Issue #11 - Get Out Of Debt Plan: Do You Have One In Place?

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Debt Reduction Academy Newsletter
Vol. 2, Issue #11 - February 6, 2009
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William here, with another issue of the Debt Reduction
Academy newsletter.

This week's article is:

===> Is Your Get-Out-Of-Debt Plan Working? Or Do You Even
Have One Yet?

I had several people email me this week, wondering if they missed last week's issue of the newsletter.

If you wondered the same thing the answer is no, you didn't miss it - I did.

We've had a flu bug work its way through everyone in the house over the last two weeks, and we're just getting back on our feet now.

I guess it's one of the things you just have to deal with when you have kids in school, exposed to who knows how many other kids with various bugs.

Everybody's pretty much back to full strength now though, and trying to get caught up on two weeks worth of downtime!

So this week's newsletter is coming a day late, but everything will be back on schedule for next week.

William

IN THIS ISSUE:

1) Sponsor advertisement:
2) Reader Q & A
3) Announcements
4) Main article: Get Out Of Debt Plan: Do You Have One In
Place?
5) Newsletter archives

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1. SPONSOR ADVERTISEMENT

There Is No Financial Bail-Out From The Government
For YOU. All The Turmoil On Wall Street Is A Good
Reminder That We Need To Take CONTROL of OUR OWN
FINANCIAL SITUATION

If you can pay all your bills on time now (even though
there might not be anything left), then you are about
to be shown a ridiculously simple plan that can
virtually guarantee, with only a tiny bit of discipline,
that you will be completely free of debts in 10 years
or less including your mortgage.

Protect yourself from the next economic downturn by
making smart choices today.

Learn more at:

http://www.debtreductionacademy.com/leoquinn.html

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2. READER Q & A

This week's question:

Hi, Im a student, and in a moment of lapsed judgement I applied for a credit card which I thought I needed, but now have realized I really don't need the extra debt! I will be able to manage without it and i wondered if when it arrives (in a couple of days) I can send it straight back without having used it? Will I be charged for this? Can I just cut it in half send it back and ignore it or is this wishful thinking?

Sending it back isn't the way to handle it. Just call the customer service number for the card and tell them you want to cancel the account. You shouldn't have to send the card back at all, just make sure you cut it up or shred it once it's canceled.

You should also request a final statement or some other written confirmation that the account has been canceled, just so you have some proof if they ever try to bill you for anything in the future.

If you haven't used the card, the only thing you'll need to pay is any fees that they charged when you signed up. If there's no annual fee on the card, you shouldn't have to pay anything.

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3. ANNOUNCEMENTS

ONE: Follow me on Twitter

http://www.twitter.com/debtsmackdown

That way, if you don't get my emails for some reason, you'll
get my Twitters.

TWO: The newsletter archives are up

I've got some of the previous newsletter issues posted on
the website and the rest will be available soon. The link
and more details are at the end of this issue.

THREE: Do you have a question?

Do you have a burning question that you'd like me to answer
in this newsletter?

You can submit your questions through the website here:

http://www.debtreductionacademy.com/contact.php

I can't promise a personal response, but I'll do my best to
answer your questions in a future issue of the newsletter.

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4. FEATURED ARTICLE

Get Out Of Debt Plan: Do You Have One In Place?

Everyone wants a good "get out of debt plan", well here's how I did it…

Over the course of about 10 years, I racked up over $100,000 in debt - mostly on credit cards or loans I took out to pay off those credit cards. So believe me when I tell you that I understand what it feels like to be buried under debt and looking for a plan to get out.

I spent hundreds of dollars and a great deal of time looking for the "perfect" plan to get out of debt. Particularly one that would help me do it as fast as possible.

Looking back, my expectations were unrealistic - I wanted a "magic button" that I could press and all my debt would be wiped away.

Unfortunately, the world doesn't work that way. But in the process of looking for that quick fix, I did manage to learn enough to get myself out of debt a lot faster than I ever thought possible. It just took more work than I was hoping.

But don't get me wrong - it's a simple process, really. But that's not to say it's *easy* - you'll need to put in some effort (but nothing that you can't handle, I promise).

I'm going to give you the "10,000 foot view" of my system.

So let's get started…

The system is basically made up of three steps.

1. Take Stock Of Your Finances

You need to figure out what you owe, to whom, and by when. This sounds simple, but it's amazing how many people have a pile of debt and don't really know exactly how much they have.

I suppose it's partly due to the "ostrich" mentality - hide your head in the sand and hope it goes away. But the first step to getting out of debt is to determine exactly what you owe.

2. Determine What You Can Pay

The second step in the process is to figure out exactly how much you can pay toward your debt every month. Again, easier said than done.

Most people just work through the pile of bills from the top down, and pay what they can on each one. There's no real plan in place, and they just go until the bank account is empty or even overdrawn.

You need to do a little work and figure out exactly what you can pay - and 99 out of 100 people find money they didn't know they had as part of this step.

3. Create Your Plan and Stick With It

This is by far the most important component of the system. If you don't create a plan and take action on it, nothing else matters. You're just going to stay where you are today.

By laying out a specific plan of attack, you're putting yourself in control of your debt instead of the other way around. And by sticking with it, even if it is tough sometimes, you'll be sure to reach your goal of being debt free.

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5. NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES

I'm in the process of getting all the previous issues of the
newsletter posted on the Debt Reduction Academy website. I've started posting recent issues and will have all the earlier ones up soon.

You can find them here:

http://www.debtreductionacademy.com/articles/category/newsletter-archives

A lot of the questions I get from people are repeated over
and over. If you've got a question, I might already have
answered it in a previous issue, so go and check it out.

Copyright 2009 Nichescape Publishing Inc.