7 Debt-Relieving Techniques for Dealing with Creditor Calls

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) gives debt collectors certain rights, but your rights to not be harassed over the phone are stronger. You are not obligated by law to interact directly with irritating debt collectors, and you can certainly report them if they break the regulations, according to the FDCPA.

TACTICS FOR HANDLING CREDITOR CALLS THAT HAVE BEEN PROVEN

Debt is a very stressful situation. It's rare to go through life without having to deal with some sort of financial issue, no matter how hard we try to avoid it. Most of us feel better when we spend money as a reward for a job well done or as a means to make up for disappointments. But it's only a band-aid. Debt has a way of feeding despair, making impulse purchases difficult to justify.

Not having enough money to cover the basics or achieve the level of quality of life we desire causes emotional chaos. Borrowing money can lead to a slew of psychological issues that have nothing to do with accounting. According to the American Psychological Association, 72 percent of Americans are anxious about money, with 22 percent experiencing "severe" financial stress.

When debt collectors begin calling, it adds insult to injury, increasing our anxiety and shame about our predicament. We feel like we're in big trouble, and we're worried that these debt collectors are out to embarrass us or divulge our private financial information. Even though we are aware that debt collectors are trained to target your weak spots, the devastating impacts of debt and collection agency pressure nevertheless have an adverse influence on our health.

Need help? visit Alleviate Financial Solutions for more details.

Our brain reacts to financial stress in a few different ways:

DENIAL

Denial usually include underestimating your debt, refusing to answer the phone when a collector calls, leaving bills unopened, asking for new credit cards when you're already maxed out, and convincing yourself that being in debt is normal. When you wish to rationalize spending blunders, ignoring reality is a useful protective mechanism for the brain. The problem is that harsh reality sets in gradually.

STRESS TO THE MAXIMUM

Lack of sleep, loss of focus, continual concern, bickering with your spouse about money, and practically hyperventilating when a new bill arrives are all symptoms of stress, which is the polar opposite of denial. It can also make you fearful of losing your job, as losing it would significantly worsen your financial circumstances.

GUILT

You get a bad feeling in your stomach when you feel guilty. You could be humiliated that you put yourself into financial trouble and wonder why you ever bought that new stove or went to the movies instead of watching TV at home. Guilt can affect even the tiniest of decisions, such as feeling terrible for buying a $5 drink instead of water at dinner.

PANIC AND FEAR

Fear and panic are the result of a high amount of stress. Receiving a late payment notice not only makes you feel uneasy, but it also causes your heart to race, your breathing to become uneven, and you to get the shakes. You expect the worst: that if your house is repossessed, you'll be homeless, or that your car will break down on the way to work because you couldn't afford a tune-up, and you'll be fired for being late. No one wants to be trapped in a world of irrational thoughts, but they have a way of gaining control.

FRUSTRATION AND ANGER

Debt-Anger Syndrome is a scientifically verified phenomenon. Rather of fearing or disputing their debt, some people become excessively enraged at creditors who keep sending them payments. Then they become enraged at the mailman for delivering collection letters and bills, at their bosses for not paying them a larger income, at their spouses for not receiving a promotion and earning more money, and at their children for having a cavity or requiring orthodontics. These people are enraged by life and, in particular, by themselves for getting themselves into debt in the first place.

DEPRESSION

Those invoices are still staring them in the face after they've gone through the stages of denial, stressing out, and lashing out over their debt. That's when hopelessness and depression, as well as low self-esteem, set in. As people try to alleviate their misery by buying or planning a holiday "to relax," financial distress can lead to even more debt.

However, this is a vicious cycle that simply leads to greater debt, which ultimately leads to even more depressed and despairing feelings. Soon, you won't care if debt causes your misery or if debt is the source of your pain. You simply want it to be over with.

Impaired cognitive performance is one of the detrimental outcomes of all of these stress reactions. That implies you won't be able to pay attention, remember things, or solve problems rationally if you're worried about your power bill. It's no surprise that you don't always know what to say when obnoxious creditors call—you're off your game.

A debt collector's entire tactic is to trick you into paying by appealing to your feelings of guilt, anxiety, and dread. You'll have an advantage if you retain your cool and stick to business. Remember that debt collectors don't care about your financial difficulties or if you're experiencing mental pain as a result of your financial difficulties; they just want your money.

