You have a debt problem, but it’s not serious enough to get you into AKPK debt management program yet? Lucky you! If you don’t want to resort to enrolling in AKPK’s DMP or declaring bankruptcy in future, then make sure you start managing your personal debt now.

Here is Raymond Roy Tiruchelvam’s article on How to Manage Personal Debt.

THE “easier said than done” phrase latches on to this topic like ants to sugar. While getting into debt is made easier today with the many innovative marketing plans undertaken by financial institutions, getting out of if, leaves much to be pondered.

For those who do not see the light at the end of the tunnel, Bank Negara has introduced AKPK or Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency. I am assuming a single source of funds being financial institutions, and not “ah-longs” and other unconventional sources.

There is actually one step to be undertaken prior to managing your debt, which is managing your cash flow. It does not mean that if one is a millionaire, there is no need for debt management … well perhaps there is no need, since the ability to source for debt is high, but everyone will need to manage their cash flow, let it be millionaires or paupers.

Let’s look at some steps that we can take to ensure that we are able to manage our personal debts so that we do not go into the “PN4” or “PN17” status (which for companies implies a financially distressed state).

Let’s start with liquid debts, credit card and car loans. For the former, never follow the minimum payment requirement of the bank, which is 5% of outstanding sum. The reality is that it does not diminish in 20 months (5% X 20 months = 100%) – which is the general misconception.

Instead, spread the payment over a reasonable payable period. For example, if you purchase a personal computer for RM1,500 perhaps, you want to make a RM300 monthly payment over 5 months, rather than pay RM75 in the first month, then RM71 for the second month and so on (assuming one follows the minimum 5% payment, excluding interest charge).

As a matter of fact, if one were to purely pay the 5% minimum payment, do you know that it will take 50 years for the sum to trickle down to RM100. And mind you, even with that, the debt won’t be fully settled.

As for car loan, do not take a hire purchase (HP) contract for more than 5 years. What would a car costing RM80,000 be valued at after 2½ years? Depending on the type of car, continental or eastern, a 5-year HP term will value it at RM40,000 (assuming a simplicity straight line depreciation, 100% hire purchase financing, excluding interest with zero value at the end of the payment term).

Assuming one needed cash, don’t you think it’s easier to find a buyer at RM40,000 compared to if you were to take a 9-year car loan whereby you will need to find a buyer at RM62,222 (remaining loan balance after 2 years for a 9-year HP plan).

Naturally, one would say if not for the 9-year term, he or she will not be able to afford the vehicle … but that’s exactly the point. If you can’t afford it, then don’t buy it!

Next comes personal loan. Firstly, it baffles me that banks are giving out “clean” loans today, meaning non-collateralised, non-guaranteed loans as personal loans to almost everybody with a monthly pay slip. If you are unable to pay, there is little recourse, as compared to hire-purchase loan, where you may have the option of selling the car. Hence, unless you are sure of the purpose and that the usage of the funds will return a cash flow, do not indulge in one.

Using electronic means via Internet banking and online payment systems is a good way to manage your cash flow. Today many banks have this facility that allows you to also format standing instructions to promptly pay a fixed sum on a particular date towards debt settlement. This will help you ensure that priorities take precedence. Therefore, it’s only the balance cash after settling debts that will be available for disposal.

What will be the comfortable debt to income ratio? Zero is preferable, otherwise a 25% maximum limit of disposable income is recommended. For example, if you had bought the RM80,000 car mentioned earlier, on a 5-year term; assuming a simplified zero interest scheme, you would be paying RM1,333 monthly installment.

Therefore following the 25% debt to income ratio, you should be earning a minimum of RM5,333 per annum. This is after tax and EPF, therefore gross monthly salary should be about RM6,200. So after reading this, do you think you have overspent on your car? There is no under-spending by the way, since the ratio is only an indicator, and I am sure you would probably want to also invest in a housing loan.

You can also increase your capacity to loan, by simply borrowing money to invest where the returns are higher than the cost of funds.

If you can find one an avenue that guarantees this position, then do inform me, I too am curious!

