http://www.destroydebt.com/ Destroy Debt is an online community which provides regular articles showing practical ways to eliminate debt. www.destroydebt.com Mon, 01 Dec 2008 08:09:51 GMT webmaster@destroydebt.com webmaster@destroydebt.com http://www.destroydebt.com/articles/what-is-debt-settlement-and-is-it-right-for-you.html http://www.destroydebt.com/articles/what-is-debt-settlement-and-is-it-right-for-you.html Fri, 28 Nov 2008 06:00:00 GMT If you're seeking an alternative to bankruptcy due to excessive debt that you can't pay, you may be considering debt settlement. Settling your debt is when you negotiate with your creditors to lower the amount you owe.
Why Do Creditors Agree to Settle?

Many creditors would rather accept less than what you owe than send you collection notice after collection notice in an attempt to recover what you owe them if you have fallen behind on your payments. A debt settlement is when a creditor accepts 20-75% of what you owe in a one-time payment and then forgives the rest of the debt owed. They will then report to credit bureaus that the amount owed has been “settled”. The history of delinquent payments and charge-offs that may have occurred on the settled account prior to the pay-off date will remain on your credit report.

Creditors are not likely to agree to settlement options if consumers are up to date with their payments. Many won't talk to you about settlements unless you are three to six months behind on payments – and have been unresponsive to debt collection attempts. This means you'll spend three to six months screening your calls and not paying anything toward the debts you hope to settle on. During those three to six months, you would put as much money aside as possible to use to pay the company off when they agree to settle.... IF they agree to settle! There are no guarantees that a creditor will agree to settle, and you do take the chance that after not paying them for three to six months, possibly lowering your credit score even more, the creditor will refuse to settle.

Debt Settlement Companies

A number of companies exist nationwide to help consumers settle with their creditors. As the economy continues to weaken, even more debt settlement companies are popping up in hopes of getting business from the large percentage of American's who are struggling under excessive debt.

The problem with debt settlement companies is that they often charge excessive fees for their services, and you probably won't know up front how much you'll actually pay for the service. Some companies charge 15-20% of your total debt, plus an initial sign-up fee and ongoing monthly service charges. Some companies charge a monthly service fee instead of a percentage of your debt.

The companies are supposed to be able to help you negotiate with your creditors. Many people who have worked with debt settlement companies have reported that they weren't able to get all creditors to negotiate the amount owed. You're required to set up an escrow account when you use most debt settlement companies, and this is where your service fees, sign up fee, and/or monthly fee, as well as the monthly amount you are paying the debt settlement company to pay your creditors with, is deposited each month. It's also where the debt settlement company withdraws their fees. Some consumers have reported over a two year period that they made their monthly required payments under the debt settlement plan to the company, and the only payments to come out of that escrow account were those made to the debt settlement company. Meanwhile, the consumers continue to get phone calls and debt collection notices from creditors looking for their money – because nothing has been settled during this time.

Some creditors will escalate the accounts if they realize you are working with a debt settlement company – which means they may send your account to a collections agency sooner than they would have otherwise, or attempt to sue you. If a creditor takes legal action, most debt settlement companies will drop your account because they don't have the ability to represent you in court or give legal advice.

Should You Attempt to Settle Your Debts?

Debt settlement is only a good option for people who are heading toward a bankruptcy but don't qualify for filing Chapter 7. In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, most unsecured debts are written off but you may sell your home or other property). If you qualify for a Chapter 7, chances are you don't have the cashflow available to make a debt settlement option work for you, since it requires paying a percentage of your debts back to “settle” them and close the accounts.

If you are able to scrape together enough money to pay your debts through a debt-management program, where you are working to pay off all of your debt under lower interest rates – then by all means choose that option over debt settlement. It's better for your credit score.

If you've been pretty good about keeping up with your debts, you'd have to allow your accounts to go three to six months late before a creditor would consider you for debt settlement. If your credit score is reasonable now, you would completely damage it by going with a debt settlement.]]> http://www.destroydebt.com/articles/how-to-save-money-christmas-shopping.html http://www.destroydebt.com/articles/how-to-save-money-christmas-shopping.html Wed, 05 Nov 2008 06:00:00 GMT It's that time of year again – for those of us who are financially disciplined, you've either already completed your 2008 holiday shopping or you've got the money set aside and ready to go. For the rest of us, we've only just barely thought about Christmas shopping – and believe it or not, the big day is just 49 shopping days away!
Become an Amazon.com Associate

You know what an affiliate is, right? Amazon Associates can offer someone else's products for sale and earn a commission for any sales generated. Sign up, create links for the items you need to buy, and purchase through your own links. You'll get back some money in commission.

Visit CouponCodes.com for Discounts

Couponcodes.com offers coupon codes that can be used when shopping online. The site gives you a wide variety of coupon codes for each retailer listed on the site – but if there aren't any coupons available it will offer up details on current sales or discounts available.  There are a number of sites that offer coupons, take a look to find the sites offering coupons for the stores you shop most often.

Use FatWallet.com for Cash Back

Do all your holiday shopping through FatWallet.com (you'll probably find all of your favorite retailers there), and earn cash back between 1% and 20%. It's a bit like using a credit card with cash back – except that it's the website itself that gives you cash back for purchases. The money is applied to your FatWallet account, and you can redeem it as soon as you've reached a $10 minimum. Once logged in, keep your eye on special offers – during the holiday season, some retailers offer higher amounts of cash back to encourage shoppers to buy from them.

