Do You Believe What a Creditor Tells You?

Recently I was in a conversation with a man who was in debt. He called several companies to verify his balance and thought he had paid several of his bills, leaving him with no balance on his accounts but later found out that he still owes money on these accounts. When paying off debts send a letter along with your payment and ask the company to send you a letter indicating that your account has been paid in full. Once you receive the company's letter keep it for at least three years. This will help you when repairing your credit because your credit report may not reflect the most recent balance on your accounts. If you apply for a loan or credit the letter will provide proof to a creditor or lender that the account was paid. Also, if the company states that you still owe money on an account you can use the letter as proof that the account is paid. If you get into a dispute with a company about your account you can use the letter as proof of payment and write the credit reporting agency to get the information corrected on your credit report. Good luck!

Free Teleseminar on Credit Repair 9/5/06 at 7:00 PM EST

Hello, I am providing a free teleseminar on September 5, 2006 at 7:00 PM EST. This teleseminar will discuss questions about credit repair such as: what is a credit report, what is a credit score, steps to improve your credit and credit score and much more! To participate please call Conference Dial-in Number: (641) 297-4600 and dial Access Code: 119946#.

Should You Use Your Tax ID To Purchase Property?

I was listening to the radio on Saturday while running some errands. I heard a commercial (I will withhold the name of the company to prevent embarrassment) that encouraged people to buy homes using their tax id if they had bad credit. I mentioned this in a previous blog, don't play with the IRS point blank. If you have bad credit the first thing you need to do is get good credit. Next if you happen to own a business and are interesting in buying property through your business call the IRS and ask them if this legal and what is the process for doing so don't take a company's word for it, find out for yourself. Being in this business I have learned that you should always verify information that is told to you, even the information that I provide in my blogs. I have verified this information myself before passing it on to you. If someone gives you information talk to two or three other credible sources to make sure you are not being taken advantage of or being scammed. Many times companies prey on people with bad credit because they know they are so desperate to get out of debt they agree to anything hoping that it will make their credit better, it does not. It actually makes your credit worse. The only way to make your credit better is to: reduce your expenses, try to get a higher paying job or a part-time job, begin paying off your debts and check your credit report for any incorrect information. This is the only way to improve your credit, it doesn't improve overnight, it takes times but it will get better. Just make sure the company you do business with will help you improve your credit, not make it worse. Good luck!

Protecting Your Personal Finances

I met a woman who has recently become a home owner but is unable to pay the bills to maintain the home. I referred her to the book "Protecting Your Financial Future: The Inside Story on Wills, Living Trusts, Probate, Estate Taxes, and Asset Protection. Many of us do not know all the laws and taxes tips that are available to help us protect our finances even if you don't have much. I am also one of those people. I was not aware of all of the benefits available to me and thought that these benefits were only available to wealthy people. I now know that I should protect my finances in the event of job loss, health problems, starting a business, my death, etc. I have learned a lot from this book and have already taken steps to protect my business and personal finances. Living today you never know what may happen, one day everything may be going good and the next day the world can come tumbling down. But hopefully this book will put you on the right track and help you have a brighter financial future. Good luck!

Do You Owe the IRS?

Today I met a woman who owes over $15,000 to the IRS. She is not working and is trying to find a job. She hasn't paid her taxes in over 5 years. Here is an important tip, when you are in debt make sure you pay the IRS. It's just that simple. The IRS can put a tax lien on your personal property such as a boat, car, home, etc. for the money you owe them or they can garnish your wages.

If you haven't filed taxes for the IRS whether you owe money or not you should file your taxes immediately. If the IRS sent you a bill stating you owe them money file your taxes for all years missed so you can see exactly how much you owe, the bill sent to you is an estimated bill based on the estimated salary for the years you did not file taxes.

If you are not working then the first step is to get a job maybe two to help pay back the money owed. If you are working you may need to get a part-time job and reduce monthly expenses to get extra money to pay back the taxes owed. This will require you to create a monthly spending plan (budget) to determine your monthly income versus your monthly expenses (see how much money you have coming in and going out).

Next, call the IRS and tell them you would like to setup a payment plan based on how much you can afford from your monthly spending plan. Also try to negotiate with them to reduce interest and penalties, you may have to consult an accountant to find out what options are available to you. Good luck!

Do You Know How Much Money You Have?

In my life I have met all kinds of people. At least once a week I hear a story about someone who is talking about their finances. I am always amazed at how many people do not know how much money they make, how much money they have in their bank accounts (if any), how much money they have in a retirement account (if any), and how much debt they owe.

I work with many people in my credit repair business and sometimes the stories I hear are shocking. One story that has really bothered me was someone I recently encountered who recently became the owner of her parent’s home. She is in her fifties and she never moved out on her own and as a result never learned about paying bills, saving money, retirement accounts, investing, etc. I have been helping her with creating a budget for herself and identifying how much money she has and how much she needs for monthly bills and expenses.

It really saddens me that she is totally unaware of these things. I sort of blame her parents because they never taught her about money and saving but I partially blame her because in reality everyone knows your parents will not live forever. Sometimes we take our situations for granted and when something traumatic happens we scramble trying to put the pieces back together. Everyone should develop a plan and prepared for anything that might happen, an illness, loss of a job or loved one, car accident, reduction in pay or benefits, long term disability, etc. So many people live day to day that they don't think about their future, what will happen to them if they lose their job or their partner or spouse's income.

Today this is more critical than ever before because companies are not stable and many companies are downsizing. Employees only stay at jobs for a few years and it is difficult to find a company that has a retirement plan or 401(K) or good benefits. Employees can no longer stay at a job until they retire. We can no longer believe that we will remain employed at a job for a long period of time. Today it is time to prepare for your future. Today you must start thinking about your future and developing long term financial goals.

You should begin asking yourself, Where do I want to be in the next five or ten years? What age do I want to retire? Do I have a college savings account for my children to go to college? Do I have life and disability insurance? Do I have health insurance? What will I do if I don't have these things? How will it affect my life? The answers to these questions will help you become better educated about your finances and future goals in life and help you begin to view your life in terms of the future instead of just day to day. For more information on how to reduce your debt and manage your money you can visit my website at http://www.hefreemanenterprises.com/ or contact me at hfreeman@hefreemanenterprises.com. Good luck!