Tag Archives: daily expenses

Why Opting For A Free Debt Management Program (DMP)?

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Posted by Vedis the DMP Blogger on September 12, 2009 – 4:52 am
Filed under Debt Management Programs

Why A Debt Management Program (DMP)Since I was in the debt management program in October 2008, I have always been asked why I opted for a debt management program to get rid of my credit card debt.

There were a few reasons why I signed up a debt management plan and not any debt consolidation or debt settlement.

First off, the debt repayment plan I enrolled in is FREE. There is no initial fee or monthly service fee charged by the credit counseling and debt management agency.

Yes, it’s a free debt management program that is only available in my country. It’s not available to people in the US, UK, Canada and other countries.

As it’s a free debt relief program and I had come to a point that I couldn’t go on paying the huge amount of minimum payments, I decided to enroll in the debt management program.

But why didn’t I DIY debt management to pay off the credit card debt?

Oh, I did. In April 2007, I started self-help debt reduction to pay down some of my credit card debt before I joined the DMP. Between April 2007 and August 2008, I managed to bring down my credit card debt from RM63,809 ($18,000 in USD) to RM40,334.

Just as I thought my effort of tackling my credit card debt would pay off if I kept on budgeting and curbing my spending habits, bad things kept popping up.

First of all, the expenses always surpassed the income. Due to economy downturn, hubby and I were not making sufficient money to pay all the credit card minimum payments, car and home loan installments, utility bills and daily expenses.

When we failed to make payments on time, you know what will come next, right? Yup, banks and creditors started charging late payment fees, over the limit charges, cash advance fees, retail interest charges into my credit card accounts.

One day in August 2008, I told hubby that I had had enough of my credit card debt, non-stop phone calls from banks and warning notices issued by creditors. I wanted to get rid of them.

So, I am now in the free debt management program. :-)

$2,500 + $1,500 = Dual Income To Pay AKPK DMP Repayments, Car & Home Loan Installments

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Posted by Vedis the DMP Blogger on July 1, 2009 – 1:40 pm
Filed under AKPK Debt Management Plan, Auto Installment Loans, Debt Management Programs, Home Installment Loans, Income Streams

At last, hubby has started his work as a full time high school teacher with effect from 1st of July. My wish of him having a stable full time job has come true.

I must have God to thank for because He answered my prayer. :-)

With hubby having a full time job, this means there is RM1,500 to pay some bills, pay off some personal debts from close friends and save for emergency funds.

Hubby’s current pay is only $1,500 per month because he is only given 15 classes per week to teach. There aren’t enough classes for the time being because it’s middle of the year now.

Although hubby’s salary is RM1,500, he is still considered a full time teacher. You know, he will be entitled to a month’s bonus!

If hubby is sure that he wants to be a discipline master after 2 months, he will have extra RM400.

Next year, it’s expected that hubby’s salary is between RM2,000 and RM2,400.

Let’s look at my current income from my niche blogs and tuition classes. I think they bring roughly RM2,500 per month.

Both of our income adds up to RM4,000! Wow, …

With RM4,000, we can pay my AKPK RM320, hubby’s AKPK DMP RM360, car loan installment RM820, home loan and bank overdraft interest fee charge RM520 and utility bills RM250.

Extra money will then be used for daily expenses and saved for emergency funds.

You Do Not Need A Free Debt Management Program If Your Credit Card Debt Is Manageable

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Posted by Vedis the DMP Blogger on April 17, 2009 – 4:21 am
Filed under Debt Management Tips

Debt management programs are not for everyone. If your credit card debt is manageable and you are making credit card payments on time, you don’t need a free debt management program.

To make sure that you don’t need any debt relief program or bankruptcy in future, start implementing debt management to properly manage your credit card debt.

Debt management is, simply put, a way of taking control of your debt and finances. You can manage the debt on your own with a little bit of effort without the help from a certified credit counselor.

The first step of debt management is to become familiar with your debt. Make a list of all your credit card accounts – how much is owed on each card and the amount of monthly payment.

Next, make a list of all your expenses and figure out where you can cut down and save money. There is also a need for you to keep track of your daily expenses so that you know where your money is going and see whether you can reduce the expenses in this area. Spending money without realizing what you are spending on and where your money is going to is the main reason you are knee deep in debt.

The next step is the most important and practical step – start making payments. Take the account with the smallest balance and pay as much as you can towards the balance each month while paying the minimum payments on all of your other accounts until the first account is paid off.

When the account is paid off, take the second lowest balance and repeat the process adding the amount that you paid towards the first account to the payment of the next account. You will repeat this process until you have all of your credit card accounts paid off.

Credit card debt management is not rocket science. It’s a simple process that requires discipline and determination in order to pay off credit card debt without having to enroll in a debt management program or declare bankruptcy.

