Tag Archives: minimum payments

AKPK Debt Management Programme (DMP) Helps Lower Credit Card Debt Repayments

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Posted by Vedis the DMP Blogger on September 17, 2009 – 10:26 am
Filed under AKPK Debt Management Plan, Credit Card Debts, Credit Counselors, Debt Consolidation Loans, Debt Management Companies, Debt Management Programs, Debt Management Tips, Debt Settlement Plans, Emergency Funds, Free Debt Reduction Tips, Saving Money

Lower Credit Card Debt Repayments with AKPKIs 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.

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. :-)

Enroll In Free Debt Management Program To Get Out Of Credit Card Debt

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Posted by Vedis the DMP Blogger on August 23, 2009 – 8:57 am
Filed under Debt Management Programs

Free Debt Management ProgramHaving been in a free debt management program since October 2008, I must say that enrolling myself in the debt management plan is the best decision I’ve ever made to get myself out of credit card debt.

I am still paying my credit card debt, but without much stress. Unlike before signing up with the free debt management program, I was so stressed out by high interest charges, late payment fees and over the limit charges imposed by banks and creditors.

Being in a debt management plan means that I get to have a fresh start with my creditors; save thousands in credit card interest charges, late payment fess and over limit charges; improve my credit score; and most important of all, avoid bankruptcy.

How do you know whether you should go for a DMP? You should go for DMP if you are in any of the situations as given below.

* You have unmanageable bills that you no longer can make another month’s minimum payments.

* You’ve tried out DIY debt reduction plan but it has not helped you to pay down your debt.

* You want to stop getting harassing phone calls and warning letters from banks, creditors or collection agencies.

* You want to lower the interest rate on your bills, eliminate late payment fees and waive over-limit charges.

* You want to get out of debt through an affordable plan.

What is a debt management program? A debt management program, also known as debt management plan, is a debt relief program designed specifically for you who can no longer afford your minimum monthly payments.

It works to reduce the total amount of the debt and restructure it into a single affordable monthly payment.

You make One lower monthly payment to One credit counseling agency on One due date instead of multiple payments to various creditors on different dates.

A debt management plan enables you to get out of debt from under your unsecured debt in three to five years instead of ten, or even twenty years if you make only minimum payments to your credit cards.

Considering A Debt Management Program (DMP)?

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Posted by Vedis the DMP Blogger on July 24, 2009 – 8:29 am
Filed under Debt Management Programs

Considering Debt Management ProgramOkay, it’s a fact that you are up to your head in debt and you are so suffocated by it that it’s affecting your daily routines and thoughts. You have no idea what to do.

I understand. I have been in your shoes before enrolling a free debt management program in my country. :-)

OK, take a breath and look at your debt with a clear head. Is your debt so unmanageable that you can’t even make next month’s minimum payments? If so, you should consider either credit counseling, debt consolidation or a debt management program.

Debt management program, also called debt management plan, is a program designed to help you get out of debt by combining all your multiple debts with various interest rates into one monthly repayment that you can afford.

This means no more driving to different banks to pay various cards on different due dates. In a debt management program, you just need to make One monthly payment to One agency on One due date!

The affordable monthly payment that your certified counselor works out with you is a fair amount of cash so that you have some extra money saved for yourself as emergency fund.

Once you are placed in the debt management program, all your creditors will cancel your card accounts. This is good because you will have no way to add new credit card debt to your existing debt; no excuse to use them for so called ‘emergency needs’. If you have no credit cards, you can’t be tempted to use them.

Once you have extra money left every month, it’s important to start saving 5%-10% of your income as emergency fund. As for new purchases, save until you have enough money to buy them with cash. Remember the immediate gratification of making purchases through credit cards that threw you into the deep debt hole? You wouldn’t want it to happen again.

If you are able to stay in the debt management program until your debt is paid off; do not add new debt to existing debt; and save up the extra money for emergency fund, it’s for sure that you can make your way out of debt pretty soon.

