8 Real Questions to Ask Your Prospective Credit Counselor

Posted by wpadmin | Posted in Financial Advisement, Government, Personal Finance | Posted on 22-01-2016

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Truthfully, we hate labels. And titles. And name placements. Political correctness: it’s a fickle beast, especially when talking about something as touchy as credit repair. But no worries — we’re not going to sugar-coat or bounce around the topic like some organizations or professionals out there, and we’ll tell it like it is. It’s very simple: when talking to a credit counselor, you have to ask specific questions just to be sure you’re talking to a real credit counselor for the right reasons. Why? Just remember this important fact: credit repair walks a fine legal line. You want to make sure you stay within it.

Here Are Eight Real Questions You Absolutely Must Ask a Credit Counselor — Just to Be Sure You’re Dealing With the Real McCoy

There are a lot of credit repair scammers out there, in other words. Many will label themselves as credit counselor-1a credit counselor, but that’s not what they do. As a consumer, you have a right to know what you’re dealing with before potentially getting yourself in hot water, so ask the potential credit counselor you’re consulting with, and interviewing, these specific questions:

  • Can You Approve My Bankruptcy Filing? — What we mean by that are the legal requirements to filing for bankruptcy. The credit counselor you’re talking to has to have the certified approval to sign off on the legally mandated requirement to seek credit counseling before filing for bankruptcy. So make it a point to ask this question immediately.
  • Are You a “Debt Counselor” or a “Credit Counselor”? — Like we said, we hate the labels. They may sound so similar; but in truth, they’re very different. You ask this question just to be sure you are dealing with a real-life credit counselor. What are the differences? Find out right here.
  • Are You a 501(c)(3) Organization and Can You Prove It? — Now you’re getting tough with the prospective credit counselor, and you should. Grill that credit counselor to the bone with this one. Why? Why does it matter that the credit counselor’s a 501(c)(3)? Here’s why.
  • Are You Accredited? — Almost seems like a no-brainer of a question, but would you like to know exactly what kind of accreditation you should be hearing from a credit counselor? Read about it right here.
  • Are You Professionally Trained? — Remember this important fact: you are interviewing the credit counselor. So you’ll make that professional sweat. Ask them the tough questions. Knowing the ins and outs of credit repair and restoration is one thing — being completely certified is a whole ‘nother ballgame entirely.
  • Do You Have Any References? — Honestly, a true credit counselor would, and should, lick his or her own lips at this question, frothing at the mouth at the opportunity to show off the praise and positive reviews from prior clients. So go ahead and ask. Specifically, there’s one other big reason why a credit counselor would love to offer up references….
  • Can You Guarantee Success? — AHA! Another ‘trick’ question here. The fact is no credit counselor in the galaxy — nay, the universe — can guarantee anything. Here’s why.
  • And, of Course, How Much Do You COST? — Shop around and you’ll find the fees jumping left and right. Obviously, go with the most beneficial solution for the consumer to a certain extent, and you’ll learn why right here.

Just Remember, Though: They’re Not Doing the Credit Repair Work For You….

Rather, they’re pointing you in the direction of what you need to do and maybe even assisting in the legal process. There’s value in that, something not only we at ICS do, but other reputable agencies and organizations like ITPN would do on a regular basis, so it does exist.

You just need to make sure you’re actually talking to a real deal, and not a real poser in the business. You accomplish that, of course, by asking these questions. Because, after all, this is your credit report we’re talking about! And your credit score is the difference between getting that job, or landing the home mortgage, or securing an auto loan.

Make sure you’re talking with a real professional.

The post 8 Real Questions to Ask Your Prospective Credit Counselor appeared first on Independent Credit Solutions.

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18 Truly Awesome Inquiries to Ask Your Prospective Financial Advisor

Posted by wpadmin | Posted in Financial Advisement | Posted on 29-04-2015

Tagged Under : , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I’m sure you might have seen that rather familiar commercial about the DJ posing as a financial advisor, correct? Amusing. Cute. Eye opening.

Here’s the thing, though: it’s all too realistic. I wouldn’t deny that those people across from the fake financial advisor may have been completely duped and not “actors” in the grand commercial scheme of things, because in all honesty, how do we really know that a financial advisor knows what he or she is doing professionally?

