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The creature often made a sound more like a horse neighing than a wolf howling, but sometimes it would make a growling sound like those of a mean dog, or one in pain or distress. There were two mysterious cases reported during the times of the creatures attacks. Three women were going to church near the wood of Favart, when a dark man offered to escort them through the woods. They refused and before leaving he touched one of them with a fur-covered hand. Soldiers arriving on the scene just after the incident warned the terrified women not to go into the woods, because the creature had just been seen there.

Two women of Escures also on the way to church had a similar experience in an area where, unknown to them, the creature had just been seen by several people. This time they saw that the man accosting them was covered in fur only when his shirt blew open in the wind. It was said at the time the creature was called an instrument of the Devil, and besides killing, was trying to stop people from going to Mass.

One can certainly see the spiritual connection to the beast if we are to believe the stories of the meetings that occurred between the women and the strange man, who had fur covering him. Since spiritual creatures can assume any form, it would of been nothing to change from the wolf-life beast into the form of something humans would of not found so scary, only to change back into the beast once inside the dark woods. One reason the creature would of done this is the following. I have read numerous times when there has been an encounter with a ghost or demon in a haunted location, the spirtiual being draws energy off their victims or those near them. The women would of became frightened easily once inside the dark woods, especially when they would of noticed the man was covered with fur, etc. Once they became scared and released their psychic energy given off in fear, the creature could drain and use this energy to change and keep it’s varied forms more easily, like a demon or ghost does when it drains energy from frightened people.

There is a website that describes this and numerous other creatures of Cryptozoology in detail. The website is called: Unknown Creatures, and may be found at this address:

Copyright © 2006

You may publish this article in your ezine, newsletter or on your web site as long as it is reprinted in its entirety and without modification except for formatting needs or grammar corrections. 

About the Author:

Robert W. Benjamin has been in the software business on the internet for over 5 years, and has been producing low-cost software for the past 25+ years. He first released software on the AMIGA and C64 computer systems in the late 1970’s-80’s.

RB59 Software

Look through your shopping receipts for the past month. That is if you still have them! But while we’re on this subject, it is always a good idea to keep the receipts for everything that you’ve bought over the last month.

This makes it easier to return any items that are faulty or damaged. In most cases, it will also allow you to return items that you don’t want. You know, items bought on a whim that you lose interest in almost as soon as you return home. Items that you thought looked great on television or in the shop, but aren’t! So instead of leaving them lying in your spare room and chalking it up to experience, you’ll be able to get your money back.

Second, and this is the vital point, the receipts will act as a visible reminder of the amount that you’ve spent. Seeing your spending habits in black and white will make it much harder for you to hide from your financial situation.

Now I want you to find the last ten non-essential things that you’ve bought. Write them down below, including the price and the reason why you bought each item.

Now to assist you with this, I will say the following.

Non-essential = Things that you didn’t need to buy to ensure your continued survival

Essential means the things that you need to keep body and soul together. This covers basic clothing, basic housing and food. It also includes expenses that allow you to get to work and do your job, insurance to protect what you’ve got, bills to make sure you stay as healthy as possible and payments to keep the authorities off your back. And that’s it!

If you really, really want to clear your debts, these things are all that you need. Anything else is unnecessary, therefore non-essential.

ITEM BOUGHT then PURCHASE PRICE then REASON FOR BUYING
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)

A fascinating exercise!

Now what were your reasons for spending money on these items? Where are your weaknesses? It’s only when you know the situations where you spend money on non-essential items, that you’ll be able to resist these impulses.

If you’re having problems deciding why you bought certain non-essential items, then look no further. The reasons below are likely to cover just about every situation you could possibly imagine.

a) Emotional Spending

Boyfriend left you? Had a row with your wife? Then why not cheer yourself up! Go on you deserve it. Then, not only will you be depressed, you’ll also have your debts to keep you company.

