Well do you have some as questions about
how to manage your debt. I know I do. Joining us today as part of our thirteen
week money 411 series Is Etta Money aptly named of InCharge Debt
Solutions to answer those questions you and I have been longing to ask. welcome
back to the show Etta. Thank you Danielle. You know we talked about this. Alot
of people have questions about money management about debt. So this is what we
did. We actually hit the street and found some people with questions about
debt and let's go ahead and take a listen to the first one. How can I manage my debts or eliminate my outstanding debts? I'm sure that's a question a lot of people
have these days.
Yes they certainly do. Debt can be so overwhelming and especially in households these days
that may be experiencing reduced income. By talking with a credit counseling
organization they may be able to help you through it. By talking with a
certified credit counselor they can talk to you about the
different options available to you versus just looking to maybe settle your
debt. And we've got another question for you as well so let's go ahead and take a listen. How do i eliminate credit card debt the fastest
way possible and is there a right way to eliminate credit card debt? Lotta people have credit card debt.
Absolutely, they sure do. And I think most everybody out there that has it would like to find a fast, easy way to eliminate it. Unfortunately there is no magic
formula that allows you to just get rid of it.
You're going to have to work through it and you may need to seek credit
counseling in order to help you do that. Alright good advice. Let's go ahead and listen to
question number three.
What is the difference between debt
consolidation debt settlement? Good question. It is. Alot of people are very confused
with that. Debt consolidation simply is taking a lot of smaller debts
consolidating it into one loan in one single payment per month. Debt settlement means you're contacting creditors to see
if you can negotiate a settlement with them for a one-time smaller lump-sum payment
but you've got to be careful with debt settlement because there can be high fees, tax
implications, and some other things that you may not really understand.
Alright Etta. And let's go ahead and listen to our last question. Does a debt management program help
with collection costs? Nobody likes to answer those kind of calls when the phone rings. No they don't. If you are on a debt
management program normally with three consecutive on-time
monthly payments to your creditor those calls should stop. If by some chance they
don't stop and you are working with a credit counseling organization call the
organization.
The credit counselor will call the creditor, talk with them, and straighten things out. It's so important not to ignore any calls or
mailings from your creditor. You need to take care of those. Call your credit
counseling organization and talk to them about those. Ignoring it
makes it worse. Makes it worse. Alright Etta Money thank you so much for joining us
on the show and really good advice answering those viewer questions. Thank you. And for more information on managing
your debt and InCharge Debt Solutions visit their website at incharge.org/balancing-act and be sure to stay tuned in to our money
411 series for even more useful tips and resources to keep your finances
under control.