Negotiating Credit Card Debt
Hey everyone! Hope you all had a fantastic week! Last time I talked about why you should save your money, but I know that sometimes certain things can get in the way of doing that. A common culprit is credit card debt. If you can't make more than the minimum payment, watching that interest pile up is about as fun as running through poison ivy in your birthday suit. If you have a lot of credit card debt holding you back, try some of the steps below. It may seem overwhelming but just remember that every marathon starts with a single step.

Credit Card Debt Settlement
When settling credit card debt, what you’re trying to do is typically this: you call your creditors and offer to pay off part of your debt in exchange for them forgiving the difference. For example, if you owe $10,000, you can offer to pay $6,000; if your creditors agree to it, the remaining $4,000 is written off their books. Every issuer has their own policy when it comes to settling debt and the terms that you get will vary, yet most of them will try and help you.
Why? Because if you’re trying to negotiate a settlement, that usually says you’re near the breaking point and there’s a strong chance that soon they won’t be receiving any money from you. It would be even worse if you had to file for bankruptcy, and since credit card debt is unsecured, they’d be guaranteed not to receive anything at all. So the logic behind accepting a settlement that’s lower than what you owe them is that it’s better to get a percentage of something than 100% of nothing.

There are two drawbacks to settling your credit card debt, though. First of all, when you settle, your creditors expect to get paid right then and there. What this means is that you can’t ask for a settlement if you don’t have the money ready to make your lump sum payment. This option is best when you have savings or some other way of coming up with the necessary payment. The second drawback is one that most people don’t know, and are shocked when it hits them: the portion of your debt that is forgiven is treated as regular income, and you will have to pay tax on it.

Negotiating Better Payment Terms
If settling your credit card debt is not an option (and really, not many people have that luxury), you can try and negotiate better payment terms. If you have been a good customer, paying your bill on time with very few late payments, you should not have any problems negotiating a lower interest rate. This will lower your monthly payment. Even if you’ve been unable to keep up your payments, it’s worth a phone call to see if there’s anything that can be done about it. You won’t know until you try, plus it’s free to ask.

You can request that the fees charged to your account be waived, especially the late payment fees. While some companies will refuse to waive them, others might reconsider.
You also have the option of negotiating a payment plan, although the way this works with most companies is kind of wonky. If you have been making your payments on time, most of the time they will refuse to negotiate a payment plan with you (go figure). On the other hand, if your account shows that you’re several payments late and are in seriously bad financial shape, you’ll find that they’ll be much more willing to arrange a repayment plan that suits you better. Once again, it’s better to receive some money over time than no money at all.

I hope that some of these tips can be applied to your own financial fitness strategy. What other obstacles are in your way when it comes to saving your money? If you or anyone you know needs help you can always feel free to jump over to the forums. I'm always over there, and together we can make the first step of your marathon an easy one.

The mint makes the money first, it's up to you to make it last!

-Jainie-

Hey everyone, I hope you all had a fantastic weekend! I was running this morning and started to think of how frustrating it can be when your taking those first steps towards becoming financially fit. It's like not eating so many almond joys (my favorite) when you start to eat healthy. One thing that always helped me was knowing why I was eating healthier foods, and I think that applies to healthier finances as well! So starting at the very basic level, the first step for financial fitness is...saving your money. In today's times there are multiple ways to save, but again let's focus on the why, because without the why it's hard to care about the how.

• Emergency Funds: This is probably the first thing everyone thinks of in regards to saving your cash. No matter what your age we have all been hit by some sort of unexpected expense. This could be from a car breaking down, home repairs, or even medical expenses. A general rule of thumb is to have enough in your savings account to cover at least three months of bills.





• Retirement: Saving sooner rather than later is always the best when it comes to your retirement. The earlier you put money away, the more your money can work for you. This can be intimidating at first because now, saving is not as easy as just throwing some money under the mattress. There are 403b's, 401K's, and all kinds of other forms of retirement accounts with different pros and cons for each. Luckily there are plenty of financial planner out there willing to help you decide which one is best for you. Texas Trust has an awesome financial planner by the name of Jim Blazek who's services are available free of charge.





• School: I don't just mean education for your child. Many adults are going back to school to either finish a degree or start a new one all together. This is all in hopes of higher paying jobs, which I think is fantastic because the more you make the more you can save. According to USA Today, in 2009 a survey was compiled from 100 different community colleges by the AACC that showed adult enrollment had risen from 2% to 27% from the previous year.

What are some reasons to save that you can think of? These are some of the major reasons, but much like unexpected expenses there are always some we overlook. When it comes to money, the mint makes it first, it's up to you to make it last.

-Jaine-

Hey Guys and Gals!

Hey everyone, This is Jainie Fitness!

Welcome to my Money Fit Tips blog, I would love to give you a quick tour!

If I had to take a wild guess I bet you came from our website MoneyFitTips.com...Think of that site as a gym, only instead of building muscle it has all the tools you need for building the traditions of a financially fit family.

The resources section is like your own army of personal trainers to help you no matter what level of financial fitness you are.

I'll be posting my new Fit Tips video smack in the middle of the homepage, but if you missed one you can always click on the Fit Tips Videos link to watch all the previous months. We all miss a work out every now and then right? ;)

I'm really jazzed about our Forum. One of the hardest parts of building good habits is finding the motivation to change. Inside our Forum you can see what other families are doing to stay financially fit and how they built their traditions. Maybe you have a tip you would like to share, or possibly a question you need answered...whatever the case may be, myself and some of the awesome employees of Texas Trust Credit Union will be happy to find a solution for ya!

I'm thrilled to be helping with this site, and I can't wait to see the movement we can all start together! Let me know what you think in our comments section.

-Jainie-