Small Business Loans

In parts one and two in this set of articles on the very basics of debt collection, I wrote about the differences between an in house collector and a third party debt collector. I wrote about the different types of ways that debt collectors will locate the debtors, and described a number of statements that the debt collector must say before they can proceed in their attempt to collect debt from you.

Bill collectors refer to these legal guidelines as a “mini Miranda.” If a bill collector doesn’t share this information with you, he or she is violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. If questioned, the debt collector is obligated to tell you her name, the name, address and fax number of her agency, and what creditor she is calling on behalf of.

If it is necessary to do so the debt collector will go over the terms of sale with you, or credit contracts. Bear in mind that your conversation will probably be recorded, and a good debt collector is a sneaky one. They will most likely use their listening skills to try to determine the cause of the delinquency.

Despite what you may have heard from anecdotal stories, or the sensational stories you have heard on the news, most debt collectors are empathetic people, working to make a buck like you. Even if your debt collector is calling aggressively, it is never a good idea to ignore their calls. A debt collector will have the authority to offer a repayment plan, or some other type of help to make it easier for you to pay off of your debt.

At times, they are capable of finding solutions to your financial problems. After all, they work with people like you every day. They can even offer you some helpful advice or they might be able to refer you to some helpful debt counselors. Unfortunately, it has been said that all stereotypes have some truth in them, and there will be an occasional debt collector who may use strong arm or even illegal tactics to collect a debt. If something doesn’t sit right with you, consult the FDCPA, and call your local attorney general’s office to report the incident.

Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solution and writes articles on medical collection agencies. Also published at The Very Basics Of Debt Collection Part Three.

In my first article in my series on mutual funds, I didn’t even get the opportunity to get to the subject of mutual funds! I very briefly covered securities, which we said is something that represents money. We looked at two types of securities, stocks and bonds. We spoke about stock markets and bonds markets, and how if you wanted to invest in or sell stocks and bonds you are going to need the help of a dealer or broker.

Now let us talk about mutual funds. A mutual fund essentially pools money from a bunch of different investors and invests in different types of securities. Mutual funds will have a fund manager that buys and sells the fund’s investments. Under United States law, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Internal Revenue Service tell mutual funds that mostly all of their net income that they bring in must be distributed to its investors at least once a year.

Mutual funds are structured as trusts or corporations, and the phrase mutual fund is another term for what the SEC sees as an open end investment company. All being open ended means is that at the end of every day, the fund will issue new shares to investors looking to buy into the fund, and the fund has to buy back shares from investors redeeming their shares.

Most mutual funds are monitored by trustees or a board of directors who make sure that the fund is being taken of care correctly and that it is being managed in the best interests of the fund’s investors.

Mutual funds have to be registered with the SEC and they have to give interested investors something called a prospectus that contains information about the fund, the securities it invests in and the fund manager. To Be Continued In Part Three

Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solution and writes articles on commercial collection agencies. Also published at Mutual Funds 101 Part Two.

In the middle of a recession, consumers seem to be racking up more and more debt and getting ahead of themselves financially. There are numerous reasons why credit cards could hurt you financially, but a debit card could be what is putting you over the limit.

A sound routine is to go to the bank, take out enough money to last you a week and then attempt to live on those funds. It is believed that relying on paper money in the wallet instead of plastic will increase budget discipline and reduce impulse purchases. By relying only on ten, twenty or even fifty dollar bills, you tend to buy only what is necessary as opposed to what you think you want or need.

Debit cards can be beneficial. They can prevent you from going overboard with a large purchase like you can with a credit card. It also keeps track of where and how you spend the money, but a small book for a dollar at the local pharmacy could become your new budget book.

What it comes down to, is that anything that makes it easier to spend money means that whoever has it will in fact spend more money. Evidence shows that consumers spend more when utilizing debit cards in place of cash. While they may not go overboard with large purchases, they do go overboard with minute purchases. Additionally, debit card users are more likely to overdraw their bank accounts. A story in the New York Times revealed that banks earn billions in overdraft fees that were sparked by small debit card purchases.

Debit card processing fees are very expensive for retailers. However card issuers allege that the higher sales from customers make the expense worth it. Many retailers, mom and pop stores in particular, are starting to protest debit card processing fees and asking customers to pay in cash.

Mallory Megan is employed by a debt collection agency. She also writes stories on business, finance, consumer spending and collection agencies. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service