credit: Now I Can Say What I Really Think

After thirty years in credit and collection, I retired late last year and now I have the opportunity to say to other credit professionals the things that I could not say before. For example, I believe that the key to success is surrounding yourself with the best people you can find. You might be saying to yourself: That is hardly a revelation. You would be right, but the corollaries to this piece of advice include:

  • Terminate anyone who is not a team player, who is not enthusiastic, who is not doing the job or who will not do the job the way you want it done.
  • If keeping your best employee means promoting them over someone else with more time on the job, then do it. There will be consequences – but this the price you are going to have to pay if you are going to be a leader instead of a manager.
  • Never lower your standards simply to fill a position. Keep the job open until the right candidate presents himself or herself and ignore pressure from your employer to settle for someone that does not meet your minimum qualifications.

Another tip is to make sure there are individual goals as well as department-wide targets. In my experience, most employers are big on individual goals, but tend to assign the departmental goals only to the credit manager. You can be more successful by establishing both individual and team goals. These team goals should mirror the goals assigned to you. Expect resistance to the idea of team goals. It is likely that one or more of your subordinates is going to tell you they cannot control what happens in the department and that it is unfair for them to be evaluated based on how other employees perform. I suggest you tell them that this process is just as fair or unfair to them as it is to you, and that the only way that you can guarantee teamwork is to establish team goals.

If you want something done right, delegate it to the person with the right attitude – and not necessarily to the employee with the best credentials. Assign work to individuals interested in making a positive impression on you and on senior management. It might sound manipulative, but it is not. The person given the assignment has the opportunity to receive the recognition they want. An additional benefit involves the fact that you will be delegating the task to someone who is enthusiastic rather than someone who is resentful.

Stay positive, even if it requires that you avoid a co-worker who is not. Everywhere I have worked, there was always at least one person who did not want to be there. These people always seem to have something negative to say about the company and its plans – or about a coworker or management. These people seem to energy from the people around them, and the only way to avoid the energy drain is to avoid these people. You also risk being labeled a malcontent if you hang around with a malcontent.

In hindsight, I realize I made a number of mistakes along the way that hindered my advancement. For example, I did understand that there is no such thing as an optional company holiday party, picnic or similar event. Not only should credit professionals plan to attend; they should not leave early because their absence being noticed and noted by subordinates and superiors.

Existence Industrial Fabrics Company in America

The importance of woven fabric increased constantly. Starting from the traditional use primarily in applications clothing, woven fabric today is a key ingredient for the structural, electronic, telecommunications, medical, aerospace and other fields of technical application.

One of the producers who are active in woven fabric industry in America today is Stern & Stern, Inc.. Beginning in 1889, and currently has cooperated with Dupont de Nemours & Company. Cooperative effort has produced a novel design and finishing techniques weave that allows for replacing silk nylon and neoprene allowed to replace natural rubber in almost every industrial application.

Some flagship product is produced. Little attention was paid to quality has been demonstrated by konsumen2 them, that’s right, no one has been entrusted to them. Some of these products include Nomex, Nylon, and Teflon fabric. Another plus is very worthy of respect is that they always have 100% on-time. In its development to date the Company has been able to produce and sell woven fabrics industry worldwide.

Lower Your Debt With Credit Card Debt Settlement

Credit card debt settlement involves satisfying your credit card debt by paying less than you really owe. Credit card debt settlement ranks low on the list of desirable debt solutions, but it’s one that some people must use to pay off debt and avoid bankruptcy.

How Credit Card Debt Settlement Works

There are two methods of credit card debt settlement: through a credit card debt settlement company or on your own. Credit card debt settlement companies should be avoided. They collect your payments for months before making a settlement offer – if they make an offer at all. Meanwhile, you continue receiving collection calls and negative payment marks on your credit report. You’ll get better and faster results settling debts on your own.

Credit Card Debt Settlement Payment Amount

Before you can settle your credit card debt, you have to decide how much you can pay. Credit card debt settlement can typically be done for 10% to 60% of the outstanding balance, depending on the creditor and age of the debt. The more delinquent your account, the lower the amount creditors are willing to accept to satisfy the debt.

Lump-Sum vs. Multiple Payments

You pay in one of two ways – multiple payments over time or a single lump-sum payment. Creditors prefer a lump sum or few payments (like 2-3) and are less likely to agree to a settlement that has to be repaid over several months. Figure out how much of the debt you can pay immediately and offer that. Once you’re negotiating with your creditor, offer an amount lower than what you’re actually willing to pay. That way, you have some wiggle room if your creditor wants to negotiate up.

Negotiating a Credit Card Debt Settlement

Once you have a credit card debt settlement offer, call your credit card company and to talk to a manager, someone in a loss mitigation, or similar department. The customer service representatives you first speak with are usually not authorized to take credit card debt settlement offers and you will always be told “no” when they couldn’t say “yes” if they wanted.

During the call, make sure you write down the name, phone number, and extension of the person you talk to. Also record the date and time of the call and the outcome. Don’t give up with a single phone call. You may get different and often conflicting answers from different people at the same creditor and sometimes even the same person on different days.

