I am currently in a situation in which I cant afford to pay my bills. I have looked online for help but there are so many types of debt programs out there that I don’t know where to start. I eventually stumbled onto Freedom Debt Relief. They seemed very knowledgeable. They told me that they are the fastest and cheapest way to get out of debt. Is that true?
Please respond only if it is related to Freedom Debt Relief. I do not need to know about any others.
Freedom Debt Relief is a GREAT option for people really struggling with their debts. It is a debt resolution strategy called negotiated debt settlement that can potentially cut debts with a lower monthly cost and get you debt free fast. They were reviewed very positively here: http://www.bills.com/freedomdebtrelief/
I think Freedom Debt Relief is the best company in the industry, they are on the Board of the industry association, are members of the BBB, are graduates of Stanford Business School and manage over $1.5 billion in debts for 50,000 clients.
My wife and I have decided to divorce. I’m 42 and she is 40. We have two kids 6 and 2 years old.
It has been a very long road to this point. We have done hundreds of hours of counseling and have pretty much exhausted any hope of reconciling.
So far we have both been extremely calm and rational about how to divide assets and debts as well as custody. That part is surprisingly going very smoothly.
While I’m feeling relief that this dysfunctional marriage will be over, I am still feeling periods of depression and deep sadness that seem to sneak up on me now that we are finally following through. I absolutely adore our two kids and will miss having daily contact with them.
I’m looking for advice on how to handle the coming months. How to handle my children reactions and adjustments etc. I’m especially interested in the advice of those who have gone through a no fault divorce with kids.
Any help is welcome. Thanks!
While you’re not necessarily going to miss your spouse and especially the problems you’ve had…you’re going to miss “being a family”! I know…that’s the tough part! But give it time…you will start to realize how much the arguing and stress in your marriage was bringing you down and will before you know it feel like a new person. Helping the kids through the divorce is never easy though. It’s very very important to help maintain any sense of normalcy as possible! Their world is already going to be turned upside down by not seeing you every day so talk with your wife about this too! Meaning if they are in school or day care, it’s important that you do not change that….at least not right away….even if one or both of you move several miles away from your current home! They already feel like their losing one or both parents in a way, so you don’t want them to lose their friends or daily social activities either! See them as much as possible….even if it’s just to take them to McDonalds for an hour…perhaps if she wants to go grocery shopping or catch up on laundry. Talk to them every day for at least a few mintues. You always want to be civil around their mom in front of them, which it sounds like you are, but be careful not to give them mixed signals that you’re getting along so well that you might consider getting back together! This will hurt them worse in the long run! If the two of you will still be living in the same town, try to work out a visitation agreement that will allow you to see them a couple nights during the week and you can take them to school or daycare instead of just every other weekend! going two weeks cold turkey without seeing them will be very hard….but they can make it every two or three days.
I really recommending getting some books on how to deal with children of divorce…they’ve really helped me! They even make childrens books that discuss and explain divorce in a childlike story!! Try to divide their personal belongs somewhat too….of course they’ll want to keep most of their things at their mom’s house…but when they stay with you, you want them to still feel like they have a home with you and that they belong there and be comfortable. Obviously they won’t have two beds and two of every toy….but for instance, if Mom keeps the bed, they get to bring a TV or video game or their toy box to your house…naturally you wouldn’t send all the toys, but mom could get a “new” special toy box and they’d have the one they were use to at your house…sounds trivial I know, but you will realize it down the road. I went through this with my kids…they are older but say they feel like they’re staying in a hotel when they are with their Dad….nothing there really “belongs” to them…meaning it carries no memories or sentimental value! Just some thoughts to keep in mind!
If someone is potentially facing a short sale but still has 30k left on an equity line, would it be possible for that person to use the 30k to pay off student loans and other debts with the equity line if they know they are already facing a short sale or foreclosure? Due to the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act that was just enacted, a person would no longer have to pay tax on the debt forgiveness, so therefore the additional money used from the equity line would not be taxed. Would it be smart to pay off student loans with this money if you already knew you would lose the house?
Please no mean answers, I’m asking hypothetically if it would be possible to use this $$ without penalty.
I think that the short sale approach assumes the debt is otherwise satisfied and that other liens (HELOC) are not existing. The original holder would accept the short sale, the holder of the second (the HELOC) would want their money back.
If IMF & World bank gave debt relief for the “third world” why not the credit card’s co. do the sme in USA?
As I said, if the IMF & World Bank gave a debt relief for the third world, why not our Banks and creadit Co. gave credit Card debt relief (forgiveness) who are paying tax and excessive interest (from 14-21%). This of course, doesn’t include the late fee and the penality for not paying.
For example, City Bank has an asset of #60 trillions from the profit they get from us. Bank of America has the same profit while we the middle class are becoming poorer and poorer. Is there a government who is protecting its working and middle class from rip off to death by those greedy credit card companies and Banks? Don’t you think we have to do something about it?
The banks and corporations are getting rich off of you. Why would they want to stop?
The government is owned by the same banks and corporations, so they’re not gonna help either.
I also agree with the first poster … Spending money that you don’t have is not a good idea. Of course, the only differences between City Bank and a Loan Shark is that City Bank won’t beat you up if you don’t pay and they have a corporate logo.
I disagree with the 3rd poster. Credit card companies collect a percentage of every purchase from the seller, not just finance rates. So, they make money on everyone who pays it off every month too. And come on… 21% interest rate is Organized Crime territory!
Where can I find information about the Credit Card Debt Relief part of the US Stimulus Package?
I heard the governement has added Credit Card Debt Relief to the Stimulus Package. But everytime I try and look it up, my search engine is cluttered with ads from organizations who want to “manage” and file for me for a fee. Where can I find information just for ME, the consumer, not from a third party? Someone please help me. Thanks in advance!
The new laws that take effect next year are limited. The bank can’t do 2-cycle billing, can’t raise your interest rate as quickly (which is why they are all raising the rates *now*), can’t do universal default, etal.
If you are hoping for Debt relief in the form of cold hard cash, dream on. Nothing is going to magically erase your balance due.
Everything yo uwill find on the web is HYPE. Every debt settlement company will offer, for a fee, to ruin your credit by asking each creditor to accept less than is owed. This is not a stimulus. This is a ripoff.
