• Debt Consolidation
• Debt Management
• Debt Help
• Debt Relief
• Consolidate Debt
• Debt Collection
• Debt Counseling
• Debt Free
• Bad Debt
• Debt Settlement

Debt Help

Debt Help questions and answers

Learn more about Dividend Reinvestment Plan at TeenAnalyst.com; The number one website for young investors.

Q: debt help?!?!?!?
I am in debt around £3.000, and cant pay it, i have tried loan companys. debt consolidation thingys and no luck. Oh Please help me, I even had the bailffs on doorstep today. PLEASE HELP ME?!?!?!?

A: Go to the citizens advice they can help,also the council have debt advice people who ring the company's u have debt wit and arrange payments and negotiate wot u can afford to pay .Good luck and don't let the bastards drag u down x

Q: What is a good organisation to help me with Debt management/consolidation?
There are many sites on the web, but most of them charge monthly fees and setup costs. I need help managing my credit, developing a budget and getting out of debt. Are there any good companies or non-profit organisations that provide these services?

A: Contact Consumer Credit Counseling Services, they are free and will work with your creditors to lower both your monthly payments and your interest rates. I used them several years ago and was debt free in 36-months.

Q: Need help with locating a lender to consolidate my total debt. Can anyone help me?
I want to consolidate my total debt and make one paymant. Needs to be with someone who takes poor credit and low income. Please help!

A: If you already have poor credit b/c of your debt, low income, and no collateral then a bank most likely won't give you a consolidation loan. You can still try though - give your bank a call about their qualification requirements for consolidation loans. However, you could try credit counseling which will negotiate a lower consolidated monthly payment and lower interest rates. Credit counseling does negatively impact your credit similar to a bankruptcy but at this point you may not care. But, be careful there are plenty of scams out there for credit counseling. I know someone who recently went through a good company but sorry I can't remember who it is right now. Maybe someone else on this board can give you a recommendation so you can at least talk to them.

Q: Is there any way I can get rid of my debt or someone that will help consolidate if my credit sucks?
I'm $7000 in debt and I need to rid myself of that debt before I can start my new life with my lovely english wife. My credit is horrible but I wanna ris myself of all my debt so i can try and improve it. Is there anyone I can talk to about consolidation loans or if anyone has any ideas about what I can do. I love my Girlfriend and we can't start our life together til i do this. PLEASE HELP!

A: if you look on your credit report, each egency or whoever you owe, the credit collection agency is listed there, call the numbers and ask about setting up payments and see if they are willing to settle.. most places will settle for way less than what you owe, u just have to call and talk to them... atleast your not any further in debt, you could knock that amount right down with payments and with them lowering the amount and settling for less u could get a big break! Good Luck!

Q: How can a 14-year old teenager help her parents on Debt Diet?
I've seen Oprah show on debt diet. But can you help me with my friend's problem. She has a daughter of 14 year old. How can a 14 years old teenager help her parents on debt diet?

A: I don't know, ask Oprah.

Q: Can the 403b plan help me get out of credit card debt?
I am a new teacher in TX and was told that the 403b plan could help me pay off my credit card debt. I was told that the tax taken out of my income could be used to help me pay off my debt if I invest it in the 403b plan. I am clueless about this. Any help is appreciated, thanks in advance.

A: No. You only 'save' tax at your tax margin rate (Your highest rate) on the toal amount put into the 403. So, if you put a $1,000 in you save $360 in taxes. But you have to put in the entire $1,000 so your cash flow is less. That being said, a 403B is a great way to save, especially if you are young. Sock as much money away as you can. What will it feel like to be millionaire when you retire because you put away $10k a year while working?

Q: How can a person who has bad credit take out a personal loan to help consolidate debt?
Is there any way to take out a personal loan to help consolidate debt when a person has a bad credit score?

A: See a Credit Counselor who will show you the way to be debt-free

Q: What kind of jobs can I do from home in my spare time to help pay down my debt?
I have a current full-time job but my hours are such that I can't really take on a part-time job with set hours. I'm looking to become debt free and wonder what kind of jobs I can do from home in my spare time that will help me achieve that.

