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It was like a message from beyond the grave. One man’s actions left his family protected from the financial aftershocks of his sudden demise.

Most of Vinit Sharma’s* friends remember the printing press owner in Mumbai as a quiet, unassuming person who spoke only when necessary. Even in his close circle of friends, Vinit was always the quietest but he had the loudest laugh. The only time he became gregarious was when he would spend time with his two children, Asha* and Vinay*.

But despite his studied silences, he was always helping others whenever he could. If the building kids needed help hauling tubs of water downstairs for Holi, Vinit would be the first to help them. His wife would often see him writing cheques to the local orphanage – without saying a word even to her. If a neighbour needed to reach the airport at midnight, he would often volunteer to drive them.

But his family was unaware of one miracle Vinit had already worked out years before he passed away last year after succumbing to a heart attack. He was just 49 years old with no history of heart trouble. His devastated wife, Shyamala* says, “He suffered a heart attack at home just before leaving for work. By evening, the doctors told me that he could not be saved. The attack had been a severe one. I remember sitting alone in the corridor outside, wondering about my future and the future of my two children.”

A few days later, a long forgotten memory suddenly presented itself to her. “I remembered that some years ago, Vinit had told me to look in his safe in the wardrobe for his insurance papers. ‘In case anything happens to me…call the company and claim the insurance money’ he had told her at the time. “I had heard him out but dismissed it. Nobody in their wildest dreams expects their partner to leave them in their 40s. But I remembered what he had said and checked his safe. Sure enough, I found the insurance papers,” Shyamala recalls.

It turned out that Vinit had taken a health insurance plan that covered the entire family. “The plan was to mature in five more years. He had never missed a premium payment. When I saw the sum assured amount, I gasped in surprise,” she smiles. After contacting the insurance company, she set the health insurance plans claim process in motion. “All the paperwork was in order, and the process of claiming the money was very simple. I got the sum assured in under a month,” she says.

She remembers feeling like “a cloud had lifted” despite losing her beloved husband. “The money would help in my children’s education for a few years. There was enough left over for monthly expenses as well. It felt like it was his last gift to his family from beyond the grave,” she says with tears in her eyes. “We all miss him terribly, not a single day passes when I do not think of him. But even after his death, he looked after our needs. That one step he took –of taking a health insurance policy – ensured that my children and I would not need to depend on anyone else for our sustenance.”

Today, she runs her husband’s business which is doing quite well. Her daughter will enter college life soon, and his son says he plans to become a pilot. The family’s dreams are on course – just like Vinit wanted.

*Characters in the write-up are merely illustrative

If you are worrying about the huge debt you have incurred, its time you take some professional help. There are many debt counselors who listen to your problem, enquire about your lifestyle, and come to a conclusion about your financial status.It is then that theyadvice you to take necessary steps to counter your debt. In this article, we are going to discuss how debt consolidation loans and their types.

Why do people become indebted?

In this era of consumerism, everyone is exposed to the tricks of marketing strategies. It does not matter whether you are a business owner or a service holder. Our needs and expectations have compelled us to live a life based on credit. You have everything you want, but you also have to pay a monthly amount to the credit providers.

Mentioned below are some of the things that generally push people into a credit mongering spot.

• Clothes
• Monthly groceries
• Cell phone bills
• Car expenses
• Petrol or diesel
• Household tools
• Furniture

Over-indebtedness is quite a common occurrence in the US society. There are numerous people like you who reach a position when they cannot pay off their debts anymore.

What do you understand by debt consolidation?

The procedure of simplifying repayment of debt and saving you money is called debt consolidation. It involves taking a new loan at a lower interest rate for paying off smaller debts.

When can you opt for debt consolidation loan?

As a layman, you might not consider debt consolidation to be a useful way to pay off other loans. However, given the situation that you are being repeatedly being harassed by numerous creditors, you can opt for credit consolidation. It is the most effective and the finest solution under such circumstances.

