For the last few months my credit score has been slowly increasing, maybe by 5-10 points max, but this month (November) my score increased 35 points. This may not seem like much, but i was extremely excited!

Now, my score is still pretty Poor (600-650 Range) but it has improved from the 500-550 range.

If you do not know what your credit score is, i advise you check it out. I recommend www.CreditKarma.com (link in the Recommended section to the Right!)

It is completely free, your credit card number is never required. They also offer a lot of insight as to why your score is the way it is.

My score is so low because i have missed some payments in the past by Ignoring My Debt.

Also i have a very high Credit Utilization Rate at the moment. This means all the credit i have available to me, is being used (maxed out cards, or personal lines of credit.)

All in all, i am glad my score is rising because i am paying off my debt, paying on time, not missing payments, and trying to get my Credit Utilization rate down from 100%.

As i mentioned before selling belongings is a great way to get rid of debt, selling off stock that you do not care about much is an even better way.

A friend of mine recently found himself in a bit of a jam with his medical bills. He remembered that his old job offered stock options and he had taken advantage of it and invested about $500 in the company stock. He left the company a few years back and never got around to cashing out his stock, or rolling over his 401k into a Roth IRA. So when he found himself in this credit jam, he cashed out his stocks and paid it off.

“I pulled out my stocks and put it into bills. I was saving it for emergencies but the bills had to be paid so it worked” -Jason

It was an easy fix, it did not cause any problems for him, and essentially helped him out. Sure some might not advise cashing in investments, but any more earned on the stocks would be canceled out by Debt Interest.

Action was the main issue here, he had to act for this method to work. Sure you can talk about all the stuff you can do to get out of debt, but until you do it, you won’t get any further than before.

Note: This method only works if you have invested in stocks in the beginning.

I have been talking to more people lately about debt. It is a common subject among friends, co workers, strangers, or family.

When ever i mention i am getting out of debt, or i just got a new job that will make me more money and will allow me to pay off debt faster, I always get the same response. They say “I wish i could be out of debt.” News flash… You Can! Anyone can get out of debt.I am not a super hero, I am just determined.

It is not going to be easy, because if it was no one would be in debt! Everyone has the potential to be debt free. You need to apply yourself, educate yourself about how credit cards work. Admit that your debt is the consequence of bad spending habits. I admit that about my debt, read my Debt Confessional.

Try something different, make a change, that is the only way you will be debt free. Stop spending money, get a hold of yourself, sell some of your crap, start earning more, stop over drafting, stop making late payments, stop paying for cable TV, Stop subscribing to worthless magazines, and for gods sake stop eating out when you can’t afford it!!

I know some people who are fairly close to losing their house, they are using a debt consolidation agency after finding themselves over their heads in credit card payments they could not make. Collections called, they ignored. For some reason they still pay for premium cable, still go out to eat very frequently, and are making mild changes to their spending lifestyle. When the fact of the matter is they should be making DRASTIC changes.

Ok enough for the rant. I hope you learned something.

As mentioned in a previous blog, i just got a new job. Hoorah for me. It’s great. With this new income, i will need to create a new debt payoff plan.

So while at work the other day, i started creating a plan. I realized that this new plan allows me to pay off ALL of my debts by July 2010. My old plan had me just out of credit card debt by Dec 2010.

The new income i am making will be almost double the income at my last job, so this allowed me to plan for a much quicker pay off method.

What it breaks down to is me paying $1,200 a month, all towards debt. Then in about six months it will all be gone. I used very rough numbers, i over estimated and i over exaggerated interest payments so i could be out of debt sooner.

Essentially what it breaks down is all my debts.

• Credit Card- $3000
• Line of credit- $500
• Auto Loan- $3000
• Parent Loan- $800
• Technically a second Auto Loan for $3500 (I do not count this because it is being paid by someone else)

Within the first month, the Line of Credit will be gone. (that is my highest interest Debt) at the same time my parent loan will be chopped in half. Then the next month, my parent loan will be completely paid, then it will be $600 a month to my credit card and Auto loan until they both are paid in full July 2010.
I will go into more detail soon, i will include a chart with all my payments laid out for more ease of understanding.