🎧 Listen to our podcast: https://pod.co/podcastlive/top-tips-to-help-with-credit-card-debt

How to Reduce Your Student Loan Payments in 8 Simple Steps

You are not alone if the burden of student loan payments keeps you awake at night. Over 40 million Americans are in deficit to the tune of $1.5 trillion in student loans. Over one-fifth of the population owes more than $50,000. Student debt payments can compel you to postpone significant financial and personal crossroads such as purchasing a home, getting married, or forming a family. It can also exacerbate anxiety, despair, stress, and illness. While there is no quick answer for the student loan debt, lowering the amount you must pay will help ease some financial and mental stress. Here are eight strategies for reducing student loan payments.

1. Extend Your Payment Schedule

You pay a predetermined sum per month for ten years under the conventional student loan repayment plan. However, if this price is too expensive, you can prolong your payment term from ten to twenty-five years and pay less every month. You have the option of assembling either fixed or progressive installments. Fixed payments remain constant for the life of the loan, whereas graduated payments begin low and gradually climb every two years.

You must have more than $30,000 in Direct or FFEL loans to be eligible for this plan. You also can't have any federal student loans that are due before October 7, 1998.

The disadvantage of an extended repayment plan is the astronomical interest costs that it entails. The interest on a debt can sometimes be nearly equivalent to the original loan. You will also be disqualified for the public service debt forgiveness (PSLF) program if you follow this plan. Other plans on the list should be considered if you are working toward loan forgiveness.

2. Get a Student Loan Refinance

Refinancing is one of the few choices available to those with private loans. You obtain a loan from a private lender for the amount you owe and use it to repay your student loan provider in refinancing. This enables you to renegotiate your loan's conditions for a reduced interest rate and monthly payment. Some private lenders offer variable rates as low as 2.5 percent and fixed rates as low as 3.5 percent. You can even make your payments plan last longer.

Assume you owe $25,000 on a student loan with a fixed interest rate of 6.6 percent. With the usual 10-year plan, you'd pay $285 every month plus $9,271 in interest. Your monthly payment would be $184.92 with interest charges of $8,286 if you refinance at a fixed pace of 4.00 percent for 15 years. Even with a 5-year extension, refinancing is still a far more affordable alternative than a traditional student loan repayment plan. The higher the interest rate on your current student loan, the more money you'll save by refinancing.

Each private lender has its own qualifying and approval procedures. However, you'll need a steady income, a good credit score, and a qualified co-signer to boost your chances of qualifying. It's also a reasonable concept to apply to a few different lenders to increase your chances of getting approved. A soft credit inquiry, which has no affect on your credit score, can be used to rapidly check your new interest rate for free. Multiple inquiries on your credit report are classified as a single inquiry if you apply to multiple lenders in less than 30 days.

Refinancing has the disadvantage of removing federal repayment protections for government debtors. You will be ineligible for federal deferment and forbearance programs, as well as debt forgiveness programs, if you refinance. If you have an unforeseen financial setback, certain refinancing businesses will allow you to defer payments. However, as compared to federal loan protections, the terms are usually less favorable.

3. Fill out an application for an Income-Driven compensation Plan.

An income-driven repayment (IDR) plan tailors your student loan payments to your financial situation based on your salary and family size.

Because the amount you pay monthly can fluctuate according on your circumstances, an IDR plan is the most convenient repayment choice for federal borrowers. Your monthly payment may be reduced to zero if you are sick, unemployed, or have recently given birth. In addition, any remaining balance is forgiven at the end of the payback period. An IDR plan also qualifies you for the PSLF program, which allows you to have your debts forgiven tax-free after ten years of regular payments.

The government offers four different types of IDR programs, each of which requires you to pay a proportion of your monthly discretionary income. For each of them, the repayment period is likewise varied. These are some of them:

• REPAYE Plan (Revised Pay as You Earn Repayment Plan): Payments are limited to 10% of your discretionary income. However, there are no restrictions on how high your payments can be, and your payments will increase as your income rises. In the case of married couples, the amount you pay will be influenced by your spouse's student loan obligations and income. REPAYE has a 20-year payback schedule for undergraduate loans and a 25-year repayment period for graduate loans.

• PAYE Repayment Plan (Pay as You Earn Repayment Plan): Payments are capped at 10% of your discretionary income. However, there is a cap, and your payments will never surpass those on the regular plan. The loan has a 20-year repayment duration.

• Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR Plan): If you took out a loan before July 1, 2014, your payments will be capped at 15% of your discretionary income, with a 25-year repayment period. If you borrowed after July 1, 2014, your payments are limited to 10% of your discretionary income, with a 20-year repayment schedule. Payments are likewise capped and will never exceed the amount you would pay on the basic plan.

• Income-Contingent Payments Plan (ICR Plan): The ICR plan is meant for public employees with lesser incomes and is capped at 20% of discretionary income for 25 years or a set monthly repayment for 12 years, whichever is less expensive. The amount you owe is a factor in how much you will pay each month, and there is no boundary to how high your payments might go.

To qualify for PAYE and IBR, your student loan debt must be greater than or equal to your yearly discretionary income, or it must consume a significant portion of your annual income. Anyone with federal student loans is eligible for the ICR and REPAYE loans. Even if nothing changes, you must give information (re-certify) on your income status and family size each year to remain eligible for any of the IDR plans. Failure to do so will result in your eligibility being revoked or your monthly payments being increased.

There are a few disadvantages to IDR policies. Extending your plan beyond the regular ten-year period will result in higher interest payments. You'll also have to earnings taxes on any forgiven debt. To figure out how much you'll earn each month on each IDR plan, use the Department of Education's payback estimator.

At Alleviate Financial Solutions, Our programs are individually tailored to each client's financial circumstances and are continually assessed for quality and performance improvement. We maintain ourselves and our level of service to a high bar, and we will not rest until our clients are debt-free.

🎧 Listen to our podcast: https://pod.co/podcastlive/how-to-release-an-irs-wage-garnishment-and-work-with-debt-settlement-companies

How to Earn $500 Extra Per Month?

We've all yearned for money to appear out of nowhere when we needed it the most.

Perhaps a large return or rebate for something we forgot about, selling some unused-but-valuable items on eBay, or taking up freelance work (while avoiding many of the "make money at home" scam sites that pop up in search engines) are all possibilities.

There are numerous methods for accumulating a few hundred bucks extra each month. Here are a few suggestions.

BONUS ESTIMATED: APPROXIMATELY $200/MONTH CUT OUT EXTRANEOUS EXPENSES

The first step toward having more money each month is to reduce unnecessary expenditures.

You may also download simple cash-back apps like Ibotta, which has over 50 retailers as partners.

Here are some temporary and easy ways to save $200 right now to help you pay off your debt.

Visit Alleviate Financial Solutions, to learn more about debt settlement programs.

Change your cable service provider

If your monthly cable payment averages $100, it's time to cut the cord and go digital. These businesses charge between $10 and $20 per month on average.

Hulu, Amazon Prime, YouTube Red, and Netflix are just a few of the streaming services available.

Change Your Automobile Insurance

Switching vehicle insurance saves most people a few hundred bucks per year. Obtaining auto insurance quotes and comparing them requires very little work.

When you shop, you can get your money back.

When you shop at your favorite stores, companies like Ebates give you cashback.

The breakup of a Barista

This notion isn't original, but it works. Coffee can still be consumed at home. A 36-ounce cup of coffee grinds will set you back roughly $25.

It will cost you $100 per month to have your barista produce your cold brew five days a week.

Change Your Cellular Service Plan

Changing your cell phone plan can save you $50-$100 each month on average. There are also businesses that will purchase you out of your current plan so you don't have to pay a cancellation fee.

Every time you dine out, you'll get a 50% discount.

You can save up to 50% on your supper by using websites like Restaurants.com or Groupon. One dinner every week at $20, plus a 50% reduction, yields a $10 save.

ESTIMATED BONUS: SELL WHAT YOU'RE NOT USING ON AVERAGELY OF $100+ PER MONTH

Take inventory of your closet and likewise any neglected stuff you may have stowed in the garage.

Do you have any designer clothing or purses that you don't wear? These keep their worth.

Try selling them on a website like eBay or even on Instagram, where many people are looking for buyers.

Consignment businesses, which will either give you cash or store credit towards new purchases, are a good place to look for mid-range or non-designer things.

WHAT ABOUT A PIECE OF INHERITED FAMILY JEWELRY THAT YOU DESPISE?

You don’t have to travel to a dodgy pawn shop to sell it—instead, visit a reputable jeweler who will income cash for your gold and fine gemstones.

If you have valuable printed items such as rare collector sports cards, stamps, comic books, or other valuable printed items, you may need to have them validated by a professional appraiser before they can be sold online.

Even yet, if the item is in perfect condition, you could make a lot of money.

Be wary of scammers, such as bogus customers who send you a check for more than the item's asking price, then demand that you wire the difference back to them.

