Debt-Free Forever by Gail Vaz-Oxlade (the beginning after the end read novel .TXT) 📕

you’re in debt from all the shopping you did a while ago and can’t afford to even buy a new pair of shoes for your kid, you first have to accept that YOU did this.

I keep saying that I believe you can have anything you want in life if you’re willing to do what it takes to create it. If your life is full of crap, you first must accept that you had a part in creating it. Skip the blaming. Pass on the justification. Refusing to accept responsibility robs you of your power.

Once you’ve accepted that you had some small part in the creation of your reality, you can get busy taking action. Sure, you’re going to be scared. You cannot allow the fear to stop you. Fear is a remnant of old conditioning that is a barrier to you being all you can be. Treat the fear as a signal that tells you to be well prepared and take action.

Success comes from action. Don’t shy away from doing the hard work. Embrace it. Be committed to it. Do it! Through it all, you must learn to trust yourself. Through your experiences, you have developed skills, strengths, and intuition. Use them. Seek the counsel of experts when needed, but rely on yourself to make the final call. Become self-reliant. The ability to trust yourself is one of the greatest gifts you’ll ever give yourself.

Change is never easy. Sometimes it’s lonely. Often it hurts. And there’s nothing wrong with grabbing a cup of tea and a friend and having a good cry. But don’t stay there. Pick up, brush off, and get moving. You can experience joy by choosing to focus on joy.

You can have anything you want. I believe that. The question is this: how badly do you want it?

NEGOTIATE A DEBT SETTLEMENT

If you’re drowning in unpaid bills, if you’ve got loans in collections, or if you’re watching your credit history go to the dogs and wondering how you’re ever going to climb out of the hole you’ve dug, you may be tempted to take advantage of a debt-settlement company’s offer to “save thousands and get collectors off your back.” According to the Stats Man, household debt-to-income ratio reached a record high of 148% in the third quarter of 2010. We finally succeeded in outpacing our American cousins. No wonder there are so many debt-settlement companies popping up all over the place. More people are way over their heads in debt and dreaming of a quick and easy way out.

So what exactly is debt settlement? It’s negotiating with creditors to “settle” what you owe for less than you actually owe. You come up with the cash to pay off an agreed-upon amount, and your creditor waives fees and interest, and even reduces what you owe to make the whole thing work. Depending on how motivated your creditor is to settle with you, you could save anywhere from 20% to 75% of what you owe. So if your total unsecured consumer debt adds up to $35,000, you could save anywhere from $7,000 to $26,275. Have I got your attention?

That can’t be right Gail. Why would a creditor let anyone get away with only paying 25 cents on the dollar?

It’s a little-known fact that for people who are falling further and further behind on their bills, creditors would rather settle the debt for a lump sum of cash than run the risk that somebody will go bankrupt and they’ll lose even more.

GAIL’S TIPS

Debt settlement is what you do if you decide to be in charge and take control of dealing with your debt. Can’t work up the stomach for the hard work and heavy negotiating required? Consider credit counselling. That’ll stop the interest clock, but you’ll have to pay off the full balance and it’ll ruin your credit history. Can’t come up with the money to pay off what you owe? Visit a bankruptcy trustee to talk about a consumer proposal or personal bankruptcy.

There’s nothing shady or underhanded about debt settlement. It’s a perfectly legitimate way for borrowers who are overextended—but want to avoid bankruptcy—to deal with their debt. But you have to be tenacious. You have to have the will to succeed. And you have to fight like hell to get what you want.

Creditors aren’t all that happy that people know this option exists. And they can make it very, very hard to execute the strategy. That’s one reason why debt-settlement companies have made such inroads.

Some folks think that they don’t have it in ‘em to take on the fight. I think for what’s at stake, you should be prepared to go nose-to-nose with your creditors. Yes, it will be hard. Yes, your stomach will be in knots and your hands will shake. But do it! It’s your money and you should be prepared to fight hard to keep as much of it as you can. Remember, having someone else negotiate your debt settlement comes with a significant cost. So while it might look like the easy way out, you could pay through the teeth. Don’t assume the “free consultation” means you won’t have to pony up with some serious money once you’re into the debt-settlement process. You must weigh what the debt-settlement company will save you against what you’ll pay for its services.

Debt settlement isn’t right for you if:

• You owe money but have been keeping up with the payments, and have a bright, shiny credit history (and the accompanying high credit score). Choosing debt settlement will mean your credit history is going to get very badly bruised. Settling even one debt may lower your credit score, sending a message to lenders to up the rates on all your other debt because you’re a bigger risk.

• You have secured consumer credit. You can’t use it to try to reduce what you owe on an asset that could be reclaimed

• and sold, like a car. (However, if the car has already been