How can we actually trust the prospective financial advisor for anything from tax planning to business formation? Knowing that you could be talking to an emo, tattooed disc jockey? Well, the answer is simple:

You Ask the Prospective Financial Advisor the Correct Questions

You’re interviewing the candidate, basically. I won’t sugar-coat it. That financial advisor has a lot to prove to you. It’s your money, after all. You’re the one hiring the so-called professional. So it would make sense that you grill that candidate to the bone until there’s no meat left. You want the very best on your plate, ensuring your finances are as strong as possible, so consider these basic questions very carefully:

  1. Did You Like Your Coach or Mentor? — Think about it. How the financial advisor developed largely depends on whether or not the financial advisor enjoyed the field hours with the trainer back as an apprentice.
  2. Do You Continually Seek Additional Training? — No financial advisor knows everything every day. New trends develop, so you’ll want a professional who’s constantly researching in the know.
  3. How Many Clients Have You Served? — This is key, because you certainly don’t want a financial advisor who’ll just sell you and run. A good financial advisor will work with you for the long haul.
  4. How Long Do You Work With Your Clients? — Length of time can say a lot about a financial advisor. Just ask a marriage counselor on how that’s relevant.
  5. tap dancer financial advisor(For Referrals) Why Is Your Financial Advisor so Good? — This is a special case where you must ask the question to your best friend, aunt, uncle, mom, dad, spouse or anyone who’s referred you. More importantly, this opens the door to a wealth of other questions you can ask your referral about a particular financial advisor in question.
  6. Any Clients Complain About Your Work? — Don’t be shy to ask this. You have every right to.
  7. Do You Use Your Products as Well? — Well, duh. After all, if the financial advisor is trying to sell you on a product, that advisor hopefully would be using the product, too.
  8. Do You Work With Other Colleagues, Too? — Why would this be relevant? Easy. As in what if the financial advisor gets hit by a car and dies? Pretty drastic, right?
  9. How Much Do You Charge? — The million dollar question of the ages. And a must-ask; here’s why.
  10. Are You Also a Fiduciary? — What’s a ‘fiduciary’ anyway?
  11. Why Do You Do What You Do? — You have to love probing questions like this, because it can yet again reveal so much just from the answer alone. Essentially, you’re trying to figure out what kind of financial planner you’re dealing with here.
  12. How Long Have You Been in Business? — There’s a sly trick to this question, and it’s regarding the Great Recession around 2008. Tricky, right?
  13. How’s Your Portfolio? — If it’s spotty, move on. If the financial advisor’s looking good, continue.
  14. Do You Have Certifications? — Think about it. Experience is one thing. Qualification is a whole ‘nother ballgame. Ask yourself which one you’d choose between the two: the one who’s experienced and qualified, or just experienced?
  15. Do You Understand What I’m Saying? — You’re a smart little cookie, aren’t you? This clever question just determines if the prospective financial advisor’s actually paying any attention to you, or just waiting for his/her turn to sell you more product. Go with the former.
  16. Do You Do Investments? — You’d be surprised to know that not all financial advisors are qualified to do so. So ask.
  17. Have You Lost Clients? — Sure, the financial planner just might lie to you. It still won’t hurt to ask (because you may have ways of finding out the truth).
  18. Would You Like to Meet My “Friend”? — Alias, lawyer. Attorney. Counsel. Legal representative. Yes, it’s okay to bring a “friend” along with you on your consultation with the financial advisor.

Wipe your brow of the sweat and take stock of what’s listed here. This is your ammunition. Load it all up.

Of Course, Why Would You Trust What I Have to Say About This?

I may be an expert in all this, proficient in the copywriting. But can you truly trust me? Maybe not. After all, I’m actually a tap dancer. Fooled you.

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Life just happens, good or bad, for many families out there in the United States. There’s no denying it. Single mothers, even single fathers: low-income families have a burden on their shoulders where basic bookkeeping becomes a stress of mammoth proportions due to the fact that there’s never enough income generated to pay necessary bills just to make it day by day.

So what has to be in place? Simply put, government aid. It’s almost a necessity for low-income families. But whether you think it’s a crutch or not, and whether many simply seem to take advantage of the benefits offered by the government, one thing is clear — even the families that do work hard seem to only make it by the skin of their teeth, having to pull from their next paychecks to pay back someone who lent money, or robbing “Peter” to pay numerous “Pauls,” because the fact is this — government aid can only do so much in comparison to personal finances (and, yet, there’s so much going into those funds that it may shock you).

Here Are Five Facts That Just Might Blow You Away With Respect to Government Aid and Low-Income Familieslow-income families

What Do These Facts Mean to You? That They Prove Benefits Don’t Benefit?

On the contrary…. They certainly make their mark. If it wasn’t for these programs, you’d have single parents on minimum wage or low-income families stuck in homeless shelters without any way to make the rent payment. That’s just a matter of fact….

But when you’ve got a certain fast-food chain making anywhere around $4.8BB in annual profits, it begs the question about employment — why not pay your workers what they earn with all the hours they put in, or want to put in, so they can get off of government aid and not have to pick and choose on their expenses?

Your average low-income worker will have just over $6K in annual income and about $11K in benefits for food, rent and child care. How’s that for a perspective on low-income families?

ITPN recognizes there’s a problem with the current system we have in place. So let’s fix it. Now.

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Follow Us!

