What can you do when you can’t afford your car payments?
Many Americans have been experiencing hard times thanks to our economy. Sometimes, things we once took for granted such as having a new car or a nice home, are considered luxuries that are out of reach. So what can you do if you can’t afford your car payments?
Refinance – Sometimes refinancing your car loan may lower you payments to where they’re affordable. Sometimes even with refinancing the payments are still too high. It helps if you can put a little money down.
Sell it – Look at online pricing guides to determine your cars value if you were to sell it privately. Make sure you clean it and wax it to maximize its worth.
Lease transfer – If your car is leased it will be expensive as well as difficult to get out of the contract. However there is one way that won’t affect your credit score and is significantly cheaper than early termination. You can transfer the lease to another person through the use of a third party agency.
Sell used items – Many times there are items in your home that you’re not using that you can sell on websites like eBay, Craigslist or Amazon for cash you can use to make your payments or pay down your loan.
Sell illiquid assets – If you have a single premium annuity, structured settlement annuity or other periodic payments you can sell some of your future payments for a cash lump sum. Use the money to pay off your car as well as other high interest debt. There are no credit checks and since it isn’t a loan you won’t have to pay the money back.
Paying off your car loan not only helps you with your creditors, it saves you money. For example, if you financed $18,000 for 60 months at 9.5% interest your payments are $378/month. At the end of the loan you would have paid $4,682 in interest so your $18,000 car actually costs $22,682. If you decided after a year to pay off your balance in full ($15, 047) you will save yourself $2,979 in interest.
If you're having trouble paying for your car and you also have credit card debt, it makes sense to pay that debt off immediately. For example, if you had $18,000 in credit card debt and the annual percentage rate was 19.8% interest; your minimum payment is $360. If you only paid the minimum, it would take you 8 years and 9 months to pay it off and you paid $20,342.04 in interest. By paying $1,800 a month you will have your balance paid off in 1 year and you will only pay $1,833.78 in interest thereby saving you $18,508.26 in interest. Obviously if you paid off your debt completely, you would save thousands in interest.
If you’re looking for a way to get rid of your debt, avoid repossession, avoid foreclosure or purchase a car without payments selling some of your future payments to Rescue Capital for a cash lump sum may be your best option. To learn more about our program and how we can help you, call 866.688.3532.
Resolutions aren’t solutions for financial problems
How lifestyle changes can improve your bottom line
Another year comes to an end and many of you are starting to think about 2012. Perhaps you may try to come up with resolutions like getting out of debt, quitting smoking or losing weight. Every year approximately 45% of American adults will make 1 or more resolution. However within 6 months almost half of those resolutions were abandoned.
There are many reasons why these resolutions fail including unrealistic goals, not having a plan in place goals that are too broad and no accountability. According to some experts, resolutions are about taking something away, leaving a person feeling deprived. By accentuating the positive you change the whole mindset. Instead of making a resolution, make a commitment to change in the New Year.
Whether it is looking better, feeling better or breaking the cycle of debt you need to look at what are the underlying cause of the problem and address it first. By breaking habits such as shopping when you are depressed, not taking account small daily purchases and stop impulsive spending you will be headed in the right direction.
Another issue is that consumers are often too optimistic about potential earnings. For example, relying on a tax refund, future raises or selling future annuity payments to pay for items later can be dangerous to your finances. If you do not get the amount of money you need to pay off your purchases you leave yourself open to huge interest rates or penalties.
So maybe you decided you want to make a change but you’re not sure how to get started. The best way to start is to define what you want to accomplish and make a plan. Make sure you develop obtainable, measurable goals and develop rewards for when you accomplish your goals. Below are some suggestions on how to get started.
- Define your financial goal. Whether it is to become debt free by 2013, create an emergency fund or go back to school put it in writing.
- Determine what is holding you back from accomplishing those goals. Is your spending getting in the way of your dreams, perhaps you are not sure.
- Create a spending diary to see where your money is going. Track every purchase you make no matter how small it is. Identify places you can make small changes that can really add up.
- Create a budget and stick to it. Don’t forget to save money too. It will help you avoid the debt roller coaster when emergencies happen.
- Reward yourself. Give yourself little treats that won’t derail you when you hit milestones.
- Don’t let setbacks derail you. If you have a setback, don’t quit trying to obtain your goal. Just regroup and move on.
- Change your relationship with money. Avoid triggers like shopping your way out of a better mood and spending mindlessly by developing better habits such as exercising when you’re depressed or leaving your credit cards at home.
- Get organized. Late fees and penalties waste money and they are damaging to your credit score. Develop a system that works for you and pay your bills on time.
- Get professional help. Sometimes you are in over your head. Perhaps you need professional credit counseling or financial advisors who can help you develop a system that works for you.