Payment notifications convert into harassment when credit providers hire external agents to recover your debts. If you thing that your debt has reached out of your grasp and people are harassing you unnecessarily, you can opt for debt review. The debt counselor will enquire into your expenses.If he or she realizes that you are overburdened with debt and are being harassed unnecessarily, he or she will suggest you to consolidate your debts.

What are the different types of debt consolidation loans?

# Personal Loans

This is the most common loan suggested by debt consolidators to those who do not own a home. The rate of interest on this type of loan depends on credit score. It is a useful way to displace your existing debt; provided the debt counselor plans its utilization properly.

# Home Loans

If you have a home, you can opt for a home loan because it comes with low rate of interest.

# Secured Loans

If you are encountering bad credit, the counselor can also suggest you to get secured loan because of its reduced interest rates. The loan type gets its name from the practice of attaching a security to the loan amount. You have to attach an asset as security for being eligible for this loan. The asset lowers the interest rate on the loan. The financial institution also finds itself in a secured position in case you cannot repay this debt. The mortgaged asset should be high value things like, your house, car, plot of land in your name, etc. Your motive should be to return the loan amount to the financial institution. Otherwise, your assets will be repossessed.

With a huge debt and multiple creditors you cannot lead a stress-free life. But, if you consolidate the debt, you can pay off all creditors. Debt consolidation is very effective as you don’t have to worry about the creditors and the process is quite fast.

You may be at a stage of commencement of your graduation degree, but possessing a huge burden of student loan in your head. With unemployment rates increasing day by day, students’ loan are getting tough for repayment. Now, here are few methods through which students can get out of the debt burden situation.

Student Mindset: A recent study shows that, individuals between the age of 18 and 34 are very careless about their spending habits. They admit on their own that they are unnecessary spending on items that are really not required by them. As college students mostly stay on a limited budget, after their graduation, they can easily maintain the same lifestyle by controlling themselves properly. They can manage their working lifestyles by staying with roommates by sharing apartments, old cars can be kept for longer period of time, and expenditure can be controlled on eating out or shopping. If you get into an expensive lifestyle just after you finish your graduation, it will be very difficult to manage your spending habits.

Retirement Accounts: Make sure that you are contributing sufficient amount in your retirement accounts when you have started a new job. Roth IRA can be a good choice for you to save your money for retirement as well as not get debt burdened. The sum of money which is being accumulated in your retirement account can be withdrawn at any point of time, in case of emergency. These amounts always remain penalty or tax free if you withdraw them at any point of time.

Create and Stay within Budget: Creating a budget helps you to maintain your lifestyle just within your means. You must include savings for meeting your short term goals like purchasing a home or spending a vacation. According to debt review, you must not forget your long term goals like retirement. You can track your expenses through offline records or by online tracking sites or mobile apps.

Take Care of Your Credit: You must keep a thorough watch with your credits. You should make sure that you are repaying your loan within the scheduled time. If you want a good credit score, try to close your credit cards which are not very necessary. This will surely decrease your credit history and will improve your score.

Prioritize Higher Interest Rates: Try to keep a priority list of repaying your interests and higher interests must be paid at first. When an individual joins a job, he might be possessing student loans at first but gradually his loans may increase. Now, you must know how to prioritize the repayments by paying off your loans one by one starting with higher interest ones.

Loan Repayment Options: Students can repay loans with various options either directly to the Federal Government or through some guarantors. Loans can also be decreased with some income based repayment. With some extended repayment plans, you can extend your repayment for a period of about 25 years but in this case you must have an outstanding amount of $30k or more. This plan holds suitable for situations where your income is unstable or low.

Never Default: Try not to default your repayments in whatever case it may be. If you miss any single repayment, it can hurt your credit very badly. The Government can easily confiscate your tax refunds, if you default any repayment.

Learn properly the ways to protect your tax refunds by defending yourself from lawsuits. If students can adopt skills for managing their money properly, they will surely come out of their debt burden very easily. They must learn to control their financial situation by their own so that they do not face tough times in future.