Life just happens, good or bad, for many families out there in the United States. There’s no denying it. Single mothers, even single fathers: low-income families have a burden on their shoulders where basic bookkeeping becomes a stress of mammoth proportions due to the fact that there’s never enough income generated to pay necessary bills just to make it day by day.

So what has to be in place? Simply put, government aid. It’s almost a necessity. But whether you think it’s a crutch or not, and whether many simply seem to take advantage of the benefits offered by the government, one thing is clear — even the families that do work hard seem to only make it by the skin of their teeth, having to pull from their next paychecks to pay back someone who lent money, or robbing “Peter” to pay numerous “Pauls,” because the fact is this — government aid can only do so much in comparison to personal finances (and, yet, there’s so much going into those funds that it may shock you).

Here Are Five Facts That Just Might Blow You Away With Respect to Government Aid and Low-Income Familieslow-income families

  • Minimum Wage Jobs Don’t Often Guarantee Raises or Even Consistent Workweeks — Take it from many particular employees, most of them part-time, for certain fast-food chains. When the paychecks aren’t the same every other week, that makes budgeting all the more difficult for low-income families. Find out what those figures are right here.
  • Food Stamps, While Extensive, Can Fluctuate and Also Promote Bad Health — Think about it for a moment. There’s a lot of money already going into the fund, but the big problem is just what you can exactly buy with your food stamps. This is typically how it would work for a single mother with a low wage of $7.50/hour.
  • Yes, Low-Income Families Do Put Their Share Into Child Care Benefits — As much as they can possibly put into it, at least…. Given the kind of income they’re literally forced to bring in. Want to know just what they could be responsible for each week?
  • Additionally, Low-Income Families Do Put Their Share Into Rent and Housing Costs — Granted, there are no handouts. But the numbers might actually shock you when you put it into perspective like this.
  • Medicaid Will Only Provide for “so Much” to the Point That You’ll Just Want to Get By — It’s basic health insurance. But it’ll only cover certain procedures, prescriptions and other costs, plus there’s still some out-of-pocket concerns at such a low minimum wage that make Medicaid a bit laughable (not due to the government’s lack of assistance, though, and you’ll see why right here).

What Do These Facts Mean to You? That They Prove Benefits Don’t Benefit?

On the contrary…. They certainly make their mark. If it wasn’t for these programs, you’d have single parents on minimum wage or low-income families stuck in homeless shelters without any way to make the rent payment. That’s just a matter of fact….

But when you’ve got a certain fast-food chain making anywhere around $4.8BB in annual profits, it begs the question about employment — why not pay your workers what they earn with all the hours they put in, or want to put in, so they can get off of government aid and not have to pick and choose on their expenses?

Your average low-income worker will have just over $6K in annual income and about $11K in benefits for food, rent and child care. How’s that for a perspective?

ITPN recognizes there’s a problem with the current system we have in place. So let’s fix it. Now.

redditpinterestlinkedintumblrmail

Share

Facebooktwittergoogle_pluslinkedin

Follow Us!

Life just happens, good or bad, for many families out there in the United States. There’s no denying it. Single mothers, even single fathers: low-income families have a burden on their shoulders where basic bookkeeping becomes a stress of mammoth proportions due to the fact that there’s never enough income generated to pay necessary bills just to make it day by day.

So what has to be in place? Simply put, government aid. It’s almost a necessity. But whether you think it’s a crutch or not, and whether many simply seem to take advantage of the benefits offered by the government, one thing is clear — even the families that do work hard seem to only make it by the skin of their teeth, having to pull from their next paychecks to pay back someone who lent money, or robbing “Peter” to pay numerous “Pauls,” because the fact is this — government aid can only do so much in comparison to personal finances (and, yet, there’s so much going into those funds that it may shock you).

Here Are Five Facts That Just Might Blow You Away With Respect to Government Aid and Low-Income Familieslow-income families

  • Minimum Wage Jobs Don’t Often Guarantee Raises or Even Consistent Workweeks — Take it from many particular employees, most of them part-time, for certain fast-food chains. When the paychecks aren’t the same every other week, that makes budgeting all the more difficult for low-income families. Find out what those figures are right here.
  • Food Stamps, While Extensive, Can Fluctuate and Also Promote Bad Health — Think about it for a moment. There’s a lot of money already going into the fund, but the big problem is just what you can exactly buy with your food stamps. This is typically how it would work for a single mother with a low wage of $7.50/hour.
  • Yes, Low-Income Families Do Put Their Share Into Child Care Benefits — As much as they can possibly put into it, at least…. Given the kind of income they’re literally forced to bring in. Want to know just what they could be responsible for each week?
  • Additionally, Low-Income Families Do Put Their Share Into Rent and Housing Costs — Granted, there are no handouts. But the numbers might actually shock you when you put it into perspective like this.
  • Medicaid Will Only Provide for “so Much” to the Point That You’ll Just Want to Get By — It’s basic health insurance. But it’ll only cover certain procedures, prescriptions and other costs, plus there’s still some out-of-pocket concerns at such a low minimum wage that make Medicaid a bit laughable (not due to the government’s lack of assistance, though, and you’ll see why right here).