After you call them out on fraud, their check is likely to bounce in a couple of days, and you will never hear from them again.

BONUS FOR FREELANCE SIDE JOBS: APPROXIMATELY $100-$500 PER MONTH

Maybe you are strong at something that can be developed into a side business, such as photography or graphic design, which you may discover on freelancer sites such as ZipRecruiter or Fiverr.

If you're a brilliant lifestyle blogger with a large following searching for corporate sponsors to hire you to create content, tell your friends.

Don't assume that your pals are aware of all of your secret abilities simply because you shared them on social media—tell them what you're good at and what you're looking for.

According to a recent story on Penny Hoarder, you can make up to $60/hour as a part-time Bookkeeper. No, you do not must to hire a CPA.

If distant internet-based job isn't for you, consider being a dog walker on weekends, sign up for grocery delivery services like Instacart, or part-time drive Uber or Lyft.

Many people pay for college by operating as a bartender or server, and some continue to work weekend shifts well into their 30s or even 40s merely to earn a few hundred dollars per month in tips.

If you currently have a 9-to-5 job, you'll need to plan your freelance time carefully so you don't burn out—or get in trouble with your supervisor for not devoting enough focus to your main job.

Nonetheless, many creatives like expanding their skill set by working on a variety of projects, and the extra money is a welcome bonus for putting in the extra effort.

It's also a good idea to undertake some pro gratis work now and then to enhance your portfolio, as well as to generate paid referrals by providing a 10-15% finder's fee to anyone in your network who helps you land a job.

When it comes to networks like LinkedIn or Facebook, you'll be surprised how far regular posts regarding the services you offer will go.

🎧 Listen to our podcast: https://pod.co/podcastlive/how-to-release-an-irs-wage-garnishment-and-work-with-debt-settlement-companies

Will Debt Collectors Contact You If You Participate In A Debt Relief Program?

It's wonderful to know that after you engage in a debt reduction program, your debts will most likely be cleared within a few years.

The issue is that you may receive phone calls from debt collectors.

The great news is that there are federal and state rules in place to prevent debt collectors from pestering you.

We included some information in the video's description, and if you're enrolled in Alleviate Financial Solutions' debt relief program, feel free to provide them our phone number so they can call us instead of calling you.

Visit our website at Alleviatefinancial.com if you'd like more information about debt settlement or debt relief.

What is the Discrepancy Between Debt Relief and Debt Settlement?

A negotiated agreement in which a creditor accepts less than the whole amount owed to legally satisfy a debt is known as debt relief or debt settlement.

Settlement programs span between 24 and 48 months and are heavily reliant on criteria like delinquency, creditor rules, the number of accounts, and the overall cash amount of the debt.

Since the beginning of debt, debt settlement services have existed in some form.

The modern sector has grown significantly in the twenty-first century, owing in large part to financial institutions' loosening of lending criteria.

Furthermore, today's borrowers are taking on substantially more debt than their parents did at a similar age, and they are paying it off at a slower rate.

These high debt loads and slower payoffs, along with today's high interest rates, indicate that many borrowers could be paying off their debts for decades if they are not helped.

While there are many interconnected factors for these changes, industry analysts point to growing availability to higher amounts of credit along with a decrease in the societal stigma associated with debt.

Visit: https://alleviatefinancial.com/debt-settlement/how-debt-settlement-works-your-complete-guide/

Make an appointment for a free debt analysis.

Potential consumers discuss their financial condition with a professional debt consultant.

The debt expert assesses the caller's financial position and recommends the best debt relief option.

When a client decides to join in our debt relief program, they will be coached through the procedure.

Enroll in Our Debt Relief Program Using Our Debt Settlement Calculator | Alleviate Financial

Signed enrollment forms are processed, and our team of dedicated account managers calls the new client to welcome them to the program.

Account managers are obtainable 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and stay in touch with clients throughout the program.

Discuss the Debt Settlement Calculator with Us | Make Financial Negotiations & Settlements Easier

Our skilled negotiators get to work on client accounts right away.

After receiving settlement proposals, they are checked for accuracy before being offered to customers for approval.

This method is repeated until all of the client accounts are settled.

Debts are no longer an issue!

Your debts will be paid off in a few years or even months, allowing you to start over financially.

🎧 Listen to our podcast: https://pod.co/podcastlive/how-to-release-an-irs-wage-garnishment-and-work-with-debt-settlement-companies