A debt free couple is often a happy couple.

Financial issues can be a real cause for divorce in the U.S. as 20% of the separation cases take place within the first five years of marriage. Therefore, these newly wed couples need to regain control over their financial situation in order to protect their marriages. If you have incurred insurmountable amount of debt then it is advisable to enroll in a debt consolidation program to eliminate your debt.

Here are a few effective ways to manage your financial stress and guide you avoid your financial blues:

1. You should remember that splitting your debt will not solve your problem therefore you should jointly work on paying off your debt. Most cases the partner who has less debt forces his/her spouse to divide the debt in order to avoid blemishing his/her credit report.

In this situation, you should support your spouse and formulate a repayment plan so that you can jointly put money towards paying off your debt. Allot a specific amount of money each month that you can use for paying off your obligations. You can curb your expenses and postpone your honeymoon until you eliminate your debt.

2. You should analyze your financial situation and formulate a stringent budget plan so that you can tackle your financial situation effectively. You can track your monthly expenses and if your expenses exceed your income then you need to redesign your budget according to your current financial state. You should curb your extravagant lifestyle and use the extra fund to pay off your debts.

3. You should open an emergency account and deposit a specific amount from your income in your savings account. You can increase the source of your income and this extra fund can be saved to manage your financial emergencies in future. You can give a room of your apartment on rent or work as a freelancer on weekends as it will help to boost your emergency fund.

4. You can consult a financial expert who can help you manage your catastrophic financial situation. He will analyze your financial situation and suggest some suitable debt relief solution.

These are a few effective ways a couple can manage their problem without filing divorce. If you work jointly towards paying off your debts then it will help to strengthen your bond with your spouse.

Regina King is a financial writer and currently associated with Oak View Law Group. She has been consistently providing people with unique advice on investment,budgeting and debt settlement since 2007. You can reach me at: regina.king85(at)gmail(dot)com.

A financial disaster can seem like the end of the world if you're not prepared for it.

Disasters, be it natural, economic or personal, can strike anywhere and often without any warning. While large-scale disaster occurrences such as tsunamis, devastating earthquakes and world wide economic collapses are rare, the old adage wisely warns to hope for the best but to be prepared for the worst.

Even more common natural occurrences such as floods can also prove to be disasters and as recent events show, the possibility of extreme events can never be ruled out.

Recent disasters such as the tsunami in Japan and earthquake in New Zealand show that disasters hold the very real potential of overturning lives.

Disasters can damage valuable assets and property, displace families, affect businesses and disrupt income flows. During these difficult times, the immediate priority is often to protect your family and property.

However, beyond urgent steps to ensure survival and safety, it is also important to plan ahead to ensure that you and your loved ones will be able to cope financially in the aftermath of any disaster.

To ensure that you can cope if the worst happens, steps can be taken to mitigate the financial impact of a disaster aftermath.

Even with the best preparation, disasters can cause unavoidable and significant damage to assets and property.

The most viable option to guard against such losses is insurance for property owners, since being uninsured will almost certainly cause people affected by disasters to incur huge debts.

It is important to understand the terms of policies that you may already possess, as it is possible that policies do not give coverage for floods and other large-scale disasters. As such, there may be a need to look for insurance policies that offer full replacement cost coverage.

Guaranteed replacement costs insurance schemes which are fully updated can cover the cost of rebuilding your house, with improvements to protect against future disasters.

Disasters can disrupt lives in significant ways and can leave those affected with mountains of debt, either as a result of the disaster, or because the disaster interrupts income.

Insurmountable debt can add to the stress of the situation, but it is important to stay focused on the positive and know that there are solutions available to help in the face of disaster.

One solution, particularly if the debt is not excessively large, may be a credit card loan.

In difficult times, it is important to look for the lowest interest rates on any loan and with the right credit card, there may be no interest at all.

Realistically, it is best to expect that any loan will incur costs, but there are a number of credit card companies that now offer interest-free introductory periods for new customers.

This means that if a debt can be cleared within this period, there will be no interest on the amount borrowed.

Another alternative is the Crisis Loan, which are loans available for those who require urgent financial help in the aftermath of a disaster.

The loan can be used for daily living expenses and rent and board charges for those who have suffered damages from disasters.

The amount that can be loaned is dependent on individual circumstances, such as savings and pre-existing loans. Best of all, government-backed Crisis Loans are interest-free.

Other loans may provide a short term solution to problems occurring as a result of a disaster.

Loans vary greatly from provider to provider (read more here) so it is important to spend time researching the options available.

The term of the loan can make as much difference to the amount repaid as the interest rate. Work out what you can comfortably afford and choose a loan that allows you to clear your debt in the shortest time that you can manage. This keeps the interest that you have to repay to a minimum.