A: You could try online teaching... something with a computer...

Q: What is neo-colonialism? Does this history help as well to explain the accumulation of foreign debt which has?
What is neo-colonialism? Does this history help as well to explain the accumulation of foreign debt which has plagued Latin America from the time of its independence until the current day? Does it help explain the popularity of today's leftist leaders in Latin America, such as Chavez in Venezuela & Morales in Bolivia?

A: ne·o·co·lo·ni·al·ism NOUN: A policy whereby a major power uses economic and political means to perpetuate or extend its influence over underdeveloped nations or areas: "Strong elements of neocolonialism persist in the economic relations of the rich and poor countries" (Scientific American). To guarantee control and access to these areas, the US has tried to form a regional market in which US corporations would have privileged and unrestricted access to these resources with legal security and property rights via the Free Trade Area of the Americas. After the FTAA's failure the US has carried forward a bilateral strategy of free trade agreements with various countries in the region with the same components as the FTAA. The US has negotiated and in some cases signed free trade agreements with the Central American countries, with Mexico and Canada, with Colombia and Peru, with Chile, and is in the process of negotations with Uruguay, Paraguay and Ecuador. So Latin America, as it has been since the Monroe Doctrine of the 19th Century, is the object of hegemonic control by the US which has oscillated between open and covert intervention and direct hostility towards governments that separate from or try to separate from that hegemonic control. Therefore, the region's economic, political, social and legal phenomena have to be understood within the geopolitical matrix of neocolonialism, interventionism and US domination. And that means foreign debt has to be understood as a geopolitical phenomenon whereby the adoption of measures in one region necessarily affects the metropolis. If in the 1980s, when the debt crisis began, Latin American countries with high indebtedness like Mexico, Brazil and Argentina had acted toegther and established joint negotiating political priorities, the world order would have been significantly changed. For that reason, one of the concerns of US administrations has been precisely to avoid coordinated, convergent action by Latin American countries on the problem of foreign debt. The US assumed as a priority the task of avoiding the formation of a debtors' syndicate and as a secondary task to secure and protect its internal financial system by transferring the costs of excess credit and lack of financial regulation to the region's countries via policies of structural adjustment. There is a relation between the debt crisis and the expansion of the US economy. Perhaps the most dramatic example is from the 1990s which ECLAC calls the new lost decade while for the US it was, by contrast, the "happy 'Nineties", to use the phrase of the Nobel economist Joseph Stiglitz. The US had unprecedented growth while Latin America in the same period had serious problems overcoming the economic crisis caused by foreign debt and structural adjustment policies. Not only that, but also in the measure to which the US transferred the costs of its own crisis to Latin American countries, they used the debt problem as an opportunity permitting them greater geopolitical control in the region. It is by virtue of these circumstances that one ought to consider debt as basically a geopolitical phenomenon. The financial details of the debt, despite their overwhelming importance for the continent's peoples, are secondary to the neocolonial strategy which is in truth inherent in foreign debt. Chavez and Morales vs. America's Corporatocracy Champions of the poor and oppressed are, by default, fierce opponents of the plutocracy in Washington DC November 21 2005 Counterbias.com by Jason Miller While he may be dead in the corporal sense, the spirit of Simon Bolivar continues to wage the struggle for freedom from oppression. Hugo Chavez is perhaps the most familiar incarnation of Bolivar's élan vital as he defies the neocolonial policies of the United States, a nation which has supplanted the European colonial empires as looters of Latin American bounty. Bolivar's spiritual essence also burns brightly in Evo Morales, another leader of the poor and oppressed in Latin