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Don’t sacrifice feeding your family for debt…

August 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I see a lot of budgets that have higher then average grocery expenses. I also see some grocery budgets are very slim and can’t cover everyone in the household. You should never have to cut your grocery expenses if you are budgeting correctly. Here is a resource that may help.

Angel Food Ministries

Angel Food Ministries is an excellent resource for helping with your grocery expenses without using coupons, sales,etc. Angel Food Ministries is available in all states except for AK, HI, ID. Here is how it works: you can visit the Website www.angelfoodministries.com, type in your zipcode and find the closest location to you. View the menu, place your order either online or by contact the center directly 1-888-819-3745.

Once your order has been placed they will contact you to come in and pick-up your order. You can buy groceries for a family of 4 for less then $100. I use this resource myself. Quality Food, in bulk, similar to Costco, Sams Club, or BJ’s without the membership. This is available once per month and the Menu changes on a monthly basis. The Menu consist of a variety of different foods varying from seafood, different meat products, nonperishable items, etc.  Angel Food Ministries participates in the Food Stamp Program to help  with low-income families grocery cost as well.

Anything can help when it comes to your budget – I know that from speaking with some of my clients or those that contact me regarding assistance with debt issues. When I go through a budget with the family, I always notice that big parts of the budget besides rent/mortgage are the grocery expenses. Also I notice that the grocery expenses are often slim because the bills are so high. You should never have to sacrifice feeding yourself and your family to pay your credit card bills. Use Angel Food Ministries. They are just that, food delivered by Angels.

Filed Under: Credit, Debt, Debt Management Program, Financial Tips and Tricks

What a DMP did for me: A client’s story.

July 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

This is a true story of a CESI client. With her permission, I asked if I could share her encounter with those that have doubts about the program. I asked her to submit me an email to set aside the misconceptions of what a (DMP) Debt Management Program is.

I am on a DMP ( Debt Management  Program ) with CESI Debt Solutions, I have heard so many bad things about  these types of programs so I had mixed feelings about it. I knew that I had to do something about my Financial Issues.

For so long my husband provided the assistance with the bill paying and budgeting for the household. After he passed away, I didn’t know where to start, I asked relatives and friends for their methods. There was so many different  ways, but none of  them  worked for me. Actually they frustrated and confused me at the same time.

Once I saw that my lights were turned off when I came home from work all I can think to myself is “I forgot to pay the light bill!”  So I said enough is enough, I have to find some help. I have 3 young kids at home that  depend on me to make things work for our family.

The next day was my off day, I told myself after I prayed, that there were 2 things that I was going to do today, 1# to get this lights back on and 2# to contact someone for help. I went on the Internet and Googled Debt Consolidation, I called the first company at the top of the list. I believed in my spirit, that if the name is at the top of the list it’s a reason for that… I called the number listed and the voice that picked up the other end was a gentlemen by the name of Anthony with CESI Debt Solutions. He had a very kind, and peaceful voice. I was very scared and he must of felt it because he mentioned that everything was going to be alright, because he would be patient, and we can take as long as we need to, to make sure we  get to the end of the assessment. and answer any questions that I may have which would take no more then 10-25 minutes. All I would need to do is answer a few questions then we can take a look at the bills I needed help with.

I’m not going to tell you the amount of my debt, and what kind I had… Because I believe that if it’s debt that they can help with then that is all that matters. The reason for this information which I’m volunteering is because I was one of those people that were scared, frightened, and even mislead from people that never had been on this program.

I signed up on the program for a few reasons, Anthony was very pleasant and trustworthy, He made everything make sense and I knew everything that was going to happen, and what would happen. I didn’t feel sold, or in doubt even after I hung up the phone. I slept good that night. Thinking about how proud I was of myself, and I knew my husband was looking down at me proud of my decision as well. As Anthony said on the other end of the phone after I signed up, “congratulations on taking a stronger step towards Debt Freedom.”

Filed Under: Credit, Credit Counseling, Debt, Debt Management Program

Do you want to fix your finances in 15 min. or less?

July 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment

This blog post is going to give you some simple ways to fix your finances. These easy steps should take you 15 min or less and could wind up saving you lots of money.

Did you know that there are some really simple things you can do to save money? The following list is going to break down for you things that you can have done in 15 minutes or less:

Automatic Savings

You can go onto your banks website and set up to have money automatically transferred to your account for an amount that you choose and on the date you choose. This will make saving so much easier and should take you about 3 minutes.

Payment Alerts

Did you know that most credit card companies charge a $39 late fee even if you are only a day late? Those fees can really add up so the best thing to do is go to their website and set up payment alerts for up to 10 days before the due date and never forget again. This process should take about 7 minutes to register the account.

