What would winning the all expenses paid trip to Affiliate Summit West mean to me?

First of all, I've been doing affiliate marketing for nearly 10 years...and I've yet to "hit the big time" and be able to run my business full time. Sure, I've had some decent years. And I've had some bad ones (this one is closer to bad than decent). So hopefully this would give me that little extra push to get over the top.

Second, I'm not just some marketer pushing a bunch of junk. The sites I build are based on lessons I've learned, mostly the hard way. So I share those lessons, and the resources I've used, and in the process build a business around them. I'd love to be able to reach more people and help them get out of debt, buy their first house, or fix their back problems.

Third, I'm an eager student. For many years I sat alone and tried to build my business. Now, I'm focusing on building partnerships and learning from those who know what they are talking about (constantly buying the newest "get rich quick" program is definitely NOT the way to do this). So I would truly appreciate the opportunity to schmooze with the best affiliate marketers, and maybe even share a tip or two I've learned through the years.

Thanks for the opportunity, and good luck to whoever wins!

Guest blogging has become very popular. Done correctly, it helps add value to the site posting the article, and helps increase the popularity of the author's blog. But for a while I had to stop accepting guest articles because most of them were just too brief and didn't contain much worthwhile content. So I thought I would come up with some guidelines that will help me get some great content, and make your link more valuable. So if you're up to the challenge, and willing to write something really special - something that adds actual value to this blog - then I'll gladly consider your guest article. If you're only going to spend 15 minutes writing your article, you will be better off submitting it to an article directory like EzineArticles.com or GoArticles.com. Read through the guidelines below VERY carefully and send it over to me for review.

GUEST ARTICLE GUIDELINES

First, your article must be something well written, unique, and fit into one of the categories below. It MUST be more than some generic "How to get out of debt" article. In the words of one blogger, it must be "epic sh@#" otherwise it's not worth publishing, for you or for me.

1. Something creative or with a "wow" factor - Anyone can write an article about "The 5 secrets to getting out of debt". In fact, I'm the king of those types of articles, so I don't really need any more. So find a unique way to cover a topic that people will spark people's interest. Here is an example:
   10 financial blunders that prove you're not smarter than a 5th grader
2. A newsworthy or educational topic - If there are new government regulations or there's a hot news story on some issue in the financial world, this is a good opportunity to offer your interpretation or advice. Here is an example:
   Are annoying debt collectors really getting nastier these days?
3. A personal story that changed the way you look at money - Tell us a story about the lessons you learned about money, or something that happened that changed your life. Here is an example:
   The 5 truths and myths I learned the hard way about fixing your credit problems

Second, here are the rest of the guidelines. Your article must be:

• Original & related to credit, debt, or saving money. Please don't send me something that has already been used elsewhere, or you plan to use elsewhere. If it is something that is valuable, I'm open to pretty much any financial topic. I'm less concerned with the type of topic and more concerned with the quality.
• Contain at least 750 words & be well written. No, this isn't English class. And I won't be counting every single word. But in most cases you can't write something really special in 15 minutes with less than 750 words. If spelling is not one of your strong points, have a friend or colleague proofread your article first.
• Properly formatted using html. That means tags such as <p>, <b>, <a href="http://www.yourlink.com">, you get the idea. And you can include 1 link in the text of the article and 1 link in bio (or 2 links in the bio).

Declaring bankruptcy can be a burden on anyone, and while it can cause a financial headache, you’re also going to find that it’s going to cause stress, confusion and more. If you’re declaring bankruptcy, there’s a good chance that you’re going to be doing it for the first time. To make it easier, I wanted to break down the costs, as well as reasons why you should do it, as well as reasons on why you shouldn’t do it.

The costs of bankruptcy

Filing bankruptcy isn’t cheap and you’re going to find that if you don’t have the money up front, many attorneys just won’t work with you. You will want to think about their side for a second. Would you really work for free? For starters, you’re going to have to file with your state. There are two types of bankruptcies, which are Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. Your Chapter 7 bankruptcies are going to cost you around $300 to file while your Chapter 13’s may be a pinch cheaper.

Now, filing the bankruptcy with your state is just the beginning. After this, you’re going to have to set out to get an attorney. From doing my research, the average attorney is going to run you anywhere from $500 to as much as $2,500 to file the paperwork as well as consult with you. The more time you generally spend with an attorney, the more you’re going to have to pay.

How to save on your bankruptcy

There’s a good chance that you may not even have to file your bankruptcy papers with courts. What you will find out is that there’s a good chance that you may not even have to file! I was watching a documentary back in the day where a female had proclaimed that she wanted to file bankruptcy. The sad thing is that she only had $14,000 in debt. While it may sound like a lot of money, there are so many things that you can do to get out of it. Consult with a local church, or nonprofit organization in your area. These people will be more than happy to help you with your financial needs at no cost!

How do I know if I should file?

This is probably the most popular question asked online, as well as in person. Every situation is going to be different, and while you may feel that you should declare, there is a simple formula that you can follow. What you’re going to want to do is write down what you make on an annual basis (take home). You will then want to tally up all of your debts that don’t include your mortgage (if you have one). If your debts are more than 3 years worth of your annual take home, you probably should highly consider it. If it’s anything lower than this, you will want to create a plan so that you can work things out.

The real costs in the long run

If you do decide that you want to file, there are going to be many hard obstacles in the years to come. You will want to kiss any home loans goodbye, as well as any other method of loans for at least the next 7 years. Also, keep in mind that many employers will check credit reports as well. Sadly, if you

have a bankruptcy, they won’t hire you. While you will have $0 in debt, is it really worth just taking the easy way out? There are so many methods that you can take to help you drive down your debts without having to file. As I mentioned above, be sure to check with some local nonprofits to see what they can do for you.

