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	<title>Debt, Credit Repair, Mortgage, Loans, and Credit Card Advice</title>
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	<link>http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com</link>
	<description>A personal finance, credit, &#38; money resource about debt consolidation, obtaining free credit reports, credit cards, mortgage and home loans, savings, and investments.</description>
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		<title>New rules for credit card companies</title>
		<link>http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/new-rules-for-credit-card-companies/02823</link>
		<comments>http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/new-rules-for-credit-card-companies/02823#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:42:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Credit Cards]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[annual fees]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Credit card companies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[deceptive credit card tactics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[existing balances]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[inactivity fees]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[interest rate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[interest rate hikes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[late fees]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/?p=823</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[After months of talk, new rules are now in effect for credit card companies.  They&#8217;re supposed to end some of the most deceptive tactics and outlaw unfair fees and huge interest rate hikes.  Credit card companies will no longer be allowed to increase rates on existing balances unless you&#8217;re 60 days overdue.

They must give you [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="landing_270">After months of talk, new rules are now in effect for credit card companies.  They&#8217;re supposed to end some of the most deceptive tactics and outlaw unfair fees and huge interest rate hikes.  Credit card companies will no longer be allowed to increase rates on existing balances unless you&#8217;re 60 days overdue.</div>
<div></div>
<div>They must give you 45 days notice if they&#8217;re going to institute an annual fee or raise your interest rate.     Also, if you&#8217;re under 21, getting a credit card will get much tougher.  Despite these new rules the credit card companies are finding new ways to make money.  Some of you may see new annual fees, inactivity fees and increased late fees.</div>
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		<item>
		<title>The U.S Government Promotes Credit Repair</title>
		<link>http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/the-us-government-promotes-credit-repair/11688</link>
		<comments>http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/the-us-government-promotes-credit-repair/11688#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 18 Nov 2008 07:45:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Credit Card Applications]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Credit Repair]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Government]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[US]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/?p=688</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
The federal government now backs the removal of everything negative on a credit file and the awesome thing is, they always have! I will use the term credit repair lightly as I do not think that is is appropriate because in order to repair something, something must be broken and that is just not the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="body">
<p>The federal government now backs the removal of everything negative on a credit file and the awesome thing is, they always have! I will use the term credit repair lightly as I do not think that is is appropriate because in order to repair something, something must be broken and that is just not the case. If you will forget the letter writing, new identity scams and credit privacy numbers (cpns), I will show you how to look at this the correct way and get things done once and for all.<span id="more-688"></span></p>
<p>The beauty of our legal system is that laws were put in place to protect you, the consumer. You see, credit repair as it is normally practiced, is wrong. If you use the court system , you will not even deal with the three credit reporting agencies (credit bureaus) until you show them what legally needs to be removed via court order. The credit bureaus are simply reporting what is given them and when you have the proper documentation, they will remove that as well. Get something straight right from the start, your credit file with the three credit reporting agencies are not incorrect. Sure, there may be a few items, if any, that are truly incorrect, but that is not the basis of what you will be doing. Where the illegal part comes in is when the creditors, even original creditors, report your actions to the bureaus themselves. You have a big issue with the creditors. What I am saying is that it is illegal for the creditors to report derogatory items and make them accessible to the general public.</p>
<p>There are 320 laws that every creditor has to follow in order to put one single item on your report. They know this and even after knowing this, they fail to follow the law at all and unless you call them out. Once you do call them out, it will either be removed immediately or you settle it in court (hint..they will not show up as they cannot document what is needed). Negatives off, good credit!</p>
<p>Nothing is quite as simple as it sounds, but the basics for this is behind each and every person I have seen have their files wiped clean of all negatives. So is credit repair a scam? If the companies write letters, give you a new file or identity, or go about it any other way than through the legal system, using the laws set up to protect us, then yes Doing it the proper way, through the court system and not only will work each and every time, but be backed by the government 100%.</p></div>
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		<title>Beating the Credit Crunch</title>
		<link>http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/beating-the-credit-crunch/08687</link>
		<comments>http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/beating-the-credit-crunch/08687#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 23 Aug 2008 08:08:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Credit Card Applications]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[credit crunch]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/?p=687</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
If you have noticed that your money isn&#8217;t going as far as it used to, even compared to a few months ago, you aren&#8217;t alone. The current state of the economy means that prices are rising and income is largely staying the same, which isn&#8217;t good news when it comes to making ends meet.