People spend when they’re unhappy in an attempt to cheer themselves up. Why? Because the retail industry would have us believe that it will make you feel better and cure all your problems. Well it won’t! All it will do is to distract you from your misery….temporarily.

b) Reward Spending

I want to give you three statements.

- I deserved a reward, that’s what money is for
- You only live once, and if you can’t treat yourself then life is not worth living
- I’ve been working so hard recently I needed a treat to cheer myself up

When was the last time that you used one of these excuses to justify spending money on a luxury item? And when I say luxury, I mean an item that is not necessary for your continued survival.

You need to go to work, but you can’t face it, so you promise yourself a new mobile phone if you make it to the end of the week. You need to do some household chores, but you can’t face it, so you tell yourself that if you do them you’ll buy that nice top that you saw in the window of that rather exclusive little boutique the other day. You need to do some grocery shopping but you can’t face it, so you….oh, you get the idea!

Wouldn’t it be better to alter your life until you’re happy with it, instead of trying to spend yourself happy?

If you don’t, you’ll end up bankrupt….and you’ll still be unhappy!

Cancelling out your debts will require many sacrifices to your lifestyle. If you must reward yourself for every little thing that you do, then pick a treat that doesn’t cost much. Or better still, something that costs nothing!

Try taking a walk in the park, having a lie in when you don’t need to go to work, or reading a new book. All of these things can give you great enjoyment if you approach them with the right attitude. Make a list of all the inexpensive things that you enjoy doing and then use them as treats.

c) Image Spending

This is one of the central messages used in marketing. It ruthlessly exploits people’s desire to be seen as interesting and attractive. Adverts use this type of manipulation all the time.

For products aimed at men, you’ll find subtle messages such as, drive this car and you’ll get the best looking girl. Drink this brand of beer and all your friends will love you. Use this razor and you’ll be an all round superman.

For products aimed at women, the messages again pander to their need to look cool and to be liked by everyone. Ideas such as, use these cosmetics and you’ll suddenly become beautiful. Buy this mobile phone and you’ll never be short of friends to socialise with. Wear this perfume and you’ll find your prince charming, etc, etc, etc.

And it works! (the marketing that is, not the product)

When was the last time that you bought something because you thought that it would make you look more attractive or sophisticated?

Go on, be honest!

d) Peer Spending

This is very similar to the last reason. Peer spending means buying things that your peers (i.e. your friends or other people in roughly the same age group) already own. There are two reasons why people feel the need to do this.

One

The need for approval. The need to be accepted and feel part of the ‘in’ crowd is of vital importance to just about everyone. This bad habit is learnt at school and carried into adulthood. And what better way to gain other people’s approval than buying the same sort of things that they have?

All your friends have the newest cell phone with all the latest technology and design features. How could you honestly hold your head up in company when you consider how ‘prehistoric’ your phone is? It’s six months old after all!

And the list goes on and on. If it’s not mobile phones, it’s your car, your hair style, your clothes. So you go with the crowd to gain their approval.

Two

It satisfies their need not to be left out. Buying what other people have is a classic sign of the ‘I want what they’ve got’ mentality. Keeping up with the Joneses, ‘I can’t let them show me up with what they’ve got’ call it whatever you want! That type of attitude has inspired many an overdraft!

e) Bravado Spending

Some people spend purely to show off and impress others. To let other people know how much they’ve got and how much they can spend. And what better way to do it, than be flexing your ‘spending muscle’, otherwise known as your credit card.

But it’s just a front. Nothing more than a thin veneer! With the help of their ‘flexible friend’ anyone can spend as if they were a millionaire….temporarily.

Bravado spending is not just misguided it’s also a waste of money. And if you can’t accept that, then your desire to become debt free is obviously not strong enough.

f) Impulse Spending

You get a sudden urge to buy something. It pops into your head and you just can’t settle until you’ve bought it. This is one of the hardest types of spending to avoid (often because you’ve bought the item(s) in question before you come to your senses).

