The class, along with the rest of the Ready to Rent workshops, will be held at the South Wilmington Street Center (see below for address).  The credit class will be held Wednesday, July 29, at 9:00 am.

The workshop will introduce you to the factors that determine your credit score and address several myths about what can improve and what can damage your credit.  Come learn why your credit is important, and how you can improve your score as much as possible.

Time:

Wednesday, July 29, 2009
9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Location:

For more information and to register for the class, contact Jimmie Watson with the Wake County Supportive Housing Program at 919-856-5710.

Instead of repeatedly being denied decent housing because of negative credit marks in the past, you can get back on track to safe and affordable housing. The Ready to Rent program provides the following benefits for participants:

• Learn tenant rights and responsibilities
• Learn landlord rights and responsibilities
• Find out how to fix your own bad credit
• Get referrals for affordable housing

If you have had a history of credit problems or evictions, you might be able to get back on track with a little help.

Time:

1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Location:

The 3 hour credit class will be provided by Vision Credit Education. Addition instruction focuses on budget and saving as well as on rental basics. To register, call Sharon Gibson with the Wake County Supportive Housing Program at 919-231-5957.

The Ready to Rent series combines tenant education with consumer training. Participants that complete the workshop series are better prepared to make good financial decisions, understand their credit reports and make progress toward improving their credit.

Tenant education focuses on the rights and responsibilities of tenants and their landlords. Participants find out what to do to resolve conflicts over perceived breaches in their rental contracts.

Segments on budgeting and saving helps tenants prepare for unexpected expenses and recurring costs so that they can make sure their rent is paid on time each month. An emergency fund can be established with just a few dollars a week, which can quickly reach over $100 that can be used for emergency expenses.

Anyone with damaged credit or a history of evictions can benefit from this class because of the focus on credit repair. We teach how you can repair your own credit rather than use expensive credit repair companies. An improved credit score can improve your approval chances when submitting a rental application.

Time

Wednesday, June 10 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Location

To register for the event, please contact Terrie Deal with the Wake County Supportive Housing Program at 919-231-5954 or 919-856-5270.

These are not all necessarily for everyone. In fact, you will probably only find that one or two of these methods will apply to your situation the best.

1. Sell an Asset

This may sound like a non-option, but selling an unneeded asset can do wonders to your finances. Consider that extra vehicle that you keep around. Sure it is convenient to have a truck for those 2 times a year you need to haul something. Once you factor in the license fees and insurance costs, you still might be talking about a few hundred dollars a year just to keep it on the road. It might be much cheaper to rent or borrow a truck when you need it.

A boat also a common off-limits asset. I see people frequently that refuse to give up their boat even though they can barely afford to put gas in it. Remember that boats are notoriously expensive to maintain. Also, keep in mind that the 2 best days in a boat owner”s life are the day you bought it and the day you sold it! Extra cash can be used to pay off your higher interest debt in a lump sum payment.

2. Increase your Payments

If your credit card minimum payment is $30, chances are $25 of it is interest. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that it takes a long time to pay down a $1,000 balance at $5 a month!

Just an extra $5 a month can allow you to repay the debt in half the time. Keep in mind we are still talking in terms of years to repay it at this rate. Sending an extra $30 can allow you to repay the debt in a little over 2 years. This option assumes that you have extra money each month, but may sometimes lack the discipline to send more than minimum payments.

3. Work More

A second job can burn you out. So can overtime. Temporarily increasing your income in order to find more money for repaying debt can give you additional resources for eliminating your debt quickly. The extra stress from working more may be offset by the sense of relief you get by paying off a debt.

The best additional work is one that provides you with reasonable pay and satisfies some of your social needs. Bartending and waiting tables are often overlooked, but they provide some of the higher earning part-time jobs available. Best of all, these pay the most during the hours when you are probably away from your regular job anyway. Thursday through Saturday nights tend to carry higher tips, so use your time wisely. In addition, you can have fun on the job if you find the right work environment. Carefully choosing a schedule can help you limit any impact on your current job and any family or friends.

4. Complete Credit Counseling

Credit counseling is more than just helping you budget and manage your money. The common stigma that people place on credit counseling is that it is just for people that cannot manage their money. The truth is that over half of credit counseling clients were able to manage their money, but they fell victim to life changing events that made debt payment difficult.

Credit counselors also have a pretty effective tool for eliminating debt. It is called a debt management plan and it utilizes a special program available through major credit card companies where you can get a break on interest, fees and payments.

Most people that enroll in a debt management plan are able to repay their debt by making lower payments than before. This may seem counterintuitive, since repaying debt faster typically means that you have to increase your payments. However, these programs are so effective because participating creditors lower your interest rates by so much that your finance charges are often less than half what they were before. Where before you saw $5 of your $30 minimum payment go toward principal, a debt management plan could allow for your finance charges to drop to only $10 a month. Even if they reduce your payment from $30 to $22 on the account, you have just increased your principal payment to $12 from $5. Under the program, your payment also stays the same, so that even though your balance is dropping you keep sending in the same amount. Every single month, your finance charges end up less than the previous month and your principal payments increase, much like they do on an installment loan. That way, you can normally eliminate your debt in 3 to 5 years while making lower credit card payments.