Comparison Shop with PriceGrabber.com

When you know what you're shopping for, go to PriceGrabber.com, type in the product name and then compare. You'll see several retailers offering your item for sale, as well as the prices. You might be surprised at how differently items are priced at different stores! This allows you to see at a glance which store has your item for the smallest price tag. As an additional incentive to use PriceGrabber.com to find your items; some products offer $5 bonus for reviews. After you buy the item and submit a review, the site will give you $5 for your time.

Don't Forget Your Sunday Paper

Throughout the year, you can find coupons for local stores in your Sunday newspaper. Between November and December, the number of coupons and the value of the coupons increase considerably. It is not unusual to find $5 off a purchase of $10 or $15 at your favorite local department store in the paper, so keep your eye out for coupons and special sale fliers and use them whenever you can to save money.

Friends and Family Discounts

If you know people who work in retail stores that you want to shop in, ask them if the store participates in a friends and family discount program. Many stores allow their employees to offer a discount to their friends and family on certain days or on certain items.

Outlet Stores

You can get everything from food to clothing to furniture and toys at discount prices at outlet stores. Typically the items are slightly less than perfect, so be sure to inspect them before buying but sometimes they are simply “last season” or overstock items that are sold at reduced prices to get them off the sales floor.

Convert Your Credit Card Rewards Points

Many credit cards allow you to turn reward points in for gift cards. Get some and give them as gifts or slide them into your significant other's stocking!]]> http://www.destroydebt.com/articles/bankruptcy-explained-whats-the-difference-between-a-chapter-7-and-a-chapter-11.html http://www.destroydebt.com/articles/bankruptcy-explained-whats-the-difference-between-a-chapter-7-and-a-chapter-11.html Fri, 17 Oct 2008 06:00:00 GMT Before doing any research, you may believe that bankruptcy is simply the process people go through to get out of paying their financial obligations. Bankruptcy is actually very complicated, and neither option (Chapter 7 or Chapter 11) will allow an individual to get out of paying all of your debt!
Chapter 7 bankruptcies are often referred to as the “liquidation” bankruptcy.   Chapter 7 bankruptcies can be filed by individuals, partnerships, corporations or any other business entity.

If an individual or company is filing Chapter 7, it's because they are beyond the ability of reorganizing their debts and are forced to sell many of their assets in order to pay creditors.  A trustee is appointed to the filer, and is responsible for ensuring that any assets that are secured and can be sold are sold – and that the proceeds from the sale are given to the specific creditor that secured the purchase in the first place.

If the sale of secured assets result in more money than what is owed to the secured creditors, the assets and cash are pooled together and paid to the outstanding creditors who had provided unsecured loans to the individual or business.

One of the main reasons why people and organizations file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is to discharge eligible debts and give themselves a fresh start.  A debtor who successfully files Chapter 7 will have no liability for the discharged debts – but there are many types of debts that cannot be discharged, including loans used for college, child support and/or alimony, or a lien on a property.  A discharge of debt under a Chapter 7 is only possible for individual debtors – not partnerships or other types of corporations.

Once the proper paperwork is filed with the court to begin the Chapter 7, creditors must stop contacting the debtor attempting to collect the debt.

An individual may be denied debt discharges under a Chapter 7 case if the court finds the individual did not keep (or produce) adequate financial records, committed a crime of perjury, was unable to explain loss of assets,  concealed, destroyed or illegally transferred property to try and move it out from the estate, or failed to complete a financial management course as required of all debtors filing bankrtupcy.


A Chapter 11 bankruptcy is referred to as the “rehabilitation” bankruptcy. The individual or business can file for Chapter 11 – or the creditors may involuntarily file for the debtor in certain situations.  Most Chapter 11 bankruptcies are filed by corporations or other businesses rather than individuals.

In this type of bankruptcy, the debts are reorganized to allow the individual or business a better chance of repaying them and keeping their head above water.  The creditors are contacted to get different terms on any loans – interest rates may be lowered, the amount of time you have to repay a debt may be extended to make the monthly payments lower and hopefully, easier to manage.  A trustee is appointed to supervise the assets but nothing is sold at this time.

In a Chapter 11 bankrtupcy, you aren't getting rid of your debts – you are simply restructuring and changing the terms of the debt and making plans to pay it back continuously through future earnings.

If a business is filing Chapter 11, it's expected to continue operating successfully.  If that proves not to be possible, the business can then file for Chapter 7 and liquidate assets.

In both a Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 filing by a corporation, it's likely that the common shareholders would receive little or no return on their investments.]]> http://www.destroydebt.com/articles/76-ways-to-save-money-while-saving-the-environment.html http://www.destroydebt.com/articles/76-ways-to-save-money-while-saving-the-environment.html Sat, 11 Oct 2008 06:00:00 GMT Going green – or saving the environment – can be extremely expensive. When you think about what it means to “go green”, you probably visualize huge solar panels on the roof, personal water treatment plans with fancy rain water collection barrels and a purification system in your backyard, or a windmill fueling your home with all the electricity it needs.
That being said, it doesn't mean you can't do your part to save the environment In fact, there are a number of things you can do that actually help you save money while saving the environment! Even if you haven't jumped on board the “go green” bandwagon yet, by using (or, in most cases, wasting) less “stuff”, you'll end up keeping more green in your wallet.

WATER


1. Skip The Bottled Water
Buying bottled water costs between one and two bucks a bottle, and easily adds up to a few hundred dollars a year. You might think it's worth it to drink water that tastes good and is considered safe; but what else do those bottles of water cost? Only about 1.5 million barrels of oil per year to make the plastic bottles, and 22 million bottles ending up in the landfills annually. Did you know that many companies are simply bottling tap water and slapping a label on it before selling it to you? Get a filter for your water faucet and a re-useable water bottle – save money, drink healthy water, and do your part for the environment.

