Tag Archives: debt consolidation

Why Opting For AKPK Debt Management Program (DMP)?

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Posted by Vedis the DMP Blogger on September 14, 2009 – 11:49 am
Filed under AKPK Debt Management Plan, Credit Card Debts, Credit Counselors, Debt Management Companies, Debt Management Programs, Debt Settlement Plans

Since I was approved of the AKPK debt management program (DMP), I have always been asked by readers or friends why I chose to get out of debt with a debt management program.

There were several reasons why I enrolled in a debt management programme and not debt consolidation or debt settlement. Debt settlement? I wonder if there is any debt settlement plan in my country.

First and foremost, it’s FREE to join the AKPK debt management plan. You are not charged any enrollment fee or monthly service fee. Yes, the DMP provided by AKPK (Agensi Kaunseling Dan Pengurusan Kredit) is free; it comes with zero enrollment fee or monthly service charge.

Since the program is free to join and at that time I had had enough of my piled up credit card debt, I made an appointment with a senior credit counselor in Ipoh branch.

Did I do any DIY debt management to get rid of credit card debt? Of course, I did. In fact, I began budgeting and cutting spending starting April 2007 to pay down my credit card debt before finally signing up with the AKPK program.

In a span of almost one and a half year, I managed to pay down my debt from RM63,809 ($18,000 plus) to RM40,344.

Just as I thought I could slowly pay off my credit card through budgeting and cutting back on spending, bad things crept in one by one.

Firstly, hubby and I were not able to generate more income to pay the bills. Money was always not enough when it came to making payments to credit cards, home and car loans, utility bills and personal expenses.

We started being in late in payments or skipping some of the credit card minimum payments. As a result, late payment fees, penalty charges, over-limit fees, and other miscellaneous fees began piling up and added to my already piled up credit card debt.

One day after watching the AKPK’s TV commercial ad, I decided to pay a visit to the agency and enroll in its debt repayment plan to help me get out of credit card debt without stress.

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. :-)

Consider Credit Counseling & Its Debt Management Plan To Avoid Bankruptcy

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Posted by Vedis the DMP Blogger on August 19, 2009 – 11:01 am
Filed under Credit Counselors, Debt Management Companies, Debt Management Programs

Get Help From Debt Management ProgramIf you are in debt trouble, you have probably heard about getting help from debt relief options like credit counseling, debt consolidation, debt management and debt settlement.

Often times, the term “credit counseling” is used in the same sentence as debt settlement, but actually, it’s a completely different process.

With credit counseling, you will actually work with a credit counselor to pay off your debt in smaller, monthly payments that you can afford.

So, do you really need credit counseling to get you out of debt? You need it if you have been receiving harassing phone calls from bill collectors or if you are unable to make another month’s high interest credit card payments.

Before you attend any credit counseling briefing, it’s important that you choose a good credit counseling agency so that you are not scammed.

Look for a reliable credit counseling agency that is a member of the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies (AICCCA) or the National Foundation of Credit Counseling (NFCC).

Once you have identified the right credit counseling agency, you’ll have to meet with a certified credit counselor, and provide him with all of the details of your debt.

After a thorough review of your debt, credit history, and a detailed analysis of each of your creditor accounts, your credit counselor will let you know if there is a need for you to enroll in a debt management program.

Once it is determined that signing up with a debt management plan is right for you, your debt management program counselor will negotiate with all of your creditors to reduce interest rates, eliminate late payment fees and lower payments before creating an affordable debt repayment plan that you can live with.

It’s true that working with a credit counseling service can do some damage to your credit report. But if you are at the stage where your last resort is filing for bankruptcy, you would definitely consider a debt management plan in order to avoid bankruptcy or a report full of charge-offs.

Seek Help Before Resorting To Any Debt Management Program Or Debt Consolidation

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Posted by Vedis the DMP Blogger on August 17, 2009 – 9:48 am
Filed under Debt Consolidation Loans, Debt Management Companies, Debt Management Programs

Congratulations if you are able to keep your credit card debts at reasonable and manageable levels. Unlike you, my credit card debts ended up incurring exorbitant interest charges, late payments fess and over-limit charges until I no longer was able to make next month’s payments and had to resort to a free debt management program.

If you ever find yourself having problems with paying off your credit card debts, the first course of action is to take a look at the budget. Finding ways to cut back on unnecessary expenses can help you pay down debts and keep monthly bills current.

But what if you can’t settle your debt problems with budgeting? Well, seek assistance from debt help relief options to help gain control over your debts so that your credit rating will not suffer badly.

