What is debtor education

A debtor education course by an approved provider should include information on developing a budget, managing money, using credit wisely, and other resources. Like pre-filing counseling, debtor education may be provided in person, on the phone, or online. The debtor education session might last longer than the pre-filing counseling – about two hours – and the typical fee is between $50 and $100. As with pre-filing counseling, if you are unable to pay the session fee, you should seek a fee waiver from the debtor education provider. Once you have completed the required debtor education course, you should receive a certificate as proof. This certificate is separate from the certificate you received after completing your pre-filing credit counseling. Check the U. S. Trustee’s website to be sure that you receive the certificate from a debtor education provider that is approved in the judicial district where you filed bankruptcy. Unless they have disclosed a charge to you before the counseling session begins, debtor education providers may not charge an extra fee for the certificate. Important Questions to Ask When Choosing a Credit Counselor It’s wise to do some research when choosing a credit counseling organization. If you are in search of credit counseling to fulfill the bankruptcy law requirements, make sure you receive services only from approved providers for your judicial district. Once you have the list of approved organizations in your judicial district, call several to gather information before you make your choice. Some key questions to ask are: What services do you offer? Will you help me develop a plan for avoiding problems in the future? What are your fees? What if I can’t afford to pay your fees? What qualifications do your counselors have? Are they accredited or certified by an outside organization? What training do they receive? What do you do to keep information about me (including my address, phone number, and financial information) confidential and secure? How are your employees paid? Are they paid more if I sign up for certain services, if I pay a fee, or if I make a contribution to your organization? For More Information and Assistance The U. S. Trustee Program promotes integrity and efficiency in the nation’s bankruptcy system by enforcing bankruptcy laws, providing oversight of private trustees, and maintaining operational excellence. The Program has 21 regions and 95 field offices, and oversees the administration of bankruptcy in all states except Alabama and North Carolina. If you have concerns about approved credit counseling agencies or debtor education course providers, such as the failure to provide adequate service, please contact the U. S. Trustee Program by email, or in writing at Executive Office for U. S. Trustees, Credit Counseling and Debtor Education Unit, 20 Massachusetts Avenue, N. W., Suite 8000, Washington, D. C., 20530. Provide as much detail as you can, including the name of the credit counseling organization or debtor education course provider, the date of contact, and whom you spoke with. The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues contact the FTC toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U. S. and abroad.

Top 10 reasons why people look for ways to consolidate debt

: People have different reasons why they look to consolidate their debt, but among the most important ones are the following:

• 1. Save money on interest
• 2. Lower monthly payments
• 3. Have one manageable bill per month instead of many small bills
• 4. Easier to keep track of due dates
• 5. Easier to keep track of how much is owed
• 6. Making extra payments is much easier when there’s only one loan
• 7. Saves time with bill paying
• 8. Reduces the possibility of forgetting to pay the bill
• 9. Saves money on postage and checking writing fees
• 10. Makes it easier to know how quickly the loan will be paid in full

People tend to have their own reasons for choosing to consolidate their debt, but for the most part, it has to do with time and payment management. If you have only one payment that you have to make, the interest will most likely be lower on a monthly basis, though if the loan is extended over a period of time, it may be higher in the end. On the other hand, if you have several student loans that all have terms of ten years or more, and you reduce those into one loan of ten or even fifteen years, the overall interest is not going to be substantially greater. Having one payment also means you can put a little extra into the payments each month without having to think which one to pay off first. It can be a difficult decision, and having only one bill to pay can make that easy to do. You must be certain that when you choose bill consolidation you do it for the right reasons, especially if you use the equity in your home as collateral to finance the loan. Depending on how loans are outstanding, it may be more beneficial to pay extra on them each month until you pay one off then add those funds to another payment. If they are small balances, that is probably your cheaper and quicker alternative, but if you are carrying loans with rather substantial balances, consolidation is probably going to allow you to pay the loans off much quicker. How you choose to handle paying off your debt is a personal decision, but it’s important to look at all of the options before you make a final decision. Even if you have loans with large balances, there may be other ways to get rid of those quicker than consolidation, especially if you are nearing time to file income taxes, and you customarily have a refund. Likewise, if you work for a company that pays bonuses for performance or as rewards, you may want to wait until those things are utilized before you commit to a consolidation loan. It is a simple process of looking at the facts before you, doing some research, and then making the decision that is going to be the most beneficial for your financial situation. Don’t make a decision that you are going to later regret, so take some time to consider so that the decision you make will be one that has not been made in haste and will give you the results you want to see.

Reducing your unsecured debt

A recent survey showed that more than 2 million people in the UK had unsecured debt of more than Ј10,000 (approximately $16,000). As you can imagine most of this debt is held on Store and Credit Cards, which are quite often the most expensive form of unsecured debt an individual can acquire. How manageable this debt is, is often down to the individual's circumstances. One thing for sure is that when borrowing you want to aim to reduce the amount of interest that you pay on any outstanding debt. Here are a few tips to achieve this. 1. Pay off expensive debt first Unsecured lending is by far the most expensive borrowing and if you have a number of cards, some probably charge higher interest rates than others. If you are not paying off the full balance of your credit card each month, aim to pay more off the most expensive cards. 2. Transfer expensive debt to cheaper cards There's a lot of competition out there. Many credit cards have introductory offers with either low or zero interest rates. Transfer your balances from your old card to these new cards. Remember to close your old credit card accounts to remove temptation. It is a well known fact that many people don't close their old accounts and then rack up more debt on both the old and new accounts. 3. When you've cleared some debt, try not to borrow more When you've cleared your credit card balances, try to get into the habit of only spending what you earn. Stop using the cards and to remove temptation cut them up. It pays to disciplined. Remember you're trying to reduce debt. The best thing to do is to create a budget for yourself and pay for everything with cash. Obviously this isn't an exhaustive list, but if you follow these tips it will be a positive move in the right direction.