2. Trick Your Toilet
There are toilets that reduce water consumption each time you flush, but they're more expensive. Plus, if your toilet works, who wants to pay to replace it? Instead of buying a new toilet to conserve water, you can just displace the water in the tank. Put in a brick or a soda bottle filled with water and it will use less water per flush, and not cost you anything.

3. Flush Less

If you want to, you could flush your toilet less. Don't flush if you've just blown your nose and tossed the tissue in the water!

4. Capture Wasted Shower Water
Do you have to run your shower for a few minutes before the water heats up enough to step in without screaming? Put a bucket in to capture the cold water while you wait for it to heat up and you can use it to water the plants or wash the floors.

5. Low Flow Showers

Low-flow showerheads are fairly inexpensive and reduce the amount of water you need to get clean. Because showers use hot water, using less water in the shower will also reduce energy consumption.

6. Spend $5 to Save

Take a trip to the hardware store and pick up aerators and low-flow faucet adapters to install on each of your sinks. You'll use less water and save money.

7.  Fully Stocked Dishwashers Only

Only run your dishwasher when it's completely full of dirty dishes. Skip the pre-rinse to conserve water.

8. Pre-Soak to Handwash

Fill up one side of your sink or wash tub with warm, soapy water to let your dishes soak for awhile. This loosens up food particles and lets you wash them easier. Fill another tub or sink with clean water to rinse and avoid running tap water constantly for hand washing dishes.

9. Save Fruit and Veggie Washes

Rinse your fruit and vegetables over a bucket or bowl and use the water to water your flowers, plants or garden.

10. Wash Cold
Whether you use energy-efficient appliances or the older ones, you can wash your clothes in cold water to reduce the amount of hot water you use in your house and save money and energy.


11. Catch the Rain

Keep a bucket or two outside to catch the rain as it falls from the sky. You can use this water to wash your car, water your lawn, garden, flowers and plants.


12. Time the Shower

Put a kitchen timer in the bathroom and take shorter showers. You'd be amazed how quickly you can lather and rinse when you are conscious of what you're doing.

ELECTRICITY


13. Skip the Heated Dry

Most dishwasher's have a heated dry cycle. This uses more energy. Turn off the dry cycle and let them air dry, or wipe with a dish towel before putting them away.

14. Power Down
There are a number of appliances and electronics that consume phantom energy even when they're off. You'll recognize them by their flashing lights and glowing clocks. Unplug them when not in use- they're responsible for 10-40% of your electricity useage

15. Replace lightbulbs

Energy efficient lightbulbs cost a bit more when you first buy them, but are still fairly reasonable with the average price of just $1.50 per bulb or so! Energy efficient lightbulbs draw less electricity to light up – and last about seven years. Buy them all at once and replace all your bulbs at once – or simply replace bulbs as they burn out with the energy efficient versions.

16. Use Computer's Sleep Mode

Whenever you're not using the computer for a few hours, let it go to 'sleep' to conserve energy. When done using it for the day, shut it down completely.


17. Vacuum Under Fridge

Every three months or so, vacuum the condensor coils under the refrigerator. If they get built up with dust and dirty, the refrigerator has to work harder to keep your food cold.


18. Keep it Stocked

Your refrigerator and freezer will require less energy to maintain the coldness if they are full of food. The food itself will help maintain the temperature. This is why an empty freezer uses more energy than a freezer that's full of frozen goods.


19. Use the Microwave More

The microwave uses half the electricity of your conventional, electric oven and cooks food in less time, so use it more often to conserve electricity.

20. Use Task Lighting

When reading or working on a desk, use small lamps to illuminate the area you need rather than using an overhead light to light up an entire room. You can use less watts with smaller lights and reduce energy consumption.

21. Hang To Dry

On dry days, hang your laundry outside to dry rather than using your clothes dryer. So what if the neighbors see your undergarments blowing in the breeze? You are helping the environment and saving money in the process. On colder or rainy days, you might be able to use wooden clothes racks in the bathroom to air dry many of your clothes.


22. Turn it Off

How often do you turn on lights out of habit when you enter a room, than out of necessity? If you don't really need it, don't switch it on. If you're done with it, switch it off. Teach your children these habits as well and you'll notice savings on your electricity bill- and use less energy which is a bonus for the environment.

23. Lower Water Temperature

Next to your home's heating system, the hot water heater uses the most energy in your home. Lower the temperature from 140 degrees to 120 degrees and save about 10% on your energy bill.


24. Insulate Hot Water Pipes

You can purchase inexpensive water pipe insultation kits from the hardware store. Wrap your hot water pipes with them to help keep the heat in as the water travels through the pipes.

HEAT

25. Weather Strip-It
If the windows in your house are drafty, consider replacing them. Since this is quite an expense, you may need to make them work for awhile before you can save up enough to replace them, though. In the meantime, use weather stripping around each of your windows in the winter to block out most of the cold air while keeping in your warm air. Consumer Reports tells us that heating costs can be reduced by about 30% with the use of weather stripping.

26. Caulk

Caulk costs about $5 per tube, and can be used to seal drafty windows. It's a little messier than weather stripping, but cost efficient and easy to use.

27. Re-use Cooking Heat

When you use your oven in the winter, once you're finished cooking and have turned your oven off, keep the door open to allow the hot air to enter the kitchen. It will help keep the air temperature warmer and reduce the need for the heat to kick on temporarily.

