Current Debt Could Jeopardize Your Retirement

The days of being able to retire at 65 with a decent pension along with social security benefits are virtually over. Pension plans are practically history and certain analysts, along with our President, warn us that our social security system will be out of money down the road if we don’t fix it soon! With thousands of workers affected by the growing troubles of many American manufacturers, especially the automotive industry, an ever increasing number of hourly workers are finding themselves out of work or in jeopardy of losing their jobs. This coming at a point in their lives when they should be looking forward to their approaching retirement instead of looking for another job. To compound the problem, home values are decreasing in many areas and foreclosures are skyrocketing, all due to the overbuilding spurred by glutinous developers, home builders and speculative real estate investors, along with the questionable lending practices of some high-profile mortgage institutions. Now, gasoline prices are over $3.00 per gallon - projected to hit $4.00 per gallon by next year. But even all of this is just the tip of the iceberg. The real threat is what lurks under the waters disguised as “Living the American Dream” – It’s the growing consumer debt.

Consumer Debt Hits an All-time High
According to the Federal Reserve, the total U.S. consumer revolving debt, which includes credit cards, was up to $904 Billion in June of this year. The average American household now holds more than $9,000 in credit card debt and the sad reality is that 70% of hourly workers are living paycheck to paycheck.

All of this means that many Americans aren’t saving. The current collective savings rate for Americans is less than zero and I heard a recent claim that the average 60 year old has only saved around $50,000 towards retirement. Saving money has taken a back seat to paying on debt. While the credit card industry is getting rich, Americans are slowly going broke. In fact, the credit card industry takes in over $40 billion a year in fees and penalties alone. This is money Americans should be putting away towards their retirement.

An example of what debt is doing to savings:

Let’s assume you owe $15,000 in credit card debt at 25% interest and pay only the monthly minimum payments. It will take you 20 years and 8 months to pay off this debt. The total interest you will have paid will be a whopping $16,139. That’s more than the original amount charged and it doesn’t even include any late fees or penalties. It also equates to over thousands of dollars each year that could have gone towards retirement savings.

You may question whether this is a realistic scenario. The truth is people don’t typically start out with that much debt all at once. What really happens is they rack up debt over time on multiple cards, making only the minimum payments each month. The balances keep growing, as do their monthly payments. They can afford the payments, but can’t afford to pay them off, so they keep charging. Then one day, they find themselves $15,000 in debt, living virtually paycheck to paycheck, with a total minimum payment due of $600. Suddenly they can barely afford the minimums let alone have any hope of paying off their mortgage or putting money aside for retirement. So the actual interest they are paying on their charges is well above the $16,000 we used in the example.

Debt as a Threat to Retirement
This kind of debt picture is threatening the likelihood of being able to retire for thousands of Americans. The longer they wait to start saving, the more they will have to set aside out of each week’s paycheck to have any hope of building a nest egg sufficient to be able to retire. But with years of debt staring them in the face, what can they do? When can they hope to start saving? We can’t depend on our government and social security to take care of us in our old age.


Get Out of Debt in Months Instead of Years
If you’re one of the thousands of people with high credit card debt (over $10,000), have minimal savings and are the one in six who pays only the minimum due every month, then you need a realistic plan to get yourself out of debt and back on track to start saving for your retirement. I recommend you consider debt settlement. By enrolling in a debt settlement program, you could realistically be out of debt in months instead of years.

What is Debt Settlement?
Debt Settlement is a program in which a qualified settlement or mediation company works for you with your creditors, to “negotiate” a reduction in your unsecured debt. Under this type of program, each of your creditors agrees to accept a portion of what you owe them, in lump sum payouts, as payment in full. You’ll get out of debt for less than what you owe and in a fraction of the time it would take to pay off the debt just making the minimum monthly payments. Because they are settling hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt for hundreds of clients, they have leverage with your creditors that you don’t have.

Who should you contact? – There is one company than stands out because of their excellent track record (quality service and results) and their unique approach. I recommend that you start with this company for a free debt consultation.

The program is Credit Card Relief™.

Unique Attorney-Driven Approach - Their program is unique in that Credit Card Relief uses a network of participating program attorneys, local to their clients, provide a free initial consultation to determine if debt settlement is the best solution. Once enrolled, your creditors are contacted and told that you now have representation in settling your debt. You now have a professional working for you. That’s where your relief starts. The debt is then mediated by a nationally known debtor mediation law firm.

Great Track Record - Credit Card Relief has years of experience, settling over $100,000,000 (one-hundred million) of debt for thousands of clients.

Operates in 46 states.

Low Monthly Payment – Credit Card Relief can cut your monthly payment by as much as 50%.Your Money is Safe - In addition, each Credit Card Relief client is part of a unique Enrolled Member Trust, through which all their funds are deposited into a totally insured, risk-free trust account with a national bank. No money leaves your account without your permission.Satisfied Clients - Credit Card Relief provides superior service, with on-going support throughout the duration of the program, through their full-time Client Care and Compliance departments. They have Zero open complaints with the more than 400 Better Business Bureaus (BBB’s) and the over 16,000 local, state, and federal regulatory agencies monitoring the industry. You can obtain a free debt consultation from Credit Card Relief™ by clicking here.

Or call (866) 960-5454

They can help you determine the best solution for getting you free of debt. For more information, read my blog dated September 29, 2006.

