Where and how to find the best credit card rates

Millions of American families use their credit cards, not just for shopping for luxuries today, but to make ends meet, buy groceries and pay medical bills. Credit cards have become a false lifeline for many families who may be in financial trouble. With the situation as it is how do you control or reduce credit card debt? Is it even possible to? Yes, it may take time, and it will definitely take determination – not just to get through the process, but to stick to it – but it can definitely be done, and the process can be begun by finding the best credit card rates.
One of the most important steps you can take towards debt reduction is to find the best credit card rates possible. Start shopping around for a lower-rate credit card and transfer your balance. Balance transfer is excellent idea if you plan to try paying off the credit card balance, because it allows you to pay just debt without interest, for a period of 3 to 12 months. Some cards offer interest free on just the balance transferred, some on purchases in a certain time period, and some both, so find the best. Also look at the interest they charge after the interest-free period. These rates can vary enormously. If you want to change cards before then, this is less important to you. If you plan to stay with the new card, make sure it charges a low level of interest for purchases as well as standard rates long term.
Be alert when transferring balance. The card that you are switching to pays the due amount to the old issuer. If this payment is made via check, there's a gap between when the check given and when it actually clears. This may be a time that both your old and new issuers charge you interest on. Examine the check transfer policies for both companies to ensure that you are not paying the bill for their processes.
Another thing you can do is to ask for better rates at your own credit card company. Statistics say that more than half the people, who ask, do get lower rates. If your current issuer refuses, or won't lower rates far enough to be of real help, look for a better deal. If you have been regular with payments for a while, you might have enough credit history to get a much better lower-rate card somewhere else. Be careful, a lot of the offers you may see are introductory. You are promised a 5% rate, don’t read the fine print, and find that it shoots up to 18% after a certain time. You should look for a card charging a fixed rate. Your apparently low-rate card may not be as low as you think it is if it charges an annual fee. The best credit card rates are the ones that have no annual fee added in. always shop for a no-fee card which gives you a lower rate than your break-even point.

Most credit card companies now penalize customers for not using the cards regularly basis. They hike interest rates on cards not used for sometime, and neglect to inform customers so that when they charge expenses to those cards they are presented with a huge bill. Stick to one or two cards that give you the best credit card rates, and keep checking on the interest rates. Make sure, before you apply for a new card, that there are no hidden fees or increased minimums to be paid. Card issuers generally charge foreign exchange transaction fees for purchases made overseas. Even if you have paid in US dollars and not exchanged any currency, you will have to pay 3 percent of the US dollar value of the transaction so, before getting a new card, find out what charges will be levied on shopping abroad.

Many debt consolidation agencies and consultants exist, online and off, who will provide resources for identifying lower rate cards. Sites like Bankrate.com, lowerratecards.com, and consumersleague.org/credit.htm allow you to compare between all the cards to select the one that gives you the best credit card rate. Others, like lifehacker.com/software/credit-cards and oundmoneytips.com/article, offer tips on how to negotiate for a new, lower rate, with your existing issuer and limiting some fees and interest as you reduce your debt.

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Four Ways of Resolving Unpaid Taxes

If you have unpaid taxes owed to the IRS you should be looking for a resolution to this problem. The longer you wait to resolve the problem the worse things are going to get. Although the IRS often times works very slowly, you can be sure of one thing: they are going to realize soon enough that you have unpaid taxes. At that point they will get in touch with you to start the collection process.

The first thing you must do in resolving unpaid taxes is to find out how much you owe. This will in turn give you an idea of how much of the total debt you can afford to pay. If you have enough money to pay the entire bill, you should do so as soon as possible. This will resolve your unpaid taxes and put the issue behind you.
There are several other things you can do to resolve unpaid taxes:

1. Hire a tax professional. Why take on this problem alone? If you hire a professional you do not have to worry about making any mistakes. One who is experienced and knowledgeable of the tax code can help you resolve your unpaid taxes in a short period of time. The reason why there are so many tax professionals is because it is a fact that taxes are complex and people do need professionals to help. A tax professional can most likely analyze your financial and tax situation fairly quickly and find you the best possible method to pay back your taxes or settle your taxes while keeping your financial well being in mind.

2. Just pay. As noted above, if you have the money you can pay your unpaid taxes to solve the problem. Even if you can't pay in full maybe you can come up with the money quickly to pay off your taxes. Some possible options to come up with extra cash to pay for your taxes could be sell some of your unwanted jewelery/gold, sell old items that may have some value on ebay, sell that extra car of yours that you haven't used in years, have a tag sale or possibly borrow from family and friends.

3. Pay your taxes back through an IRS payment plan. There are several payment plans available depending upon your financial situation. The most common form of payment plan is an installment agreement. With an installment agreement you will be allowed to pay back the taxes you owe in monthly increments. One thing to remember is that you will still be charged interest on the outstanding balance so the sooner you pay off the entire amount, the less in interest you will be paying. An installment agreement is a great alternative to putting on a credit card as the interest with an installment agreement is typically less than most credit cards. If you cannot afford the minimum payments required with an installment agreement it is a possibility that you may qualify for a partial payment installment agreement. With a partial payment installment agreement the monthly payments will be lower but you will need to provide detailed proof of your financial statements to the IRS in order for them to consider you for this.

4. If you feel you will not be able to pay off your taxes through any type of payment plan or if doing so would cause severe financial hardship then an offer in compromise can be an option for you. With an offer in compromise you can settle your taxes for less than the total amount. In order to do so you will be required to complete a very detailed and complicated tax filing that will detail out your current financial standing, future financial standing and the amount you are willing to offer the IRS to be considered back into good standing with them. It is a good idea to hire a tax professional when filing for an offer in compromise. Most offers are rejected because they are not properly completed or the amount offered is too little.