28. Rearrange for Winter

Move furniture away from your heating units in each room, so you don't block the warm air. It will require less energy to heat your home as more of the heat is being used rather than blocked behind furniture.

29. Use Warm-Air Humidifiers

In the winter months, the air is dryer and it can make it difficult to breathe. Using energy efficient warm-air humidifiers can help raise the temperature of a room while providing moister air to improve breathing.

 30. Close the Door to Unused Rooms

If you have little used rooms in your home, why should you spend the money to heat them? Turn off the heat to that room (close heating vents, switch off electric radiators, etc) and keep the door shut with a towel or blanket to seal off the opening under the door. You'll require less heat to keep the rest of your house warm.

31. Use Space Heaters

You can purchase affordable space heaters to keep the rooms you're in warm, instead of heating the entire house, and turn them off when you're not going to be home for extended periods of time. Just keep in mind it often takes more energy to bring the room back up to temperature than to maintain it at the desired temperature; so only turn the heat off completely if you'll be gone for a long time. Also- only turn heat off completely if there is no risk to your pipes freezing.

32. Don't Use Bathroom Ventilator Fan For Winter Showers

The water vapors from a shower raise the temperature of the air around the shower. In the winter months, don't turn the ventilator fan on and you can benefit from the warm water as it will help heat your home.

33. Lower Heat Temperature

For every degree over 68, you can expect about a 3% increase in your heating bill. Lower the heat to the lowest possible setting that maintains comfort throughout winter, and wear heavier clothing to keep warm.


34. Shrink Wrap Windows

Purchase shrink wrap product (about $10 a box will cover 3 windows) and seal up your windows for winter.

35. Use Electric Blanket

If you turn the heat way down at night but feel cold when going to bed, simply turn on an electric blanket for a few minutes to warm up your sheets and bed – and turn it off. You'll be warm all night.

36. Programmable Thermostats

For an expense between $30 and $100, you can program your home's temperature based on your schedule so you aren't wasting energy when you're not home or when you're sleeping.


37. It's a Tankless Job

Make your next water heater a tankless water heater

38. Downsize the Computer

Buy a laptop instead of a pc for your next computer and you'll use far less electricity.

39. Quick Clean A/C Unit

Use a garden hose to blow dirt out of the filter around your A/C unit and your air conditioner will run more efficiently and require less energy.


40. Turn the Freezer Temperature Down

Turn your freezer down to just below the freezing mark. A good test of the right temperature is ice cream. It should be solid but easy to scoop.

41. Toast-It

Use a toaster oven for reheating meals instead of conventional oven. It heats up quicker and uses less energy. You can get one for about $10 at Wal-Mart.

42. Reduce Air Conditioning

Turn your thermostat up a degree or two in the summer and use fans to keep cool. Fans require less electricity and any air movement will be cooling against your skin.

43. Remember the Air Filters

Change the air filters on your furnace regularly to keep it running efficiently and using the least amount of electricity possible.

44. Put Your A/C Unit in the Shade

Provide some shade for your A/C unit so it’s not in direct sunlight.

TRAVEL

45. Better Transport

We're a long way from a car that doesn't use any gas at all that's affordable and reliable. In the meantime, ride a bike or walk whenever possible, carpool or use public transportation. Save money on gas and reduce your carbon output at the same time.

46. Drive Better

When you do have to drive your car, don't accelerate like a race car driver everytime you take off from a redlight or stop sign. Keep your tires properly inflated and save one mile per gallon. Combine your errands so you don't have to drive as often.

47. Don't Idle The Car

Idling the car will use a lot more energy than turning it off and turning it back on. If you're sitting for longer than a minute, just shut down the engine and start it up again when you're ready to go.

48. Drive over 15mph and under 60mph

Studies show that a car emits more pollution into the air at speeds under 15mph and over 60mph. Watch your speed and reduce your carbon footprint.

HOUSEHOLD

49. Re-Use Shopping Bags

Grocery bags and other plastic shopping bags are good for way more than one trip home from the store. Use them to line small trash containers and save money on trash bags.

50. Purchase a Canvas Bag

Make or purchase a few canvas bags to use instead of plastic bags. They last forever and can be washed like laundry to keep them fresh.

51. Grow Your Own

Grow an herb garden indoors all year round for fresh herbs. You can stop buying dried herbs and spices and save money and packaging. Also, grow fresh vegetables and fruits whenever possible.

52. Push Lawn Mowers

Instead of using a gas or electric lawn mower, get the manual, push kind. You'll use less energy, no gas, and avoid the harmful emissions that a typical lawn mower shoots into the air.

53. Skip Laundry Detergent – Use Eco Wash Balls

Laundry detergent is primarily chemical based. You can skip it altogether with re-useable eco wash balls. Depending on the brand, they're reuseable for 60 to 600 washes. They're safe for all fabrics and great for sensitive skin types. You can shorten the rinse cycle and use less water during the wash, too, since there is no detergent to rinse off. Another bonus is eco wash balls make your laundry softer- you can probably skip fabric softener.

54. Rechargeable Batteries

Purchase and use rechargeable batteries instead of replacing dead batteries with new ones every time. Keep enough on hand to have a few spare sets already charged and ready to go.

55. Buy Refills in Bulk

Buy bulk refills for things like shampoo, soap, laundry detergent etc at Sams/Cosco. It’s cheaper and uses less packaging.

56. Re-use Paper

If you've got kids in school, you've got a lot of paper. They come home with a stack of announcements, drawings and worksheets daily. Don't just read and toss- flip them over and let the kids use them to draw or paint on the other sides, too.