Your Bank Hates You

by Matt Daemon

Did you know that your bank hates you? It does. That might be obvious for some but it needs to be said out loud for everyone else.

When you see commercials for your bank, they always mention how the bank helps people (help me into debt? no thanks). There are flowers and sunshine and puppy dogs etc. until you are left with a warm fuzzy feeling about your bank. They help people buy houses and start businesses and invest in their futures, right? You might think the bank was altruistic after watching enough of these ads.

When you walk inside the bank you see posters of pretty much the same thing. Happy people, smiling children, people buying a new home etc. The tellers and people you see working inside are polite and dressed nice. The bank is your friend right?

Fact #1 The bank is a business established for making a profit.

That’s why there are fees and charges for everything imaginable.

Fact #2 The bank has no heart and no soul

If the bank will make $1 more by repossessing your house and it can legally do so, it will.

Fact #3 The bank IS happy to lend you money, because you will pay back more more.

The bank would love for you to borrow money at the highest APR they can get away with.

Fact #4 The bank will trick you if it has to

Nobody reads the fine print and understands it. There are so many catches and loopholes and in the end, it doesn’t matter because the bank always reserves the right to change all the rules at any time.

Fact #5 You have no rights

Take a look at any agreement you have with the bank and you’ll see that all your rights are waived and you have nothing.

Think about this the next time you consider borrowing money from the bank. If you are late with one payment, for any reason, your APR will be jacked up to the maximum allowable by law. If they can take your house, they will. Look how many houses have been repossessed in the last 2 years. There will be no loving caring bank to ‘help’ you at any time. Expect to be nickel and dimed. Go inside the bank – fee. Use ATM – fee. Pay by phone – fee. Overdraft – several fees. They are super quick to take the money out of your account when you make purchases and withdrawals, but very slow to credit your account when you deposit.

About 10 years ago I got some cash advance checks for a credit card. They come regularly like candy every month with promises of 0% APR for months or whatever BS. Normally I shred them instantly, but this one time i needed about $200 for a present for my gf so I saved one and used it. The next day I get a call from the merchant saying the bank wouldn’t honor the check, I had to go in and pay them in cash, very embarrasing. I had a credit limit of thousands with no balance and they wouldn’t honor a $200 cash advance check they had sent me??! I called the bank to find out the reason they did this and there was some lame excuse like the checks aren’t valid for all purchases, only certain types of purchases are authorized and I’m supposed to call them. It was Chase and I cancelled my card with them immediately.

Another time, I was about to use a cash advance offer from Bank of America because it advertised 0% for 12 months etc. but when after looking at the fine print they charge incredible amount up front to get the cash advance, it was around 10% of the amount of the advance I was thinking about… does this make sense?

When I was around 19 I was pretty irresponsible with my first credit card. I racked up like $500 which was a lot at the time for me. When I finally paid it off I was so happy. I got a couple statements from them but didn’t even open them because I knew it was paid. 3 months later debt collectors are calling me because the $4 of interest that accrued between the time my statement was mailed to the time I paid (like 1 week or less) had racked up almost $300 in charges and fees. On top of that, I had the bank collection company calling me daily for weeks until I was able to pay it. This was Cross Country Bank, later sold to Chase I believe. Same corporate greed, different name.

Last story- I applied for a car loan at BofA for about $11,000 maybe 7 years ago. They charged me $70 for the application fee and said they would let me know in about 2 days if I was approved or not. 3 days later no word from them so I called and was basically told to STFU and wait. A week later I called and was brushed off again. 3 days after that I called back and was told ‘Oh, nobody told you? Your loan was denied’. So basically I spent $70 to be run around by the bank for 2 weeks. How can I get into that business.

My hatred of BofA is tempered by the fact that they’re all the same. They all offer you 0.001% on your savings and try to get 12-33% on your loans. There is no alternative. I read the consumerist frequently and have the impression that Chase is slightly worse in terms of customer service so at least I have that to be thankful for.

I hope this will motivate someone to put their credit card down. If you just have to use it, go to my website here EyewearCases.com and design personalized eyeglass and sunglass cases for your whole family online (I accept credit cards). Post your bank horror stories below.