This article was written by Elizabeth Cutten, who helps run www.findsecuredcards.com, a resource center helping consumers rebuild their credit with credit cards as well as provide them with many unique tips, tricks and more.

Before you declare bankruptcy, follow these six relatively easy steps. Just take a moment and consider other options before making a huge mistake. If you're experiencing major debt right now, I highly suggest further investigation on what options are available whilst you complete the following six steps.

1. Lay out your debt: how much debt do you have in total? How much of it are secured versus unsecured loans? What are their interest rates? How many months are you behind on their payments? Also list your current monthly expenses from bills like insurance, food, power, telephone (including mobile). In addition, log in detail all your gratuitous spending habits, including theatre spending, gym memberships, restaurant dining, etc… Once all that is complete, compile with the aid of your credit cards all your accumulated debt in each aspect where bills occur.

2. Stop your bad spending habits: With all your bills staring back, you have a general idea what you need to reduce your spending on. Although the greatest part won't be your gratuitous spending, for some people, it might just be it. With a strict budget plan removing all unnecessary expenses, you can get a better handle on your expenses and avoid bankruptcy.

3. Get the family involved: speaking to the family might help reduce the stress, that they can carry it with you. You can ask relatives for assistance as well and altogether, you can save as much money as possible whilst reducing gratuitous spending.

4. Liquidate your assets: with equity, you may be eligible to pay off your debt through refinancing or through a secured loan. If you don't cash this out after you declare bankruptcy, you won't have that privilege anymore. You could even sell the stuff you have lying around the home, like antiques, collectibles, fancy designer old stuff. You should write down all that you have available in the house of monetary value, and estimate. There are all sorts of channels you can use to sell your stuff, for example: eBay, Amazon, Facebook, Craigslist, and even garage sales.

5. Counseling Services: look for an online or local credit counseling agency that is able to provide advice for free, but they'll probably want to continue with them. These agencies provide debt management counseling and may even negotiate reducing your interest rates and overall debt, guide you towards a better situation away from bankruptcy.

6. A second Part-time Job: a second part-time job is important right now because it will add additional income to your household. No matter how small, you can do the best you can to earn as much as you can with it.

Bankruptcy has devastating consequences including the incredible length of time it would require for you to repair your credit rating (5 years). It's clear there are alternatives, you can follow them and it won't be an impossible scenario after all.

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This is a guest post. Sufi M and his staff operate The Glaring Facts, one of the leading and densely populated websites involving psychology, media-related material, history of science, and money management. We are certain you will find something that will fascinate you.

Every once in a while someone asks me: "Is it better to settle your own debts or hire a professional debt settlement company?"

The answer is easy - it depends. If you are willing to put in the time and effort to learn how to do it, then you can certainly learn how to do it yourself. If not, then hire a professional company. It's a lot like changing the oil in your car. If you don't mind getting dirty and have the right tools, you can do it on your own and save yourself some money. If you have no interest in getting dirty, or don't have the time, then bring it to your mechanic or quick oil change center.

If you want professional help, here are the debt settlement companies we recommend.

If you want to settle your own debts, you have 2 choices. First, you can either learn as you go or search online for the right information. Second, you can learn from a debt settlement pro. Charles Phelan, owner of ZipDebt.com, offers you professional training on how to settle your own debts. The program is called Do-It-Yourself Debt Negotiation Training & Coaching Program.

It's not free information (although you can sign up for a free report on the website), but it's a lot cheaper than hiring a debt settlement company. And you'll get personal coaching to go along with the training. So in the end you will save yourself lots of time, money, and headaches. And if you ever have any questions, Charles is always very quick to respond.

If this sounds like the type of help you are looking for, here's a more detailed review of ZipDdebt.com

Do you have a tough question about debt or credit, and can't find the answer?

Then you should try asking your question on a personal finance or legal forum to get more information. I get questions about specific credit problems & debt issues all the time. I offer general help whenever I can. But for those questions I can't answer, I direct people to some of the top forums to get the help they need.

Not everyone responding to questions on these forums is an expert. But if you stick to the good ones, you'll at least get someone with some knowledge about the issue you are having. At worst, you'll get someone who went through the problem on their own. At best, you'll find a financial professional. Either way, it's a quick, easy, and free way to get advice about credit & debt problems.

Setting up a forum is easy, so there are lots out there. But most have only a few posts, so those won't give you the help you need. Others are simply a bunch of ads.

So you need to find the good ones, and avoid the bad ones.

You will need to sign up for a free account, which is well worth it to get free advice. It's a good idea to create a username that does not contain your real name. Any type of nickname or creative name will do. Then you'll need to confirm your account by checking your email.

Once you are done, it's a good idea to search the forum for your particular question or issue, to see if it has already been answered. If not, then go ahead and post it. Sometimes you might get an answer within a few minutes. Other times you might need to wait a day or two. Keep in mind that most people on the fourms, even the moderators, are volunteers. So be patient.

Then, poke around and see if you can answer anyone else's questions. The real value of these forums is the community, and the more involved you are, the more you will enjoy it. And you might help out someone in a tough situation similar to yours.

Here are a few of the good ones in each category. If you've used any others that are helpful, post them in the comments:

Credit & debt:

TheFinanceForums.com
CreditBoards.com
CreditInfoCenter.com

Personal finance:

SavingAdvice.com
Wisebread.com

Legal & bankruptcy:

ExpertLaw.com
FreeAdvice.com
BKForum.com