Debt Consolidation and Personal Finances: Learn the Truth!

An inability to manage credit, growing debt and bankruptcy are all major problems today. On an average day, over 8,000 people file bankruptcy in the United States alone. The Internet is rife with companies that promise help and salvation; to the uninitiated, their words and assurances prey upon those wanting a painless solution.

The January post-holiday credit card bills are often the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back, where families now have to face the problem of how to pay for the holiday gifts and celebrations without sliding further into debt.

Avoiding these problems, and recovering from overwhelming debt, are what Real Life Debt.com is all about: it's a resource site that's dedicated to helping you learn about your options with credit card debt, debit cards, debt management, debt counseling, privacy, deciding about bankruptcy (and the different types of bankruptcy), and more.

Founder Dave Taylor explains "As a private, independent initiative, we're sure that you'll find Real Life Debt.com to be an excellent resource for understanding and managing your own financial issues. To ensure accuracy, the materials on this site are all from the United States government: one goal of Real-Life-Debt.com is to help people find the excellent material produced by the Federal Trade Commission, Federal Reserve, Consumer Information Center, and similar organizations."

In addition, Real Life Debt also features a weblog (a "blog") with postings from different individuals who share their own challenges managing their personal finances, including bankruptcy, credit card penalties, and much more.

Real Life Debt is an unbiased source of credit card, debt management, privacy and bankruptcy information, without commercial sponsors or a sales pitch. To ensure accuracy, much of the material is from U.S. government sites.

Dave Taylor has been involved with the Internet since 1980. He's written sixteen technical and business books including the best-selling "Creating Cool Web Sites", and his most recent projects are startup 101 info and Ask Dave Taylor.

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Debt Relief Information:

Related Articles


The Debt Free Lifestyle
Many people have been taught that you cannot get ahead without debt. We are also inundated with advertising telling us we can have anything we want.
Debt Collectors; And what you can do to Get Them Out of your Life
FTC opinion letter on validation Section 809(a) of the FDCPA, 15 U.S.
Creating A Realistic Budget
Budgeting -- ooh, what a scary word! If you want to frighten someone whose finances are out of control, suggest that they tally up their expenses on a piece of paper. We all understand the value of such an exercise, but when it comes to the practicality of putting a budget together, we get cold feet.
Should You Join a CCCS - Consumer Credit Counseling Service for Debt Relief and Financial Freedom?
Do You Need to Join a CCCS - Consumer Credit Counseling Service?Are you in a "debt hell"? If you are unsure, ask yourself these questions:Do you have bill collectors calling you and home and at work, leaving annoying messages?Are you afraid to open the door in the morning because you are afraid that the Sheriff's office has left a court goody for you?When the phone rings, do you get butterflies in your stomach?If you answer the phone and it's a bill collector, when they ask for you, do you reply "He/She's not in right now", or even just pick up the phone and then hang it up without saying who is on the other end?Do you go for days on end without checking the mail because there are only bills there?When you finally do get the mail, do you just throw it in some random location for weeks or even months without ever opening it?Are you paying one credit card company's bill with another credit card?Are your credit cards riddled with over the credit limit and late fees?Do you only receive high interest credit card offers?Have you applied for credit cards or car loans and been told that you had been denied because of bad credit?Does your credit report show a lot of late payments, charge-offs, bad debt, 30 60 90 or 120 days late entries listed?Does filing bankruptcy seem like your only way out?If you related to at least two of those items, chances are you would benefit from a consumer credit counseling service.Believe me, I know what you are going through.
A Debt Elimination Process Must Be Initiated From You.
The first and maybe most important step in a debt elimination process, is to acknowledge there's a problem and realize that something has to be done with your situation. Some do it before it is too late, though an asthonishing number of people seem to act as if this is not their situation at all.
New Bankruptcy Legislation May Make it Harder to Find an Attorney
The recently passed Bankruptcy Abuse prevention and Consumer Protection Act will make it harder for people with problem debt to have their debt eliminated through filing for bankruptcy. This new legislation will make it harder to have debts wiped out by the courts, and will require more debtors to pay back some or all of their debts.
Use A Debt Checklist To Examine Where You Are
A Debt Checklist allows you to look at items and areas of your financial life. You need toexamine these to gauge how you stand.
The Simple $10 Debt Elimination Solution
Ask a friend what resolutions they made for 2004 and your bound to hear them reply "Pay off my credit cards." Ask them how they planned on reaching that goal and many of them will not have a clear cut answer.
Debt: Dont Pay Your Minimum Balance
Almost all Americans carry credit card debt. Actually, over 40% of US families spend more than they earn.
Going Bankrupt in the World
It all starts by defaulting on an obligation: Money owed to creditors or to suppliers is not paid on time, interest payments due on bank loans or on corporate bonds issued to the public are withheld. It may be a temporary problem - or a permanent one.
Purchase Your Future Now While It Is Still Inexpensive
Leaving school, getting a new job, or even a raise at your current one, has most people considering their next great purchase. Few think about the affect this could have on their future.
Questions to Ask a Credit Counseling Service about Debt Relief
Debt relief is a topic on a lot of consumers' minds these days, and with good reason. American credit card debt in 2001 was $692 billion, triple the amount from 1989.
How to Become Debt Free
In today's consumer society it is all too easy to get into debt. If you have a few credit cards, car loan, mortgage and possibly student loans it can easily add up.
What the Mail on Sunday Said
Anyone considering Bankruptcy may have experienced fear after reading an article written in The Mail on Sunday with the headline "Bankruptcy cheats face crackdown". But, how much of what was written was in context of the reality of Bankruptcy as it is today?The article implied that since The Enterprise Act 2002 the rise in the number of people going bankrupt was due to them using the Bankruptcy route as a "Get out of jail free card".
Life After Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy and Credit - What Happens After Your Debts Are Discharged?Bankruptcy will remain on your credit report for ten years. But you may be able to get credit fairly quickly - almost immediately after a bankruptcy - although you will pay dearly for it.
Debt Elimination 3
Planning To Achieve Debt EliminationOnce you have started the process of changing your debt mindset to be against taking on consumer debt, then that is something you need to continue until it becomes the norm in your life. In some ways it is like stopping smoking; trying on will power alone is not enough, you need to get to the source of your problem and permanently change it.
Debt Getting You Down? - Make a List!
Debt is not much fun and when faced with it, people sometimes look for complicated debt solutions and often overlook the many simple ways that you can save money. Believe it or not, one of the simplest and most effective debt solutions is to get hold of a pen and a piece of paper and make a list.
Credit Card Debt Elimination
Credit card debt elimination can be done with a good plan and a little patience.The important thing is to find what works best for you and stick to your plan.
Bankruptcy: Who is to Blame?
If you are considering bankruptcy as a solution to your financial problems, you are not alone. Bankruptcy is on the rise in this country as consumer debt piles higher and higher.
Help for the Single Mother with Managing Credit and Debt
Today's consumers benefit drastically from the usefulness of credit. Credit cards are especially useful for large purchases, emergency situations, making reservations, identification, and protection from fraud.