- Keep your options open. Sometimes your financial situation requires a more drastic approach such as selling some of your future annuity payments to avoid foreclosure or to pay off high interest debt. Remember to research all your options and don’t make hasty decisions.
If you have periodic payments from a structured settlement annuity, a divorce settlement, a single premium immediate annuity, life insurance policy, inheritance, royalties, or even a pension and you want to know more about selling some your future payments, call Rescue Capital at 866.688.3532. With today’s lower rates, your future payments could be worth more than ever before.
Getting cash for the holidays
Even before Halloween came and went, retailers started working on Thanksgiving, Hanukah and Christmas displays. Today alone, my mailbox contained at least 5 Christmas themed catalogs. As much as I hate to admit it, the holidays are just around the corner; 17 days until Thanksgiving and 47 shopping days until Christmas. For many, this time of year is a time for making plans with family and friends. For others it is a brutal reminder that things are a little tight.
While I don’t think it is a wise decision to sell illiquid assets to carelessly spend the money on the latest toy or trinket, I do think certain situations call for these transactions. For example, your car is broken down, your credit cards are maxed out or you have to decide whether to pay your electric bill or eat this week. For individuals who are struggling financially, it makes sense to sell your future payments for a cash lump sum.
Maybe your car is fine but your home needs repairs or you can’t afford to pay your mortgage. You might want to consider selling a portion of your future annuity payments to get the cash you need to get back on your feet. You should also ask about how to defer selling your payments for a couple of years.
Perhaps you are in need of cash but do not have an annuity or periodic payments from a structured settlement, what can you do? If you have any type of periodic payments such as a pension, cell tower lease, mortgage note, divorce settlement, royalties, etc., we may be able to help you. Just give us a call at 866.688.3532 so we can evaluate your asset as well as provide you with a free, no-obligation quote.
We understand that selling your future payments or a life insurance policy for cash isn’t for everyone. Research a few companies with the Better Business Bureau, learn about the process, get a few quotes, think it over and decide if this is the best solution for you. If you do decide to sell, you owe it to yourself to call Rescue Capital. Rescue Capital will be by your side throughout the process to ensure that things go smoothly. Our expert staff has more than 30 years combined industry experience and we offer some of the best rates around.
Federal mortgage program for unemployed homeowners ends without using all its money
Alternative ways to save your home
A $1 billion dollar program created to help the unemployed pay their mortgages will end without spending all its funds. In fact, since only a few individuals met the strict criteria, the Housing Department expects that only 10-15k people will be approved out of the 100k that applied.
The Federal program, modeled after a very successful program in Pennsylvania, was passed last year as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform bill. The program offered interest-free, forgivable loans to homeowners who lost more than 15% of their income due to economic or medical conditions. In order to qualify the homeowner needed to be delinquent for at least 90 days, facing foreclosure and could resume making payments once they were employed. Once approved, they could receive up to $50,000 or 24 months of assistance, whichever came first.
Unfortunately, the once promising program was plagued with delays and restrictions. Many experts complained that HUD used a complicated formula which took monthly payments, income and arrears into consideration thereby preventing many seemingly eligible people from getting approved. In contrast, the Pennsylvania program had more hardship conditions and reached a greater number of people before ending in June due to budget cuts.
For those who were not approved for the program and still require assistance there may be some other ways for you to get help. One such is to sell the future payments of an illiquid asset in exchange for a cash lump sum. An illiquid asset could be a structured settlement annuity, a divorce settlement, a single premium immediate annuity, life insurance policy, inheritance, royalties, cell tower leases, copyrights, patents or even a pension that results in periodic payments. Unlike mortgage programs, loans and home loan modification there are no income requirements or credit checks because selling your future payments isn’t a loan. There is no affect to your credit score and you can’t default. You do not have to pay any of the money back either.
According to John Zepeda at Rescue Capital, "As a result of unemployment, we are seeing many people who have fallen behind on all their bills including their mortgage. Luckily, they can use a portion of their future payments to get the money they need to avoid foreclosure without incurring more debt."
Sometimes people are unsure if their asset is something they can sell. Zepeda stated, “Rescue Capital speaks to individuals that are unaware that their asset can be sold on the secondary market. We evaluate the asset, determine its value and provide a free no-obligation quote to anyone who calls us”.
Many individuals think that they have to sell all their payments and have never heard about the other options available to them such as deferment. You can defer selling your payments for several years, which allows you to get the cash now but your periodic payments won’t be reduced until later.
According to Rescue Capital, COO Maureen Healy, “Sometimes you need a small amount of money to get back on your feet such as money to move or start a business. Deferment makes a lot of sense for those individuals.” To get your free no-obligation quote as well as more information about the entire process, call Rescue Capital today at 866.688.3532.
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