5. File for Bankruptcy

At some point, you might need to consider throwing in the towel. Bankruptcy is an ugly option and it has all sorts of public humiliation often associated with it. It even has rather high costs, since most attorneys charge at least $2,000 to help you file for bankruptcy.

Still, bankruptcy may need to be one of your options. The biggest sign that you might need protection from your creditors is if you have several creditors in which you owe very large balances that are threatening legal action. Since it is illegal to threaten legal action without a reasonable expectation to follow through with it, you should consider such threats to be credible.

Bankruptcy can give you bad credit for up to 10 years. However, you might need to consider it as an alternative to judgments and garnishments that may be possible depending on your state of residency.

Non-Options for Eliminating Debt

Debt settlement is almost always a non-option. Companies that offer debt settlement services do nothing to shield you from legal action. They also pay themselves several thousands of dollars before they ever begin working on your behalf. If you were looking for help eliminating debt, then you just created another creditor for yourself by hiring a debt settlement company. Furthermore, every time you do settle on a debt, understand that the so called savings is considered a gift and is generally taxable as income. If your income is $40,000 a year and you save $5,000 by settling a debt, you will generally be taxed as if you earned an additional $5,000. Depending on your state and federal tax rates, this could result in up to $2,000 in additional taxes!

Credit repair is also a non-option for eliminating debt. Such companies promise to make these things just go away, but the only thing they do is file frivolous disputes to the 3 main credit bureaus every single month. These frivolous disputes are discounted as such by the credit bureaus, and they are ignored. Meanwhile, you keep paying them for something you could easily dispute on your own. If you through this money toward your debts rather than throwing it away, you could make your debts disappear and improve your credit.

The biggest mistake people make is to borrow money to eliminate debt. That’s like asking for a torch to put out a bonfire. You cannot eliminate debt by taking on more debt. This is why approximately 70% of homeowners that used home equity loans or a cash out refinance loan to repay credit card debt ended up in worse shape in as little as 2 years.

To eliminate debt, consider taking on one or two of the top 5 methods revealed above. The sooner you take action, the sooner you see results!

Residents as well as men who utilize services at the South Wilmington Street Center are welcome to register for the workshop series, which is conducted several times each year. This particular series is held in the evening to accommodate those who are working during traditional business hours.

In addition to segments on tenant rights and responsibilities, participants will find out how to order their credit reports and understand what steps they may take to improve their credit. Even bad credit can be improved by taking a few steps. Budgeting and saving are also included in the series.

Many previous participants were amazed at how much information showed up on their credit reports. They were relieved to discover that some of their negative records could be improved by paying them off or having incorrect information expunged.

Time

Monday, May 18 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Location

Jimmie Watson of Wake County Human Services is accepting registrations for the Ready to Rent Workshops at the South Wilmington Street Center. To register, contact Jimmie at 919-856-5710.

The Ready to Rent workshop series is a collaboration between the Supportive Housing Program of Wake County Human Services and the various community groups that host these events. Each workshop series consists of four individual workshops of three hours each.

Participants will learn budgeting and savings tips. We will review the rights and responsibilities of both tenants and their landlords.

Vision Credit provides a three hour course that teaches the factors that make up credit scoring. Participants find out how their financial decisions impact their credit scores as well as methods for improving those scores.

The purpose of these workshops is to help families with credit challenges pass landlord credit checks as well as to maintain a positive rental history. Individuals and families with  prior evictions or other negative credit records that have experienced difficulty gaining rental approval are encouraged to join the Ready to Rent program.

Time:

6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Location:

To register for this event, contact Sharon Gibson with the Supportive Housing Program at 919-231-5957.

In partnership with the Supportive Housing Program of Wake County Human Services, Vision Credit will be providing a 3-hour credit improvement workshop at the South Wilmington Street Center. This is one of four workshops that completes the Ready to Rent workshop series.

Participants wil learn about landlord and tenant rights and responsibilities. In addition, budgeting and savings will be discussed so that prospective tenants understand what rent payments they can afford given the approximate utilities payments and other expenses that they are responsible for.

We will delve into the complexities of credit scoring. Find out how some changes can have a positive impact on your credit scores, which could help you gain approval for an apartment rental.

Time:

3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Location:

For more information and to register for the program, contact Jimmie Watson with the Incentive Housing Dormitory at 919-856-5710.

The methods for getting back on track vary, and it all depends on your individual earnings situation, your living expenses and your savings. The best way to see which method most applies to your situation is to draw up a quick budget to see if you are above sea level financially. Once you have done this, you can tell which options are most feasible.

