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Our Blog

Take Control and Feel Free From Debt

If you are carrying a heavy debt load, the financial, physical, and emotional cost can be staggering especially if the balances on your credit cards increase or stay the same each month despite the payments you make. If you are feeling overwhelmed, don’t panic. You still may have some good options available - better options that don’t include filing for bankruptcy or taking out an additional loan.

If you are like most and have been putting things off because you are scared, you don’t know what to do first, or you don’t know whom to trust, remember the two keys to getting started are “you” and “now.”’ And when it comes to getting out of debt, why not you? Why not now?

When we’ve asked this question to potential clients, the most frequent answers we got in return were:

  • Well, I’m too old.

  • Because my situation is not that bad.

  • Because getting out of debt seems impossible.

 

Statistics tell us the number one reason why people fail financially is due to procrastination. Putting off financial issues will not improve your situation; in fact it will only reduce the number of options that are available to you. If you start today, you can defeat your debt- no matter what your age or situation. Our clients serve as a great example of what can happen when you set prior feelings aside and start taking action. The below articles will help provide you with more information about your options and how to defeat your debt the smart way.

Debt Relief Planning: Assess your Financial Situation

A thorough assessment of your financial situation is needed to construct your foundation for financial recovery. Knowing where you are today and what you need to bridge the gap is essential. It also helps to ensure that your plan is realistic, reasonable, and one that you can commit to over time. By maintaining your spending plan (outlined later in this guide), the day-to-day worry about what you can and cannot afford will be removed. It will also help provide you with the single most important thing you can do to improve your situation – stop using credit cards to bridge the gap.

Identify Your Trouble Areas

We all have our own attitudes, anxieties, and myths that we have developed about money. We believe that these beliefs are not inherited, but are learned. They are learned from prior experiences and they impact our money decisions- how we spend, how we save or don’t save, and how a feeling, emotion, or situation can trigger an impulse buy.

It’s important to identify your beliefs and feelings about money especially when they contradict your goal of becoming debt-free. This identification process is sometimes easier when you are able to take a step back and look at your patterns as opposed to individual instances. Identifying patterns and emotional drivers will improve your awareness. When aware, we can deal with our problems more effectively.

Top Debt Relief Questions

What is debt resolution?


Debt resolution is not a loan and it’s not bankruptcy. It’s sometimes referred to as debt settlement, debt consolidation, or debt negotiation. The goal of a debt resolution plan is to pay back what you can afford and to resolve your debt in a reasonable amount of time. Debt resolution has many benefits. It provides short-term relief with a lower monthly payment and long-term relief by saving money and getting you out of debt in a shorter period of time than you could on your own.


How do I get started?


The debt relief process starts with a 20-minute free consultation with one of our certified debt specialists. They will be able to review your situation and customize a plan based on your unique circumstances. They will also be able to provide you with information about how the plan will help and answer any questions you may have.


How do I know if Pledge Financial is right for me?


Determining if Pledge Financial debt relief is right for you is a personal decision. It should be based on how you feel about your current financial situation. Are you happy with your current situation? Has your present situation caused you any problems to motivate you to make a change? Are there any financial goals that you are falling short on? Take a few minutes and think about your answers and what they mean to you. You should also consider the financial goals you want to achieve.


If you are happy and comfortable with your current situation - then why change? If you are also not willing to stay the course, you’re setting yourself up for failure. There’s nothing that Pledge Financial can magically do to make your debt problem disappear. It’s a process that takes 3 to 5 years.

How can I trust Pledge Financial?


We’re different from other financial firms. We do not charge upfront fees like bankruptcy attorneys, lenders, and credit counseling firms. Those firms earn fees when you can least afford to pay them. Pledge Financial only earns a fee when your debt has been successfully resolved and when you have saved money. This ensures our interests are aligned with yours. It also requires that we only offer our services to consumers that are a good fit. Pledge Financial has a proven track record with the highest industry ratings.


Am I walking away from my debts?


Debt resolution is not walking away from your debts. It’s a solution where you pay back what’s reasonable and what we know your creditors will accept. It should provide you with immediate relief in the form of a monthly payment that is lower than what you are paying your creditors today. The plan should also allow you to resolve your debts in 48 months. Many consumers struggle with the idea of not paying their creditors back 100% of what they owe plus interest. Instead, they continue to make their minimum payments and will continue to do so for the next 15+ years. Others know that credit card companies don’t play fair and chose to change the game. If you are under the mindset that the credit card issuers are playing a fair game, we recommended you take a few minutes to watch the Frontline video online at PBS.com – “The Card Game.”

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