Credit card debt is an epidemic sweeping across the country and today we hear more and more people ask themselves, “how did this happen?” In some cases debt can just sneak up on you over time and for others it can happen overnight due to an accident or sudden loss of income. Either way, a large amount of debt is not something you want to encounter. Credit card debt is preventable if you know what signs to look for.

The top reason for debt in today’s economy is people living beyond their means. For the past several years people have been over extending themselves and living mostly off of credit to establish a lifestyle they wanted for themselves. For a period of time this worked, but as the economy softened people started falling behind on their payments. Suddenly the country as a whole began to amass large amounts of credit card debt.

The problem with living off credit card debt is that it will eventually catch up with you. Something like a change in the economy or a loss of income can easily put you into a large amount of debt in a short period of time. Anything based on credit will be the first to go and will result in the greatest long-term damage. There is a difference between being broke and being in debt. When you are broke you have no money, but when you are in debt, not only do you not have money; you are also constantly trying to play catch up.

When you are living beyond your means and overextending your credit it is only a matter of time until your debts will outweigh your income. The best way to avoid falling into this debt trap is to avoid overusing credit. If, like many Americans, you are already in this situation you should weigh your options and choose a solution that will help you from falling further into credit card debt.

A great option available to you is debt settlement. By enrolling into a professional debt settlement program you are able to get a handle on your debt and can be debt free in as little as 12 months. Even if you have suffered a loss of job or a sudden financial backlash, debt settlement allows you to deal with your credit card debt that you already have and help you avoid falling even further into debt.

Based on today’s economy it is almost unavoidable to fall into some form of debt. The key is to look for the signs early on that you are living a lifestyle that is making you more prone to accumulating credit card debt. The next step is to do something about it. Debt settlement is available anytime you think debt is or may be an issue, but it is imperative to avoid falling deeper and deeper into credit card debt because it is the worst form of debt to dig yourself out of.

Contact the debt experts at National Debt Assistance today if you’re ready to solve your financial problems. The Debt Settlement Advisors will review your situation and if you qualify can slash you debts in half and help you get you debt free in as little as 12 months.

Identity theft is when someone takes your personally identifying information and begins using it without your permission. This can be making purchases or entering into legal and other financial agreements. The result can be financially devastating and emotionally draining. The FTC estimates that as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year.

If you discover that your identity has been stolen, perhaps through fraudulent transactions on your bank statement or increased credit card debt that you did not authorize, there are steps you should take to correct the situation and to protect yourself in the future.

Report the crime quickly
Make sure you report the crime immediately to both the police, to your bank and other financial institutions. Also, the FTC has a website that focuses solely on identity theft. You can report the crime on that website as well.

Monitor your financial records and credit reports frequently
While it is a good idea to review credit reports periodically, you should do so every three months after discovering any fraudulent activity. Use these checks to quickly identify and notify any new accounts that may have been opened in your name.

Place a fraud alert on your credit reports
Contact the toll-free fraud number of the three major credit reporting agencies. Having a fraud alert on file may help stop unauthorized accounts from being opened in your name.

Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241

Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013

TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

Close any compromised accounts
Close any accounts with fraudulent activity and, of course, any accounts that were opened fraudulently in your name.

Log all conversations and send follow up letters
Make sure you notate any conversations you have. Write down the person’s name, contact information, and any additional information they provide. Ask them if there are any additional steps you need to take with their institutions. They may have special fraud forms you must complete or they may require you to write a letter requesting to close an account and to refund any fraudulent charges.

There are also services that specifically work to protect your identity. For a fee, they monitor credit reports and other financial activity. Ask your bank if they provide this type of service or if they partner with a company that does.

Thank you for taking the time to read our post. We hope you found it helpful and informative. Also if you have any outstanding credit card debt, medical bills or personal loans that you would like to eliminate contact our specialists at National Debt Assistance today.

At some point, everyone runs into disputes with their credit card company. I’m not talking about high interest rates or fees that may be catapulting you into higher credit card debt. I’m talking about those charges that you know you never made. Typically, this is caused by an honest mistake. Perhaps a store accidentally double-charged you during a purchase.

Other times you may be dealing with a case of fraud or identity theft.

In either case, you must contact your credit card company immediately to dispute any charges. It is also likely that you will have to send something in writing or your credit card company may have forms for such incidents.

Also, make sure you keep a log of who you speak to and when. This will be important should you run into any problems down the road. You want to make sure that you can recreate the conversations and steps you’ve taken to correct the issue.

If you review your credit card statements and everything is correct, but you are having problems making the monthly minimums on your credit card debt, contact the experts at National Debt Assistance. They will do a free financial analysis and review your options with you.

Now it’s time to sit back, smile and relax. In the past several days you’ve addressed your credit card debt and made a list of your total debts, including medical bills and personal loans. You’ve researched debt settlement, spoken to an expert and set up a plan that could eliminate your debt in as little as 12 months. Although you feel stress free there’s one last tactic that’s essential for success. Tactic 5…Follow through.

