Credit Solutions To Help Eliminate Debt

Gregory J Cook, EA, CPA

Gregory J. Cook, EA, CPA+
Accredited Tax Advisor

Past President Alabama Society of Enrolled Agents
Past President Alabama Association of Accountants

   



Some Credit Solutions To Help Eliminate Debt


If you find yourself facing a mountain of debt because of misuse of credit, know that there are some credit solutions that can be employed to help you decrease or eliminate your debt. These credit solutions will enable the borrower to gain control of their finances. This can be an empowering experience and can have a positive impact on many other areas of life. While any credit solutions will take time and energy to utilize, the results will be well worth the effort involved.

One of the best methods to help solve a credit crisis is to deal directly with the credit card companies themselves before a problem gets out of hand. Many lenders are willing to work with their customers if they are contacted in a timely manner. This should be done before loans go into default in order that the lender can do all they can to help you. Many credit card companies are willing to lower interest rates if you simply ask them to do so. Other effective credit solutions involve transferring the balance of a high interest card to a card with lower interest rates. These cards can be located online or through your local bank. A lower interest rate will offer you some breathing room and enable you to pay off your debt faster since the interest charges will not add up so fast.

Other great credit solutions involve borrowing from a credit union or local bank rather than from a major lender. These institutions usually offer lower interest rates to their customers as well as more personalized customer service. They will often work with members of their community so that they can get the best deal possible on loans and lines of credit. These lenders are more likely to take hardships into account and rework loans so that the consumer is able to pay them in a timely manner. They are also more likely to offer credit to someone with a less than stellar credit rating if they have been a good customer and their accounts are up to date.

Some credit solutions offered by unscrupulous companies are simply not worth looking into. Companies that claim to consolidate debt will often charge the customer a high fee for doing so. This consolidation of debt can also be accomplished by the consumers themselves without having to pay someone else to do so. In addition, these methods will not actually help you to eliminate your debt because they do not address the underlying problem. The underlying problem is the behavior of the consumer who borrowed too much to begin with. Only by living beneath our means can we free ourselves from lenders and debt. Once you are out of debt, one of the best credit solutions you can employ is to no longer use credit cards if you do not have to. Studies have shown that people who pay cash for items have a tendency to spend less. If behavior is not changed, then credit solutions will only make the problem more severe.

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Greg Cook on the Recovery Act ...


The Recovery Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009. The purpose of the $787 billion Recovery package is to jump-start the economy to create and save jobs. The Act specifies appropriations for a wide range of federal programs, and increases or extends certain benefits under Medicaid, unemployment compensation, and nutrition assistance programs. The legislation also reduces individual and corporate income tax collections (to an extent), and makes a variety of other changes to tax laws.

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This Act will have far reaching consequences and we will be dealing with it for years to come (at least until 2018). Twenty-eight different agencies – such as the Departments of Education; Health and Human Services; and Energy – have been allocated a portion of the $787 billion in Recovery funds. Each agency develops specific plans for how it will spend its Recovery Act funds. The agencies then award grants and contracts to state governments or, in some cases, directly to schools, hospitals, contractors, or other organizations. The agencies are required to file weekly financial reports on how they are spending the money and their specific activities related to Recovery funds.


 Read more about The Recovery Act

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Have You Refinanced Your Home?

If you are one of thousands who locked into a lower home mortgage interest rate, then you've hit the savings jackpot! Besides getting one of the lowest rates in decades, you may be able to deduct some of the refinancing costs when you file your tax return. The “points” paid to get a home mortgage may be deductible as mortgage interest when you itemize on Form 1040's Schedule A. Points paid to get an original home mortgage may be fully deductible in the year paid. However, points paid solely to refinance a home mortgage usually must be deducted over the life of the loan.  

For a refinanced mortgage, you figure the interest deduction by dividing the points paid by the number of payments you will make over the life of the loan. You may deduct points only for those payments made in the tax year. Say you paid $2,000 in points and you will make 360 payments on a 30-year mortgage. You could deduct $5.56 per monthly payment, or a total of $66.72 if you made 12 payments in one year. If you used part of the refinanced mortgage money to finance improvements to your home and if you meet certain other requirements, the points associated with the home improvements may be fully deductible in the year the points were paid.

Also, if you are refinancing a mortgage for a second time, the balance of points paid for the first refinanced mortgage may be fully deductible at pay off. Other closing costs – such as appraisal fees and other non-interest fees – generally are not deductible. And the amount of your adjusted gross income could affect the amount of deductions you can take. Any way you look at it, between the lower interest rates and the tax savings, that's money you can take to the bank. For more information on deductions related to refinancing, contact your Cook and Co. Advisor.

 

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