4 Debt Management Tips To Get You Out Of Debt Fast

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Posted by Vedis the DMP Blogger on July 16, 2009 – 5:10 am
Filed under Debt Consolidation Loans, Debt Management Programs, Debt Management Tips

You are lucky if your debt hasn’t landed you on the need of enrolling in a debt management program.

I had to resort to joining a free debt management program after failing to see much decrease in my credit card debt. Month after month I threw in chunks of my hard-earned money into making the minimum payments, yet the total credit card debt didn’t seem to drop much.

Was it because I kept adding new credit card debt to my outstanding balance? Noop. It’s because of late payment fees, over-limit charges, cash advance fees, retail interest charges, and miscellaneous fee charges that kept being added into my total debt.

Scary, right? To avoid letting these horrendous fees imposed by banks and credit card companies drags you into a deep debt hole, you need debt management tips to help you get out of debt fast.

1. Credit Counseling. Seek help from a certified credit counselor who can help you navigate through your debt dilemma.

You can either opt for a non-profit credit counseling agency or a for-profit credit counseling company when it comes to credit counseling. The difference is that the former provides free counseling and charges a nominal monthly fee if you decide to enroll in a debt relief program while the latter charges quite exorbitant fees.

2. Debt Consolidation Loan. You should only consider a debt consolidation loan if you are not able to replace your high interest credit cards with one, low interest rate credit card. This is because you may have to pay for an application fee for a debt consolidation loan, whereas with a credit card you would not.

3. Home Refinancing. Refinancing your mortgage allows you to save hundreds of dollars per month on mortgage payments. With lower mortgage payments, the money saved could be used to pay off your credit card debt.

4. Home Equity Loan. Alternately to home refinancing, you may have enough equity in your home to cash out and pay off your debt. Most importantly, credit card debt is not tax deductible, but a home equity loan is. This means you can reduce your debt as well as reduce your tax obligation by cashing out.

See, you have some viable solutions to help you get out of debt fast without resorting to any debt management program, debt settlement plan or bankruptcy that damages your credit score.

Debt Management Program Or Debt Consolidation?

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Posted by Vedis the DMP Blogger on July 13, 2009 – 8:05 am
Filed under Debt Consolidation Loans, Debt Management Programs

Should you consider debt consolidation or debt management program in this economic slowdown where you are faced with threats of job loss, falling portfolio values, and rising costs of consumer goods?

According to financial experts, you probably do not need any debt consolidation or debt management if you are able to make your current payments and have reasonable interest rates.

However, if you are suffering from so much unmanageable debt that you are unable to make ends meet and make even the minimum payments, then there is a need for you to really consider if a debt consolidation loan or a debt management program is right for you.

What’s the difference between a debt consolidation loan and a debt management plan?

Debt Consolidation. Debt consolidation is a process where all your multiple debts and loans like credit cards, car loans and other high-interest debts are lumped into a loan with one monthly payment with lower interest rate. With reduced monthly payment and interest rate, you can pay off your credit card debt faster.

The catch is such loan requires that you own a house, so that the loan can be taken against equity in the home. There are risks involved with putting your house up for collateral on a debt consolidation loan.

If unfortunately something unexpected happens to your income and you find that you can’t make the proposed loan payment, you could lose your house.

This is one of the major reasons why I opted for a debt management program rather than debt consolidation. :-)

Debt Management Program. During a free consultation, a certified credit counselor will only recommend a debt management program after going over your income and expenses and finding that credit counseling is not enough to bring your financial back to a manageable level.

If it is determined that a DMP is right for your, the credit counselor will negotiate with all your unsecured creditors to obtain the lowest monthly obligation that satisfies all your current accounts.

Being put in a debt management program means that you make only ONE payment with reduced interest rate to One credit counseling agency on One due date; you no longer have to be stressed by paying multiple credit card payments to various banks on different due dates.

Most important of all, all late payment fees and over-limit charges are waived once you are in a debt repayment plan. No more harassing phone calls from banks, warning notices from creditors and annoying visits by third party collection agencies.

No matter which debt relief program you choose, be it a debt consolidation loan or a debt management program, your ultimate goal is to pay off all your debt and bring your finances and credit score back to the right track.