But is [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="body">
<p>If you have noticed that your money isn&#8217;t going as far as it used to, even compared to a few months ago, you aren&#8217;t alone. The current state of the economy means that prices are rising and income is largely staying the same, which isn&#8217;t good news when it comes to making ends meet.</p>
<p>But is there anything you can do about it?</p>
<p>Luckily there is &#8211; and it means being smart about what you do with your money and how you manage it on a daily basis. Saving a small amount of money on a daily basis might not seem like a lot, but when you add it up over the course of a month you might be surprised at the results!<span id="more-687"></span></p>
<p>This is the key to battling rising prices. You may not win every battle and the gains you make may only be small ones, but when they are added together they can make a difference.</p>
<p>The problem is, we all waste money to a certain extent. We&#8217;ve all been out shopping and spotted something we&#8217;d love to buy&#8230; and then we&#8217;ve bought it and decided we&#8217;d worry about how to pay for it later. That&#8217;s the worst way to battle the credit crunch, because money that you didn&#8217;t need to spend could have contributed towards paying essential bills or ideally put in a savings account to act as a cushion against future rises in prices.</p>
<p>Budgeting will of course help you to combat unnecessary spending, but the best skill you can have on your side is to identify how you behave with money, and learn new and positive habits to make sure you can take positive action against the credit crunch.</p>
<p>Take a look at your outgoing bills each month as well. Gas and electricity prices are going up, but you can combat them by switching to a new supplier if you find a better deal. The same goes for every other household bill, including your mortgage. The time you spend searching for better deals will be worth it when you reduce your outgoings from the amount you are currently paying.</p>
<p>Make sure you look at every aspect of your monetary situation as well. If you have a car there isn&#8217;t a lot you can do to reduce your car tax, unless perhaps you get a smaller car; but you might be able to reduce your car insurance by shopping around. If you have access to the internet you will usually be able to get a lot of services cheaper simply by booking them or arranging them online.</p>
<p>And don&#8217;t forget your credit cards either. If you are paying a high interest rate it might be beneficial to try and move your balance to another card altogether &#8211; it can save you more in the long run.</p>
<p>But whatever you do, make sure you keep an eye on your finances as being in the know is the best way to stay in control of them during tough times.</p>
</div>
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		<title>How Credit Scores Affect Mortgage Applications</title>
		<link>http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/how-credit-scores-affect-mortgage-applications/07686</link>
		<comments>http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/how-credit-scores-affect-mortgage-applications/07686#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 08 Jul 2008 07:23:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Home Equity Loans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Home Loans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Home Mortgages]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[apply for mortgage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Credit Scores]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mortgage applications]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/?p=686</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
With a good credit score an applicant will receive prompt response from many lenders, all of them offering low interest rates and low down payment options. The loan amount offered also may be high. On the contrary a low credit score would result in a lot of rejection from various mortgage financers. Because creditors wouldn&#8217;t [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="body">
<p>With a good credit score an applicant will receive prompt response from many lenders, all of them offering low interest rates and low down payment options. The loan amount offered also may be high. On the contrary a low credit score would result in a lot of rejection from various mortgage financers. Because creditors wouldn&#8217;t come forward easily to give credit to individuals that have a history of difficulty in repaying existing loans.<span id="more-686"></span> After all, creditors take risk when they finance mortgages against the credit history of a debtor. Naturally, they will wish to remain on the safe side and pick up less risky ones that have good credit histories. A good credit score means less chance of missing on payments and therefore less risky.</p>
<p>But there are some real risk takers that will come forward to finance mortgages for individuals with bad credit scores. They would charge high down payments and always high interest rates though. They may also fix additional charges for every little paper work and may charge high closing rates. The loan amount offered will also be considerably less. The individual with poor credit scores will not have much choice but to accept the terms and conditions as there are no other alternatives. This is a tight situation and to avoid this you must have a good credit score.</p>