America. Barring a CIA-orchestrated assassination or sabotage of the election process, in December Morales will be the next democratically-elected president of Bolivia. And deservedly so. The only thing they have to fear is fear itself....or is there something more? As they have with Chavez, the United States government and its lapdogs in the mainstream media have vilified Morales. Morales and Chavez are both portrayed as "threats" to the United States and have been characterized as "enemies". It is mind-boggling that the leaders of the wealthiest and most powerful nation in the history of humanity can view these men or their tiny nations (neither of which have the military might to overpower the state of Rhode Island) as legitimate threats. Is the US power elite suffering from delusional paranoia? Actually, their fears are well-founded, but one needs to analyze the situation a bit more closely to discern the root cause of their trepidations. The "Least of my Brethren" Hugo Chavez has publicly castigated the United States (and Bush II in particular) on several occasions. Drawing calls for his assassination from "respected US Christian leader" Pat Robertson, Chavez has clearly stated his intention to use his vast petroleum resources as a geopolitical weapon against the United States. He drew thunderous applause at the UN for his speech in which he maligned the United States government and its policies. As the democratically-elected president of Venezuela, a member of the indigenous population, a survivor of a US-sponsored coup in 2002, and the winner of a recall referendum in 2004, Chavez has utilized his nation's rich oil reserves to wage a war on poverty. He has used oil revenues to provide schools, medical care, and basic necessities at subsidized prices to the 80% of Venezuelans who live below the poverty line. He has also instituted land reforms to provide impoverished farmers an opportunity at ownership. Aligning himself closely with Fidel Castro, a man who has been a thorn in the collective sides of the United States ruling elite for years, Chavez has drawn further ire from US leaders. Since 1959, Castro has bedeviled the US government as the Cuban leader who deposed Fulgencio Batista, a ruthless dictator whom the US government supported. While ruling Cuba, Batista widened the wealth gap to a chasm (sound familiar?) and dispatched his death squads, which captured, tortured, and murdered thousands of "Leftists". Castro is certainly no saint, but Cuba was not exactly a paradise under America's proxy either. Trading oil for the use of many of Cuba's superbly-trained physicians, Chavez has parlayed his relationship with Castro to an advantage for the poor of his nation. Ironically, the infinitely benevolent and wise leaders of the United States rejected offers of help from both Chavez and Castro during Hurricane Katrina. While the Bush regime spurned overtures of help from our "enemies", over a thousand Americans died in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina as a result of criminal neglect and incompetence on the part of a US government now geared almost solely to represent and sustain the interests of the wealthy, corporations and the military industrial complex. Chavez is not alone as the revolution gains momentum Meanwhile, in Bolivia, a man named Evo Morales represents another incarnation of the spirit of Simon Bolivar as he fights to squelch US imperial interests in his nation. Standing on the brink of winning the presidency in the elections scheduled for December of 2005, Morales represents the next link in the chain of fierce Latin American resistance to US exploitation of their people and resources. Juan Evo Morales Ayma was born in 1959 in Orinco to a family of indigenous Quechuans, but moved to Chapare province in the 1980's to cultivate coca leaf. Growing coca leaf is a practice dating back to the Incan Empire. While the Indigenous people of Bolivia, who comprise over 50% of the population, chew coca leaves to ease hunger and make folk medicines, coca leaf is also the primary ingredient in cocaine. As part of its "War on Drugs", the United States began a program in the 1990's to eradicate coca production. In 1998, Plan Dignity, a barbaric and violent US-sponsored effort, resulted in the elimination of nearly 80% of coca production and left the campesinos in Bolivia with no economically viable alternative crops to cultivate. Supplied and supported by the United States, the Expeditionary Task Force, a paramilitary