Overdraft Protection

Are you tired of constantly trying to figure out how much is left in your checking account to avoid overdrawing it? Well those fees can also start adding up so just go online and link your checking to a money market or savings account for overdraft protection, it will save you in the long run and should only take about 11 minutes.

Fixing your report

Did you know that an incorrect debt in collection on your credit report could drop your credit score by as much as 100 points? Go to www.annualcreditreport.comand request a copy of your credit report from all three bureaus. Check it for any errors, and it only takes 15 minutes to dispute a wrong entry. Click on the link that says dispute next to the account.

I hope these simple fixes will help you start to get your finances on track and if anyone has anything they would like to add or share feel free to comment.

 

Source: http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveMoney/fix-your-finances-in-15-minutes.aspx

Filed Under: Budgeting, Debt, Debt Management Program, Saving

A Little Extra Help With That Debt

June 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Do you want to enroll in a Debt Management Program but don’t believe you can afford the payments? Here is a quick heads up on a relatively new program to makes it even easier for you to get out of debt.

Form a plan

When you contact us for help with your debt situation and we complete our free financial assessment, we may be able to offer you a debt management program that can help you become debt free in less than 5 years. However, even when we are able to put together a monthly payment plan to help you pay off your debts, that plan may prove to be outside your budget’s ability to pay.

In the past year, though, 10 of the largest credit card companies have responded to the rising debt problem by offering more affordable terms to help consumers get their debts paid off. These terms are referred to as Call To Action and often provide for much reduced interest rates and monthly payment plans that are more affordable than a traditional debt management program. In addition, the Call To Action allows consumers to still set aside money for savings and have a built in cushion in their monthly budget while still providing the more beneficial terms.

Call to Action may be better for you

As discussed at the link below from the credit website credit.com, this means that a consumer dealing with as much as $24000 in debt with Call To Action creditors could have a payment several hundred dollars less on a Call To Action debt management program versus a traditional debt management program. Of course, much of this depends on the actual creditors you are dealing with. And before we can recommend any debt management program to you, we need to go through our free financial assessment to help you determine the best course of action for your situation.

Give us a call because there are more affordable options out there than ever before to help you get out of debt. Check out the link below for more details – we are here to help.

 

http://www.credit.com/news/experts/2009-04-28/credit-card-delinquencies-rise-card-issuers-offer-more-flexible-repayment-plans.html

Filed Under: Credit, Debt, Debt Management Program

Current on Payments and Joining A Debt Managment Program?: 3 Simple Steps To Making it Work – Part 3

May 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Alright, you’ve done the work and changed your creditor due dates as well as supplemented payments to creditors until all proposals were accepted. So, now’s the time to kick your feet up and let the debt management program do it’s magic and you can check back in when everything’s paid off, right? Wrong! The last step in this 3 part series is the key to maintaining all your hard work and ensuring success with paying off your creditors.

Monitor your creditor statements and DMP statements each month

If you’ve been following the steps up until now, then you’re good to go with the due dates and you’ve supplemented your DMP payments to stay current until all of your proposals were accepted. Nonetheless, now is not the time to become complacent and think that your DMP is running on auto-pilot. Au contraire my friend! You still have the responsibility of maintaining a small, but active role in minding your finances.

Checking your creditor and DMP statements is a quick but important task that should be completed each and every single month while you are on the DMP. Why? Because you want to make sure that your creditors are being paid on time and are receiving and posting the correct monthly payment. Check your DMP statement to make sure that the correct payment amount is sent to each of your creditors. Although, there should be no complications once the proposal is accepted, you never know what can happen. Perhaps a system issue or clerical error may occur and alter a creditor’s payment amount, but if you stay on top of your statements then you’ll be alerted to that fact sooner than later. Check your creditor statements to make sure that the payments being sent by your credit counseling agency are being received and posted each month. Remember that nothing is foolproof and with or without being on a DMP, creditors can make mistakes too. Also, your most accurate balance is reflected on the statement sent by the actual creditor.

If you follow the three steps I’ve outlined in this series then you’re on your way to becoming debt free while maintaining current payment status with your creditors. Creditor benefits such as lowered interest rates and lower monthly payments never sound so sweet until you combine that with maintaining an immaculate payment history too! It may take a little extra work in the beginning, but trust me, it is well worth it in the end to know that you’re in control of your finances and getting the results you want.

Filed Under: Debt, Debt Management Program, Uncategorized

Current on Payments and Joining A Debt Managment Program?: 3 Simple Steps To Making it Work – Part 2

May 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Okay, so you’ve done the work to make sure that you have changed your creditor due dates so that your debt management program (DMP) payments arrive in time.  Your first DMP payment is coming up; however, when you look at the statement, you see that there’s a minimum payment due of $100 but the DMP payment that will be sent is only for $70. What do you do?