Buying a property can serve many purposes and the most lucrative option is the investment point of view. If you have the right property at the right location, you might find your money double and triple in a couple of years without having to put in anything extra. What it depends on mainly is the location of your property. If you buy a house in one of the most developed areas of the country, the rate is very high and very few of us can actually afford it. In the under-developed areas, the rates are very less and yet there is no prospect of the principle amount multiplying from time to time.

Get a developing area and invest in the properties there. This gives you the advantage that the prices are considerably lesser and the fruitfulness of the investment is quite high. The outskirts of the cities like Mumbai and Pune are hosting a lot of properties which is ready to be taken. In MCHI Exhibition 2015 such properties are showcased as you might have seen. Opt for one of these and see how rapid the growth is.

A Property Trade Fair in Mumbai

Mumbai poses quite a lot of investment opportunities in terms of properties for people. While the main city hosts properties which are expensive, the outskirts and areas like Navi Mumbai offer growth like never before. A property expo in Mumbai is the thing you should visit if you are willing to make a profitable investment. Here ae showcased some of the best properties in all that area and from the house of some of the best builders which makes this opportunity very lucrative for buyers.

This real estate trade show which is called MCHI is housed by CREDAI which gives it permission to go ahead and celebrate the silver jubilee. This ensures that you will be exposed to only the best that this industry has seen. This in turn means that you have full opportunity to interact with all the influential decision makers and the real estate lords who will guide you towards your dream destination. In various property trade shows which are hosted by the private parties we find some new faces in this business who are not really trustworthy. Being accredited by the CREDAI has made the MCHI one of the most fool-proof exhibitions.

In conclusion

Make a list of whatever you are in doubt of before you go to this exhibition. Understand wherever you are having difficulty in and in such a massive exhibition there would be many people rushing to your help. Don’t forget to take the prospective buyer’s opinion as well, since you can have a better understanding of projects with their help.

Making a commitment to improve your financial situation involves increasing financial awareness, proper planning and controlling debt. Credit card debt can be a stressful situation to deal with and paying down your debts as soon as you can is a critical financial goal.

Financial Planning

If you need to get back on track with your bills and reducing debt, you need to have a plan. Credit card bills need to be paid off every month, preferably in full. You have to establish how the balances will be paid down and fully paid off eventually.

Being strategic will help to preserve your credit and prevent the impact of high balances. Proper planning will enable you to deal with financial emergencies because you will be able to cover any unexpected costs that may arise.

Lifestyle Changes

Saving is another essential financial goal because it enables you to set aside funds and afford purchases without landing in debt. Debt is a habit that is relatively easy to form and there are various lifestyle adjustments that you can make to avoid it. Such changes will make it easier for you to stick to your budget and fulfill your financial responsibilities each month.

Income and Expenses

If your expenses exceed your income, you need to figure out how you can earn an extra income to accommodate your lifestyle. If increasing your income is a challenge, it is advisable to cut down on your spending until you do. The only viable ways to ensure that you do not spend more than your earnings is by getting a higher income or reducing your spending. For more about debt review, visit here.

Positive Attitude

In order for you to be able to handle your money more efficiently, you need to develop a positive attitude. With the right attitude, you will be able to make better financial decisions. Spare some time on a regular basis to evaluate your budget and find out which areas need improvement.

Regardless of how small a debt may be, paying it off is an accomplishment and takes you a step further towards financial relief. One of the best ways to celebrate such accomplishments is by setting up a savings account where you can direct any extra money that you have. As your personal finances improve, you can look forward to being debt free and having access to more money.

Financial Emergencies

An emergency fund will enable you to be self reliant as opposed to depending on credit cards whenever an unexpected financial situation arises. Save a percentage of your earnings and create your own emergency fund. Several households continue to deal with debt as they take on more loans and credit card debt to cover their costs.

Situations such as lack of income and medical bills can cause people to go into debt. If you are in debt, there are various options worth considering. You can find your way back to financial control when you plan, work hard and remain persistent. When your finances are back in order, make an effort to keep them stable and avoid debt.