unit which the locals called "America's Mercenaries", reportedly engaged in violence and murder. Just imagine if Canada financed paramilitary forces in the United States which wiped out 80% of the production of Sudafed and Iodine because they are used in the manufacture of crystal meth. How long would Americans stand for that? In response to the intrusive, oppressive policies of the United States and its puppet Bolivian president, Hugo Banzer, Evo Morales emerged as a leader of the Cocaleros, an opposition movement comprised primarily of coca growers. His support in Chapare and Carrasco de Cochabamba was strong enough that he was elected to the national Congress in Bolivia in 1997 by the widest margin amongst the 68 Congresspeople who won in that election. In the words of Morales: "There is a unanimous defense of coca because the coca leaf is becoming the banner for national unity, a symbol of national unity in defense of our dignity. Since coca is a victim of the United States, as coca growers we are also victims of the United States, but then we rise up to question these policies to eradicate coca. "Now is the moment to see the defense of coca as the defense of all natural resources, just like hydrocarbon, oil, gas; and this consciousness is growing. That is why it is an issue of national unity." As a leader with widespread popular support, and a powerful force within the Movement to Socialism (MAS) party, Morales began to broaden his agenda beyond that of supporting the cultivation of coca. Like Chavez in Venezuela, Morales has emerged as a champion of the poor and oppressed, and by default, a fierce opponent of the blatantly corrupt plutocracy in Washington DC. The (Corporate) "American Way" In early 2000, Morales began intense efforts to stymie the imperial policies of the United States, which enable multinational corporations to engage in obscene exploitation of other nations. Demonstrating the depths of the cruelty of the "free market", neoliberal economic policies which the corporatocracy of the United States imposes on other nations, a large multi-national corporation called Aguas de Tanari was on the verge of purchasing the water works in Cochabamba, a Morales strong-hold. Under their business plan, 65% of the locals would not have been able to afford drinking water. Supporting Aguas de Tanari's dreams of imposing nightmares on the people, local laws were passed which criminalized catching and using rain water. Morales and his allies led powerful protests, which included road-blocks, and eventually crushed the despicable effort to inflict misery and suffering to generate profit. Down, but definitely not out In early 2002, the Bolivian government issued Supreme Decree 26415, which essentially prohibited the sale of coca-leaf. Riots broke out in Sacaba, which was home to a legal coca market. Four campesinos and three Bolivian soldiers were killed. Pressure from the US embassy led to the removal of Morales from his Congressional seat for his involvement in so called "terrorism" in Sacaba. His removal was later determined to be unconstitutional. The next round of elections in Bolivia in June of 2002 whisked Morales back into office. In pre-election polling, MAS barely registered with a paltry 4%. However, thanks to powerful opposition to US presence and influence in their nation, 20.94% of Bolivians supported MAS in the election. MAS came in only slightly behind the winning party. Unfortunately for the Bolivian people, they traded one proponent of US policies for another. Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada replaced Jorge Quiroga. Leave our hydrocarbons alone! Lozada's allegiance to US interests eventually cost him his presidency. Bolivia possesses vast natural gas reserves, which until the Bolivian Gas War in 2003, were exploited by multi-nationals through neoliberal policies instituted by the United States. In October of 2003, the Bolivian military killed nearly one hundred members of the poor and working class who participated in strikes and created road blocks in opposition to the theft of their nation's precious resources. Lozada resigned and fled the country, leaving his vice-president, Carlos Mesa, to rule Bolivia. More protests against Bolivian government-enabled exploitation of the nation's hydrocarbon resources erupted in mid-2005. Morales was instrumental in the protests and in the subsequent ouster of Mesa as president. Attacking from yet another angle, Morales (and his increasingly powerful MAS