All great achievements require time.
                                        -Maya Angelou

Before you can achieve anything, you have to find some sort of motivation.  And debt settlement is no different.  Debt settlement takes a lot of hard work and self discipline, and without some strong motivation to get your debts under control the temptation to return to your old ways will often prevail.

You have to have a bigger aim that drives you to keep making the necessary sacrifices to be successful.

                      Be Proactive

Your life doesn’t just “happen.”  Whether you know it or not, it is carefully designed by you.  The choices, after all, are yours.  You choose happiness.  You choose sadness.  You choose decisiveness.  You choose ambivalence.  You choose success.  You choose failure. You choose courage. You choose fear.  Just remember that every moment, every situation, provides a new choice.  And in doing so, it gives you a perfect opportunity to do things differently to produce more positive results.

                                                                                                                 -Stephen Covey

                                                               The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

1. Switch to Store Brands

Name brand products are good, but store brand products are often just as good (if not identical). Make the switch to the bargain labels, and you’ll shave 25-50 percent off of your weekly grocery bill.  With more and more grocery chains launching their own line of organics and other premium products, there’s never been an easier time to switch.

2. Shop with a List

Ever gone to the store for a few items and come out with a whole cartload?  Who hasn’t?  To keep impulse shopping from taking hold of your budget, make a habit of shopping with a list.  Jot down everything you need, and then only shop for those items.

Still tempted to add an extra item to your cart?  Go home and think about it first.  If you still want the item you can always add it to your next shopping list.

3. Carry Snacks

Eating out always costs more than eating at home – whether it’s a quick snack from a convenience store, a vending machine or a fast food restaurant.  Avoid this cost entirely by keeping snacks on hand at all times.  Toss a granola bar and a bottle of water in your purse before running errands; stash some goodies in your desk drawer at work–just be ready for that hunger attack wherever and whenever it decides to strike.

4. Use It Up

Whether it’s food in your pantry, hobby supplies or beauty care products, you probably have lots of unused or partly used items around your house.  Before you run to the store to buy your next “must-have,” look around and see if you can find something at home to fill your need.  This simple exercise will not only help you to spend less, but also to clear out some of the clutter in your home.

5. Shop to Save

Challenge yourself to save more every time you shop.  If you normally buy something at regular price, challenge yourself to find it on sale.  If you normally buy something on sale, challenge yourself to find it on clearance.  When you’re always on the lookout for a bargain, there’s no end to the money that you can save; and soon it becomes a game that you look forward to playing.

If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.               -Tony Robbins

Need- something you have to have
Want -something you would like to have

The difference between a need and a want is pretty simple — until you set yourself loose in a store. Double chocolate chip ice cream?  It’s a food, so mark it as a need.  That designer t-shirt that fits you perfectly?  Well, you need more shirts, so why shouldn’t it count too?

Tally up the damage caused by a few justifications like these, and suddenly you’ve spent far more than you intended.

What’s the solution?

A better understanding of what a need really is.

Needs

In actuality, you only need four things to survive:

• A roof over your head
• Enough food and water to maintain your health
• Basic health care and hygiene products
• Clothing (just what you need to remain comfortable and appropriately dressed)

Everything that goes beyond this – a big house, name-brand clothes, fancy foods and drinks, a new car – is a want.

Does that mean that you should only buy the things that you need?  Not at all.  Life is meant to be lived, not survived. Treat yourself to some wants along the way, but do so when you can afford to, and enjoy those wants as the extras that they are.

It’s one thing to hear how American families are struggling with their debt. Unfortunately, it takes on a whole new meaning when those struggles make their way into our own home.

Often times, we become so overwhelmed that the questions far outweigh the answers. “How did this happen?” or “Where do I begin?”

The biggest step in gaining control of your finances is being educated and knowing your options.

“If you want to reach a goal, you must “see the reaching” in your own mind before you actually arrive at your goal. ”
                                                                                             -Zig Ziglar

Debt settlement is the process in which debtor and creditor agree on a reduced amount to be regarded as payment in full. A debt settlement program is limited to a consumer’s unsecured debt such as credit cards. A debt settlement program may be facilitated by an individual consumer with the correct knowledge and resources or a third party company.

“You load 16 tons, and what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt.
St. Peter don’t you call me ’cause I can’t go.
I owe my soul to the company store.”
                                               -Merle Travis