Debt Management

Debt Management is necessary to improve credit score, to make a good credit history  or to make yourself free from Debt.

So, to make debt management a person needs to:

• Review his/her personal financial statements
• Analyze your budget, personal balance sheet, and personal cash flow statement
• Established a self imposed credit limit
• Look in personal balance sheet to find out any asset that can be used to pay down debts immediately
• Avoid risky investments and trying to use money to pay credit card bills
• Look in personal cash flow statement to determine where is the need to cut back on expenses in order to increase net cash flow
• If an individual finds his/her self with an excessive debt balance that doesn't allow him to make the minimum monthly payment then he/she needs to spend as little as possible, find a way to increase income, get a debt consolidation loan or make debt management plan.

A Debt Management Plan is a formal agreement between a debtor and a creditor that addresses the terms of an outstanding debt. It is also known as personal finance process (consumer proposal) of individuals addressing high consumer debt. It helps in declining outstanding, unsecured debts over time to help the debtor regain control of finances. Creditors have up to 45 days to object and proposal can be made where debt is less than $250,000, not including your home mortgage. Once the consumer proposal terms have been met borrower then his/her name is removed from credit bureau report.

                  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt_management_plan

If an individual is troubling in making debt payments then he/she has only the last option to file for bankruptcy when he/she becomes insolvent.
In bankruptcy a person property is given to a trustee.
A trustee will sell your assets and distribute the money obtained to your creditors.

Question: If an individual is troubling in making payments, then, except bankruptcy what are the other options he/she has to do?

Credit Reports and Scores

Credit Reports: Credit Reports are provided by credit bureaus that documents a person credit payment history and used by a lender to determining a loan applicant financial soundness.

Credit Reports provide the following information regarding individual:

• Personal Information
• A Consumer Statement
• A summary of accounts
• Individual's Account History
• Bank information regarding any accounts that were closed for derogatory reasons
• Public information regarding Bankruptcies, judgments and secure loans
• The name of creditors who have made account inquiries
• A list of creditor contacts

Credit Score:

A credit score is a rating that is used to anticipate how like you are to pay back a credit on time.

Credit score starts with the information about individual from his/her credit report.

A scientific equation - called a scoring model - is then used to create individuals credit score.

Creditors rely on credit score to help determine whether or not to extend a loan.

Credit score can affect the interest rate quoted on the loan you request.

Things due to which credit score is normally affected are:

• Payment history
• Credit utilization
• Length of relationship with creditors
• Types of credit established
• Recent credit inquiries

Interpreting credit scores:

Credit scores ranges from 300 to 900

Score 600 or Higher is considered a good credit score

Tips to keep a good credit score:

• Pay all your bills on time.
• Only apply for the credit that you need.
• Don't use too much credit that is available to you.
• Order your credit report every year and dispute any errors you find.

          http://www.consumerfinance.gov/askcfpb/315/what-is-my-credit-score.html

Question: What are the other things a person needs to keep in mind to keep a good credit score?

Choosing a Credit Card

Regardless of whether you are considering a credit card interestingly, or in case you are a current visa user searching for better rates, you will have to make sense of your spending habits and how often you plan to utilize your card when you are looking for another card.

Credit Card Users: 

Kinds of credit card users:

• Non Revolvers: These are the users who pay their credit card payments in full every month. Some basically utilize the card for business purposes, for example, travel.
• Revolvers: These users have a tendency to carry a balance. They moved over unpaid purchases from one period to the next and have a tendency pay the minimum payments or a somewhat more. 
• Combination Users: These users do a little of both. They carry a balance but it's paid off within couple of months.

                        http://www.investopedia.com/university/credit-cards/credit-cards7.asp

Questions to ask when choosing a Credit Card:

1. What's the interest rate? Is it fixed or variable? If variable, how is it calculated? Will different interest rates be charged for purchases, balance transfers and cash advances?
2. Is there an annual fee? What other fees may be charged?
3. What's the length of the grace period (if any)?
4. What method determines the outstanding balance used to calculate the  finance charge?

While choosing credit cards, it is necessary to compare the credit cards of different companies with regards to:

• Acceptance by merchants
• Annual fee
• Interest rate
• Watch for Teaser rates
• Maximum limit, and so on.

Question: What are the other things people needs to consider while choosing a credit card?

          

Different Types of Credit Card

Types of Credit Cards:

• Standard Credit Cards: Standard Master cards are the general purpose cards that have revolving credit lines. They are advertised to individuals over the age of 18 who meet or surpass the financial institution conditions regarding credit criteria. No deposits are required and the credit limit is set by the visa guarantor.

• Reward Cards: Numerous credit cards have reward programs that can impact our spending. The advantages may come out in the form of cash, points or discounts. Points that are accumulated, can be used for free hotel stays, watching movies, air travel and so on. Reward Cards are good for individuals who pay their balances off consistently.

• Secured Credit Cards: Secured credit cards are known as pay-as-you-go cards. After opening the account the card holder deposits a couple of hundreds to several thousand dollars, that decides the card holder credit line. These cards have an annual fee and higher annual interest rates. Mostly, people uses these cards to make small purchases that they can easily repay.

• Specialty Credit Cards: These credit cards are offered through affiliations, partnerships, major brand retailers or service suppliers. Many specialty credit cards share a partnership between associations that support a social cause. A little partition of the buy goes towards the expected organization.

                     http://www.investopedia.com/university/credit-cards/credit-cards4.asp