Credit Counseling: An Overview

Credit Counseling Road Sign

 

Credit counseling, also referred to colloquially as ‘Debt counseling’, is a form of financial counseling that typically helps indebted people handle and deal with their financial issues. It also refers to counseling for people who require financial loans and assistance but are not sure if they are eligible for it and if they are, then how to go about acquiring the same.

For many people, organizations providing credit counseling are their last lifeline and may well save them from absolute insolvency, economic failure.

Credit counseling works to educate individuals by empowering them though various tools, such as budgeting and education, so as to help them get rid of their debt burdens.

As a general rule, such counseling is undertaken by “credit counseling agencies’ that have been hired by the indebted parties to commence and eventually successfully close negotiations with the creditors on behalf of the financially solvent party. These credit counseling agencies ensure that their clients are not proclaimed defaulters due to their absolute inability to meet the minimum payments of the amounts they owe to their creditors.

Such agencies have been contracted by the indebted parties to work for them and look after their interests and so help relieve them of the clutches of the ‘debt traps’ they may find themselves in.

These agencies may be broadly defined into two different types.

Non Profit Organizations or NPOs

These organizations do not levy any service charges on their client (the debtors) nor do they require any fees for their assistance. Most of the time they get funded by the creditors.

Commercial Credit Counseling Agencies

They are employed to work on behalf of the indebted party for a pre-determined financial remuneration. They charge a fees and represent their client 100%

 

Seven ways to avoid going bankrupt

Avoid red stamp textGoing bankrupt is more than just a burden on your shoulders. It takes away your mental and physical health and the stress that it brings along, makes life miserable. At GTA Credit Solutions Services, we don’t like seeing you under those conditions. Therefore, we have compiled a set of ways you can follow in order to avoid going bankrupt.

1.     Get in touch with your creditor

Sometimes in life, there are unforeseeable situations that will hinder your credit payments. While many people will just continue with the late payments, it is better for you to talk to your creditor about it, the very moment you anticipate it. Taking your creditor into confidence before a possible late payment may save you some penalty charges.

2.     Need is one thing, want is another

If you have a cell-phone, a car, or a house that caters to your essential needs, then there is no need for you to upgrade either of these things unless you have sufficient savings to do so. Don’t confuse your needs with your wants. This trick will surely save you a lot more money than you think.

3.     Don’t pay debts with debts

The worst thing you can do is pay off one costly debt by diving into another. This will only keep mounting your loans until it eventually makes you realize that new loans aren’t available anymore. Usually, it is too late by the time people comprehend this fact and they are then left with no option, other than going bankrupt.

4.     Use cash, not credit

Using cash is one of the best ways to limit your expenses and avoid your debt from piling up. When you use cash, you know how much you have and how much you can use. If you cross your limits, this is a sign that you don’t have to spend on unnecessary things anymore.

5.     Be wiser

Know cheap alternatives for everything! You don’t have to necessarily spend your money on expensive stuff. Try cheaper alternatives and you will be astonished to see how much money you can save by the end of the month.

6.     Sync existing payments

In case you have more than one loan to pay off, ask your creditors to sync the date of the payments. This will help you analyze how much money you need and in how much time. In addition to that, having a single date of payment for all debts will allow you to avoid any late penalty charges as you won’t get confused between several different payoff dates.

7.     Reorganize your mortgage

One way of getting rid of some mounting debt is to reorganize the payments on your house and use the extra cash to pay off another debt. This is a good strategy if done once or twice at max.

 

There are several ways with which you can save yourself from going bankrupt. If it is already too late for you, don’t worry! GTA Credit Solutions Services(Gta Credit) is there to help you out. We are a team of certified counselors who make sure that you get rid of your mounting debt and start over fresh. Moreover, we also arrange counseling sessions with you so that once you start fresh, and don’t get tangled in the same situation again.

 

 

Things you should know about your credit ratings – GTA Credit

Calculate credit score pie chart

When you go to a creditor in order to get a loan, the first thing they want to know is your credit rating. A credit score is something that summarizes your credit history including your present financial condition. This is basic credit scoring, but there are certain areas of credit ratings that most people are unaware of. Following are some of them:

  • Something as simple as paying your bills on time is something that could actually enhance your credit score.
  • It is not only your financial history, but also a bad public record that can lower your score by a good margin.
  • A bad credit score can even cause hindrance in getting the desired job. Many employers judge professionalism on the basis of how you manage your life – most importantly, your finances!
  • If you have a good credit limit, you don’t have to use all of it. It is recommended to keep within thirty percent of your credit limit to keep your credit score in a good condition.
  • Clearing your mortgage does not help in improving your credit score. Instead, when you’re not paying mortgage (even due to the fact that you have cleared the full payment on it), your credit points get reduced.
  • Those old accounts that you no longer use might still be of use. The main reason for this is because your new creditors will feel safer when they get to see your long, healthy credit history. Unlike common belief, shorter (even though clean) credit history is not as good as a longer (and fair) one.
  • Opting for a secured credit card is a better option for starters as compared to choosing an unsecured one, right away. In most cases, taking an unsecured credit card is not an option for people having no credit history.
  • Don’t focus all your credit on a single loan instrument. Try to keep a mixture of different products like a credit card, a car loan, and a home mortgage etc. Focusing all your credit at one instrument is not considered very healthy.
  • Looking to rent a place? Even landlords take a look over your credit ratings before renting the place, just to make sure that you don’t default on the rent payments.
  • A credit score above 650 is considered a good score.
  • In Canada, Equifax and TransUnion are the only agencies for credit reporting.
  • Even staying at a single place for a longer period of time can improve your credit ratings.
  • Try sticking to one or two credit accounts at most. This will help you manage your finances in a better way as opposed to having a lot of accounts. Furthermore, make sure your accounts have very little to no balance. This will help you in maintaining or even improving your credit score.

There are a lot of things that affect your credit scores. Therefore, to maintain a good one, you should be aware of most, if not all, of the factors that help in building a good credit rating. Damaged your credit rating already? Contact GTA Credit Solutions Services Ltd. (GTA CREDIT) to help you in getting your credit scores back on track.