What Do These Facts Mean to You? That They Prove Benefits Don’t Benefit?

On the contrary…. They certainly make their mark. If it wasn’t for these programs, you’d have single parents on minimum wage or low-income families stuck in homeless shelters without any way to make the rent payment. That’s just a matter of fact….

But when you’ve got a certain fast-food chain making anywhere around $4.8BB in annual profits, it begs the question about employment — why not pay your workers what they earn with all the hours they put in, or want to put in, so they can get off of government aid and not have to pick and choose on their expenses?

Your average low-income worker will have just over $6K in annual income and about $11K in benefits for food, rent and child care. How’s that for a perspective on low-income families?

ITPN recognizes there’s a problem with the current system we have in place. So let’s fix it. Now.

redditpinterestlinkedintumblrmail

Share

Facebooktwittergoogle_pluslinkedin

Follow Us!

Life just happens, good or bad, for many families out there in the United States. There’s no denying it. Single mothers, even single fathers: low-income families have a burden on their shoulders where basic bookkeeping becomes a stress of mammoth proportions due to the fact that there’s never enough income generated to pay necessary bills just to make it day by day.

So what has to be in place? Simply put, government aid. It’s almost a necessity for low-income families. But whether you think it’s a crutch or not, and whether many simply seem to take advantage of the benefits offered by the government, one thing is clear — even the families that do work hard seem to only make it by the skin of their teeth, having to pull from their next paychecks to pay back someone who lent money, or robbing “Peter” to pay numerous “Pauls,” because the fact is this — government aid can only do so much in comparison to personal finances (and, yet, there’s so much going into those funds that it may shock you).

Here Are Five Facts That Just Might Blow You Away With Respect to Government Aid and Low-Income Familieslow-income families

  • Minimum Wage Jobs Don’t Often Guarantee Raises or Even Consistent Workweeks — Take it from many particular employees, most of them part-time, for certain fast-food chains. When the paychecks aren’t the same every other week, that makes budgeting all the more difficult for low-income families. Find out what those figures are right here.
  • Food Stamps, While Extensive, Can Fluctuate and Also Promote Bad Health — Think about it for a moment. There’s a lot of money already going into the fund, but the big problem is just what you can exactly buy with your food stamps. This is typically how it would work for a single mother with a low wage of $7.50/hour.
  • Yes, Low-Income Families Do Put Their Share Into Child Care Benefits — As much as they can possibly put into it, at least…. Given the kind of income they’re literally forced to bring in. Want to know just what they could be responsible for each week?
  • Additionally, Low-Income Families Do Put Their Share Into Rent and Housing Costs — Granted, there are no handouts. But the numbers might actually shock you when you put it into perspective like this.
  • Medicaid Will Only Provide for “so Much” to the Point That You’ll Just Want to Get By — It’s basic health insurance. But it’ll only cover certain procedures, prescriptions and other costs, plus there’s still some out-of-pocket concerns at such a low minimum wage that make Medicaid a bit laughable (not due to the government’s lack of assistance, though, and you’ll see why right here).

What Do These Facts Mean to You? That They Prove Benefits Don’t Benefit?

On the contrary…. They certainly make their mark. If it wasn’t for these programs, you’d have single parents on minimum wage or low-income families stuck in homeless shelters without any way to make the rent payment. That’s just a matter of fact….

But when you’ve got a certain fast-food chain making anywhere around $4.8BB in annual profits, it begs the question about employment — why not pay your workers what they earn with all the hours they put in, or want to put in, so they can get off of government aid and not have to pick and choose on their expenses?

Your average low-income worker will have just over $6K in annual income and about $11K in benefits for food, rent and child care. How’s that for a perspective on low-income families?

ITPN recognizes there’s a problem with the current system we have in place. So let’s fix it. Now.

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You’re probably wondering how you could possibly make money just from receiving our benefits. Easy. As a member of ITPN, we’ll put it in perspective for you: if you refer just one friend or family member to us each month, this is what you get, right in your pocket: $40 for each referral.income tax family

That’s $480 each year. In your pocket. Get the picture? Makes the Income Tax Planning Network’s $25/month membership seem like pennies when you think about it. And that’s just when you refer only one person a month to us. Want to do the math if you refer five people to us? Or ten people?

How can you not take advantage of this unique benefit?

Thank You for Helping Us Grow Our Family. Your Family.

Thank you for being a part of this family. Please do call our office at 888-203-3030 to set up your free marketing training, starting you off on generating revenue with us right away.

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