Personal Finance Care

Every US citizen must review their credit report periodically to check if all the accounts are reported correctly by their information providers and there is no possible identity theft. If you are suspecting an identity theft when it is still in the early stages, you will be able to take necessary actions after reviewing each account on your credit file. Every US consumer is guaranteed at least one free credit report in a year from each credit reporting agency. Many people do not have a fair idea of how to order their free credit copy and where to look for it. Below you will find necessary information of how to order your credit report via internet, phone and by US mail.

• How to Order Your Free Credit Report via the Internet?

Internet is the easiest and the most convenient way of ordering your credit report. You will be able to view your credit report online on the three national credit reporting agencies within several minutes, as opposed to several days if you order your copies by US mail. If you find any incorrect item on your credit copy, you will be able to dispute it instantly. The credit reporting agency will verify the item with your information providers and if your dispute is found to be correct, the item will be removed from your credit report. You can start this process by going to the website www.annualcreditreport.com affiliated with the Federal Trade Commission. You will be able to pull a free copy of your credit report from each credit reporting agency when you order it from the Annual Credit Report website. In order to pass the security check, you will have to answer a few questions that must be known to you only. This is to prevent any fraudulent activity if someone else is trying to pull your credit report.

• How to Order Your Free Credit Report by Phone?

If you want to order a copy of your credit report by phone, you may call the toll free number 1-877-322-8228 and request for a credit copy. Once you have called this number and ordered for a copy, your free credit report will be delivered to your mailing address by US mail within 2 weeks.

• How to Order Your Free Credit Report by U.S. Mail?

You also have the option to order your credit report by US mail. This is the slowest option because it takes several days for the credit bureaus to first receive your request and then send it by US mail. You can make your request for a free credit report on the website www.annualcreditreport.com and mailing it to

Annual Credit Report

Request Service

P.O. Box 105281

Atlanta, GA 30348-5281

When you are viewing your credit report on the annual credit report website, make sure that you take a print out of the free copy and save a copy in your computer. Once you have closed the credit report on a certain credit reporting agency website, you will not be able to access it again for a full year, unless you pay a fee. You should make sure that you have a copy of your credit report from the credit reporting agency before moving on to the next one. Thoroughly checking your free credit reports for errors and unauthorized inquiries is the best way to make sure your identity has remained safe and that your accounts are reporting as they should be, and your credit scores are calculated accurately.

The federal bankruptcy laws are implemented to decide the fate of a corporation whether it will go out of business or it can be reorganized to recover from crippling debt. The bankruptcy corporation can use the chapter 7 bankruptcy code to liquidate the assets or chapter 11 to reorganize the business with the hopes that it will be able to do business again and make profits.

When a corporation has filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy, it must stop conducting all operations. The court will appoint a trustee to liquidate all the company’s assets and use the money to pay off the existing debts. In this case, the company will go completely out of business.

If the bankruptcy corporation implements chapter 11 bankruptcy, the management continues to run the daily business operations but all the significant business decisions are taken by the bankruptcy court. Public limited companies opt to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy because it allows them to run their business as well as well have some control over the bankruptcy process. The US trustee will appoint one or more committees to represent the creditors and stockholders to work with the corporation. A reorganization plan is implemented to get the company out of debt. The court will approve the plan and has to be accepted by all creditors, bond holders and stock holders.

Once the plan is implemented, the court will relieve the corporation from paying a portion of its debt so that it can make some progress. There is a committee formed to represent the unsecured creditors, including bond holders and stock holders.

Once the committee has developed the plan with the corporation, the bankruptcy court will determine whether it is complying with the bankruptcy code before implementing the plan. Businesses that are too much in trouble and have no options to exist anymore will usually file for chapter 7 bankruptcy. The trustee will sell off the assets to pay off the administrative and legal expenses first. The balance left is paid to the creditors. If there are any secured collaterals, they are returned back to the secured creditor. If there are any unsecured creditor or bond holder that are left to be paid, they will be notified of the chapter 7 filing by the corporation so that they can get back their portion of money if left. The last to be paid are the owners if the company fails.

When the corporation has filed for bankruptcy, bond holders will stop receiving any interests and principal payments. Stockholders will stop receiving any dividends. The IRS will usually go after unpaid federal taxes, and they can seize the owner’s personal assets to recover the money. The officer or the managing director of the corporation will not be personally held liable for the corporate income taxes. But if the employment taxes are due, the IRS can seize the company cars, bank accounts, or any other types of assets.

If you are overwhelmed with your excessive debts, you must take immediate steps now to reducing the growing problems with your debts. Consolidating the debts under one payment plan will be a good choice to come out of debts. The debt consolidation company will negotiate with your creditors to reduce the interest rates and waive off most of the late fees, financial charges added on the outstanding balance. A suitable monthly payment plan will be set for you and your creditors will be paid through your debt consolidation company.

Make sure that when you are in the debt consolidation plan, you should not default in your monthly payments. Try to discipline yourself by setting aside a little amount and contribute it towards the debt consolidation plan. You can also create a savings and some sort of emergency fund. This will help you in the long term. If you are having problems in doing this, you can ask your employer to offer some sort of saving or retirement plan that will allow automatic deductions from your paycheck. This amount will grow up as an investment at your retirement age.

While you are on the way towards being debt free, make sure that you are not tempted by those credit card offers that say “Buy now Pay later”. Always try to stay away from the plastic money.

Do not carry your ATM cards in your wallet. However, you can keep one for emergency use. Make sure that you are regular in the payments and don’t mess up with it. It is always suggested to avoid withdrawing funds from your credit cards. It comes with a high interest rate and a fee. The credit card company will be lending you money for a certain period of time and it comes with a high fee.

Try to avoid impulsive buying when you are concentrating on paying off your existing debts. You need to make a list of things you will need in a month and stick to your budget. If you are spending more than your income, you are increasing your debt to income ratio. Carry only a certain amount of cash with you and don’t overspend it. Make sure that you save a little from the amount you carried when leaving from home.

If you are making payments to your credit card company directly and it’s just the minimum amount, you are barely putting anything towards the principal amount. All your payments are eaten up towards interests and fees. Make sure that you make larger payments to your credit card company. If this is not possible, consult a debt consolidation company to negotiate with your creditors for reduced interest rates.

Just because you have a poor credit, it doesn’t mean that you won’t get any new credit from a potential lender. Creditors have their own standards of granting credit and each of them will look from their own perspective. Some of the lenders will review your recent credit history like how you have been paying your bills recently, without going back to the past.

Stick to a strict budget with your finance. You have to save some money from your income so that you can contribute towards paying off your creditors. If you are not able to save much, make a repayment plan with your creditors and make sure that you don’t default in the plan. If you are not able to do this also, consult a debt counseling company that can help you in working out some kind of payment arrangements with your creditors. They will charge you a fee for the services that they are going to provide and negotiate with your creditors. There are some non–profit organizations who will work with you to solve your financial problems. Always make sure that you have researched the company thoroughly before putting your money. There are some reputable credit counseling organizations that will advise you with good budgeting tips and offer free educational programs. Their main objective is to walk you to a debt free life.