Credit Card Debt Settlement Tips
Learning how to settle credit card debt might be overwhelming if you have a lot of it to deal with at one time. The first tip to getting your debt payed and out of the way is to really just take one bill at a time. Starting with the smallest.
Credit card companies usually send outstanding debt to collection agencies after they have not been paid for a time, and this is usually where you will need a little expertise in understanding how to settle your credit card debt.
It is usually not as hard as you think, but does require a little bit of practice with the way you word things, and what requests you make. The collection company or agency that you negotiate with need to be convinced that unless they work on a deal with you, that they will never see that money, or that they will have to spend a lot more money to try to get that money back from you.
In no way are we promoting not paying bills or paying your credit cards off, but their are options, and if you keep in mind that over time most credit card companies just want to get the money back that you borrowed, then it won’t seem so bad.
Now that you have one credit card bill to negotiate on, you will need to look at the amount of money you owe. in many cases the person on the other end of the phone can minimize the debt to between 25-40% of the overall debt owed. As you speak to the person on the phone representing the credit card company, or a collection service it is best to try to explain why you are unable to pay a certain amount. Expressing your desire to want to pay is also a step towards working out the settlement.
Ultimately the bottom line for you is to restore your credit, and be able to be debt free. While this is your goal, the goal of credit card companies is to make money and recover money as quick as possible.
So make sure you have written out what you want to say to the debt collector or credit card company. This will make things easier until you get comfortable with talking about numbers and figures, and what you can or cannot pay. These are just a few tips to beginning your personal credit card debt settlement.
Ally Bank CD Rates
GMAC Bank has changed their name to Ally bank, and with that comes some featured rates they have for bank certificate of deposits. They are featuring a 12 month CD rate at 2.80% APY. There new website looks pretty sharp, and after all the negative news surrounding GMAC, its not a surprise that they have changed the name.
They also feature an online savings account at 2.25% APY currently, which is not too bad compared with the going rates among other banks.
They also have a money market account which has a 1.90% APY. These accounts do not require any minimum balance, and also have no monthly fees. You will be seeing quite a few commercials for Ally bank, and they will no doubt get a lot of business with most people not realizing they were formerly GMAC.
Patriot Bank Reward Checking in Florida
Patriot Bank is offering a special deal for those who sign up soon with their Revolutionary Checking account. Some of the features that are offered if you meet the requirements include 4.01% APY on balances up to $50,000, and refunds of ATM fees of up to $25 per cycle.
In order to get this deal you will need to do several thing. Use your debit card at least 10 times per month. Have at least one direct deposit per month, use your online banking by logging in at least once per month, and receive e-statements.
Other features that the account has regardless of whether you meet the initial requirements or not include, no minimum balance requirement, free online bill pay, and not monthly fees for having the account.
Patriot Bank has locations in the following cities located in Florida for your convenience, Trinity, Port Richey, Palm Harbor, New Port Richey and Clearwater. Patriot bank has been FDIC insured since 2004 and has other promotions on checking and high yield savings accounts from time to time that you may want to keep a watch for if you are in the Florida area.
Choice Financial Savings Account
Choice Financial is offering a great bank deal nationwide currently with two deposit deals. The first which is a high yield savings account is running at 3.26% APY.
The second is a 13 month Certificate of deposit with a 3.01% APY. both of these bank deals are available nationwide as well. For those that live in Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota or South Dakota there is also a special introductory savings account rate of 3.76% APY for the first 30 days. Following is a tiered interest rate system which is based on your savings investment.
Remember if you close the account before the interest is completely accrued, you will lose the interest on the newly opened savings account. There are some basic things you will need to do to qualify for this bank deal which includes depositing $5,000 to open the account. If you go below the $5000 dollar mark there is a $2 dollar monthly fee. Also if you close the account early there is a penalty fee of $50 dollars, so it would be a good idea if you are investing this money to make sure it will not be needed in the near future for any reason. Choice Financial has currently 11 branches in the Dakotas which include the following cities, Langdon, Walhalla, Petersburg, Goodrich, Grafton, Grand Forks, South grand Forks, West Fargo and South Fargo.
If you have any other questions about savings or checking accounts, as well as CD rates at Choice Financial, you will want to speak with one of their representatives on current interest rates.