Book Details

	Solve Your Money Troubles: Get Debt Collectors Off Your Back & Regain Financial Freedom By: Leonard, Robin; Lamb, John C. Published By: Nolo Edition: 11 Available to read online in eb20 (what's this?)	EBOOK OPTIONS ADD TO WISHLIST TELL A FRIEND RECEIVE ALERTS
	Everything you need to get out of debt and repair your credit. Feeling overwhelmed by your debts? If you're ready to regain your financial freedom, this book is exactly what you need! Step by step, Solve Your Money Troubles shows you how to: prioritize debts create a budget negotiate with creditors stop collector harassment challenge wage attachments contend with repossessions respond to creditor lawsuits qualify for a mortgage rebuild credit To make the process easierSolve Your Money Troubles also includes sample letters to creditors, as well as worksheets and charts to calculate your debts and expenses and help you create a repayment plan. The 11th edition now covers the latest bankruptcy laws, the Fair Debt Collection Act and the new credit-scoring system used by some credit bureaus.

Excerpt

Chapter 1 - Introduction

Dreading that climax of all human ills, The inflammation of one's weekly bills.

-- George Gordon, Lord Byron, English poet, 1788-1824

A debt is an obligation to pay someone money. It may be a large obligation, such as a home mortgage or monthly rent, or a small obligation, like a newspaper or magazine bill. If you don't pay, you often suffer some consequences. At the serious end of the scale, if you don't pay your mortgage or rent, your house may be foreclosed on or you may be evicted. At the minor inconvenience end, if you overlook paying a subscription, it will be canceled and you will be sent letters demanding that you pay for copies you've already received.

The purpose of this chapter is to help you figure out the kinds of debts you have. You may think of your debts in several different ways, such as:

Debts to people you know, such as a loan from your Aunt Muriel or a bill you owe Angelo, the owner of the local grocery store -- versus debts you owe to impersonal creditors, for example, a credit card company.
Your regular monthly obligations, for instance, rent, phone bill, or gas bill -- versus debts you pay only when you buy something on credit.
Debts for goods or services you are currently receiving, for example, a newspaper subscription or credit card bill -- versus debts to repay money borrowed many years ago, such as a student loan.
Debts you'd rather not pay and wonder if you really owe, such as back taxes -- versus debts you don't have any reasonable grounds to object to paying, for example, your utility bill.

Groupings such as these may help you decide how and in what order you will pay your bills. Legally, however, these categories are irrelevant. Instead, the law puts debts into two primary groups: secured and unsecured. To understand your debts and to intelligently decide what to do about each one, you must understand the difference. You must also understand that the consequences of not paying a secured debt differ tremendously from not paying an unsecured debt. (These consequences are explained in Chapter 8.)

The importance of correctly distinguishing between secured and unsecured debts can't be overemphasized. If, after reading this chapter, you are still not sure you can tell a secured debt from an unsecured debt, reread the material.

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• Business > Personal Finance > Money Management
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