt (unless you go through a debt consolidation companythat might leave a paper trail).

If you borrow money in one loan and then take out another, more advantageous loan to pay off the first one, you’re more likely to leave a paper trail of somebody who pays off debt responsibly. It is more likely to make you a desirable creditor.

Myth #9 People who consolidate debt just wind up digging themselves in deeper in debt!

Truth It is absolutely possible to consolidate your debt and then keep spending and get yourself in a big mess.  That’s why you need good information and a plan to pay off your existing debt, manage your finances now, and start planning for your financial future.

There is no reason that debt consolidation cannot work to get you out of debt for good, but you have to have a plan.

Myth #10 Debt consolidation will allow me to write off some of my debts and it will stop bill collectors from calling.

Truth Let’s take these one at a time.

Unlike bankruptcy, debt consolidation will not allow you to write off any of your debtnot a penny of it. Whatever you owed as a debt before debt consolidation is the amount you’ll owe after debt consolidation.

The advantage is just that you structure it in a more favorable loan. You do not get existing debts cancelled or decreased! Now it’s true you can work that out in other debt management solutions (debt settlement lets you reduce debt, bankruptcy will let you write some debt off) but they come at a very high price. Both of these approaches will have a negative impact on your credit score, will make it hard for you to get future loans, and stay on your record for quite a while. Bankruptcy, in particular, is an extreme solution that involves an actual court proceeding and a judge who has the authority to make certain decisions about your financial situation (including forcing you to sell some items to pay off debts).

Debt consolidation can only stop bill collectors indirectly. Here’s how: let’s say you have six debts and you’re getting calls all of the time. If you consolidate your six debts into one large debt consolidation loan at more favorable terms, you’ll pay off all of those debts. Bye-bye, bill collectors!

However, if you don’t pay off your new debt consolidaiton loan on time, the bill collectors will start calling again.

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Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/do-you-believe-any-of-these-top-10-myths-about-debt-consolidation-412633.html

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For thorough and objective information about debt consolidation options, click on   http://www.MyDebtConsolidationAnswers.com .

Dateline paying is a simple method of paying oldest bills first, based on the due date. The dateline tells you how far back in time your past due bills go. And yes, credit card debt should be treated just like any other past due bill. There are a few simple steps to this strategy that anyone can do.

1 – Make a list of all your past due bills and credit card debt. Use a report from your accounting program or a spreadsheet of some kind so you can sort them by due date. Be sure and put in a bill for more than the minimum payment for each credit card or line of credit.

Make the credit card bill for the amount you want to try to pay over the few weeks before the payment is actually due. For example, if your minimum payment is running at $400, put a bill in for $600.

2 – At the end of each business week, carve off 15% of the income to use to pay past due bills and debt. Use the remaining 85% to pay current operating expenses to keep the doors open, the lights on and the telephone ringing to get in more income.

Be sure and use some of the 85% for promoting your products and services to keep customers buying, and set a bit aside as a cushion to handle emergencies.

3 – Use the 15% to pay the debt by dateline – oldest bills first. Always use a portion of it to pay suppliers and part to pay credit card debt.

4 – Pay a bit against credit card debt each week using on-line paying.

Why? Because you stop the daily interest compounding on the amount that you paid. This can save you a lot of money in unnecessary interest charges over time. It also keeps you from being late on your payments and avoiding the late payment charges. In addition, it eliminates the scrambling to come up with a big chunk of cash to pay the credit debt on the week the statement says the payment is due.

5 – Pay past due bills from suppliers – oldest bill first. The only exception is a supplier who refuses to ship more product that you need in order to produce more income, or one who is threatening legal action. Those are dangerous situations that must be handled immediately.

6 – Work out how to raise your income so that you have an increasing amount of money to use to work this debt relief strategy.

Systematically working at paying both ends of the dateline, 15% to past due bills and 85% to current operating expenses, gradually moves the dateline forward to present time until you are current on your bills and out of debt.

You can easily see this dateline paying strategy working for you if you make a graph of the total debt you owe and plot the figure each week so you can see the amount of debt coming down. Not only does it help you confront the debt you created, it validates the actions you are taking to get that situation handled.

Sandra Simmons, President of Money Management Solutions has years of experience helping business owners and individuals manage their money to achieve financial freedom. Claim your FREE REPORT “7 Fatal Money Management Mistakes Business Owners Make”