MONEY
MANAGEMENT

Of course you can work with your creditors directly to settle the accounts yourself. There is a lot of information publicly available to assist with this, however, the structure and the guidance of a knowledgeable professional is considered by many, well worth the savings and peace of mind. Debt settlement is by no means an exact science. And it’s difficult for an individual lacking experience with creditors to determine whether a settlement is fair or not. In addition, you have to directly handle all creditor calls and the harassment that comes with the job. Many people are simply unable or uninterested in handling that kind of pressure, especially with the daily complexities of managing a job, household or family at the same time. Hiring a professional debt settlement firm with a good reputation can no doubt save you more money, give you better advice, and get you out of debt in a much less stressful manner, enabling you can move on with your life.

While the Money Mastery Personal Financial Management System includes a powerful debt elimination module, the program goes far beyond simple debt reduction and elimination techniques. The Money Mastery system is a time-proven personal financial literacy and coaching program that allows people to get in immediate control of not only their debt, but every other area of their financial life, including spending, taxation, and savings. It is the only comprehensive financial management system available today that addresses a person’s entire financial situation and provides a system for managing it holistically.

Bankruptcy may allow you to eliminate most of your debts quickly and this is typically referred to as a “Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.” In other cases, you may be required to pay back a percentage of your debts over time. This is typically referred to as a “Chapter 13 Bankruptcy.” Bankruptcy also offers legal protection under the court so that you don’t have to worry about being sued or harassed by creditors while completing the bankruptcy process. While most reputable debt settlement firms will work to assist in minimizing creditor calls and harassment where possible, debt settlement does not provide the guaranteed legal protection that bankruptcy does. Chapter 7 bankruptcy is not an option for everyone and it has gone through some changes since the bankruptcy reforms of 2005. Unlike the not so distant past, it has become more difficult to qualify for full liquidation (forgiveness) of your unsecured debts. Chapter 13 bankruptcy requires five years of court-ordered payments to a trustee, and may require you to surrender some of your assets. However, as getting all of your options will help you make a more informed decision, speaking to a bankruptcy attorney may be a worthwhile discussion. Most reputable debt settlement firms can refer you to a trusted bankruptcy attorney if you have detailed questions or if they determine that you might be better served by speaking to them instead.

Credilife® is an established, ever evolving, compliant, accurate, and successful Credit Life Improvement Program that thrives on customer service, research, and strategy. The result? A blueprint for success with great purpose. A credit services organization need not subscribe to Credilife® to be credible, but for those that do, rest assured, they are working to raise the bar for the industry as a whole when it comes to helping consumers improve their credit, get out of debt, and carve a new path toward financial independence. Through a combination of coaching initiatives, budgeting and credit building strategies, complemented by a factual technical credit disputing process, Credilife® is much more than a traditional credit repair program. See the Credit Builder Blueprint® as an example of the additional effort that is placed into ensuring each consumer’s successful transition from credit challenged to a viable, healthy credit life! We believe in promoting strong affiliate awareness because a healthy referral network made up of select industry professionals is the best way to find consumers that are motivated and deserving of such an opportunity… goal driven consumers, who are motivated and prepared to embark on a path that will lead to a future full of opportunity… diamonds in the ruff! Ready to join us, or want to know more? Connect with one of our affiliated businesses to subscribe to a new way of life… a Credilife®. Credilife® is an established, ever evolving, compliant, accurate, and successful Credit Life Improvement Program that thrives on customer service, research, and strategy. The result? A blueprint for success with great purpose. A credit services organization need not subscribe to Credilife® to be credible, but for those that do, rest assured, they are working to raise the bar for the industry as a whole when it comes to helping consumers improve their credit, get out of debt, and carve a new path toward financial independence. Through a combination of coaching initiatives, budgeting and credit building strategies, complemented by a factual technical credit disputing process, Credilife® is much more than a traditional credit repair program. See the Credit Builder Blueprint® as an example of the additional effort that is placed into ensuring each consumer’s successful transition from credit challenged to a viable, healthy credit life! We believe in promoting strong affiliate awareness because a healthy referral network made up of select industry professionals is the best way to find consumers that are motivated and deserving of such an opportunity… goal driven consumers, who are motivated and prepared to embark on a path that will lead to a future full of opportunity… diamonds in the ruff! Ready to join us, or want to know more? Connect with one of our affiliated businesses to subscribe to a new way of life… a Credilife®.

Debt settlement is the process by which a service provider, working on behalf of a Client (a financially distressed consumer enrolled in the service provider’s debt settlement program), negotiates the settlement and discharge of the Client’s unsecured indebtedness. Debt settlement generally serves those consumers who are goal oriented, have overcome a past hardship, and are now financially stable and are either not interested in Bankruptcy, or are unable to satisfy the means test required as a prerequisite to personal bankruptcy. Although the debt settlement process involves functioning as the intermediary between the debtor and the creditor, debt settlement service providers do not provide legal representation, nor do they provide tax or bankruptcy advice or counseling services. Similarly, debt settlement service providers do not provide assistance with secured indebtedness, such as mortgages or any other type of secured indebtedness (a creditor holding secured debt has no incentive to negotiate, or reason to accept, a settlement of less than the value of the underlying security). Debt settlement has been available to commercial enterprises for many years, although it only became widely available as an option for consumers in 2003 and took off, as an industry, following the passage of the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2005. The Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2005 made it much more difficult and expensive for consumers to seek discharge of their debts, particularly credit card-related debts. (See Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Forgive and Forget: Who Gets Credit After Bankruptcy and Why?, Working Paper No. QAU09-2, July 23, 2009, p.9.)

If you are current on your payments, it is very difficult, if not impossible to settle your debt. Creditors typically want to see that you are in a hardship situation before they are willing to negotiate. Therefore, you would have to voluntarily stop paying your unsecured debts; allowing them to become delinquent, or go into default before settlement discussions become a viable solution. Keep in mind also that your creditors and/or collections agencies may review your credit report, and a better credit score will make them less willing to negotiate. Debt Settlement services are best implemented while you are still recovering from a hardship. Secured debts, such as a home loan or car loan are collateralized; you should continue to pay these accounts on-time to avoid repossession or foreclosure proceedings. By not paying your creditors, your credit will be adversely affected by debt settlement. However, having to experience this circumstance may be better than having to file for bankruptcy, especially on your credit rating. Finally, as debts are settled, the date of last activity will be updated with the credit bureaus, also negatively impacting your credit score however. By coupling debt settlement with a reputable credit repair and rebuilding program, this damage can often be mitigated by other tactics including the removal of the negative account from your credit history, a best case scenario.

In general, in the United States, the IRS considers debt which is forgiven as income. This means if you borrow $15,000 on your credit cards and settle it for $8,000, the $7,000 difference is taxable as income since it is not repaid. However, the IRS will often waive this tax liability if you can show that you were insolvent during the time in which your debt settlement took place. We highly recommend a quick call to your accountant or tax professional for further discussion. You may be relieved with what they have to say! There are always very clear and real responsibilities when dealing with debt, especially when you don’t pay back 100% of what you owe. However, once you can remove your debt problem from your life, a whole new world of opportunity can open up for you.