The following article entails the viewpoint and opinions of Doug Johnson, who has spent nine years and thousands of dollars researching companies and firms within the debt relief industry.
Nashville, Tennessee continues to climb in most polls as one of the most desirable places to live, and as a result it has been rated as one of the nation's fastest growing cities. But if you are looking for financial advice in Nashville, you will quickly realize it is a difficult place to get out of debt.
Google "Debt Consolidation Nashville", or "Debt Consolidation, Nashville, TN", and you will find a lengthy list of bankruptcy attorneys promoting bankruptcy, mortgage brokers promoting Debt Consolidation loans or refinancing, and a financial advisor promoting his "Debt Snowball."
The Debt Snowball is a creation of Dave Ramsey, a Nashville native who over a network of more than 350 radio stations throughout the United States and Canada, offers common sense advice to callers who seek direction with not only debt, but also investments, money management, and any other financial dilemma. Dave has become a celebrity as a financial advisor in a city famous for its songwriters, singers and entertainers.
So what magical advice does Dave provide to get people out of debt? Avoid Debt Consolidation companies, including Nashville Debt Consolidation and Tennessee Debt Consolidation, and focus on paying your debt with the lowest balance.
How does Dave Ramsey's debt snowball perform? It certainly works better than doing nothing, and it may or may not be the best option for you, but it is not the most aggressive method of eliminating your debt. At this point in this discussion, we need to insert one qualification. If you have not successfully mastered the concept of maintaining your spending at a level below your income level, then you are at risk due to a negative cash flow. There are a number of reasons as to why this might occur in someone's financial situation but if you are cash flow negative due to bad spending habits, then that is usually due to a lack of financial discipline, in which case you will definitely benefit from the Ramsey concepts. However, if you are already maintaining a positive cash flow and are not what we might term a "hardened over-spender", you may want to consider an alternative approach to the elimination of debt that is both more aggressive and effective in removing debt in a shorter period of time.
Richard Branson, the billionaire tycoon who built Virgin Entertainment, Virgin Airlines and Virgin Mobile, also pioneered a concept that uses money leveraging and has the benefit of more effectively capturing discretionary income to be used for the pay-down of debt balances. (We define discretionary income as that portion of your monthly money that is left over after all required bills are paid, BEFORE you engage in impulse spending.) Today, a significant number of the mortgages in Australia, the UK and Canada are utilizing this approach because of their efficacy in eliminating mortgage debt.
Since the first quarter of 2005, numerous entrepreneurs have implemented the basic mathematical concepts used within Richard Branson's approach and made additional conceptual changes and by the third quarter of 2006, released what is now regarded by industry experts as the most aggressive method of eliminating debt today, providing a person has a net positive cash flow. Since their release, these strategies have received positive media attention and have won multiple industry accolades.
The benefit of these strategies is analygous to GPS systems in vehicles that determine the shortest time and distance from point A to point B, from our current debt load to the complete elimination of our debt. These programs tell users what to do, when to do it, and how much to do it, and leaves nothing to guess work. And they carry the consistently stated benefit of elimination of debt without any major change to one's standard of living. Of course, this assumes the user is clear on their commitment to get out of debt. No program on the market today will work if a person plans to indulge in continued undisciplined spending.
Doug Johnson is a consumer advocate in support of people who are struggling with debt. As host of the popular radio talk show, "The Truth About Debt Relief", Doug reveals outside-the-box remedies and strategies that are highly effective in assisting people with all forms of debt, including student loans and mortgages. His Nashville Debt Relief website, serves to educate debtors as to their options, in order to protect them from false claims made by Debt Relief Salespeople and misguided financial advisors.