This article was written by Sam, a financial writer based in the North-West, UK.

http://www.moneysupermarket.com/loans/

Credit Counseling

If you are not disciplined enough to create a workable budget and stick to it, cannot work out a repayment plan with your creditors, or cannot keep track of mounting bills, consider contacting a credit counseling organization. Many credit-counseling organizations are nonprofit and work with you to solve your financial problems.

Most credit counselors offer services through local offices, the Internet, or on the telephone. If possible, find an organization that offers in-person counseling. Many universities, military bases, credit unions, housing authorities, and branches of the U.S. Cooperative Extension Service operate nonprofit credit counseling programs. Your financial institution, local consumer protection agency, and friends and family also may be good sources of information and referrals.

Regardless of your particular need, selecting the right credit counselor is vital. Unfortunately, some organizations, including some that label themselves “nonprofit credit counseling agencies,” can be underhanded and more concerned with helping their own bank accounts than helping yours. An April 2005 report by a U.S. Senate investigating committee reported, “Some new entrants to the industry, however, have developed a completely different business model – a ‘for-profit model’ designed so that their non-profit credit counseling agencies generate massive revenues for for-profit affiliates.

Consumers need to know and understand the differences when selecting a credit counselor. They must know the warning signs. The following information can serve as a valuable guide to help consumers “know the difference” when choosing a credit counseling agency.

1. Ask the BBB (Better Business Bureau) and other third parties about the agency. A number of independent or government organizations work to protect consumers by collecting complaints and making the information public. The BBB is one such agency.

2. Be skeptical of extravagant promises. Some organizations claim they can “fix” a bad credit report or credit score. Others say they can settle a consumer’s debts for relatively little money. If an agency sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Reliable credit counselors help people manage their money better and, if appropriate, can set up a realistic repayment plan that is acceptable to creditors.

3. Make sure counseling sessions are substantial. The length of a counseling session will vary from agency to agency, but consumers need to make sure the counselor takes enough time to understand your personal situation

4. How does the agency protect consumers’ money? Consumers need confidence that any funds they hand over to an agency for debt repayments are secure. Consumers need to ask for evidence that an agency is bonded or has insurance that protects their money from fraud or the agency’s own financial difficulties.

Debt Management Plans

If your financial problems stem from too much debt or your inability to repay your debts, a credit-counseling agency may recommend that you enroll in a debt management plan (DMP). A DMP alone is not credit counseling, and DMPs are not for everyone.

You should sign up for one of these plans only after a certified credit counselor has spent time thoroughly reviewing your financial situation, and has offered you customized advice on managing your money. Even if a DMP is appropriate for you, a reputable credit counseling organization still can help you create a budget and teach you money management skills.

In a DMP, you deposit money each month with the credit counseling organization, which uses your deposits to pay your unsecured debts, like your credit card bills, student loans, and medical bills, according to a payment schedule the counselor develops with you and your creditors. Your creditors may agree to lower your interest rates or waive certain fees, but check with all your creditors to be sure they offer the concessions that a credit counseling organization describes to you.

A successful DMP requires you to make regular, timely payments, and could take 48 months or more to complete. Ask the credit counselor to estimate how long it will take you to complete the plan. You may have to agree not to apply for — or use — any additional credit while you are participating in the plan. As above, here are also things to look for when looking for a Debt Management Plan.

1. ALL payments sent to the agency should go to creditors and be disbursed in a timely manner. Some agencies may take the entire first month’s payment and call it a “fee” or “donation.” Consumers should ask whether this is the agency’s policy. It is also a good idea to ask whether the agency holds payments or disburses them shortly after receipt. The success of a DMP relies upon full and timely payment to creditors to reduce a client’s debt.

2. Does the agency provide a full range of services, or is it just trying to push a profitable Debt Management Plan? Consumers should seek out an agency that provides a full range of services and tailors plans to each consumer’s personal circumstances.

3. The full amount of Debt Management Plan repayments should go to creditors. Some agencies may take a portion of a consumer’s debt repayment and call it a fee or “donation;” others may even take the entire first month’s payment. Consumers should find out how much of each monthly payment is going to creditors and how much is going to the credit-counseling agency. The full amount of those payments should be paid to creditors to reduce the client’s debt.

4. Make sure the agency will work with all of your creditors. Before entering a DMP, consumers should make sure the agency would work with all of their creditors. Some agencies may refuse to work with creditors unless the creditor agrees to a certain level of financial support for the agency. No agency can require creditors to recognize a DMP program, but the agency should be willing to reach out to every creditor.

If debt has consumed you, and your life is getting more difficult by the day, then Debt management and credit counseling are probably two very important choices to consider. If you have severe debt, you may be eligible to enroll in a Debt Management Plan. It takes approximately 36-60 months to repay debts through a DMP. This is sometimes the best alternative to debt freedom.