party) also called for the indictments of Mesa, Quiroga, and Lozada for their complicity in partnering with multi-national corporations in plundering Bolivian oil and natural gas (without the approval of the Bolivian Congress). Take another moment to empathize here Envision LUKoil of Russia seizing control of the oil industry in Alaska. In return for paying small royalties and minimal taxes, LUKoil gets to pump, keep, and sell as much American oil as it chooses. LUKoil profits handsomely while consuming our resources with minimal return to the United States. Somehow, I do not think that would fly with the American public. Yet our government enables powerful corporations to treat Bolivians in this manner. Maybe that is why they are called free market policies. Hypocrisy be thy name. As Morales gears up for the impending presidential election in December, his commitment to economic justice and human rights in the face of the oppressive, malevolent agenda of the United States government and its proxies in Bolivia remains clear and strong. Summarizing his position succinctly, Morales stated: "The worst enemy of humanity is capitalism. That is what provokes uprisings like our own, a rebellion against a system, against a neoliberal model, which is the representation of a savage capitalism. If the entire world doesn't acknowledge this reality, that the national states are not providing even minimally for health, education and nourishment, then each day the most fundamental human rights are being violated." To what conclusion do the facts lead? After careful consideration of the facts, it becomes quite clear why the corporate interests and incredibly wealthy hijackers of our constitutional republic in the United States are so desperate to convince their "electorate" that men like Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales are our "enemies". These men do pose a grave threat. If they maintain their hold on power and continue to advance the Bolivarian Revolution throughout Central and South America, powerful corporations will lose their capacity to commit legal larceny by plundering resources (a practice which leaves much of the Latin American population living in abject poverty). Morales is undermining the charade our government calls the "War on Drugs", which is simply another means of employing military intervention in the region and supporting ruthless leaders who implement policies favorable to the interests of the wealthy elite of the United States. Yes, Morales is a dangerous man indeed. Like Chavez, he is rising like an ominous storm on the horizon, poised to strike powerful bolts of lightening through the fat wallets of the proponents of neoliberal economic policies (which are modern means of non-violent colonization). The Bush regime has legitimate reasons for fearing these men. They are imminent threats to the health of US cash cows throughout the Latin American region. Based on the fact that the US government and media are defining Morales and Chavez as our "enemies" because they champion human rights and economic equality for their people in the face of American neocolonialism, I conclude that the Bush regime and many members of our Fourth Estate are morally bankrupt. What is even more distressing about their persistent efforts to convince Americans that Morales and Chavez are Antichrists is the fact that those who stand to "suffer" from this Bolivarian "diabolical scheme" to end US economic exploitation and oppression in Latin America represent a small fraction of the US population. Who will "feel the pain" if multi-nationals can no longer steal from Latin Americans? Members of the Bush regime....do you really care? The 1% of Americans who own 33% of the wealth....yawn. Executives and major share-holders of large corporations.....oh, the pain, the pain. Evo Morales and Hugo Chavez are friends to the majority of Americans, and to most of humanity. Each step of success for the Bolivarian Revolution will be a step in the evolution of humanity toward the fulfillment of the teachings and dreams of Christ, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and other great spiritual leaders throughout human history. Progress for the Bolivarians means regression for the cancer on humanity referred to as neoliberalism, or more appropriately, economic imperial conquest. So the next time Fox or CNN portrays Morales and Chavez as enemies of the United States, remember that sometimes rooting for the "bad guys" can be a good thing.