<p>People with bad credit may fall in to the trap of &#8217;secured loans&#8217;. Secured loans are the ones where the loan applicant offers an asset as collateral security. The lender becomes secure about the repayment of the loan and not the borrower. Securing a loan with bad credit score becomes easy only when the applicant is willing to offer some asset as collateral security. This again is a very dangerous situation where an individual runs the risk of losing his entire collateral asset in case of failing to pay the loan installments in time. An individual should always avoid such type of a loan.</p>
<p>Resort properties normally require large amounts of finance which a person with bad credit may find it difficult to obtain. So it is always advisable to keep your credit score high. Incase the credit score becomes low due to unavoidable financial reasons it can be improved upon. There is no need to lose hope simply because a person has a low credit score. If the property that he intends to buy has good equity he should go out and try to obtain finances for it. There are many sub prime lenders willing to offer their services.</p>
<p>For a review of your credit report as it relates to a mortgage loan and a consultation on the best loans available to you, give us a confidential, no obligation and no cost call.</p>
</div>
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		<title>First Time Credit Users Beware</title>
		<link>http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/first-time-credit-users-beware/05685</link>
		<comments>http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/first-time-credit-users-beware/05685#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 03 May 2008 20:32:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Credit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[credit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[credit users]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[first credit card]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[first time credit]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/credit-search/first-time-credit-users-beware/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Read your credit card agreement. In reality, not many credit card applicants take the time to read their credit cards&#8217; Terms and Conditions in full. As a first time credit card applicant, make it a habit to read the fine print before signing up for anything. Why is it crucial to read the fine print? [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Read your credit card agreement. </strong>In reality, not many credit card applicants take the time to read their credit cards&#8217; Terms and Conditions in full. As a first time credit card applicant, make it a habit to read the fine print before signing up for anything. Why is it crucial to read the fine print? Because the true costs of your credit card are disclosed here. What you see in the ads are only the best features of the credit card, the actual conditions are explained in the Agreement and it is up to you to find out.<span id="more-685"></span></p>
<p><strong>Set your monthly budget.</strong> As a student, practice effective budgeting or money management starting now. This will greatly help you in handling your finances in the future. Set a definite amount for you to spend each month and make sure that you have enough to set aside for your debts, credit card payments and for your savings. Every month you should be putting something away in savings. If you can&#8217;t put something away in savings each month then you are living outside of your means and you need to take a hard look at your spending habits.</p>
<p><strong>Pay off your credit card balance in full each month.</strong> Make it a point to pay back your monthly credit card balance in full to avoid paying the interest. There are some credit building companies that say its good to leave a running balance on your credit card because it will encourage the credit companies to increase your credit limit. I don&#8217;t know how true that is. I&#8217;ve had cards that I have paid off each month that have given me regular credit line increases. What matters most in building your credit history is how you use your available credit and how timely you are in submitting your payments.</p>
<p><strong>Stay within your credit limit. </strong>Staying within your credit limit means more than just not going beyond your allotted credit. Financial advisers recommend not using more than 30% of your available credit if you want to keep your credit history in excellent standing. This habit will not only protect your credit history, it will also protect you from the risk of incurring more debts than you can afford.</p>
<p><strong>Check your credit card statements regularly.</strong> It is your obligation as a credit card holder to check the accuracy of your account statements. If you find errors or unauthorized charges in your account, call your credit card issuer immediately. If your credit card company provides online access to your account, take advantage of this feature by checking your account on a daily basis. Doing so will also alert you about your due dates of payment.</p>
<p><strong>Use your credit card with caution.</strong> Credit cards are meant to be financial tools when you need them. Nevertheless, credit cards are not supposed to be used without careful consideration. Before charging a purchase to your credit card, ask yourself, do you really need to make this purchase? Can you pay back your balance by the end of the month? Is it a necessity or just a want? How will this purchase effect my monthly budget?</p>
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		<title>Credit Crunch Loan Sharks Warning</title>
		<link>http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/credit-crunch-loan-sharks-warning/03684</link>