Raymond Roy Tiruchelvam is a former senior manager – economics and investment analysis at an oil and gas outfit.

If you think that you do not see the light at the end of the tunnel, then attend AKPK’s briefing to see if you need a debt management plan to help you get out of debt.

Having been in a free debt management program since October 2008, I must say that reading news, articles or success stories of cutting up credit cards, paying off debts and living cash-or-debit-card-only lifestyle is very inspiring.

The success stories of getting rid of debts motivate me to keep on paying down my credit card debts through the debt management plan and most important of all, they give me hope that I can be debt free one day.

I want to be like Russell and Kathy Hildebrandt who successfully pay off $100,000 debt with DMP or Lisa Brough who was forced into a debt-free life:

Lisa Brough was forced into a debt-free life by medical disaster.

Her husband has Huntington’s disease, a degenerative brain disorder, and has been unable to work since 1999. The couple, who have three children, saw their finances suffer as a result. They ended up with $50,000 worth of credit card debt as Brough worked two jobs and still struggled to pay the bills and the high property taxes on their home in Westchester County, N.Y.

“I said to myself, ‘I can’t do this anymore,’ ” she recalled. “He was going downhill, and I had to figure out a way to get out of this. I couldn’t count on tomorrow because I didn’t know what tomorrow would bring.”

In 2005, she took drastic measures. She decided to sell her $350,000 home, pay off all the family’s debt, and move to lower-cost Cary, N.C., where she was able to buy a house for $164,000 house in cash.

Since then it’s been cash and debit cards only for Brough, 50, who has no debt of any kind.

My reasons of getting into knee deep debts were more or less the same as theirs. However, their ways, means or methods of getting out of debts may or may not the same as mine.

By reading and utilizing their tips on how to eliminate the debts and save money, I hope I can be free of credit card debts through the debt management programme in a few years’ time.

The success stories of others also make me realize that it is possible to survive and thrive without depending on credit cards!

“Is there really such a free debt management programme?” Yes, but you must be a Malaysian in order to enroll in the debt management plan.

The free debt management program is offered by AKPK, Agensi Kaunseling dan Pengurusan Kredit, in Malaysia.

As a credit-card-debt woman who has been in AKPK’s debt management program for a year now, let me assure you that it’s a free DMP that involves NO credit counseling fee, NO enrollment fee and NO monthly service.

It’s normal that when you are looking for help with a financial crisis, you may wonder if AKPK is really a free of charge agency that can help you. The answer is YES.

You may have heard of for-profit and non-profit credit counseling and debt management agencies, but they don’t exist in Malaysia. There is only ONE credit counseling and debt management agency that provides free credit counselling and debt management programme services in Malaysia so far.

Like you, I am worried about hidden charges too. Malaysian banks, agencies and companies are simply too notorious for charging surprise fees and hidden charges to consumers. Fortunately, I haven’t been charged any fees by AKPK so far.

With the faltering economy and free credit counseling and debt management services offered by AKPK, the number of people seeking help from the agency has increased tremendously.

If you think that you are in need of help for your financial trouble, you had better waste no more time. Waiting may only end up costing you more. A few days’ time can mean the difference between settling a debt or watching it go into a default status and having third party collection involved.

Hurry! Go to a nearby AKPK branch, attend its briefing and fix an appointment to see a credit counselor there and understand what a debt management program is.

A debt management program is a good way to take care of an escalating credit card debt and other money problem without having to declare bankruptcy or deal with collection agencies.

If you ask me the benefits of a debt management program, I can give you a long list. This is because I am a credit-card-debt woman who has been in AKPK’s free debt management program for one year.

Wow, it’s been a year since I started making monthly debt repayment to AKPK! You know, I have also been able to save extra money in my personal savings account as emergency fund due to the debt management plan.

A debt management program is one of the many debt relief options that a credit counselor might suggest when you’re having issues with credit card debt.

It is also a good option if you don’t want to apply for a debt consolidation loan or declare bankruptcy.

Okay, let’s see some of the benefits of enrolling in a debt management program.