Follow through: Follow through is the last step in obtaining the credit card debt-free life you are pursuing. Even though some people can make it this far, they may lose sight of their end goal – to be debt-free – and they drop out of their program.

This will only set you back and keep that debt snowball rolling. Remember, you’ve already taken so much action and moved this far. The end is near and in sight. Keep moving forward and you will soon be standing at the top of the hill looking forward to your life, not at the bottom avoiding the credit card debt snowball.

If debt settlement sounds like it may be a good choice for you and you’d like to learn a little more about credit card debt please contact a professional at National Debt Assistance today to quickly review your options and start on the path to becoming debt free. Thank you following me through my 5 tactic series. I eagerly look forward to you reaching your ultimate goal of being credit card debt free.

Taking action…Yes taking action is our 4th Surefire Tip that will Crank Up the Heat and Help Melt that Debt Away! It’s funny but I’ve talked to several people that get this far only to do nothing. Although you may feel that it’s hard to go ahead and start your debt settlement process it is a crucial step towards becoming debt free. To recap, you’ve outlined your credit card debts, made a list of all of your debts, researched your options and contacted an expert. Now it’s time for Tactic 4…Taking Action!

Take action: Now it’s up to you to take action. You’ve outlined your debt and started the process towards being credit card debt free. Next, you researched your best option and then contacted them. Now take action.

This usually requires you to review your chosen company’s paperwork and sign, allowing you to take part in their debt assistance program.

Your representative will outline the program that works best for you, but in the end it’s up to you to pull the trigger. Once you do you’ll immediately reap the benefits as you start down a less stressed, more certain and debt-free future.

To take action now, speak to an expert at National Debt Assistance who can go over your specific situation and let you know the fastest way to becoming debt free today. If you are looking to eliminate your credit card debt, take action today! In my next post I’ll cover a tactic that is crucial to successfully eliminating your debts…stay tuned and take care.

We’re half way there! That’s right…we’re now officially halfway through our Five Surefire Tips that will Crank Up the Heat and Help Melt that Debt Away tactics. And today we’re going to cover Making Contact! At this point you should have your list of total debts, including credit card debt, medical bills and personal loans. You should have researched debt settlement to see how it can help you today; now it’s time to make contact. This can be a very hard step for some people, actually picking up the phone or inquiring over the internet, but it doesn’t have to be hard…now it’s time to take action.

Make contact: Here’s the hardest part for many people. You’ve outlined your debt and researched your options, but you haven’t submitted an inquiry over the internet or the phone.

Making contact is instrumental in moving forward and eliminating your credit card debt. Once you determine which method best fits your situation, CONTACT someone. Call the available number or submit an inquiry on their site; but whatever you do, take action.

In most cases you’ll be contacted very quickly and you can go over your situation quickly and with ease. Remember you’ll already have all of your credit card debt and any other unsecured debt outlined from step one so you’ll be able to quickly outline your situation and see if that company can meet your needs.

If debt settlement sounds like it might be a good fit you can find out more about how it can help you by simply submitting an inquiry at National Debt Assistance. With one quick phone call or simple inquiry over the internet, their experts can quickly asses your situation and determine your next best step to becoming debt free today. Stay tuned. The next tactic will address taking action and, more importantly, taking the right action to move you closer to becoming credit card debt free as soon as possible.

Welcome to Tactic 2, in our 5 part series Is The Credit Card Debt Snowball Starting to Roll Downhill? Five Surefire Tips that will Crank Up the Heat and Help Melt that Debt Away! In our last post we touched on the first tactic, addressing your credit card debt. In Tactic 1, you need to make a list of your total debts, including credit cards, medical bills, and personal loans. Tactic 2 now takes you through your options so we can find the right one for you and get you one step closer to debt freedom.

Research your options: Now that you have the list of debts you owe it’s time to research your options and pick the best one for you; and there is a sea of options out there. You’ve probably seen every ad and may be asking yourself, what’s debt consolidation, debt settlement – and is bankruptcy something I even have to look at?

The answer…it depends on your situation. Here is what I usually see: If you have more than $8,000 in unsecured credit card debt, one great solution is debt settlement, which is also referred to as debt relief and debt negotiation.

Some programs, such as credit counseling, aim to reduce your interest rate to help lower your payments but you are still responsible for the balance of the debt, and for many, this doesn’t help much. Other programs, such as debt consolidation, attempt to consolidate all of your debts into one “consolidated” loan; however this approach can be more difficult to pursue because it is usually secured by collateral which could put your secured assets at risk.

Debt settlement on the other hand, can reduce your debt by as much as 50% and put you on your way to being debt-free in as little as three years.

If you’d like more information about debt settlement and to see if it’s the best solution for your particular situation then call an expert at National Debt Assistance today. In a as little as 5 minutes, a Debt Settlement Advisor can assess your specific situation and let you know if debt settlement can help you eliminate your credit card debt. Take care and stay tuned for our next post on Tactic 3…Making contact!

