Being in debt stinks and sometimes it feels like you’ll never get out it.  But those that think they will never get out of it are the ones that don’t plan for the future.  Let’s face it, if you don’t have a game plan for the future, you’ll have no idea on when you can pay off your debts.  I did a little searching online and found out what seems to be the best debt calculators on the market.

CNN Debt Reduction Planner- The CNN calculator is probably one of the best ones online.  It’s not advanced yet it will tell you how long it’s going to take you to pay off your debt.  On this particular website, you will have to put in a credit card name (you can name it whatever), the balance, the interest rate and the minimum monthly payments.  From there, you’ll choose a plan.  Depending on how aggressive you want to be will determine how quickly you can pay it off.

MSN.com Evaluate Your Debt- The MSN calculator is by far the most advanced one on the market that I could find.  Unlike CNN’s, they were able to allow you to put information aside from your credit card debts.  Here, you’ll be able to put in your mortgage, car loans, etc.  At the end of the list, you’ll be able to submit it and get results instantly.  They will tell you your debt ratio as well as your ranking.

Bankrate.com Debt Calculator- This calculator offered by Bankrate is nice and simple but not as complex as the CNN one.  With Bankrate’s, you’ll enter your credit card balance and the rate.  With this one, you’ll only be able to do one credit card compared to CNN’s, where you can do up to 5.  None the less, if you’re looking for a simple calculator that gives you a deadline based on one card, this is worth checking out.

These calculators are great to use just simply based on the fact that they are free.  Why go somewhere and pay a few hundred dollars to get the same information these websites can give you?  Try out the three websites above or simply do a search online to find out which ones are best for you.

Debt can be very stressful on times and can affect many things in your life including family, friends and the people around you.  What most people don’t realize is that you can control yourself when it comes to debt and there are ways to think of positive things rather than continue to think negatively so that it affects the world.

Start by controlling your thoughts – You are what you think.  If you always think negative, how are you going to be positive?  A popular way of thinking positive is to take everything you think about and think about a positive situation. 

Let’s use debt for example.  Let’s say that you continue to think about that $30,000 in credit card bills that you have.  Instead of thinking how it’s going to hurt you financially, let’s start thinking about how you’re going to pay it off and when it’ll be paid off.  Let’s say we can pay $400 a month toward our debt.  Start thinking about how you’re going to get that part time job, pay off $800 each month and get rid of that debt in 3 years.  After those 3 years, you’re going to be debt free with no bills and planning for an early retirement.  When you think positive, you’ll not only feel better about yourself, it’s also healthier!

Write out your game plan- As I already mentioned above, it’s time to get a better understanding on where your future is heading.  If you write it all down on paper, you’ll get a great understanding on where you’ll be in 20 years.  If the future looks doom and gloom, start changing your plan.  You’ll need to get another job or maybe you need to change your house or spending.  The less you spend and the earlier you know you can retire, the more it’ll help your mindset and overall thoughts.

Keep busy- This one is simple enough.  When someone sits around either watching TV or just thinking of things to do, you’re going to think about a lot of things.   Have you ever realized that when you go to the gym, a friend’s house or something of that nature, you never really think about things that are negative?  This is because you’re constantly keeping busy.  This is why it’s important to get that second job.  Not only will this second job help your mindset, it will allow you to get more money to throw toward your debt.

Worrying about debt happens to everyone.  Try some of the tips above and see if it works.  Remember, no matter how bad life is, someone always has it worse than you.  You could have been born in a third world country fighting over a simple bowl of rice.  Stay positive, enjoy life and kill that debt!

With so many people in debt out there, many people turn to the professionals before they turn to themselves.  While there are many great companies out there that can help settle your debt, you have to remember that you can negotiate with just about any company out there, including debt collectors.

Get your debt together – Before you call up a debt consolidation agency, you want to get all of your bills together.  Whoever you owe money to, you need to let them know this.  If it’s a car payment, credit card bill, student loan, mortgage, etc, if you owe them money, they need to know about it.

Do your research – If you went out and bought a car, would you buy it right away without doing the research?  I hope not.  The same goes with debt collection agencies.  You’ll want to do your research and ask them about their fees and what they charge to help you get out of debt.  You’ll want to make sure that you can afford these fees because you don’t want to sink further into debt.