		<comments>http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/credit-crunch-loan-sharks-warning/03684#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 27 Mar 2008 05:29:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Credit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[credit crunch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[credit fraud]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[loan sharks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[loans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Recession]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UK]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[United Kingdom]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/credit-search/credit-crunch-loan-sharks-warning/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If any of you are old enough to remember the effects of the last major recession in the late &#8217;80s and early 90&#8217;s, you will recall that with the collapse of stock market prices in 1987 even greater than the &#8216;great recession&#8217; of the 1920&#8217;s. For several years after, personal savings, along with many stock-market [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p id="body">If any of you are old enough to remember the effects of the last major recession in the late &#8217;80s and early 90&#8217;s, you will recall that with the collapse of stock market prices in 1987 even greater than the &#8216;great recession&#8217; of the 1920&#8217;s. For several years after, personal savings, along with many stock-market related investments, suffered badly, leaving many families very short of cash.<span id="more-684"></span></p>
<p>In the UK this recession not only sent house prices tumbling, but also inflation, which had been running at around 4.2% in 1987, climbed to over 9.5% in 1990. People&#8217;s savings were hit in every way conceivable because of this.</p>
<p>So many families ended up being out of pocket for many of the essential of life, including food, turned to the &#8216;doorstep loan shark&#8217; for instant money, not realising the draconian penalties that were attached to many of these loans. Interest payments sometime greater than 100% were being charged, and sometimes enforced by men in black wielding baseball bats.</p>
<p>But those days had long since gone forever we thought, especially with the advent of buckets of &#8216;cheap&#8217; money being offered to the consumer from every angle, whether from high street banks, credit card companies virtually forcing you to take on 0% interest rate credit cards, and low interest refinancing on your own home &#8230; or so we thought.</p>
<p>Now with this global credit crunch happening in a deeper and more threatening manner squeezing the very liquidity out of main stream banks, facilities like 125% mortgages on homes have disappeared, first time buyers are going to have to stump up bigger and bigger deposits, and more and more credit card companies are cutting back on your card spending limit, or in cases like EGG, cancelling well over 100,000 credit cards.</p>
<p>With this lack of liquidity between banks means that more and more consumers are being squeezed out of any available mainstream credit and this foretells the return of the doorstep lender, with interest rates around 100% in many cases.</p>
<p>Now in the UK at least this in itself is not illegal, believe it or not, but the trouble will come when authorised &#8216;friendly societies&#8217; that offer a genuine helping service to people in need will get mixed up with the old-style loan shark, with ludicrously high interest rates (100% or even more), plus all sorts of nasties if payments are not made on time.</p>
<p>The moral of the story has to be that increased indebtedness is going to be more prevalent over the next few years, but you should really look at your options carefully &#8211; even bankruptcy, rather than fall into the clutches of these parasites that will bleed you dry.</p>
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		<title>Credit Card Balance Transfer</title>
		<link>http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/credit-card-balance-transfer/03683</link>
		<comments>http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/credit-card-balance-transfer/03683#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 10 Mar 2008 02:33:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Credit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[balance transfer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[card balance transfers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Consumer Credit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[credit card]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Credit Card Balance Transfer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Credit Card Transfers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/credit-search/credit-card-balance-transfer/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Credit cards are a big business nowadays, with many companies making affluence off finance arraigns. The typical yearly percentage rate is about 16% on most credit cards. With that kind of pursuit, it&#8217;s tough to pay down a credit card, because it is consistently charging pursuit and adding to the rule. Even hot stocks are [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Credit cards are a big business nowadays, with many companies making affluence off finance arraigns. The typical yearly percentage rate is about 16% on most credit cards. With that kind of pursuit, it&#8217;s tough to pay down a credit card, because it is consistently charging pursuit and adding to the rule. Even hot stocks are pushed to grow at 16% a year. Luckily, companies are so anxious for your business the balance transfer was false.<span id="more-683"></span></p>