I’m a walking poster child for how to not manage money and handle credit.  I’ve been irresponsible most of my adult life with money but was lucky enough to always have someone bail me out of every financial mess I got into until 2 1/2 years ago when bankruptcy was not only “knocking on my door” but had come inside to stare me in the face.

I finally grew up, took responsibility for my actions, and started making changes.  Today, even though I still have debt, I no longer use credit cards, live on a budget, and bankruptcy is no longer a looming threat (it’s not even living in my zip code).

I’ve wondered what made such a complete mess-up when it came to money.   I could be a whiny baby and blame my parents but they tried to teach me how to be frugal and fiscally responsible and they weren’t people who just talked the talk.  They took out a loan for 1 vehicle in their entire lives.  Every other one they paid for in cash.  They have never paid a single penny in interest on a credit card and never once as a kid did I have to wonder where my next meal was coming from.  If there were times when money was tight in our house I never knew it.  I always had what I needed and more.

Yet once I turned 18, got a job, and was on my own I started using credit cards like they were “free money” and always had an excuse of why I was always overspending.  And I mean it when I say had excuses and “good reasons.”  I was the queen of explaining away why I had spent money I didn’t have.

My husband worked hard and did his best to provide for us (and still does).   And to be an outsider looking at our family today you wouldn’t probably think we ever had money problems.  My husband and I managed to raise our kids with all of them having everything they needed and more (yes, they were spoiled with material things which was completely my fault and not my husband’s).  We built a new house along the way (over 3,000 square feet which was much more than we needed but I was always about bigger and better so my husband did his best to give it to me.)  I went back to school, got my bachelor’s degree once my kids got into high school and then found a job that I enjoyed.

Then, 4 years ago, even though  I still didn’t have my spending under control we were still financially stable enough that I could quit my job to be at home and take care of my Mom who had gotten seriously ill (I’m the only living child and was traveling extensively for my job so I felt the need to be closer to home – and it’s something I have not regretted for one second).

Then, within the span of 2 years,  one of our children defaulted on student loans we had co-signed on to the tune of $20,000 thousand dollar, my husband’s work vehicle had to be replaced, a home business we had started and invested quite a bit of money into didn’t work out, our college daughter’s vehicle quit running and since she didn’t have any money we bought her another one, another one of our children experienced financial difficulties so we loaned/gave him several thousand dollars, and I still hadn’t stopped spending money like it was growing on a tree in our backyard.

On top of that we had a big mortgage payment for that big house I had to have.

Suddenly, instead of being able to pay all our bills each month (well, at least the minimum payments) we now had a whole lot of month left at the end of our money.

So we consolidated and took out a home equity loan.  It took a $75,000 loan to pay off our son’s student loans, pay for the 2 vehicles we had to buy, pay off the debts of our failed home business and pay off our credit cards.

You would think that at this point I would have gotten scared and would have stopped spending but I didn’t.  It took another $3,000 before my husband came to me and said we either had to make changes or declare bankruptcy and if we didn’t make changes right away we would no longer have a choice because bankruptcy would be our only option.

He gave me a book to read – one a co-worker had given him when he confided to her how worried he was about finances.  The book got me to open my eyes and realize what I had been doing.   (I’m not going to recommend you read it.  I’m going to tell you to read it.  It’s The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey).

I finally agreed to sit down with my husband and face the amount of debt we had -close to $300,000 (including our mortgage) and to start making changes.

Today we still owe $160,000 on our mortgage and $26,300 on our home equity loan.  We have $0 credit card debt and $0 car loan debt.  In 2 1/2 years we’ve paid off $100,000 in debt.  By the end of 2009 we plan to have our home equity loan completely paid off and our mortgage under $150,000 despite my husband just receiving word yesterday at work that his compensation will be changing which will mean less income.

I’ve done some really stupid things – lots of them – and I have nobody to blame but myself.  But, I’ve also changed and have started doing a lot of things right.  And while I used to be a walking poster child for how to not manage money today it’s just the opposite.  Family and friends now ask for financial advice and tips because they know how much things have changed at our house.

Why have I told you all this?  Well, whether or not you wanted to hear my story, I wanted you to know that I’m not just some faceless person banging away on my computer telling you how to get out of debt without any real knowledge of how to do it.  No, I don’t have a degree in “finance” unless going to the “school of having to learn about managing money the hard way” counts.

I’m not a “financial expert” who has never experienced financial difficulties but yet pretends to know exactly how to do it (there are plenty of people out there like that).    I’ve been to the brink of financial disaster and am recovering from it.  There’s the saying of “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” and that definitely is how I feel about my debt.  I’ve faced it (one of the hardest things I’ve ever done) and have changed it.