All that I can suggest is to stall your enthusiasm for all non-essential purchases as long as possible. Give yourself time to think why you want to buy it. Then remind yourself about the size of your debts and the vow that you made to yourself to get rid of them.

The urge to spend money will soon pass. Within a few days or weeks you’ll look back with amazement that you considered buying that item, and relief that you didn’t.

Once you’ve seen through the reasons for buying unnecessary things, it will become much easier to resist them.

by Stuart Laing

Those who confuse things that they want with things that they need will find it much harder to save money to repay their debts.

The ability to distinguish between the two will allow you to cut out all frivolous and unnecessary expense from your life.

You’ll no longer be the ‘shopkeepers’ dream’, clamouring to thrust your hard earned money into their till in exchange for more non-essential consumer items, seduced yet again by fanciful notions of how much their ‘special’ offers will allow you to ‘SAVE’!

Here’s how their misguided reasoning works. They think to themselves, ‘It should have cost me $100, but I got it for $70, so I’ve really SAVED $30’. And this is usually accompanied by their friends and family making sympathetic noises such as, ‘oh well done’.

You could be mistaken for thinking that they’d just been awarded the Nobel Prize for Shopping, not just bought something that was being openly sold at a reduced price! 

Okay, if they NEEDED to buy the item then I would be the first person to agree that they’ve SAVED $30. But if they merely WANTED to buy that product then at best they’ve SPENT $30 less than they would otherwise have done. At worst, it could be said that they’ve actually WASTED $70!

But that’s one of the risks if you confuse what you want with what you need. If you think that you NEED everything that you WANT, you are more likely to be drawn in by consumer marketing.

Every time you buy something at a discount, you’ll be under the impression that you’re SAVING money when in fact you’re SPENDING more than you strictly need to. And even worse, because you think that you NEED everything that you buy, you’ll be unable to identify areas where you can spend less.

So let me spell this out. If you don’t need the item that you’re buying, then you are NOT saving money. You can’t be! It’s IMPOSSIBLE! This applies even if you receive a 99% discount on the product in question.

If you want to save money, then learn to separate what you need from what you want. And if you’re still not convinced, ask yourself why you’re reading a website about how to get out of debt. Do you really want to get out of debt? Only YOU can answer that question.

by Stuart Laing

It’s a basic rule of money. Lenders who give loans to people with poor credit ratings are taking a greater risk that they won’t get their money back.

If you have a history of being unable to keep up with loan repayments, most lenders won’t touch you with a bargepole. And those who do will want a hefty reward for their ‘bravery’, in the form of….you’ve guessed it, higher interest.

That’s why those who have a poor credit rating have to resort to expensive ‘sub prime’ finance if they want to borrow money. Being charged a high rate of interest is their punishment for having a poor credit rating.

But this rule also works the other way. The better your borrowing record the more attractive deals you’ll be offered.

Better credit rating = Lower risk = Lower rate of interest = More money to destroy your debts

Now I don’t want you to get the wrong impression about this. The advice that I am about to give you is not intended to allow you to borrow even more. Don’t even think about it! That’s why you’re in this situation. That’s why you are reading this website and looking for the magic answers to dig you out!

Instead, use these details to help blast your way out of debt by using your improved credit rating to refinance your debts at a lower rate of interest.

Right, here goes.

When you approach a lender to borrow money, most of them decide whether or not to accept your application by using a credit scoring system. They look at you personal details and give you points for certain things. If you get enough points they’ll lend you the money. If you fall short of the required score, they’ll tell you to go away. You should always bear in mind that nobody has a divine right to be granted credit.

Credit Scoring Points

Points will normally be scored according to your age, occupation, whether you are a home owner, the length of time at your current address, whether you have a phone, ownership of credit cards, your repayment record on previous loans and so on.

