Finance: Credit Counseling Vs Debt Settlement, Which Better?

image: Which better credit or debt?

Wbbmods.com - Finance: Credit Counseling Vs Debt Settlement, Which Better? Credit counseling or debt settlement? While naturally Franklin Debt Relief is inclined to argue on behalf of debt settlement over credit counseling, we also recognize that it’s impossible to declare.

Which program is better because it depends on a number of variables that differ from individual to individual. The purpose of this article is break down which factors you should consider before choosing the appropriate option. 

1. What can you afford? Credit counseling programs tend to be a lot more expensive than debt settlement programs. The reason is simple: credit counseling only produces results on the interest rates, whereas debt settlement is able to actually negotiate the amount you owe. 

Simply put, if you are in a true financial bind, then the clear choice for you should be debt settlement, and on a pure “money saved” basis, debt settlement will almost always be the answer. Although this is undoubtedly an important factor, it is not the only variable to consider before making a decision on which program is best for you.

2. What sort of credit impact can you tolerate? Some credit counselors out there will undoubtedly tout that their program doesn’t affect your credit score negatively. This is a play on words. 

Sure, your score won’t drop, but ask any lender what the impact is to your loan application. Let me save you some time---it’s devastating. That being said, debt settlement is no better for your credit, and lenders in general definitely do not like seeing debtors seeking outside help for their financial situation. 

On the flip side, they definitely do not like seeing the past due marks from enrolling in a settlement program. So let’s consider this example: Four years ago, John decided to use credit counseling, and Mary decided to follow the debt settlement path. 

They both have the same income and expenses, and they both apply for a $200,000 mortgage. Who is more likely to get it---John, who is 1 year away from completing his credit counseling program, or Mary, who finished her debt settlement program 1 year and half ago and has since been rebuilding her credit? While this may vary from lender to lender, in general Mary would be considered the better loan applicant. 

What if John paid a lot per month and they both finished their respective programs in the same amount of time? By itself, the credit counseling program would be better for your credit, but when you factor in the fact that Mary would probably have more savings to contribute to a down payment, she’d still probably be considered the better loan applicant. 

Do I think this is fair? Not at all. It’s ridiculous that lenders are so harsh on clients of credit counseling programs. Unfortunately, the system is flawed, but until there are adjustments made to correct it, debt settlement clients will be in a more favorable position to obtain new credit upon completion of their program. 

3. Who do you owe? So you can save more money in debt settlement, but not always. If you owe a more aggressive creditor like Citibank, then it’s possible that credit counseling or bankruptcy may be a better option for you. 

The reason: Citibank not only tends to settle for more on average, but they are also more likely to pursue legal action to collect a debt. Although under most circumstances debt settlement is still successful with these creditors, it is a much riskier undertaking when you’re dealing with Citibank. 

If you cannot afford credit counseling and your debt is exclusively with Citibank, then unfortunately you’re probably better off filing bankruptcy. 

4. What is your personality type? I’ve read just about every article online regarding credit counseling versus debt settlement, and I’m amazed by how most finance authors eliminate the human element from this discussion. 

The bottom line: debt settlement is not for the faint-hearted. There is no guarantee that everything will work out completely as planned. Some settlements may be higher than estimated. Some settlements may be lower than estimated. You will inevitably get some creditor calls. 

This is the nature of the program, and you must be willing to accept some level of uncertainty before enrolling. I organized the following 4 questions in this order on purpose. After all, if you can’t afford credit counseling, then it’s pretty much out of the picture as an option for you anyway. 

I don’t mean to sound overly cynical, but we live in a material world and issues like having an anxious personality must be sacrificed when you don’t have the money necessary to freely exercise this aspect of your character. 

On the flip side, if you have 100% Citibank debt, it would be foolish for you to choose debt settlement over credit counseling or bankruptcy just because you fancy yourself a risk-taker. There are countless other variables that influence whether debt settlement or credit counseling is appropriate for you (i.e. what state you live in, your income source, etc.). 

Your best bet is to discuss your individual situation with someone knowledgeable in these arenas. Thanks for read and i hope you all understand about both.

