How Credit Card Debt Relief Programs Work

09/10/2021 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

Your credit card usage has driven you into a financial ditch, eh? You’re not alone. Americans owe nearly $900 billion to card issuers, according to a WalletHub study, with the average household balance at $7,519. That’s a lot of swiping. The good news is that debt relief can help you. Here’s how credit card debt relief programs work.

What is Debt Relief?

In a nutshell, the approach makes it easier for you to lower your debt burden. That can be through numerous ways including debt consolidation, debt settlement, interest rate reductions and repayment term changes.

Who is Debt Relief For?

You’re likely a prime candidate if you’re delinquent on your plastic or loan payments or have mulled ban kruptcy. Also, depending on the option you choose, debt relief may work if you’re not yet late on payments, but you’ve been cutting it close. Another chief reason people cite for using debt relief is that they’ve tried to manage their obligations on their own but cannot make progress.

Be mindful, though, that the financial strategy may not be a good fit if won’t commit to a long-term plan for paying off your debt, or if your spending is still unchecked.

Debt Settlement

Credit card debt relief programs include debt settlement. Here, you hire an accredited company such as Freedom Debt Relief to negotiate with your credit card issuers or other unsecured creditors to get them to allow you to pay just a portion of your total obligation to clear your debt. Because creditors know your next step could be bankruptcy, they usually go along. How it works is, rather than pay creditors directly, you put funds each month into an escrow-type account that you’ll use as settlement leverage. When you’ve saved enough, negotiations will begin, and settlement funds are derived from your account. Oh, and you don’t pay anything until your debts are settled.

Debt Consolidation

Debt consolidation allows you to roll high-interest debt, particularly credit card debt, into a single payment with less interest. This allows you to save money and streamline payments, since you’ll have only one to monthly bill to cover. That’s as opposed to multiple payments of varying amounts and due dates. You can consolidate through a personal loan or what’s called a balance transfer card. With the latter, you can shift your high-interest card balances onto one of those promotional 0%-interest cards that companies sometimes issue. You’ll need to clear the account before the promotional period ends, though, and the rate shoots back up. You will need fairly good credit for consolidation to work or even make sense.

Credit Counseling

Certified credit counselors can go over your situation and help you produce a plan for managing your debts and spending. This approach might work if you simply need a doable debt repayment plan. You’ll also come away with new knowledge about finances and budgeting. Such services usually come free with nonprofit credit counseling agencies. Just make sure your agency is accredited with the Financial Counseling Association of America or the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.

Debt Management

If your debt woes are too severe, your credit counselors may suggest that you go the debt management route. What happens is, you pick which debt to enroll in the debt management plan (DMP), and you’ll make just one monthly payment to the plan. That payment is allocated to your creditors, according to plan terms. With a DMP, you also may get a better rate or have some fees waived.
Now you know a bit more about how credit card debt relief programs work. The strategy is a proven one, particularly if you pick an established, accredited and reputable company to help you.

Going Healthy, Health, Life, Tips

Common Pains You Shouldn’t Ignore

09/09/2021 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

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It’s never a good idea to ignore pain – pain is your body’s response that something is wrong. Some types of pain are more common than others and in some cases they may not be a sign of anything too serious and may subside by themselves. However, you should be wary of certain pains that could be a sign of a more severe problem. Below are just some of the common pains you should never ignore.

Back and neck pain

An achy back or neck could be caused by a number of things such as poor posture, wearing uncomfortable shoes or carrying heavy loads incorrectly. Such pains may only be a temporary strain at first, but could turn into permanent pain if you don’t change your habits (i.e. correcting your posture, wearing comfortable flat shoes and learning the right form when lifting).

Pains that develop suddenly after an accident should be a particular concern. You should see a doctor as soon as you can to make sure you haven’t got a spinal injury. If not checked on and treated, certain back or neck injuries that may seem minor can lead to paralysis or even death.

Joint pain

Like neck and back pain, the majority of joint pain is caused by repetitive strain from things like poor posture or incorrect footwear. It’s important to correct any bad habits before such a pain becomes permanent.

Joint pain following an accident is something to look into straight away. Many people develop injuries while running and never follow them up, dismissing it as a strain when it could be a fracture. By seeking a doctor early, you can avoid making the injury worse by continuing to walk or run on it.

A toothache

Toothaches are usually a sign or decay or an infection. If ignored, toothaches can get worse. Infection may also spread to other teeth and even parts of the body.

If you get a toothache, it’s a good idea to book an appointment with your local dentist. Don’t wait for a toothache to go away on its own – while this can happen, it could be a sign that an infection has got so bad that it has killed off your nerves in your tooth.

Chest pain

Chest pain should never be ignored as it could be a lung or heart problem. This is usually a very different type of pain to something innocuous like heartburn and may be accompanied by symptoms such as shortness of breath or dizziness. You should seek medical attention immediately if you are experiencing pain in your chest.

Intense abdomen pain

Stomach aches are very common and could be caused by something that isn’t too serious such as gas, a stitch, menstruation, mild food poisoning or IBS triggers. Intense pain in the abdomen is usually a sign of something more and should not be ignored.

Appendicitis, pancreatitis, kidney stones, urine infections and ulcers are some of the more serious problems that could be causing intense abdominal pain. You should see a doctor straight away to check it’s nothing serious.

A severe headache

We’ve all experienced mild headaches from stress and dehydration. Severe headaches are usually a sign of something beyond this – and should never be ignored. It could be a migraine or it could be a brain issue that needs urgent attention.

Headaches following injuries should always be chased up. This is particularly the case if they are accompanied by dizziness and nausea.

Going Healthy, Health, Life, Lifestyle, Parenting, Tips

Protecting All Areas Of Your Health When You Are A Dad

09/08/2021 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

When it comes to your health, there are many areas that you are going to have to think about and look after. It’s not just exercising and eating well that is going to contribute to your health, and that is something that you need to remember. While it’s true that these two things are important, there is more to life. In this article, we’re going to be taking a look at some of the other areas of health that you are going to need to consider, so keep reading if you would like to find out more.

Oral Health

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The first thing that you are going to need to do is look after your oral health. While this might not be a massive deal right now, it could be in the future. For example, if your oral health isn’t very good, you may find that your teeth start falling out, that they turn yellow or even brown in some cases, that you get a lot of cavities and find chewing difficult. Also, if your teeth aren’t being looked after, why would your kids bother to look after theirs?

If you know that there is something wrong with your teeth, you can always head down to your dentist and get it checked out. They will give you some advice about oral care, and they might even suggest something like clear aligners to you if you have bent teeth. Make sure that you look into clear aligners cost before you agree to anything, but also ensure that you are doing what is best for your health.

Hearing Health

Your hearing health is also going to be another area that you are going to have to think about. Too many people don’t worry about this, but most of us are going to experience some level of hearing loss in our lives. It’s unavoidable really, but you can slow it down so that you are not 30 with hearing loss that is extreme all because you wouldn’t look after yourself. Stay away from loud noises as much as possible, and when you do have to be around them make sure that you are using earplugs. You might not look like the coolest guy around, but at least your hearing health will be far better than anyone else’s.

Overall Physical Health

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Finally, your overall physical health is important. Make sure that you are getting enough sleep, drinking enough water and so on. You don’t want your body to give up on you, so make sure that it has everything it needs.

We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now see some of the things that you are going to need to do if you want to protect all areas of your health when you are a dad. It’s not as though you can afford not to take care of yourself when you have your kids counting on you, so make sure that you are doing everything in your power to stay healthy. We wish you the very best of luck with this.