1. Reduced Interest Rates. Once enrolled in a DMP, your credit counselor will negotiate with your creditors to reduce your interest rates.

Interest rates will vary depending on your situation and your creditors, most rates are between 2% to 9% and under certain circumstances, some creditors may completely eliminate their interest rate to 0% interest.

2. One Single Payment. Instead of making multiple credit card payments on various due dates, a debt management plan enables you to make ONE payment to One agency on ONE due date.

I will never forget those old days when I had to run 6 banks to bank in 15 credit card payments!

Now I only need to make one payment to the credit counseling and debt management agency’s collection account by the end of every month. The single monthly payment will then be distributed by the agency to the creditors.

3. Waived Late Payment Fees. If you have late payment fees for delayed credit card payments, the credit counseling agency will help you negotiate with your creditors to waive them.

4. Creation of a Budget. The program you choose usually will help you to organize your personal finances with the creation of a budget. In this way your credit counselor can make sure that you are able to make your monthly debt repayment on time.

5. Peace of Mind. With the help of a debt management plan, you are able to start organizing your money and seeing how the amount of debt reduces and your personal savings increases.

Of course, there are disadvantages of enrolling in a debt management plan too. Before you decide if a debt management program is right for you, check the other debt relief alternatives and balance the advantages and disadvantages.

What happens when you can no longer pay your credit card debts or credit card payments? Well, you have the option of a debt management program to help bring you back to right financial track.

Debt management program, also known as debt management plan, is individually designed to consolidate all your multiple credit card payments into one lower payment.

The debt management repayment is often made affordable to you so that you can pay all your credit card payments.

Of course, a debt management plan is NOT an option for you if you are already at advanced litigation process or involved in bankruptcy.

If you find that a debt management program is right for you after a credit counselling session, your credit counsellor will start negotiating with your creditors to lower the credit card monthly payments, reduce the interest rates, and waive late payments and over-the-limit charges.

Often times, your creditors or banks will agree to the affordable repayment plan just so they can receive any amount of payment towards the balance you owe them.

As a credit card debt woman who is now in a free debt management program, I must admit that it is a great solution for helping me get rid of my credit card debts.

The DMP not only allows me to pay ONE lower repayment every month, it also stops the wave of annoying or even threatening phone calls or warning letters from the banks and credit card companies.

Signing up for a debt management program is easy; it’s a matter of finding a credit counseling and debt management company you feel comfortable with that is difficult.

Make sure you find a credit counselling and debt management agency that will work best for you. Remember, you want the right debt management program to put an end to your pestering debt problem, not creating more debt.

I am glad that I have successfully saved RM1,000 as emergency fund in my personal savings account.

I mentioned that I would set up emergency fund in February 2008. Unfortunately, it didn’t work.

At that time, hubby’s income was meagre and unstable. My income was barely enough to pay the credit card payments, utility bills and car and home loan instalments.

February 2008? I didn’t even know there was such a credit counseling and debt management agency called AKPK and its debt management program (DMP).

I only got to know AKPK in April 2008 while I was watching a biz program. But even then, it didn’t cross my mind that I wanted to enrol in its debt management plan.

I was still trying to pay down the credit card debt without wanting to get help from the credit counselling and debt management agency. I kept telling myself that I just needed to work a little harder to increase my income and cut down a lot more on expenses and spending, then my credit card debt would be gone.

Well, God always has something better for us, right? I must say that it’s God who gave me the chance to bring my financial havoc back to the right track. God heard my desperate prayer for financial help and led me to the AKPK debt management programme (DMP).

My AKPK DMP was approved in October 2008. Since then, I have been making one low payment to AKPK by the 30th every month.

Paying lower monthly repayment to AKPK also means that it’s possible to save money as emergency fund.

As of today, the amount in my personal savings account has reached RM1,000. There is still about RM700 from Amazon.com; it takes more than a month for the check to clear.

Added up, I will have had more than RM1,700 in my personal savings account pretty soon.

If the envelope budgeting system or the Canada credit counselor and personal money management expert, Gail Vaz Oxlade’s magic jars works on hubby, it’s likely that there will be more money saved as emergency fund.