Large Budget Surplus

If you come up with a sizable budget surplus each month and know that you have simply been overspending, you can easily get back on track. If you have never missed a payment until now, ask your credit card issuer to forgive the late payment and waive the fee. This could prevent a negative mark on your credit report (these stay on for 7 years). Try using online banking with automatic payments to avoid falling behind in the future.

If you know that you do not have a budget surplus but your budget shows lots of money left over each month, then you are likely underestimating some expenses or leaving others out entirely. I have seen families forget to include child support, groceries or even gasoline in their budgets!

Break Even

A break even means that you might need help getting back on track. It suggests that even in a good month, you are just getting by. Unless you have assets to sell or can work an extra job, you probably will not be able to come up with enough money to catch up on your payments. Continuing on this track can mean financial ruin, culminating in legal action that could include judgments or a bankruptcy filing.

You would need the re-aging benefits of a debt management plan just to restore your accounts to a current status. Many leading credit card issuers will “reset” your account so that it reflects as current when you enroll in a debt management program with a participating credit counseling agency. In addition to bringing your accounts current, you can benefit from and end to late fees and lower monthly payments on your accounts.

Unfortunately, many people in this situation contact debt settlement companies instead of bona-fide nonprofit credit counseling agencies. They quickly find that their situation continues to worsen after paying hundreds of dollars in initial and recurring fees. Insist on working with a qualified nonprofit organization to get help.

Substantial Budget Deficit

A permanent reduction in income or a life event that ramps up recurring expenses could put you well in the hole each month. This can be a dire situation that requires immediate attention.

You might still be able to make it work by receiving credit counseling. Any combination of increased income, reduced expenses and lower credit card payments through debt management could be enough to pay off your debt over time. Remember that debt management programs work by restoring current status to accounts that are up to 6 months late.

At the conclusion of your credit counseling appointment, you may find that you will need protection from creditors. While this is frequently not necessary for smaller debts, larger defaults could be at a greater risk of legal action. A judgment is a court order to repay the debt.

Several large debts in default could put you at a compounded risk of financial stress. This is the type of situation that should prompt you to speak with a qualified bankruptcy attorney. Whether you file for bankruptcy or not, you should understand the process and how it might apply to your situation.

Late payments on credit cards are a serious matter. They will force you to take some action to correct the situation. If you don’t, you face many years of poor credit and possible legal action!

How it Works

Online debt counseling tools vary in their ability to provide you with a realistic total based on the financial information that you supply. Our online debt consolidation estimator is so precise that it can predict benefits on an individual account by instantly comparing that account to similar lines of credit held by hundreds of other account holders that have entered into a debt management program. It can tell the difference between multiple types of accounts and multiple creditors using the account number that you supply.

You may notice that the first numbers of your credit card account may look similar to another account issued by the same creditor. The online system identifies the creditor and the terms normally allowed for that type of account by that specific creditor.

You get a quote by entering in your account information. It is based on actual benefits already received by other program participants currently enrolled. The system is regularly updated also, so if a creditor decides that it wants to adjust benefits to new debt management plan enrollees, then those changes are reflected in new online quotes.

Benefits that normally occur through debt management plan participants include interest rate reductions, lower consolidated payments and relief from late or over-the-limit fees. The online quote system actually takes these benefits into account.

The biggest room for error is in the information that you supply, so make sure that you have accurate balance information. If you have questions, you may call and speak with an Accredited Financial Counselor during normal business hours.

To get an idea of what you could be looking at as a new monthly payment, gather your bills and enter the easy online debt consolidation quote system. You can even enter your household budget to see how this payment fits in with your other regular bills.

Gas prices have dropped from over $4 a gallon to below $2 a gallon. On a 12 gallon fill up, that translates to $25 less that you have to spend on gas. If you fill up once a week, that’s over $100 a month in savings.

If you were able to swing it before, consider putting a modest amount into savings on a regular basis. Even if you only put in $30 twice a month, that adds up to $720 a year in savings.

Imagine having this amount as a buffer against unforeseen expenses. You might not even have to use your credit cards when something unexpected occurs!

Automatic Saving

Automate your saving so that you ensure that YOU get paid FIRST. If you get paid on the 15th, then arrange for an automatic deposit into your savings account just after you are paid.

Some employers allow for split deposits, meaning you could have most of your paycheck direct deposited into your checking account, and a few dollars direct deposited into savings. If your employer does not offer this, then you can still set up automatic transfers from your checking to your savings each pay period. You may wish to allow for a day or so in between your deposit and your transfer to ensure that your funds have posted to your checking account.

Automatic savings account deposits allow for you to painlessly save for a rainy day. You can even set it up to begin saving for a down payment on a major purchase.

In the end, take advantage of this opportunity to boost your savings. In this period of economic uncertainty, the more you have saved, the better you can survive the recession.