Debt Consolidation. You may turn to debt consolidation as an answer to your debt problems. Debt consolidation enables you to transfer all your high-interest credit card debts to a lower interest credit card, or you put up the equity in your home to get the money to pay off your debts.

While both unsecured and secured debt consolidation options provide lower payments, they are with some drawbacks. Closing numerous credit card accounts and putting all of your debts into one account can negatively impact your ratio of debt to available credit, lowering your credit score.

And if you use your home equity to secure the money needed to pay off debts, you’re putting your home at an unnecessary risk. You face the risk of losing your home if you fail to make payments.

Credit Counseling. Another popular debt relief option is credit counseling. Credit counseling agencies, non-profit or for-profit, offer help with budgeting, and if it is determined that budgeting is not enough to solve your debt problems, they will sign you up with a debt management program.

A debt management program, also known as debt management plan, involves negotiation with creditors to reduce interest rates, eliminate late payment fees or over the limit charges, and lower payments.

You make one monthly affordable payment to the credit counseling agency’s collection account, and the agent forwards payments to each of your creditors.

A DMP can help you get out of debt faster, but it can also have negative impact on your credit score. As a note is added to your credit report stating that you are in a debt management plan, you no longer can get a new credit card or loan. However, the notation is removed once you’ve settled your debts.

Either you decide to enroll in debt consolidation or a debt management plan, it’s important to make sure you’re dealing with a reputable credit counseling agency that is a member of the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies (AICCCA) or the National Foundation of Credit Counseling (NFCC).

As AICCCA and NFCC regulate and monitor member agencies to make sure that they operate legally and ethically, you save yourself from being scammed by unscrupulous credit counseling agencies that charge high fees or fail to make payments to creditors on time.

To prevent yourself from facing undue stress caused by spiraling debts and damaging credit score, it’s wise to seek help at the first sign of trouble.

Debt Consolidation, Debt Management & Debt Settlement – 3 Debt Help Options

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Posted by Vedis the DMP Blogger on August 13, 2009 – 4:25 am
Filed under Debt Consolidation Loans, Debt Management Programs, Debt Settlement Plans

When it comes to debt help options to pay off unmanageable credit card debts, there are three very favorable options. They are debt consolidation, debt management and debt settlement.

Before you decide to sign up with any of the debt relief options, it’s important to have a thorough understanding of debt consolidation, debt management program or debt settlement plan so you can choose the option that best suits your needs to help you settle your debts.

Debt Consolidation. Debt consolidation comes in two forms; secured and unsecured.

Secured debt consolidation is the action of combining several loans or liabilities into one loan; it takes all of your high interest credit card debts and turns them into one low interest loan.

Often you have to be a home owner to qualify for a secured debt consolidation loan called home equity loan.

With a much lower interest rate than your credit card interest rates, secured debt consolidation enables you to pay on the principle and that thus helps you to eventually get yourself out of debt.

But a word of caution, though. A home equity loan is a secured loan; the bank can take away your house if you fail to make payments.

Debt Management. Credit counseling and debt management agencies, be it non-profit or for profit, work to help you learn to get control of your finance.

Through debt management, you are educated on how to make a budget and stick to it and often help you make a schedule to follow for paying off your debts.

If it is determined that credit counseling is not enough to help you get you out of debts, you will be recommended to enroll in a debt management program.

A debt management program, also known as debt management plan, restructures your multiple monthly payments into one monthly payment, and thus resulting in lowering the total monthly payment previously paid.

When a DMP is recommended, a certified credit counselor will be in charge of negotiating with your creditors to reduce interest rates, eliminate late fees and over-limit payments, and create a manageable repayment plan for you to follow.

A debt management plan is right for me, therefore I enrolled in a free debt management program available in my country last year. I have been in the program since October 2008. :-)

Debt Settlement. Debt settlement is an approach to debt reduction in which the debt settlement company renegotiates the amount of debts you owe with your unsecured creditors and convince them to give up their demands for the full repayment of your debts and instead to accept a lesser amount.

See the difference between debt management and debt settlement clearly; debt management means paying a monthly payment while debt settlement means paying the whole amount up front.

In order for the debt settlement program to work, you have to have a large amount of money on hand for a one time sum. Inability to meet this requirement will probably end up with you getting calls from a collection agency and facing with even more debts.

Debt consolidation, debt management and debt settlement are often favorable debt relief options because they allow you to get out of debt faster without having to declare bankruptcy.