Jean Chatzky
Jean Chatzky
Jean Sherman Chatzkyis an American financial journalist, author and motivational speaker. Chatzky has given personal financial advice on various TV shows. She is the financial editor for NBC's Today Show...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionJournalist
Date of Birth7 November 1964
CountryUnited States of America
settlement
If you'd asked me a few years ago about debt settlement companies, I probably would have told you to avoid them.
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Debt settlement companies work as a middleman between you and your creditor. If all goes well (and that's a big if), you should be able to settle your debts for cents on the dollar. You'll also pay a fee to the debt settlement company, usually either a percentage of the total debt you have or a percentage of the total amount forgiven.
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In most cases, if you've gotten to this point, you've already received a letter or phone message from your creditor with the name and extension of a representative. If you haven't, you can call the toll-free number on your bill, but keep in mind that the person who answers may not have the power to negotiate a settlement. Ask to speak to someone who is either a supervisor or in the settlement department, if the creditor has one (as many do).
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You really don't need to hire a debt settlement company to negotiate with your creditors.
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The debt settlement company will direct you to stop paying your creditor and instead send the money directly to them each month. The company's goal is to demonstrate to your creditor that you don't have the money to pay up - that's your leverage. After a few months, the company will typically go to the creditor and say, "I'm holding X dollars on behalf of your customer. He doesn't have the money to pay you, so you should take this amount as a settlement or you'll end up with nothing." If the creditor wants to get paid badly enough, it will take the money.
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If you're filing bankruptcy, you will likely want to hire an attorney. But for debt settlement, a company is sufficient, or as I said, you can often do the legwork on your own.
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Couples that do save have stronger, more stable, less stressful unions. In other words, you don't want to be fighting about saving; you just want to be saving, period.
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Generally, there are three rules when it comes to borrowing money: You need to have good credit, proof of income and cash for a down payment. Most people have the first two, but it's the third that trips them up. And nowhere does that come into play more than the mortgage market.
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Automate your savings so that you have money taken directly from each paycheck and deposited into a 401(k) or other workplace retirement account. If that's not an option, automatically have money transferred out of checking into savings each time you get paid.
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There's a laundry list of reasons why not to borrow from your 401(k). While the money is on loan, it's not working for you - and if you leave your job, you'll have to pay it back in 60 days or treat it as a taxable withdrawal.
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If your appraisal comes back too low - you don't have at least 10% equity for a conforming loan or 20% for a jumbo loan - you might not be able to refinance at all, at least with a loan that's packaged and sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That means you may have to pay a much higher rate.
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Knowing where you stand in your quest to accumulate enough money for retirement is an incredibly important part of the planning process.
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It's not exactly a big surprise that women mature earlier than men do. As a result, they tend to display better judgment, particularly when it comes to money.
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In fact, the bigger the bill, the less likely you are to spend it. If you want to really save money, spend only cash and carry only fifty-dollar bills.