Are you burdened with too much credit card debt that you are thinking of applying for Malaysia’s AKPK debt management programme (DMP)? But, you are also worried whether AKPK, the credit counseling and debt management agency set up by the Central Bank of Malaysia, is a scam or not, right?

I understand. Been there and done that.

To thoroughly convince yourself to enroll in the debt management plan, read as many success stories of AKPK as possible. There are more success stories of AKPK or AKPK bloggers now if compared to last August when I submitted my application form.

Before you read others’ experience using debt management program, read the FIRST AKPK success story; it’s my bumpy journey from submitting the application form to being approved of the debt repayment plan.

And here is another success story that I would like to share with you. CEO, a man who is under RM200,000 credit card debt, has successfully applied for the AKPK debt management program recently.

He left a long comment at my credit card debt blog on August 1st, thanking me for sharing my credit card debt reduction and AKPK application process with others.

You don’t have to hop over to my credit card debt blog to read his comment. I have decided to copy and paste the entire comment on this debt management program blog for easy reading.

First of all, A BIG THANK TO YOU FOR THIS BLOG. You are not only a woman of courage to reveal all that detail, but you have helped me tremendously.

I just got out from the AKPK office, and they proposed to reduce my monthly commitment from nearly RM10,000 to just RM2,000 per month.

I got into a heavy credit card debt 5 years ago when a friend asked me to join him in a business. Trusting him, I quit my job, funded the business with my credit cards, supported HIM with a supplementary credit card which he took only 1 month to swipe up RM20k, and lastly he just ran away, leaving me to pay everything.

Finally, the economy hit my career, and this month I had to accept a drastic paycut. It scared me at first, but I decided that maybe there was a silver lining.

I found your blog. I read and re-read it until 3 am.

I thought — maybe, if I go to AKPK, and they reduce my monthly repayment, I can actually start seeing some SURPLUS from my smaller income. Better to have a small income but with extra money, than having a big income but nothing to show for it. Of course, with my previous 5-figure salary, AKPK would just kick me out, but now I had the advantage of the situation.

Last Monday, I braved myself to go to AKPK. It was the hardest thing to do, to be SEEN walking into debt counseling. I have appeared in the media before, television, magazines and newspapers. Didn’t know where to hide my face. I arrived at 11.45, and was put immediately into the intro class.

I was surprised to see quite a few “corporate people” in the class, dressed in their office attire. I don’t know if they were as ‘embarrassed’ as I was to be there. I sat down for 1 1/2 hours, after which I immediately went to Bank Negara to collect my credit report.

I made the earliest possible appointment to see a credit counselor. In the meantime, I went to each bank and collected any missing statements.

I went to see the counselor this morning. She was polite, comforting and never did anything to make you feel small. She said she would try to negotiate it down to RM1,800 a month for the first 2 years then RM2,200+ thereafter. I said never mind, let’s make it RM2,000 flat. I’m sure by the time the economy rebounds, I will be able to afford the RM2,000 easily.

She even guided me to fill up the application form properly (to fill the correct figures so the application can be approved easier). In short, she was there to help, and I mean REALLY help.

I got close to RM300k at first, but over the years, paying slowly, I have managed to bring everything down to under RM200k (which makes your RM60k something to smile about, actually!).

I have been earning 5-figures every month from my salary, yet I never get to taste my own money. My children have to settle for cheap clothings like poor kids.

Every month, I pay pay pay pay… I try to keep myself motivated, but it is tiring to wake up every morning, thinking to yourself, “I am running every day, only to stand still.”

She asked for the first payment of RM2,000 to be deposited, which I will do next week as the banks are closed today. From there, processing will take approximately one month.

She says no need to pay the creditors, if they call I just need to tell them I have submitted an AKPK application and fax the deposit slip if necessary.

Fortunately I am not yet under any legal problems, and most of my loans are still current. If you are thinking about doing it, do it now. It is important to take action at THIS stage before the banks start harassing you.