Don’t Delay! Don’t let embarrassment, stigma, or the sense that negotiating your way out is not the moral way to get out of debt. The Credit Card Industry is one of the most profitable industries in the United States with annual earnings around $30 Billion. Citibank alone earns more profit than both Wal-Mart and Microsoft. Yet this industry has more complaints filed against it than any other industry in the U.S. Getting debt free and starting a financial plan to build wealth instead of debt is one of the best things you can do for yourself and your family.

Waiting too Long to Seek Debt Relief Help– Mounting Credit Card Debt Mistake # 5

With the average American household carrying around $9,000 in credit card debt and many of those facing rising mortgage payments due to higher property taxes and rising interest rates, it’s easy to see how so many people can become overwhelmed – feeling as though there is no way out! Believe it or not, if you are in serious debt, one of the biggest mistakes you can make is to do nothing!

In this series of blogs, I have been discussing 5 of the biggest mistakes people make when faced with mounting debt, especially credit card debt, and providing some ways you can avoid or correct your mistakes. In my prior blogs I covered the problem with only paying the minimums on your credit card bills, using your home’s equity for credit card debt consolidation, using balance transfer card offers to move debt and using cash advances to make credit card payments. Today I will cover the fifth mistake: Waiting until it’s too late to negotiate with your creditors.

5. Wait until it’s too late to negotiate: If you are one of the thousands of people who find themselves struggling to pay even the minimums, the worst thing you can do is wait until it is too late to face up to your problem and take action. Don’t wait until you find yourself unable to pay.

Once you fail to make your required minimum payments, the credit card company considers your account to be delinquent or “at-risk” which weakens any leverage you may have to settle with your creditors. Delinquent or at-risk accounts are usually turned over to either an internal collection department or an external collection agency, which, in turn, begins contacting you for payment. The longer your account is at-risk, the more likely it is that your creditors will take action against you.

In some cases your account may be sold to a third-party collection agency (for usually pennies on the dollar). Once this happens, the collection agency owns the debt and begins hounding you for payment. The credit card company is now out of the loop and no longer interested in working with you; they’ve technically “gotten their money” from the collection agency.

Failure to pay on your part will likely lead creditors to take legal action against you for breach of contract. Yes, that's right, you signed a contract when you accepted that attractive credit card offer. Once you have a lawsuit filed against you, it is very difficult to negotiate a settlement. You could end up losing your home and having your credit ruined!

Before it’s too late you should check out whether debt settlement is an option for you. Don’t wait until you have lost your leverage to negotiate with your credit card companies on the balances you owe.

How Debt Settlement Works
Debt Settlement is a program in which a qualified settlement or mediation company works for you with your creditors, to “negotiate” a reduction in your unsecured debt. Under this type of program, each of your creditors agrees to accept a portion of what you owe them, in lump sum payouts, as payment in full. You’ll get out of debt for less than what you owe and in a fraction of the time it would take to pay off the debt just making the minimum monthly payments. Because they are settling hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt for hundreds of clients, they have leverage with your creditors that you don’t have. Also, the debt settlement company is in a better position to hold off creditor lawsuits because your creditors recognize that they will likely get more of their money working with the settlement company than they would by harassing or suing you. While your credit rating will drop as a result of being in a settlement program, you won’t ruin your credit for years like you would with a “failure to pay” judgment against you, or with bankruptcy or even consumer credit counseling.

How did Debt Settlement come about? – Debt Settlement, or Debt Negotiation as it is some times called, is a rapidly growing financial service industry that grew out of the exponentially mounting consumer debt and the realization that consumer credit counseling, with its 60-70% dropout rate, just wasn’t working for those seriously in debt.

But it is important to know that not all debt settlement/negotiation companies are alike.

Who should you contact? – There is one company than stands out because of their excellent track record (quality service and results) and their unique approach. I recommend that you start with this company for a free debt consultation.

The program is Credit Card Relief™.

Unique Attorney-Driven Approach - Their program is unique in that Credit Card Relief uses a consortium of attorneys. A network of participating program attorneys, local to their clients, provide a free initial consultation to determine if debt settlement is the best solution and once enrolled, offer limited representation. Your creditors are contacted and told that you now have representation in settling your debt. You now have a professional working for you. That’s where your relief starts. The debt is then mediated by a nationally known debtor mediation law firm.

Great Track Record - Credit Card Relief has years of experience, settling over $100,000,000 (one-hundred million) of debt for thousands of clients.

Operate in 46 states.

Low Monthly Payment – Credit Card Relief can cut your monthly payment by as much as 50%.

Your Money is Safe - In addition, each Credit Card Relief client is part of a unique Enrolled Member Trust, through which all their funds are deposited into a totally insured, risk-free trust account with a national bank. No money leaves your account without your permission.

Satisfied Clients - Credit Card Relief provides superior service, with on-going support throughout the duration of the program, through their full-time Client Care and Compliance departments. They have Zero open complaints with the more than 400 Better Business Bureaus (BBB’s) and the over 16,000 local, state, and federal regulatory agencies monitoring the industry.You can obtain a free debt consultation from Credit Card Relief™ by clicking here. They can help you determine the best solution for getting you free of debt. For more information, read my blog dated September 29, 2006.