Here’s the first sure fire tactic in my 5 part series on how to address your credit card debt and eliminate it as soon as possible. The first, and traditionally hardest tactic, is really the easiest to do…and that is addressing your debt. Once your credit card debt begins to build it becomes very easy to avoid it. However, to eliminate your debt, you first need to address and outline it, which brings us to Tactic 1…

Stop avoiding the issue and figure out what debt you have: Initially as the snowball starts rolling most people begin to ignore the situation. They act as though it’s not happening, yet it still feels overwhelming and in a lot of cases affects everything from daily habits to sleeping at night. But this can actually be countered quickly just by addressing your current situation.

It’s time to stop ignoring and start analyzing. Even though your payments may be adding up and you may be missing one to multiple payments, pull out everything, every letter, statement, etc. and start making a list of all of your debts. Whether you want to write it down on a note pad or crank up your computer and use that, start outlining all of your creditors and the amounts you owe. You’ve just taken the first step in addressing and melting away your debt.

If you have the time now, or need to set it aside over the weekend, I suggest that you set aside some time (even if it’s just a few minutes here and there) to outline your debts including credit card debts, medical bills, and personal loans. Once you’re done set your list aside and check back for Tactic 2 where we’ll address all the options available and the best option to help you quickly melt away that debt.

If your debts are keeping you up at night and you want to address them today, call the experts at National Debt Assistance now and they can walk you through the 4 remaining Tactics that will put you on the path to credit card debt freedom.

Five Surefire Tips that will Crank Up the Heat and Help Melt that Debt Away!

Sometimes it’s hard to see it coming, but when it does, one little snowball can turn into an avalanche of credit card debt. Today, more than ever, more and more individuals are turning to their credit cards to keep up their living conditions, but just one missed payment can lead to a snowball effect that seems near impossible to stop…But it can!

It typically starts with one missed payment, and then two, three, and soon it may seem impossible to keep up with. Your creditors may begin relentlessly calling you only adding to the stress and uncertainty…and soon you see it; that giant snowball of credit card debt rolling down hill with no end in sight. It’s at this stage where most people feel overwhelmed, stressed, worn down, and confused. What do I do next? Where can I go, who can help and how do I get out of this? These are all natural questions everyone begins asking themselves…but what DO you do next?

Having been in the industry for several years I want to provide five surefire tips that can help melt that credit card debt away and move on with a fresh, fun life. Keep reading for the next few days to get all 5 debt-melting tips. Can’t wait? Contact one of the Debt Advisors at National Debt Assistance to learn more now.

There are lots of reasons why you may decide to use a credit card to pay for your purchases. It’s important to remember that even with all of the “reasons” to use a credit card there may be a reason it will draw you into the credit card debt trap.

1. Credit cards are easier than cash. Using a credit card is much easier than using cash – but because it’s easier, you are likely to spend more than you would using cash and on items you would be less likely to buy. They make it easier to use a credit card so you spend more and get deeper into credit card debt.
2. Almost everyone takes credit cards. Of course almost everyone takes credit cards – but everyone (except online) takes cash! You don’t need to carry a credit card because almost everyone takes one, you should avoid carrying a credit card because you have a greater chance of spending more and increasing your credit card debt.To answer your next question, “if everyone takes cash, I shouldn’t carry that either, right?” – Nope. When you carry cash, you’re less likely to spend it as easily because you see how much you have left. And if you run out, you know it’s going to be another trip to the ATM or bank to get more.
3. I can track my purchases better with credit cards. Credit cards make it easy to track all of your purchases – but if you’re battling credit card debt, you probably shouldn’t be making many purchases anyway. Carry your checkbook or a small notepad to track your purchases or keep your receipts and tally them up at the end of the week.People lived without credit card debt for a long time – don’t let the credit card companies pull you into their trap.
4. Using credit cards builds up a great credit rating. Using credit cards can build up a great credit rating – but so can a lot of other methods. Credit cards show that you are responsible with what people lend to you – you repay it on time and don’t use too much of the credit available to you. Credit card debt can actually hurt your credit rating if you aren’t paying your bills on time. High amounts of credit card debt compared to your income affect your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio, which can be just as important as your FICO score. Your DTI is a determining factor in being approved credit and how much credit you receive.There are other ways to build up your credit rating than credit cards and if you fall into the credit card debt trap, you’ll end up hurting your credit rating anyhow.
5. It’s easier to use a credit card to auto-pay my bills. You can use your checking or savings account to auto-pay your bills as well. You also need to make sure you are reviewing your bills to verify that they are correct.If you are using your credit card and don’t pay it off every month, you are actually paying more for your bills because you’re paying interest on the credit card charges. If you’re already struggling with credit card debt, you should avoid making any additional charges to keep your balances and the interest you’re paying down.

If you have found yourself caught in the credit card debt trap, call the experts at National Debt Assistance. They will give you a free financial analysis and help you determine if our program is the best solution for your credit card debt.