In my opinion, people who don’t possess strong discipline and determination tend to end up enrolling themselves in debt management programs.

To be honest, I am a credit card debt woman who doesn’t have very strong discipline and determination. This explains why I am in need of a free debt management program to help me stop using credit cards totally and pay off my debt without harassment.

Need Enough Income & Money To Make AKPK Debt Management Repayments, Home & Car Loan Installments, Utility Bills

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Posted by Vedis the DMP Blogger on March 12, 2009 – 12:04 am
Filed under AKPK Debt Management Plan, Auto Installment Loans, Credit Card Debts, Home Installment Loans, Income Streams, Spending / Expenses

My online assignments and income revenues drop a lot this month due to economy slowdown. A decrease in income does freak me out.

Stop worrying! Let God help me find enough income and money to make all the necessary payments like my AKPK debt management repayment, hubby’s AKPK debt management repayment, home and car loan repayments, bank overdraft interest charge, utility bills, and daily expenses.

YOU took care of my bills and income collection last month. May YOU take care of the bills I need to pay in March, too.

Payments to be made in March:

1. My AKPK debt management repayment – RM320 (26.03.2009)

2. Hubby’s AKPK debt management repayment – RM360 (26.03.2009)

3. First half car loan repayment – RM420 (18.03.2009)

4. Utility bills – RM280 (18.03.2009)

5. Home loan interest charge – RM374 (30.03.2009)

6. Bank overdraft interest fee – RM180 (30.03.2009)

7. Second half car loan installment – RM400 (07.04.2009)

Income to be collected in March:

1. Biweekly online assignments – RM520++

2. Tuition fee – RM440, RM160, RM280

3. Biweekly online assignment income – RM950++

4. Foot biz – RM100

5. Money returned by a buddy – RM500

Private Tutoring Is The Best Part Time Job During Economy Crisis & Recession

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Posted by Vedis the DMP Blogger on February 17, 2009 – 10:55 am
Filed under Income Streams

Private TutoringAfter hearing so much about layoffs, job cuts and job losses, my sister is serious about having a part-time job.

She thinks of having a part-time job so in case she is put layoff one day, she still has a part-time hour job to pay her credit card bills, home mortgage installments, car loan repayments, gas and electricity bills or daily expenses.

After much discussion, she has narrowed down the scope of jobs to sales jobs, finance jobs, payroll jobs, tutoring jobs, secretarial jobs, computer jobs, receptionist jobs and customer service jobs.

As a women who has two school-going kids, she needs a flexible job that she can make changes of time and schedule easily.

Tutoring is the best part time job. By being a private tutor, she can have tutoring classes at home and at her convenient time.

I don’t know about your country, but in my country, Malaysia, parents put emphasis on children’s education very much.

Parents can live below their means and save money on everything, except kids’ children.

Children education is the top priority. No matter how poor the parents are, they will do their best to provide the kids good education.

This explains why tuition classes are still fully packed during bad economy and recession. Tuition or tutoring jobs are considered recession proof jobs.

Maths tutors, science tutors and English tutors have been top tutors wanted by tutoring agencies for many years and will still be even in times of economy crisis and depression.

I went back to giving tuition again in December since parents had asked me a few times in 2008. After quitting teaching for one year, I feel good teaching those kids again.

My tutoring income is almost one-third of my online income now. Oh, must really work hard to increase my online income in year 2009 too.

Giving For A Cause Regularly, Paying Off Credit Card Debt & Making Money Online Are 2009 New Year Resolutions

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Posted by Vedis the DMP Blogger on December 8, 2008 – 12:46 pm
Filed under AKPK Debt Management Plan, Auto Installment Loans, Credit Card Debts, Home Installment Loans, Saving Money

I think this is the first time I have extra money in hand to give for a cause before Christmas. Each year since I was burdened by credit card debt, I was always short of money when it came to buying Christmas gifts, not to mention giving for a cause.

This Christmas is totally different. I am now under AKPK’s debt management programme (DMP). Not only do I have extra cash to buy Christmas gifts, I also have extra money to donate to a charity called Tze Chi Foundation. I stopped donating to this charity when my income was not even enough to cover my credit card minimum payments after deducting daily expenses, groceries, and car and home loan installments.

Although there is extra money in hand for Christmas gifts and money donation, hubby and I are not buying Xmas gifts for each other. We have agreed to put the money we would have spent on each other towards Tze Chi Foundation again starting this year.

Giving doesn’t necessarily mean handing over cash, there are other ways to donate your resources. Volunteering at a hospital, making dinner for a sick person, or working in a soup kitchen, to name a few here.

Other than paying off credit card debt and making more money online, another New Year resolution of mine for year 2009 is to give regularly.