Almost half the letters I receive daily are from recent divorcees and for the most part their stories go something like this!

“The cost of my recent divorce has eaten up almost all of my 401(k) and I have been left deep in debt. I still own a home, although there is no equity left in it.  I recently made the mistake of leasing a new car with insurance and lease payments that are the size of my house mortgage. I’m still employed, have a pension plan, am making about £60,000 a year, but have to make child support payments. I now need to start over, but don’t know where to begin. Can you please give some direction, as I feel I’m going around in circles.”

As you can see, most sound like a parody for a country music song. The only thing missing is the dog running away. Now let’s focus on the positive side and there’s always a positive side. You still have a job. You’re making a pretty good salary and if you’re really willing to make a concerted effort, you most certainly will be able to rebuild your finances and regain some financial security.

I ALWAYS SUGGEST THIS SIMPLE THREE-STEP PLAN:

Set Yourself A Budget You Can Live With:

Sit down and write out all your expenses, also list your priorities. You should start by figuring out how much you’ve got to spend on essentials. This would include home loanrent, food, utilities, health insurance, car note payments and most definitely, those child support payments. Now it’s time to start looking at ways to cut back. Do you really need premium cable? Do you really need to eat out as often as you do?  Brownbag it a few days a week at work?  If you really want a fresh start, you’ll identify some ways to scale back your lifestyle.

Start A Savings And Investing Program:

Once you’ve got a handle on your budget, you really need to focus on rebuilding your wealth. It’s my experience that the best way to do this is to make arrangements for the money to go directly from your paycheck or checking account into some sort of investment account. This ensures that the funds actually end up in savings rather than being diverted into some purchase or another that always seems like a good idea at the time. To use a familiar term, “investing for our long term future is a marathon not a sprint” please do not put it off until tomorrow because, “Tomorrow Never Comes”.

Stay Positive:

If history is any guide, one of the biggest dangers to recent divorcees is that the combination of emotional and financial stress caused by the breakup of a marriage can be so overwhelming that it leads most people into a sense of hopelessness, a feeling that you’ve fallen into a hole so deep, you’ll never be able to claw your way out. That’s understandable but you need to remember one thing, the only person who can change your life is YOU. That’s why it’s very important that you begin taking action now! Don’t procrastinate on that budget and starting that savings program today! The moment you see things beginning to look up a little, you’ll start to regain a sense of control over your life.

Once that happens, your life can begin to seem less like one of those heartbreaking country music songs and more like that famous track on the ‘The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper album - “It’s Getting Better All The Time.”

Have an opinion or a question you would like me to answer, then write me! http:www.CarlHampton.com

People always dream of what they can’t have. But they still try to achieve that thing if not by their resources, then by recourses with outside. And those resources are the finances in form of loans. When they take loan they are increasing their debts. But in race of fulfilling their wishes they forget the fact that with increasing debt they are increasing their monthly expenses on repayments of such debts which they have to bear from their own pocket. And if they fail to make any such payments they are inviting bad credit. Secured debt consolidation can be the perfect the savior for you at such times.

Secured debt consolidation loans are loans for the consolidation of your debts into a single debt. This enables you to make single repayment of debt at the end of the month instead of paying numerous debt installments at variable rates. The interest rate on such loans is lower as these loans are secured by your valuable property as collateral.
The collateral can be any of the following:
•Your own home
•Real estate
•Car or boat
The lender will hold the title or the deed of the collateral till the loan is fully repaid. However, the possession still remains with the borrower. But be regular while making payments as the lender has the right to repossession of the security in case of any default made in the payment of the loan or a part of the loan.

These loans offer you amounts varying from ₤5000 to ₤75000 and even more in certain cases. The longer repayment term ensures you small monthly payments which are much easier to repay. As the payments are made on time it further enhances your credit score which is the most important factor for getting any standard loan these days.

Search and apply – this is the policy which you have to practice while applying for a Secured debt consolidation loan. Although secured debt consolidation loans come at low rates but what is bad in saving more of your money when you can. For this you need to visit different lenders offices and financial institutions. Always start your search from banks and financial institutions. You can ask for loan quotes from them, study them and compare them according to your preferences i.e. interest rate and repayment terms.

After you have sorted out the secured debt consolidation loan lender, the final step is to apply. Read the terms and conditions thoroughly in an application form before signing it after filling the requisite details to get benefited the best way.

It’s important that you know the amount of debt that you have taken small loans and debts can add up to a sizable lot. For example if you have taken 5 $100 loans, it amounts to $500 debt. A sizable amount of loan to repay for many people. Not only does the principal have to be paid but also the interest payments.

Assuming that loans are carrying a 10% interest, you would be making a $50 per month interest payment. This means that you would be making $600 in interest payments only. Therefore the interest payments and the principal work out to be $1100. Thus the cumulative effect is much more than just the single $100 debts that you would have taken. When you want to get out of debt this debt relief will ensure that you can have a sound financial future. The same applies for all the loans whether they are mortgage, car loans, business loans or education loans. One must shop around for rates and the period of the loan. This will help you to lower the debt burden.

Of course interest payments is tax deductible, but they need to be made out of your income. Therefore the lending agency requires a revenue model or you’re past bank statements. They also require your credit rating. Lending agencies have access to the credit ratings of all individuals, hence they can see whether any debt has been paid pack or you have taken any relief from debt or not. This will prove to them whether you are good investment for them or not.

You must also ensure that you have a good revenue stream in order to pay back the loan installments. Take an investment to leverage the debt that you may have taken. This will also provide you with debt relief.

Whatever steps you decide totake, take them now and relive your debt asap.

Debt relief can also be provided by other agencies. They can advance you personal loans when you need to pay off the first loan. Strictly speaking this is not debt relief, however just a temporary relief to help you tide over your instant cash needs. These personal loans can carry a hefty interest payout. Therefore it’s important that you pay the personal loans as soon as possible.

You can also withdraw cash from ATM against your credit cards however there are surcharges included. Therefore the cash withdrawals or advances against your credit card should be paid back as soon as possible, this is a good debt relief strategy that should be taken immediately. Resist from withdrawing cash from the ATM, which are of another bank as this also attracts a surcharge. Pay the small debts first and then go on to the bigger debts. In this way, you can start getting the benefit of debt relief. There is innumerable debt relief advice that you can get from many websites as well as financial magazines. Even newspapers and girlie magazines such as Cosmopolitan give debt relief advice.

You can also seek the help of a financial advisor, who can tell you how to do debt management as well as manage your payments. If your bank is given standing instructions by you, they can also debit your checking or savings account, this is one debt relief advice that is very easy to follow. Thus your loan accounts are automatically getting debited without any extra effort on your part. Take debt when absolutely necessary like for buying a house or education. Make a future plan to draw a revenue model, from where you expect to make payments for the debt. This can go a long way in debt relief for you.

So begin your research for an agency now. Don’t dally or your debt may get out of control.