57. Make Your Own Notepads

Speaking of conserving paper, cut a stack of paper that's used only on one side into squares. Staple on the top corner and use for grocery lists, to do lists, or taking phone messages.

58. Newspapers

Don't forget to save the comics for gift wrap. You can use newspaper to fill boxes and envelopes when mailing bulky items to protect it during transit, too.

59. Re-use Baggies/Ziplock

Sandwich bags and ziplock type baggies can often be rinsed out and re-used more than once. If sending kids crackers or cookies in a ziplock bag to school, you can send the same or similar snack in the same baggie the following day.

60. Cleaning Products
You don't have to pay big bucks for green cleaning products. You can make your own with everyday household items, like baking soda and vinegar and club soda.

61. Washable Napkins

We are in the habit of grabbing paper towels, napkins, aluminum foil and other one-time use products, but there are alternatives. You could use towels in the kitchen and wash rather than throw away when used; tupperware products instead of wrapping in aluminum foil, and cloth napkins instead of paper based napkins.

62. Green Meals
You will almost always save money if you make meals at home over purchasing from a restaurant or fast food place. Plus, getting take out uses excess packaging which typically ends up in the garbage.

63. Give it Away

Don't throw away items you no longer want or need that are in good condition. When possible, donate and get a tax-write off to help you save some money.

64. Mineral Salt Deodorant Sticks

These are available in health food stores. They last much longer than a regular deodorant stick, and don't contain any harmful ingredients. They also don't have a lot of extra, unuseable packaging to clutter the landfill.

65. Reuseable Coffee Filters

Not only do you reduce the amount of waste you produce when making coffee, but you'll never run out of filters again when you use the reuseable kind. Just wash and re-use.

66. Recycle

Take the extra second to recycle rather than toss in the garbage. Aluminum, tin, plastic, glass – most towns have recycling centers and some garbage disposal services are capable of picking up your recycleables, too. To make a little money from recycling, return soda and beer cans to the store.

67. Use Washable Coffee Mugs

If you drink coffee or tea or other hot beverages at work and your workplace provides styrofoam cups – bring in a coffee mug and wash it rather than tossing in the garbage after each drink. Same goes for the water cooler- no one says you have to use the provided plastic cups!

68. Rent Glassware For Parties

Instead of buying a ton of paper products for party guests, rent glasses, plates and silverware from caterers and wash and return after using.

69. New Windows for Tax Credits

New windows, storm windows, sky lights: credit on 10% of the cost up to $200 total for all windows.

70. New Doors for Tax Credits

New Exterior doors: credit on 10% of the cost up to $500.

71. New Roofs for Tax Credits

Metal roofs: 10% of the cost up to $500.

72. New Insulation for Tax Credits

Insulation. Credit on 10% of the cost up to $500.

73. Central air or heating for Tax Credits

Central air/heating: $300 credit.

74. New Furnace for Tax Credits

New Furnace: $150.

75. New Heat Pump for Tax Credits

Geo-Thermal Heat Pump: $300.

76. New Water Heater for Tax Credits

New Water Heater: $300]]> http://www.destroydebt.com/articles/free-college-education-without-winning-a-scholarship.html http://www.destroydebt.com/articles/free-college-education-without-winning-a-scholarship.html Mon, 22 Sep 2008 06:00:00 GMT As high school seniors begin making plans to go to college, the financial reality of it all begins to set in for their parents.  Sure, it's usually pretty easy for students and their parents to get approved for college loans to pay for whatever you can't pay upfront - but does anyone really want to graduate with tens of thousands (or more) in college loans?  It's a rude awakening for college graduates to enter the "real world" after earning their degrees with all of that debt on their shoulders.
Since most of us don't come from families who are able to pull the cost of a college education out of their back pocket - you'll probably be interested (if not completely surprised) to discover that there are a number of colleges in the United States that offer 100% tuition-free education.  In exchange for free tuition, many of the colleges expect students to work 10 or 15 hours in a job related to their field of study, but this could only be seen as an advantage!  You graduate debt free, and with work experience for your resume.

Alice Lloyd College

Located in Kentucky, Alice Lloyd College offers guaranteed tuition to full time students from 108 counties.   The university is a highly respected, private four year liberal arts college, offering degree programs in Education, Natural Science and Math, Social Sciences and Humanities.  There are four residence halls (two for males and two for females) and students are required to live on campus unless commuting from an immediate family member's home.  A variety of sports and activities round out campus life.

Berea College

Another free tuition school located in Kentucky, Berea College was founded in 1855 and currently spends more than $24,000 per student, per year,  to provide each admitted student with a free education. There are more than 28 degree programs leading to bachelor of arts or bachelor of science degrees.  The college offers more than 50 clubs and organizations, sports teams and on-campus facilities that make your stay comfortable.  More than 50% of Berea students get to study abroad, as well. 

Room and board are not included in the free tuition - and total around $6,000 per year.  With additional financial aid provided by the school, many students pay nothing towards these expenses as well - or pay discounted amounts.  You can apply to Berea - without an application fee, too!

All students work at least 10 hours per week on campus.

The Cooper Union

Founded in 1859 by philanthropist, Peter Cooper, The Cooper Union is one of the nations oldest colleges.  It's located in New York City and offers programs in architecture, art, science and engineering fields.  All enrolled students receive 100% tuition scholarships, estimated at $33,000 per year.  Students attending The Cooper Union are responsible for paying room and board, miscellaneous fees and general living expenses.

There are a number of clubs and activities for students to participate in, as well as athletics.