Talking About Cleaning and Organizing Your Computer

image: Cleaning computer just do it

Wbbmods.com - Talking About Cleaning and Organizing Your Computer. It is a good idea to think of your PC as an office. It stores files, programs, pictures. This can be compared to an actual office's files, machines and decorations. 

The operating system is the boss. With this image in mind, think of an office you've visited that was slow and inefficient. There were probably many different reasons for the inefficiency. This is the same with a computer. 

There can be many items that slow down your computer. Perhaps the one most commonly overlooked is disorganization and clutter. Disk Cleanup An office can accumulate a lot of unnecessary files, machines, and decorations. This is the same with your computer. 

One of the best ways to keep this clutter under control is to perform a cleaning utility periodically. In Windows this cleaning utility will be called a "disk cleanup." It removes a variety of unnecessary files depending on the options you have selected. 

To perform a disk cleanup on Windows XP you can simply click on "my computer" under the start menu. Than right click on your "c drive" or "hard disk" and choose properties. Than click "disk cleanup" and follow the prompts. When selecting files to clean up, or delete, Windows will give you information to help you decide. 

When looking over the list of file types, you would simple click on the name of the file type and read the description placed below in the description area. This will let you know if the files can be safely deleted. To select the file group just check the box next to the group name. When finished selecting press "OK" to finish. 

Now, performing a disk cleanup is not very time consuming, just a couple minutes, and it may save more time in the end by making your computer run faster. However, a disk cleanup should be run periodically rather than just once in a great while. One way to make this run periodically is to make it a scheduled task. 

This will allow your computer to run it automatically with intervals and time of day determined by you. Yet, you can always run it yourself periodically without creating a scheduled task. Add or Remove Programs The information given above can help you get rid of some unnecessary files, but you may also need to clean out some unnecessary programs as well. 

This can be done using the "add or remove programs" utility in Windows. This is located in the control panel and lists all of your currently installed programs along with an option to uninstall them. It is a good idea to browse through the add or remove programs utility every once in a while just to make sure that all programs are of usefulness. 

If there are programs listed that are no longer used, you can simply highlight the program and click the uninstall button. Windows will than begin the process to uninstall the program. In most cases, to finish uninstalling a program, it is wise to restart your computer. 

This will dump and files that are held temporarily. The add or remove programs utility is very useful, but not all of the programs are listed up front. Programs that come pre-installed on your computer and the Windows operating system can also be uninstalled. 

For instance, Outlook Express is a default e-mail program that comes with the Windows XP operating system. If you do not use this e-mail program you can uninstall it. Click "add or remove windows components" found in the add or remove programs utility and simply follow the instructions. 

Defragment Many offices contain a large number of files and programs that are valuable and cannot be thrown away. In fact, they may contain files that are not even used, but still have to be retained for some reason. 

Although these files must remain in the office, they need to be organized. This is why we create file folders that hold groups of files that are related. Than we store them in cabinets that are arranged in alphabetic order. 

In a computer, the files that are saved are placed on the hard drive. However, they are placed according to the time that they were saved. So, if you open a word document and save the file as "file A" and than open another document and save it as "file B", you have a "file A" placed next to "file B." 

This is fine, but if you open "file A" later on and save it again, than the added information is saved next to "file B." When files are broken up this way it is referred to as a fragmented file. This means that the computer must find the first part of the file and then find the second part of the file to open that one word document. 

This can make your computer run slower. However, Windows has created a utility that is meant to rearrange files so that they are no longer fragmented but sit right next to each other. You can run the disk defragmenter by selecting "all programs" under the start button. 

Next, select "accessories" and "system tools" and you will see "disk defragmenter." In fact, this is also an alternative way to select the disk cleanup mentioned earlier. Before starting the defragmenter you can analyze your hard drive to see if Windows recommends performing the defragmenter. 

It will either say that you should or should not defragment at this time. If you need to defragment your computer, simply hit the defragment button. It may take your computer a while to finish this task depending on the speed of your computer and the amount of defragmented files. It could take from about 15-30 minutes or more. However, you can still use the computer while the disk defragmenter is working.