Supplement your DMP payments until the creditor accepts the proposal

I cannot stress how important this step is because it is the key to remaining current on creditor payments while you await proposal acceptance. You are responsible for any payments due before your first debit date on the DMP.  However, it goes a bit further than that. You are also responsible for any minimum payment due to the creditor before the proposal is accepted.

For example, if your creditor has a minimum payment of $100 due by June 27stand your first payment on the DMP is debited on June 28th, then you must make that $100 payment on your own or you will be late and you will incur any applicable fees and penalties. Furthermore, if your creditor does not give an acceptance to the proposal  until July 20th , then you are still responsible for making the minimum due payment that is on the statement that was generated after your June 27stdue date. This means that if the statement shows a minimum due for $100 again, and your debt management program payment that’s sent is for $70, then you will have to supplement that payment with an additional $30 that you will send in on your own.

I understand that for many people, this can be a tedious task; however, these are your finances we’re talking about and nobody said it would be a cake walk.  A DMP is not a set it and forget it program and you will  likely run into unwanted penalties if you treat it as such.  I’m pretty sure many of you are scratching your heads and saying “Why do I have to supplement payments if I joined a debt management program? The whole point of me joining was to have a lower monthly payment and lower interest rates!” Well, for those of you that feel as though you shouldn’t have to supplement payments, keep in mind that the creditors are the ones who grant benefits. Credit Counseling Agencies propose a monthly payment amount and interest rate based on past agreements with creditors. However, benefits are granted on a case by case basis and each person’s experience on gaining proposal acceptance can differ.

Some of you may be worried because you simply cannot afford to supplement creditor payments while waiting for the creditors to accept proposals.  That is quite understandable and in those cases, you will have to simply make sure that you make your DMP payment and understand that you may incur a creditor’s penalties and fees for late payments while you await proposal acceptance.  Any late fees incurred before a proposal is accepted are valid and a creditor may or may not choose to waive those fees. Most creditors will mail a letter detailing the terms of being on a DMP, but if they do not, then be proactive and contact your creditor to get the details.

Check back for the last part of the series where I’ll go over the last step in maintaining a current payment status when joining a DMP – Monitor Your Statements!

Filed Under: Debt, Debt Management Program

Current on Payments and Joining A Debt Managment Program?: 3 Simple Steps To Making it Work – Part 1

May 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Part 1:

You’re thinking about joining a debt management program or maybe you already have, and you’ve never fallen behind with your creditor payments. What do you have to do in order to make sure you maintain your good payment history? The following is the first step to making sure that your transition into a debt management program is a successful one!

There are many reasons that people join debt management programs (DMP). For some, the credit card payments have become too much to handle and they’ve begun to fall behind. For others, it’s simply a matter of convenience with having all their unsecured debt payments taken care of with one monthly payment. However, a growing number of people are seeking DMP’s because the credit card companies are continuously hiking up interest rates and minimum monthly payments for those who have consistently made on-time monthly payments. For those of you who are current with your unsecured debt and join a DMP, there are three simple steps to making sure that you maintain a current status with your creditors.  The following is the first step that should be completed or in process by the time you actually join a DMP:

Select a debit date that works with your creditors due date!

Your credit counseling agency  is not responsible for changing your creditors due dates, you are! In fact, that type of change is beyond the scope of a credit counseling agencies authority.   It is imperative that you allow for 13-21 days for a payment to reach a creditor from the date your DMP payment is debited.  Some creditors actually require 3rdparty debt management companies to mail paper checks for payment, regardless of whether you’ve been able to pay online or by phone, and this lengthens the amount of time it takes for a creditor to receive and posts payments.  If you find that you have several creditors that have due dates that do not align with your DMP debit date, then change those due dates and take notice of when the changes are in effect.  It can take one to two billing cycles for the change to be in place and you must monitor your statements. Keep in mind that most unsecured loans will not allow you to change the due dates, and in those cases you should ask the creditor what you need to do to ensure the DMP payment comes in by the due date.  With the exception of loans, I have yet to encounter clients that have a significant issue with changing creditor due dates when they are current.  If anything, you may be advised that the due date cannot be changed for the current billing cycle.

Joining a debt management program is a big decision that you should prepare for. Remember, it took time for you to get into the financial situation that lead you to think about joining a DMP and it can take time to prepare and make sure that the transition into a DMP is a smooth one! Wouldn’t you rather take the time to give your finances added attention for the first couple of months to ensure that a program that can last up to 5 years will be a success? Stay tuned for the second and probably most important step to remaining current while waiting for proposal acceptance on a DMP – Supplementing Payments!

Filed Under: Debt, Debt Management Program
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