Webb Institute 

Also located in New York City, the Webb Institute is a college for Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering fields of study. Tuition is free, and there are no laboratory fees, library fees or course fees.  Students are expected to contribute to their room and board expenses, which average $7550 per year, as well as some other basic living expenses and drafting equipment.

Located on Long Island Sound, students tend to sail or water ski in their spare time.  Students have access to the local YMCA at no charge, as well as programs in music and athletics.

College of the Ozarks

Located in Missouri, The College of the Ozarks has been named Stone Cold Sober School by the Princeton Review for ten consecutive years.  Students are not permitted alcohol or drugs on or off campus.  It's largely a christian school, offering tuition in exchange for work rather than pay.  The college does not participate in federal loan programs, either, and discourages debt.

There are sports teams for both men and women.  All students work 15 hours per week and two 40 hour work weeks during their stay on campus.  Students must stay on campus unless they are over 21 years old or live with parents/immediate relatives, or are married.]]> http://www.destroydebt.com/articles/tips-for-avoiding-bankruptcy.html http://www.destroydebt.com/articles/tips-for-avoiding-bankruptcy.html Sun, 20 Jul 2008 06:00:00 GMT The number of people filing bankruptcy in the United States continues to increase with every passing year. Regardless of the individual circumstances that led you down that path – you should do everything in your power to avoid bankruptcy. Some people think filing bankruptcy results in “starting over” with a clean slate. The truth is, bankruptcy is very rarely as easy as it sounds and the ramifications of filing bankruptcy stay with you for a very long time.
For creditors, when their debtors file bankruptcy, they are given a chance to get a portion of the money that the debtors are obligated to pay back, as designated by the court. If debtors do file for bankruptcy, creditors must immediately stop attempts to collect the debts which provides temporary relief and a period of less stress for the majority of individuals filing for bankruptcy, but it doesn't stay for long! After a bankruptcy is filed, you'll find it difficult, if not impossible, to gain any kind of credit for several years; your employer can let you go or a new employer can refuse to hire you based on your bankruptcy; and it can be difficult to find a place to live if you don't already have a home.

Sell Your Stuff

The first thing you can do if you find yourself on the brink of filing for bankruptcy is to sell your “stuff”, otherwise known as your assets. Yes, this hurts, but if you go through with a bankruptcy you can pretty much say goodbye to everything you own anyway.

If you have a car loan, try to turn the vehicle in and get something used and without a car payment. If you already have a car without a payment, consider selling it if it's worth much; and buying a less expensive car and using the rest of the money to apply towards bills. If possible, go down to one vehicle for the family for awhile.

If you have a mortgage and a home, consider selling the home to live someplace less expensive.

Sell any belongings you don't NEED that can give you some much needed money right now and apply all money from the sale of items to your debt.

Increase Your Income

You may temporarily need to work more often and find ways to increase your income in order to relieve some of the money pressure you're experiencing. This may include getting a night job if you work during the day; working weekends if you currently only work during the week; or finding ways to earn money from home on your computer or otherwise. There are many ways to earn additional income, and you can do many of them without any investment beyond your time. Yes, working more cuts into family time, but if you realize it's temporary and the additional money will be used to repay your debt and avoid bankruptcy, you can get through this temporary period.

Consider odd jobs for neighbors (lawn mowing, dog walking, and errand service), writing articles online for website owners who pay writers, using the experience and skills you have at your current job as a side business opportunity.

If you aren't sure how to get business from a side business, then head out for a part time job anywhere you can find one. Don't hold out for a “high paid” position, because all the time you spend looking can be spent making $8 an hour or so at a part time job near your home. You can keep looking for something better in the meantime, but the idea is to find a part time job to start earning extra income as soon as possible.]]> http://www.destroydebt.com/articles/how-much-money-do-you-need-to-retire.html http://www.destroydebt.com/articles/how-much-money-do-you-need-to-retire.html Mon, 07 Jul 2008 06:00:00 GMT It's amazing to me how many of us go through our working years without too much thought of how we'll live when we retire. Thing is- we want to be able to stop working at some point and enjoy our retirement years, but the only way to do that is to be financially prepared. How do you know how much money you will need to retire? Try the following steps:

1. Calculate the cost of your current living expenses. Statistics say that when we retire, we will need around 70% of the income we live on while working. This is probably not an accurate figure for most of us anymore, since we tend to live longer than we used to, retire earlier than we used to which means we tend to travel and have more entertainment expenses when retired, and then don't forget that as people age more medication and visits to the doctor are typically required.

It's not wise to depend on Social Security for those of us in are 20's now, since there is no real gaurantee the money will be there when we're ready to retire, but right now people retiring can expect Social Security to replace 45% of income for middle-income American's.

If your home will be paid off before you retire, you will not have to worry about paying a mortgage, but older homes tend to need more money for maintenance costs.

If you are able to pay off your debt before you retire, you will not have to make monthly payments for credit cards or loans, which can reduce your living expenses considerably from what they may be now.

2. Determine your desired retirement income. Some people are able to cut costs dramatically when they retire (as discussed above, paid off mortgages and becoming debt free can make a huge difference to the amount of income you need), while others plan additional expenses for their retired years that actually requires having more money during retirement than when working.

If you plan to travel to visit family or for vacations, your income will need to be able to support the traveling lifestyle. Many retired people look forward to traveling, and if this is your intention you'll want to be sure your income is enough to make it happen.