Keep it simple – Never give a debt firm any financial information such as checking or saving account numbers.  They can easily tap into these in the future and withdrawal the money for “fees” you didn’t know about.  Always pay them with cash, a check or any other form of payment that they can’t tap into.

Besides the financial aspect of things, you’ll also want to keep it short with your debt.  Let them know what you owe and steer away from a life story.  These people are here to make money, not sympathize with you over your medical bills.

Know all of the fees – No debt consolidation firm is going to be free.  Make sure that you take notes and know of what you’re going to owe them at the end of the service, week or however they charge you.  The more you know, the more you can control

In the end, when you find someone you like, let them know that you have been shopping around and that you want to use their service but for X amount of dollars.  If your offer is out of reach, they will say no but most of the time, they want your business.  It never hurts to throw out an offer because the worst they can say is no.

How does one get a loan when they have a poor credit rating?  While it’s not that hard to get a loan, you’re going to run into some difficulties when applying.  I’m going to give you some straight answers when it comes to applying for a loan.  Since there are so many loans on the market, I’m going to show you what you can do with each one.

Applying for a mortgage

If you’re applying for a mortgage, you’re going to find that this is going to be one of the hardest ones to get.  Since they check so much such as your net worth, your income and more, they are going to be turned off by your debt ratio.  There are ways though that you can get that mortgage though and it’s called saving money. 

A mortgage is never going to be a “must” but if you insist that you need one, I would find a way to put more money down.  Just by putting more money down, this will increase your chances greatly when it comes to applying.  If you don’t need the mortgage right away, I would advise that you rent or stay with friends and family until you get out of debt.

Applying for a credit card

If you have a poor credit rating, you’re really only limited to two types of credit cards.   These types are bad credit and secured cards.  All of these cards are going to have a higher interest rates and will require collateral on your part.  Once you prove the credit card companies that you can pay your bills off on time all the time, your score will rise.  Make sure that you apply for a card that reports to the major credit bureaus.

Applying for a personal loan

A personal loan is going to be just as hard as a mortgage especially if your credit score is fairly low.  When you do get approved for a personal loan, you’re going to find that the rates are going to be fairly high.  On top of the high rates, you’ll find that you’ll have to supply the banks with more collateral such as a high ticket priced item equivalent to the loan amount.

Loans are hard to come by if you’re looking for a great rate with all the perks.  Over time, as you build your credit score, you’ll be able to get those loans again.  In the meantime, you’ll know exactly how you can get these loans and what ramifications that will come alongside them.

Often times, I find that people online don’t want to sit through blog posts and online articles to find out how they can either repair their credit or fix their credit score.  Fortunately, there are thousands of books on the market today that will show you how you can fix your credit.  I did a little research on some books sites such as Amazon to find the top five books in my opinion.  I looked at reviews and ratings by publications to find the best books on the market.

BestCredit:  How to Win the Credit Game:  Written by a former debt collector, this book covers many topics.  Topics range everywhere from credit restoration to how to negotiate debt the right way.  This is a must read for those that want to get an insider’s point of view.

The Road to 850:  Proven Strategies to Improve your Credit Score:  Are you a credit score junkie and want to know everything about your credit score?  This book gives you the inside on how a credit score works and what you can do to get your score as close as you can to that great number of 850.   It’s a great read for less than $20.

How to Repair Your Credit Score Now:  If you’re having a hard time repairing your credit score or you want to know what you’re doing wrong, this is a book that you should check out.  As you know by now, your credit score affects so many things such as loans and mortgages.  This book will show you your legal rights on what you can do to raise that score.

Insider’s Guide to Credit Repair:  When it comes to anything, it’s always the best thing to get an opinion of an insider.  An insider such as the author of this book is going to be able to tell you everything you need to know about credit repair.  If you want to know what’s right and what’s wrong, you’re going to want to pick up this reasonably priced book.

Credit Repair Kit For Dummies:  The last book on my list is from the famous serious, “For Dummies”.  This dummy series goes in depth with hundreds of pages on how to repair your credit and do it the right way.  If you’ve read any book like this before, you already know what to except with the dummy series.  It’s a great read for less than $20.

With so many credit repair books on the market, some of these may not seem appealing to you but I must assure you that these are books that users like me and you have recommended.  Look over the books above and the many others available on the market.  You’ll easily be able to find a book that fits your needs to help you repair your credit the right way.