<p>In an attempt to decoy patrons to their credit card, many companies agreement open balance transfers from your old credit card. Once the money is carefully billed to the new band, they will regularly present a embellish interval where they arraign far fewer on the transferred balance. Decision two, one, or even zilch percent pursuit is workable. Oftentimes this introductory rate lasts for around six months to a year after the balance transfer takes place.</p>
<p>For a sense consumer, this can be a brilliant reasoning of dropping credit card debt. It designed the being open to pay down the balance on a credit card lacking incurring pursuit arraigns. With this strategy, a being could potentially open a new account that agreements a balance transfer when the old one expires. Then transfer all of the balance to the new card to launch a new embellish interval of low or non-present finance arraigns. If you design to do a balance transfer, be indeed to close your old account immediately; having more than two credit card accounts open may break credit scores.</p>
<p>Making a balance transfer work for you is a brilliant tradition, but industry is vital. Sometimes there is penalty carry friendly with unknown arraigns. Some invests may arraign a transfer fee that can be a percentage of the balance transferred. Be indeed that there is a cap on the total, like fifty or seventy-five dollars, or also a balance transfer in the thousands may end up price a join hundred dollars. Also, be indeed the invest doesn&#8217;t arraign a high yearly fee, or fusion fee. The credit card companies are already receiving your business, so don&#8217;t let them take the high hand in a balance transfer.</p>
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		<title>How to Increase Poor Credit Rating</title>
		<link>http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/how-to-increase-poor-credit-rating/03682</link>
		<comments>http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/how-to-increase-poor-credit-rating/03682#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 03 Mar 2008 13:05:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Credit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Credit Ratings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Credit Repair]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bad credit repair]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Consumer Credit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[credit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[improve poor credit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increase credit scores]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poor credit ratings]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/credit-repair/how-to-increase-poor-credit-rating/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[First, check your spending. Where does all your money go? You need to take a serious look at your finances to figure out why you currently have a poor credit rating. Is it because of irresponsibility, or because you truly can&#8217;t afford the things you are buying?
Second, make regular payments on your existing credit account. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>First, check your spending. Where does all your money go? You need to take a serious look at your finances to figure out why you currently have a poor credit rating. Is it because of irresponsibility, or because you truly can&#8217;t afford the things you are buying?</p>
<p>Second, make regular payments on your existing credit account. <span id="more-682"></span>Now that you&#8217;ve taken a closer look at your finances and know where your cash is going, cut out unnecessary spending and pay off your debts. If looking at your finances has only pointed out that you can&#8217;t afford to pay off your debts, you may want to consider credit counseling or bankruptcy.</p>
<p>Third, look for a fresh start. Once you have a clear picture of your finances obtain new credit in the form of a credit card or loan. Remember, the whole point of this is to improve your credit, so don&#8217;t go crazy. If you get a loan make the regular monthly payments on time. If you get a credit card, spend lightly and pay off the balance in full at the end of each month.</p>
<p>Remember, repairing your credit is a marathon, not a sprint.</p>
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		<title>Paying Off Credit Card Debt</title>
		<link>http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/paying-off-credit-card-debt/02681</link>
		<comments>http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/paying-off-credit-card-debt/02681#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 27 Feb 2008 07:24:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Credit Card Debt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[card]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[credit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[credit card]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Credit Cards]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[debt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[debt free living]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increase credit limit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pay off debt]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/credit-card-debt/paying-off-credit-card-debt/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Being buried in credit card debts is a no laughing matter and it can add wrinkles to your face faster than you think it can. It can give you stress and you can never have total peace of mind thinking that you have debts to pay.
