In the following pages you will discover everything that you need to know about credit, debt and debt management. The decision that you made to obtain this book was one of the most important decisions that you will make in your life. It is a decision to become educated in an area of your life where average people have little or no knowledege, yet most are swimming in a sea of debt. Some are drowning! So your decision to reach out for help, to educate yourself, was truly a wise one.
de—ci—sion [di sí$'n] (pluralde—ci—sions)1. something somebody has chosen: something that somebody chooses or
made a final decision on the guest list2. firmness in choosing something: the ability to choose or decide about things
a man of decision3. process of choosing: the process of coming to a conclusion or determination
The word decision was used in the above paragraph several times for a reason. It is when you truly decide to take action that good things start to happen. Using the techniques in this book, you will begin to change your financial life and how you perceive credit, credit cards and debt. You will be taken by the hand and shown step by step what you need to know to get out of debt and stay that way. You will have a far better understanding as to what credit and debt are and how they can affect your lives. Good and bad. You will learn how to strategies that will alleviate your bad habits and change the way you deal with credit and debt.
So CO GRATULATIO S! on a wise decision.Dave Capra “The Debtonator”
Chapter 1 - Your Social Security Card
In the United States, the nine digits that make up your Social Security number (SSN) may be the most important numbers in your life. You are required to apply for your SSN when you start your first job, and it stays with you from then on! We use our SSNs daily, although many times we don't even know it.
Important as it is, we may not know much about the origin of our specific number and how SSNs generally came to be. We certainly do know we don't want other people using our SSN as their own, especially not 40,000 other people, as happened to one woman we'll discuss a little later!
In this chapter, we'll tell you about about how the Social Security program began and answer some common questions regarding SSNs. We'll also tell you what to do if your card is lost or stolen and how you can deal with and prevent Social Security fraud. But first, we'll tell you what your numbers are for, what they mean and how you get the specific number you'll have for the rest of your life.
What is Social Security?
Generally, the term social security describes a program that uses public funds to provide a degree of economic security for the public. The specific social security discussed here is the United States government program established in 1935 that provides old age, disability, and
In the United States, employers and employees are required to pay Social Security taxes. The money raised from these taxes primarily goes to providing benefits for those who have reached retirement age or are otherwise currently eligible. In this way, today's workers provide funds for the people drawing benefits today, and when today's workers retire, the workers of that time will (at least theoretically) provide the funds. You receive Social Security benefits based on the amount of Social Security taxes you have paid, which, up to a certain maximum amount, is based on your income. People who have had greater incomes tend to get greater Social Security benefits. But Social Security also pays a disproportionate amount to people earning low incomes. They need the money more, and a dollar they pay in Social Security taxes provides them higher benefits than a dollar paid by a high-roller. In this way, Social Security in principle provides for those in need.
Social Security reform is in the news pretty consistently If you're counting on Social Security for a portion of your income when you retire . The debate over Social Security reform has generated many competing claims and confusing projections. But the most important issue is this: Will the current Social Security system provide our children and our grandchildren with a secure and comfortable retirement? Since the answer to that simple question is no, there’s no denying the need for reform.
This booklet http://www.socialsecurity.org/toolkit/itsyourmoney.pdf explains the state of the Social Security system today and describes how we can fix the flaws in its structure that, if left unchanged, will burden our children and grandchildren with unnecessary debt and taxes.
The good news is that, with revisions to the Social Security system, we will be able to provide future generations with a program that actually accomplishes more successfully what the creators of the original Social Security program hoped to achieve real retirement security.
What Do The umbers Mean?The original and essential purpose of SSNs is to keep track of the money you put into the Social Security program so that you can get the benefits you're entitled to. The government needs lifelong, unique identity numbers to keep track of people's payments throughout an entire working life, no matter how often we move or change occupations or even change our names.
SSNs are not assigned consecutively; the first was not the lowest number, and the most recent is not the highest. They are assigned regionally and in batches.The nine-digit SSN, which has been issued in more than 400 million different sequences, is divided into three parts: area numbers, group numbers and serial numbers.
• Area numbers numbers
the state in