Q: Are there scholarships to help with debt after graduation?
I am an undergraduate in my junior year of college and will be 30k in debt when I get out of school. Are there any scholarships or grants designed to help people pay debt after they have graduated with a bachelor's degree?

A: No, there are no programs for that. You are responsible for paying back the loan yourself. You also are not allowed to declare bankrupcy or anything to get rid of your student loans, you're responsible for all eternity unless you're permanently disabled or die:( The above answer is very important though. You should find out about consolidating your loans. That means that you put them all together into one large loan which will probably have an averaged interest rate that is fixed. The variable rates on loans can get pretty high so its good to fix them if the rate is expected to increase. Ask your financial aid office for more info on if thats recommended right now. It also may not be good for you depending on your loans current rates and how much each loan was for, etc. There are also usually graduated payment plans you can sign up for. That means you would have a lower payment for a few years that gradually increases. It gives you more time to get a job, get financially stable and have enough income to make high payments. The negative side of that is that you will pay over a longer period and wind up paying back more money due to interest. Ask your financial aid office for more info. Thats all I can think of now. ***EDIT*** I think you can get federal student loans erased if you become a public school teacher in certain (low income?) areas or doctor or maybe military service? Check the federal student aid site, I think it is called loan forgiveness or something.

Q: Should I help my boyfriend get out of debt?
I have been with my boyfriend for a year and a half. We are in a serious relationship, leading to living together in the future. We're both in our early 50's, divorced, older teen kids. As part of my divorce settlement my marriage home needed to be sold and I received a nice sum from the sale. I'm planning on using a large chunk for a down payment on my next residence. I'm currently renting an apartment and want to buy a condo. I will still have a nice amount left after the down payment. My boyfriend is in debt and wants to pay off all his debts, credit cards, etc., which will total about $25,000. He didn't want to have to ask me if I could help him out, but he did and he wants to work out a repayment plan of putting a certain amount of his pay check into my account monthly. It will take about 5 years for him to repay me. He is willing to sign some sort of an agreement. I seriously doubt that he will not pay me back. What are people's opinions of me lending him this money? to answer some of your questions - neither of us wants to get married again. We had been in long term marriages before. I also don't want to give up my alimony. Living together is a commitment, we just feel that we don't need that piece of paper. A couple of you mentioned that he should see a financial counselor. How do you find one? And how would you know if that financial counselor is a good one with good advice? As far as me putting into an investment, probably for retirement - I do have a nice sum in a couple of retirement accounts. Actually this money is part of the money to be used to "hide" so that I will be able to contribute as little as possible for my daughter's college education. She does not want anything to do with me so I feel I should not be obligated to have to pay for her college.

A: Serious relationship or not, I would say "no". You are in your 50's and you both need to think about your financial security. Even with a repayment plan, things could go south. Loaning money is never a good thing, even to family, close friends. If you were married and equally sharing assets, I may think differently... If you want to help him, the best thing to do is sit down with a financial advisor and help keep him on a budget and possibly negotiate down some of his debt. He's a grown man who got himself into the situation, and after only knowing you for such a short time, has no place to ask you for that sort of money. Think about it, your kids are growing up and will be in college or starting families soon. It makes more sense for you to put that extra money you have into an interest bearing account and profit from it rather than give it away and earn little or no interest from it. Right now you need to concentrate on providing for yourself for retirement and for the future of your family, not this man.

Q: I need help with my debt to income ratio, the bank wont approve me for car loan?
I have 60k in college loans, just got out of grad school, an got a ok job that pays 35k. I need a new car, but the bank won't give me a loan because of my debt to income ratio. Help? I need to know what to do in order for me to get a loan. I know you can't lower your DTI. Oh, yeah, I have excellet credit

A: you went to business school for 6 or 7 years and you are telling me you can't lower your dti -- if you buy a used car and put the difference toward the debt i bet you dti would be lower!!!

Q: Can I borrow from my 401k to help pay off debt and if so how do I do this?
In over our heads in debt and need money fast. Can I borrow against my husbands 401k from his work to help pay this debt..I dont know what else to do. We are in a Chapter 13 so getting a regular conventional loan to help us out is not an option? How do I do this if we can do it?

A: You can, but I wouldn't reccomend doing that. Borrowing from the 401(k) is like using a credit card that charges 40% interest. It doesn't make financial sense. When borrowing from the 401(k), you will pay a 10% federal tax penalty. Plus you will have to pay them back over a 5 year period. Should your husband leave the company, the company may ask for all the money that was borrowed back thus putting you in more of a finacial mess, and on top of that, you will pay ordinary income tax. When you do pay them back, you are paying them back with after tax dollars. When your husband retires, and starts to withdraw at 59.5, he's going to get taxed again! Put $1000 in the bank for emergencies only. If I were you, you and your husband need to get on a budget. Pay the rent/mortgage, food, bills, first. List your bills from smallest to largest, then pay the minimums on all your bills except for the smallest debt. Whatever you have leftover, goes to the smallest debt. When you pay off the smallest debt, the pay the next smallest debt and so on. Cut up your credit cards and stop going to restaurants and eat at home, and pay everything in cash! Pick up Dave Ramsey's book The Total Money Makeover. It help me and I'm sure it will help you. But never, ever borrow from your 401(k)! It makes no financial sense whatsoever! Good Luck!