Are you going to relocate? Some retired individuals or family move to another state or location with a lower cost of living and this can help you reduce your necessary living expenses. Plus, if you sell a house you might have a profit to add to your retirement fund, or to use towards the purchase or rental of a less expensive home.

When you are retired- will you have any sources of income? Some people work part time because they want to do something, others have passive sources of income through businesses they own or investments made. This will reduce the amount of money you need to save for retirement.

3. Remember to account for inflation. Life is more expensive with every passing year, so you have to consider that when figuring the amount needed for your retirement years. For example, the amount you can live on comfortably in your first year of retirement may be tight during the fifth year and not enough during your tenth year! Experts say to assume an inflation rate of 3%.

4. Try to predict the number of years you will be retired. How old do you want to be when you retire? Ok, now how old   will you realistically be when you retire? (These two numbers are usually very different!) Then think about how many years you will live beyond your retirement day. You can use life expectancy calculators or you could just guess, but you need to have an estimate of years in order to estimate the amount of money you need for retirement.

5. Plan, budget, figure it out. What you can do is add up the money you'll need each year of retirement, accounting for inflation and your lifestyle, and then add up the money for each of the years you'll be retired. Then, save. Most people find their retirement number to be out of reach for regular savings, so you'll probably want to use investment strategies to help you reach your number. A financial advisor can be extremely helpful with this. It's recommended that you set aside 15% of your gross annual income for retirement.

CNN Money offers an interactive retirement calculator you can use to help figure out costs.]]> http://www.destroydebt.com/articles/not-all-debt-consolidation-programs-are-able-to-rescue-your-financial-situation.html http://www.destroydebt.com/articles/not-all-debt-consolidation-programs-are-able-to-rescue-your-financial-situation.html Thu, 26 Jun 2008 06:00:00 GMT While debt consolidation almost always helps people get control over excessive, high interest debts, there are actually instances when it doesn't offer much relief. The general idea of debt consolidation is terrific: smash all of your debts into a single account, and somehow pay less per month and pay it off quicker. When you put it that way, it seems a little too good to be true – similar to a “get rich quick” scheme!
Thankfully, not all debt consolidation is a poor financial move- in fact, most are legitimate and offer a way to get control over your financial situation. Just keep in mind the following when you are considering a debt consolidation:

You May Not Qualify For a Debt Consolidation Loan

Usually, by the time someone decides they need a debt consolidation loan to pay off all of their other bills, their credit is a bit on the poor side. Having a low credit score, or numerous late payments made on your bills will make it very difficult, if not impossible to obtain a debt consolidation loan. People who really need a debt consolidation loan tend to be people who are making their payments late (which sparks their interest in the debt consolidation loans in the first place).

Some debt consolidation loans are on to this... and take advantage of this issue. While you won't qualify for their best loan products with bad credit, they might try to entice you with a high interest loan that results in lower monthly payments. What's wrong with that, you might ask? Isn't having a lower monthly payment the entire point and reason for consolidating your debts with a loan? Yes... except that a loan with 22% interest and lower monthly payments means you're going to be paying even MORE to pay off the original debt than you would have if you continued to make your regular monthly payments.

While not the ideal situation, if you really cannot keep up with your monthly payments as they are, you may have to consider that 22% interest loan, or search for ways to increase your income so that you can keep up with your monthly payments.

Credit Card Balance Transfer Offers For Consolidation

Credit card companies send out various offers to consumers hoping to get new card holders. They also send balance transfer offers to existing credit card holders, hoping to get their existing customers to transfer other debt to them, as well. While a low interest or 0% interest balance transfer offer is a reasonable solution to consolidate higher interest debts, it's important that you can either pay off the balances you transfer within the low APR/0% interest time period or you have another solution for when the promotion ends. Often, a balance transfer offer is only good for six months or a year – and if you haven't paid off your balance before that time, you end up with a high interest rate on the remaining balance.

Debt Consolidation Companies That Will “Do It All” For You

There are a number of debt consolidation companies that negotiate lower interest rates with your creditors for you. Sometimes they have a higher success rate than what you would have yourself if you called to try and get lower interest rates or better repayment options, but not always. Instead of using a debt consolidation company to take care of that for you without at least trying it for yourself, give it a go on your own and see if you can't make arrangements with your creditors – you may be pleasantly surprised at the outcome.

The trouble with the “do it all for you” type consolidation company is that there is a great many of them who set things up for you, arrange for lower interest rates or different repayment terms to make it easier on you to repay; and then take a monthly payment from you to forward on to each of your creditors for you. Sounds ok so far, right? Most take a fee for the service, a fee you wouldn't pay if you did this on your own, and some make your payments late. Making payments late to companies after you've negotiated lower interest rates or a different repayment plan can completely negate the arrangement and send you right back to your original high interest rate and high monthly payment.

While some debt consolidation programs really do help people, it's important that you research and determine whether or not you must use a company or if you can improve your situation with some slight changes to your personal budget.]]> http://www.destroydebt.com/articles/how-to-create-a-household-budget.html http://www.destroydebt.com/articles/how-to-create-a-household-budget.html Thu, 12 Jun 2008 06:00:00 GMT If you don't have an actual “budget” in place for your household, you may be completely scared whenever you hear someone say they're “making a budget”. Typically, the people who would most benefit from having a budget are the ones who are most afraid of the idea. If you're living paycheck to paycheck, and feel like you never get caught up financially, a budget is probably the perfect solution.
Having a budget will eventually eliminate the common scenario of not making enough money to cover your bills and living expenses, if you commit to making this lifestyle change. As with any “habit” change, you have to give it your all for a good 30 days or more before it will become automatic, so don't wimp out on week two and say it isn't going to work!