Credit Card Debt Settlement Watchouts

Your credit card company might close your credit card after settling your debt. That’s if your credit card hasn’t already been closed. You could also have your credit limit reduced or eliminated all together once the creditor realizes you don’t plan to pay the balance in full.

Credit card debt settlement typically requires you to be a few months behind on your credit card payments. At that point in time, your credit score will take a severe hit. The effect will be worse if you’re late on more than one credit card.

The federal government requires you to pay taxes on cancelled debt, including debt that’s been cancelled through credit card debt settlement. The bottom line, you owe the federal government more money which means you’ll get a smaller refund check or owe more money to the IRS.

Finalizing Your Settlement Offer

Final credit card debt settlement agreements should be in writing. Either draft an agreement of your own or have your credit card company send you an agreement. Make sure you and someone from your credit card company have both signed the agreement before you send payment.

Manage Credit Card Debt

Carrying balances on credit accounts is a notoriously unwise credit usage decision, but it’s a trap into which many young money-users fall. If you have accrued a pile of credit card debt, it is vital that you turn your financial ways around and properly manage this debt to ensure that it is paid off as quickly as possible. By managing this debt intelligently, you can overcome it and venture into your financial future a reformed credit card user who is free from your previously overwhelming credit card debt.

  • Pay more than the minimum each month. If you pay only the minimum, paying off your credit card debt will be a lengthy process. Bankrate.com illustrates this by explaining that a $2,000 purchase will end up taking you 30 years to pay off if you only make the minimum payments on an 18-percent interest rate account.
  • Steer clear of your credit limits. If you haven’t already maxed out your accounts, don’t. The closer your balance is to your credit limit, the worse the impact on your credit score. Balances that nestle up to the credit limit are seen as a sign of over-extension.
  • Check your credit account statements several times a month. If you are still using your credit accounts, keep on top of your purchases by using your credit company’s online system to check on the account. This will help you keep track of how much you have spent and act as a reminder not to amass even more debt.
  • Keep a balance sheet if you find yourself frequently overcharging on your credit cards. Use an empty check register or a similar financial documentation sheet to keep a tally sheet of your credit card purchases. At the beginning of the month, write the amount that you can afford to charge and pay off that month at the top of the sheet, as if it were your account balance. As you make charges on the card, deduct these amounts from this available amount. When it gets to zero, stop charging; you are out of money.

Economy Waffles, Adds Too Few Jobs

The economy added 103,000 jobs in September. Coming off a gain of 57,000 jobs in August, the September performance is more of a dead cat bounce than real progress. Unemployment was steady at 9.1 percent, as many adults remain on the sidelines and too discouraged to look for work.

Wholesale trade and manufacturing lost jobs, while retailing and construction both posted modest gains. Information technology gained and financial services lost positions in September, but both sectors posted losses for the entire third quarter reflecting broader layoffs in those sectors with more ahead. Government employment fell by 34,000, and private sector jobs added 137,000. Jobs creation will remain inadequate to keep unemployment from falling in the months ahead, especially considering the mass layoffs recently announced in banking and pharmaceuticals that will be effected in the months ahead.

The unemployment rate stayed constant at 9.1 percent in the third quarter, despite the fact that at least 130,000 jobs are needed each month to keep up with growth in the adult population. Many adults are sitting on the sidelines and not looking for work, and are not counted among the unemployed. Factoring in those discouraged adults and others working part time for lack of full time opportunities, the unemployment rate is about 16.5 percent. Adding college graduates in low skill positions, like counterwork at Starbucks, and the unemployment rate is closer to 20 percent.

The economy must add 13.4 million jobs over the next three years-373,000 each month-to bring unemployment down to 6 percent. Considering continuing layoffs at state and local governments and federal spending cuts, private sector jobs must increase at least 400,000 a month to accomplish that goal. Growth in the range of 4 to 5 percent is needed to get unemployment down to 6 percent over the next several years. Recent GDP data put first half growth at less than 1 percent, and growth in the range of only 2 percent is expected through the end of next year.

Jobs were added in the third quarter and unemployment remained steady only because worker productivity contracted. Falling productivity is an ominous sign of recession, because employers will slash payrolls to maintain profits. Indeed lays offs are scaling up, again, and new unemployment claims remain dangerously above 400K per week.

Growth is weak and jobs are in jeopardy, because temporary tax cuts, stimulus spending, large federal deficits, expensive and ineffective business regulations, and increased health care mandates and costs do not address structural problems holding back dynamic growth and jobs creation-the huge trade deficit and dysfunctional energy policies. Oil and trade with China account for nearly the entire $600 billion trade deficit. This deficit is a tax on domestic demand that erases the benefits of tax cuts and stimulus spending.

Simply, dollars sent abroad to purchase oil and consumer goods from China, that do not return to purchase U.S. exports, are lost purchasing power. Consequently, the U.S. economy is expanding at less than 1 percent a year instead of the 5 percent pace that is possible after emerging from a deep recession and with such high unemployment. Without prompt efforts to produce more domestic oil, redress the trade imbalance with China, relax burdensome business regulations, and curb health care mandates and costs, the U.S. economy cannot grow and create enough jobs.