I do not really care that I will not be able to get any new loans until the 10 years are up. I am selling my house and just live with the car. Maybe not now, but when the economy goes back up, and my salary climbs back to normal, I should be able to save up for a couple of years, and pay for a new budget-priced apartment in cash. The important thing is I will now have a positive income and room to breathe, and I HAVE YOU TO THANK.

God bless you. Please keep up the good work.

Is your credit card debt up to your ear that you are trying to lower your monthly credit card repayments? If so, you have a few options to try out before opting for the AKPK debt management program (DMP).

Note: If you would like to know the process of applying for the AKPK DMP, please take your time to read A Credit Card Debt Woman is Under AKPK Debt Management Program Malaysia.

Of course, you don’t need a debt management program, also known as debt management plan, if you are able to lower the payments and pay down your debt steadily.

There are many ways to lower your monthly credit card payments, but I am sharing with you a few which I have tried before.

1. Pay More Than the Minimum Payments. If you pay more than the monthly required payments, then your minimum payment requirements will begin to drop in subsequent months.

To make this work, you must pay well above your minimum payment requirements AND stop using the credit cards for purchases.

2. Negotiate Lower Credit Card Payments with Your Creditors. Many banks and companies are willing to work out an alternate payment plan with you if you are sincere in paying off the balance.

3. Balance Transfer Your Multiple High APR Card Debt Balance to A New Credit Card with a Much Lower Interest Rate. Take advantage of low interest or 0% interest balance transfers. Interest charges are calculated on the basis of the interest rate or the APR applicable to your credit cards, so a lower APR rate means that your credit card debt will grow at a slower pace and thus switching over to a card with lower APR makes sense.

By transferring your multiple high APR card balance debt to a new low APR credit card, you are able to save money and reduce debt at the same time.

4. Refinance or Second Mortgage on Your House. By doing a refinance or second mortgage on your home, you can use the equity in your home to pay off your high interest credit cards.

The interest rate you get with a mortgage refinance is typically higher than the average, but it is often always lower than your credit card interest rates.

As a credit-card-debt woman who is now in the AKPK free debt management program (DMP), I have tried all the above mentioned ways to lower my credit card payments; I was able to reduce my credit card debt from RM63,809 to RM40,344 in one and a half years.

But why did I still opt for the debt management program to lower my credit card payments? There are a few reasons stated in Why Opting for AKPK Debt Management Program (DMP).

Due to AKPK’s lower debt repayments to my credit cards, I am able to Start Saving Money for Emergency Fund.

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.

Am I worried about my credit card debt now? No, I am not. But I used to be very worried and stressed out about it before I enrolled in a free debt management program called AKPK debt management programme (DMP).

What about you? Are you worried about your credit card debt?

You should be if your credit card debt has spiraled out of control; you pay more than 15% of your monthly income to your credit card bills or/and borrow cash from one credit card to pay another.

You are not the only one who is dealing with credit card debt nowadays. In fact, almost 40% of credit card holders are in the same predicament!

So what should you do to avoid the need of getting help from debt relief options such as debt consolidation, debt management program, or debt settlement and worst of all filing for bankruptcy?

Start doing credit card debt management to help yourself get out of debt as fast as possible!

Most financial experts will advise you to stop using your credit cards. Quit using credit cards is to prevent you from adding new debt to your existing outstanding balance.

If you have more than one credit card, pay the minimum payment on them all. Then, pay the most to the credit card with the highest APR. Once the card with the highest APR is paid off, keep paying the minimum payment to the rest of your cards and pay the most to the next highest APR. Do so until all the credit cards are paid off.

Another way to help you is try balance transfer deals that offer 0% interest free period for 6, 9 or 12 months to save some money.

Credit cards are convenient, but you don’t have to use them all the time and put everything from groceries to petrol to night’s-out on them. Instead of using credit cards, cultivate the habit of using cash to help yourself curb your spending habits and get into more credit card debt.

If you are really concerned about your credit card debt, start doing debt reduction before you end up resorting to debt consolidation, debt management plan, debt settlement or bankruptcy.