Step One: Figure out how much you make. Find paystubs or check registers and determine how much money your household brings in on a monthly basis. If you have variable income, find your average monthly income by adding all of your monthly income totals together and dividing by the number of months you added together. Use this monthly income as the amount of money you have available to spend, pay bills, save, etc.

Step Two: Figure out how much money you pay out each month. This is the scary part! There are many households that don't actually know how much they pay to live each month. Get all of your paperwork together, statements, check registers, etc, and add up how much you pay to creditors every month. Also figure out how much it costs you to live, including rent or mortgage, utilities and groceries. If you have to pay it, include it on the list.

Is the amount of money you pay out each month larger then the amount of money you earn each month? You are not alone, and while at first you may think you can't have a budget because of this situation, the fact is a budget will FIX this situation and reverse those numbers!

Step Three: Figure out where the rest of your money is going. Try to keep track of where you are spending money that's outside your necessities for a few months. How much money are you spending on take out food? Coffee from the coffee shop? Extra purchases at the grocery store? Restaurants? Get an average monthly amount for the unnecessities and see where you can cut back to reduce how much money you spend unnnecessarily.

Step Four: Make adjustments to how much you pay out to each of your creditors. If you have overdue balances on some of your accounts, you want to send those accounts as much as possible each month until they are caught up. Call credit card companies to see if you can pay them a little less than what you've been paying for a few months in order to correct your budget. Most of the time they are willing to work with you as long as you send them money every month. Check with utilities to see if they offer a “budget” plan, or reduced payment plan that makes it easier to pay your expenses over the course of a year in equal payments, rather than paying large heating bills in the winter and none in the summer. Reduce unnecessary spending categories to the absolute minimum- but be careful not to remove entertainment completely as you will quickly fall off the budget wagon if you have no fun in your life!

Step Five: Stick to it. Once you've got the numbers set for each of your creditors and monthly expenses, stick to it as close as you can. That's what budgeting is. For the first few months, you may have to move numbers around some more until it works; but the idea is you are planning what you do with your money and minimizing impulse spending and reckless money management. As you pay off debts, you'll have additional income each month that can be applied to other debts; you can increase your entertainment category and contribute more to your savings. Before you know it, you will not be living paycheck to paycheck.]]> http://www.destroydebt.com/articles/year-round-organization-saves-time-and-money-at-tax-time.html http://www.destroydebt.com/articles/year-round-organization-saves-time-and-money-at-tax-time.html Wed, 04 Jun 2008 06:00:00 GMT Many people experience the “tax season rush” that occurs every April. They've waited until the last minute to look for essential paperwork, and then the actual filling out of the required tax paperwork takes much longer than expected. The best way to remedy this last minute chaos is to set up a year round organization system to prepare for taxes. It sounds like a lot of work, but it will absolutely be worth it the next time tax season rolls around.
Simple Paperwork Storage and Organization

Keeping track of your paperwork is easy when you have a home set up for everything you have to save throughout the year. If you're someone who tosses mail on the kitchen counter one day, and the computer monitor the next – you will want to designate one area to keep your paperwork. Once you get into the habit, you'll love the fact that you can go to that paperwork storage area and find anything you're looking for in a matter of seconds.

You can keep it as simple as an accordion file, purchased from the office supply store or Walmart. You could choose a file cabinet with individual files, or a plastic file box and hanging file folders. All of these options are very inexpensive, and will not need to be replaced any time soon as they tend to last forever!

Set up a file folder for each of your categories of paperwork. Some typical examples may be:

• credit card statements
• bank statements
• receipts of anything you spent money on
• paystubs and other income records
• home utility bill statements
• home improvement records
It's also a good idea to keep other important documents in the same area, even if you don't use them during tax time. Things like birth certificates, marriage certificates, user manuals, etc. Having it all in one location simplifies everything.

The Tax Related Paperwork

Starting every January, your mailbox starts receiving those all-important tax documents that you'll use when you prepare your taxes. Having a file folder to save all of this paperwork is ideal. You will receive some or all of the following, and can slide it into the file folder until you're ready to prepare the taxes or bring them to your accountant to prepare:





• W2
• 1099's
• Real estate tax statements
• Investment statements
• Mortgage interest statements
• Receipts from donations
Tax Preparation – Sometime Well Before April 15th!


Once you've received all of your tax related statements, you can take a few minutes to prepare the paperwork you've been saving all year to file your taxes (or hand to your accountant). If your accountant is used to receiving a box of paperwork in no particular order, he or she is going to be thrilled at your new organization – and who knows, may even be able to find a few more deductions for you!

From your file cabinet or paperwork storage area, pull out and put into piles things that pertain to:




• Salary & income
• Real Estate
• Investments
• Child Care
• Medical
• Business (if you are self employed, you will have additional categories having to do with your business tax records, as well)
  
It's a good idea to pull off those perforated edges on paystubs and tax documents, they just get in the way and make it hard to keep the paperwork nice and organized. Paperclip the paperwork together by category and put all into a new file labeled “Taxes 2008” (or whatever year you're filing for).

Set up an appointment with your accountant early in tax season- end of February or beginning of March. By April 15th, most accountants are tired and have a ton of last minute filers dropping off their paperwork to them. Take advantage of a relaxed accountant early in the season, and give your organized paperwork to the accountant to complete.

If you're filing yourself, you may actually find you don't mind the work now that everything is organized. It becomes a simple data entry job that is almost enjoyable if all the paperwork is together. The sooner you file, the sooner you can get your tax refund if you're owed one!

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