When it comes to resolving unpaid taxes one thing is for sure: there is more than one way of doing this. Consider all options and then decide which one is best.


author : Matt Robinson

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How to handle credit card debt collection agencies

Debt collectors are looking to make you pay up. It is their job to get you to write that check, and they know that mean works better than nice. Also, many collectors take advantage of the consumers’ ignorance of the FDCPA law. Debt collection is a huge industry, totaling $15 billion dollars a year, and growing fast. Thousands of companies buy debts for pennies on the dollar, in the US today, and then try to recover what is owed. They contact the consumer and negotiate a pay back and are good at finding out where borrowers live and work, to contact them by phone, mail, and fax, and sometimes even telegrams.
Researching, learning and understanding your rights under the FDCPA should be the first step if you wish to stop illegal collector harassment and safeguard your peace of mind. Unless you are aware of the law and fully understand how to use it, you would be at the mercy of unethical credit card debt collectors who use underhanded and illegal tactics to intimidate you into paying expired or invalid debts that you just can't afford. You have several rights under the FDCPA. You can request that the collector does not contact you anymore, or only contact you by mail. Collectors cannot threaten you, under this law, or pretend to be a credit bureau. Neither can they tell you that you owe more than you actually do, or use obscenities, or claim that you are guilty of a crime.

You will be contacted by the collector via a letter and you should open and read this letter immediately. You have only 30 days to dispute any facts so if there are errors, you should notify the collector and the related creditors immediately. Keep notes about all your communications with collectors and retain copies of all correspondence. When your debt is sent to collections a new record appears on your credit report which will remain on your credit report for seven years from the last payment, late by 180 days, on the original account, regardless of whether you pay the debt or not. Carefully review the information posted by the collection agency on your credit report. It is common for collectors to report incorrect facts to speed up negotiations.

After verifying that the debt is accurate, consider your options. It is better, in most cases, to negotiate a deal, pay off the collector, and rebuild your credit. However, if there are other debts not in collections that need to paid, you should work on paying those first. After all, this collection record will stay on your credit report for seven years anyway. It doesn’t make sense to pay the collection debt, and let the others go into collection as well. When you do decide to pay the collection debt, contact the collector and try to negotiate an agreement. Credit card debt collectors buy your debt for pennies on the dollar, and so, they will often negotiate a reduced settlement. Some will offer to take the record off your credit report, but that is illegal. Make sure the collector sends you the terms of the settlement in writing, and refuse to pay until they do. You may need this letter if the debt resurfaces again later.

Being contacted by a collections agency can be scary. Take a step back, find out your rights, and pick your options, take control of the situation. Credit card debt collectors will do just about anything to get you to pay. Never ever give them your account number; they will bleed your account dry as soon as they have that information. Never agree to repayment terms without getting them to put it in writing. Don’t trust collectors or take them at their word. It is their job to play on your emotions of guilt and shame. Remember this, you owe them the money and it’s your responsibility to pay, but you do not have to allow yourself to be ill treated as you work towards getting yourself out of debt.

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How to permanently cut that credit card debt

To most of us, our credit score is a lot more important than educational ones. We only truly care about what the databases have on record about our purchases and consumer choices. Today, we can buy instant affluence but can as quickly lose it, and be threatened by foreclosures and bankruptcies. Consumer debt, of more than $4 trillion, is currently one of the biggest problems in the economy, of which above $18,000 is the consumer credit card debt per household.

What is worse for you and I, is that interest has to be paid. As a result, an estimated 60% of American families spend more than their after-tax income. Nearly 32 million families run with an annual deficit of $8 thousand on average, exhausting their savings and carrying huge debts. It would take little to push them into bankruptcy, a few months without work or a reduced income. In twenty years America has become a credit card nation and a debtor society where the seeming affluence, apparent rise in standards of living are all financed by debt and not by income growth. Consumer credit card debt has become the new epidemic.

If you are one of these people, facing a financial crisis caused by illness, loss of work, or overspending, remember that it is not impossible to overcome. The situation can be brought under control, with dedication and hard work, teamed with sacrifices.

Consider your options. You can choose from a self created realistic budget or credit counseling from an organization, decide between debt consolidation, and bankruptcy, or you may consider debt negotiation. The best option would depend on your accumulated debt, capacity for self discipline, and prospects for the future.

Basic steps like budgeting can be self help. Your local public library will have information about budgeting and money management and computer software programs are easily available and make good tools for maintaining a budget, planning debt repayments and savings. Credit counseling and debt management are a good if you can’t stick to a budget, or fail to work out a repayment plan with you creditors. You can also choose to consolidate your debt, but remember that you have to put your home up as collateral. In the event of any future inability to pay or any late payments, you could lose your home to foreclosure.

Most people know, and understand, that overspending along with credit card debt leads to trouble. There are psychological reasons for the popularity of credit cards. Credit cards create what is called a cognitive disconnect, a vast gulf between what Americans buy and how much they can afford. When you don’t pay with cash, you don't understand the real cost. You cannot connect it with the hours of work it took to make that money. Paying with plastic is just like not paying. With buy now pay later systems, credit cards make you feel able to afford anything, paying for it over time. For most purchases, you are still paying it off a year later, and it has cost you 20% more than the price with the interest you have paid, added in.
The current state of the credit card based economy has taken away the notion of a buffer, an emergency fund. People don’t put anything away for crisis times, putting everything on their credit cards whenever there is an emergency. They are paying for these emergencies for longer and longer times, sometimes dragging it into their retirements. Also, since they have practically no savings to speak of, and no investments, they enter retirement totally dependent on the state and their own kids.

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