When you can finally pay every cent of your debts, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p id="body">Being buried in credit card debts is a no laughing matter and it can add wrinkles to your face faster than you think it can. It can give you stress and you can never have total peace of mind thinking that you have debts to pay.</p>
<p>When you can finally pay every cent of your debts, you can breathe in relief as you feel the burden being lifted from your shoulders. However, there is more to paying your bills than you imagine. It is not that simple. Paying everything off is not like brushing off dirt from your arm that once the dirt is off, it will leave no signs and you will never know dirt has been there before.<span id="more-681"></span></p>
<p>Credit card debt is a very big problem that has claimed millions of victims everywhere in the world, a disease that befalls every individual who is irresponsible and undisciplined in the way they use their plastic money. A few of the people who ran into debts may have done it without choice to cover emergencies and they have no other source of funds. However, a vast majority of the victims are those who do not plan their finances well.</p>
<p>Paying off your debts require extreme effort, patience, discipline and planning on your part. It means curbing your urge to go on a buying spree for the next few months or even years just to clear every penny of your debts. You can do this, and you will feel a great achievement.</p>
<p>It is just like climbing a steep mountain where you have to exert effort and determination and when you finally get to the top, you will find your efforts paid off. The only failure that may happen to you as soon as you pay off your credit card debt is when you will be tempted to repeat the cycle and splurge to make up for the months and years of restraining yourself just to pay of everything.</p>
<p>If you give in the urge, very soon you will find yourself on the receiving end of notices and mountains of bills that once again, you have exceeded your credit limit and your debts has soared much higher that the last time. This means paying off your debt is not enough. You have experienced hardship just to pay off everything and now you need to discipline yourself to maintain a debt-free living.</p>
<p>See to it that there is no repetition of your uncontrollable spending habit. Every time you pick up an item to buy, ask yourself if you really need it. Then look at the price if you can afford it. Tell yourself not to overspend every minute of the day because you will suffer in the end.</p>
<p>You can close your eyes when you see amazing offers and price slash off in stores because one temptation leads to another. What is more, remember to pay your credit card debts on time. This way no bills will pile up and accumulate interest.</p>
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		<title>Top 5 Credit Score Killers</title>
		<link>http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/top-5-credit-score-killers/02680</link>
		<comments>http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/top-5-credit-score-killers/02680#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 26 Feb 2008 07:00:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Credit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Avoiding Debt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Closing Old Accounts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Co-signing Loans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[credit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[credit killers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Credit Reports]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[credit score]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[credit worthiness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Creditors]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Debt Relief]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[financial habits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[good credit scores]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grace period]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[primary borrower]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.oprah-debt-diet.com/debt-relief/top-5-credit-score-killers/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A good credit score speaks volumes about your financial habits. It&#8217;s the evidence most creditors need to evaluate your credit worthiness. Interestingly, there are some credit killers? that even people maintaining good credit scores would unwittingly be a part of, which will be their undoing when applying for credit facilities in the future. These mistakes [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p id="body">A good credit score speaks volumes about your financial habits. It&#8217;s the evidence most creditors need to evaluate your credit worthiness. Interestingly, there are some credit killers? that even people maintaining good credit scores would unwittingly be a part of, which will be their undoing when applying for credit facilities in the future. These mistakes may seem to be insignificant, but when the time comes, you may face more problems than you expect.<span id="more-680"></span></p>
<p><strong>Avoiding Debt</strong></p>
<p>Creditors need to evaluate your financial history to approve any credit facilities. If you have no previous or existing debts, it might adversely affect your case, as creditors have no way of checking out how you&#8217;ll handle the credit you get from them.</p>
<p><strong>Shopping For Rates</strong></p>
<p>Looking around for the best rate may actually turn out to be bad. Too many inquiries within a short period could damage your credit score. Usually, if you do more than six inquiries within a single month, you are likely to scare the lenders. For the same reasons, transferring the balances on your credit cards could be a bad idea as well.</p>
<p><strong>Assuming There&#8217;s a Grace Period</strong></p>
<p>If you are late on a payment by even one day, you are late, period. Never assume there&#8217;s a grace period for late payments, because it only affects your credit score negatively.</p>
<p><strong>Closing Old Accounts</strong></p>
<p>Because your relevant transaction history also gets erased when you close your old accounts, your credit history is shortened and it may lower your credit score. If you want to close your old accounts, close everything except the oldest account, which will leave a longer history.</p>
<p><strong>Co-signing Loans</strong></p>
<p>The obvious problem here is that the primary borrower&#8217;s mistakes will end up on your credit report as well.</p>
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