Lenders also look at the amount of your current debts compared to your income. If they feel that you don’t have enough income to cope with the extra borrowing then your application will end in refusal.

In most countries, these details are collected and held by credit reference agencies. These companies build up information on you and everyone in the country. They store details on your financial position from the electoral roll, court judgements, repossession orders, bankruptcy details, payment records, previous credit applications etc.

Your credit record is one of the main factors that lenders use to decide whether or not to grant you a loan. If you’ve had trouble repaying debts in the past, then you’re less likely to be given credit in the future. And even if you are, you’ll be hit by extortionate levels of interest.

Correct Your Credit Record

If you’re concerned that certain inaccurate details are tainting your credit record, then take the following steps.

If a lender turns down your credit application, write to that organisation and ask which credit reference agency they used to help them arrive at their decision. In most countries they’re legally obliged to tell you. This letter should do the trick.

Dear Sir/Madam

I am writing with regard to the refusal of my recent loan/credit card application. Please provide me with the details of any credit reference agency that you approached for information about me.

Yours Sincerely

Once they reply, giving you the name of the credit reference agency that they used, the next step is to write to the relevant agency to get a copy of your credit record.

For a small fee you can request a copy of the information that they hold on record concerning you. Ask them for a copy of your Credit Report. Give your full name (including your maiden name if this is appropriate), any other names that you’re known by, your date of birth, your full current address, any previous addresses that you’ve had in the past 6 years, and your signature.

If you run a business, give its name and address as well, because they may hold separate information on you under your business details.

Once your record arrives, check it carefully. If there are any inaccuracies then take the matter up with the relevant lender who turned you down. Send them a letter that covers all the details of your complaint, including the disputed information, copies of relevant documents that prove it is incorrect, your details and a brief note explaining why the information is incorrect.

If no progress is made with the relevant lender, then write to the credit reference agency that reported the inaccurate information, giving the same information that you originally sent to the lender. But first make sure that you have a copy of your credit report from that agency.

If any inaccurate information in your report is corrected, the other credit reference agencies should, in time, receive these details and correct their own files. But this could take some time.

But whatever you do, there is still no guarantee that it will allow you access to cheaper credit. So here are six steps that you can take to improve your credit rating.

1) An easy way to instantly improve your chances of getting cheaper credit is to make sure that your name appears on the electoral register. Credit firms will normally use the electoral roll to find out where each person lives. This is one of the main sources of information used by these credit reference agencies. If your name doesn’t appear on it, lenders become suspicious.

2) If possible, only apply for credit that you think you’ll be given. Every credit application that you make will be recorded on your file, so a string of refusals could deter other lenders.

If your regular debt repayments take up more than 36% of your monthly income, you’re in danger of being refused credit. Either that or you’ll be punished with a much higher rate of interest.

As a rough guide add up your total monthly income (after tax). Include all wages and any overtime, commissions or bonuses that are guaranteed. Then add any other forms of regular income such as interest or maintenance payments. If your monthly income varies then calculate the monthly average over the past two years (add all your income over the past two years and divide the answer by 24). Now add up your monthly debt repayments. Remember to include payments for credit cards (use the minimum monthly repayment figure), personal loans, overdrafts and mortgages. Finally, add any monthly rent that you pay.

Then divide your total monthly debt repayments by your net monthly income. The answer is your total debt-to-income ratio. If you had a monthly income of $1000 and monthly debt repayments of $250, your debt-to-income ratio would be 250/1000 = 0.25 or 25%.

As I say, the critical ratio is 0.36 or 36%. Keep below this and you are much more likely to be offered credit at reasonable rates of interest. The lower your ratio is the better deals that you’ll be offered.

3) Don’t apply for too much credit at the same time. Lenders become suspicious if they see a sudden avalanche of credit applications on your file. They may draw the conclusion that you’re applying for it all at once so that you can honestly answer the ‘how many other loans/credit cards do you currently have?‘ type question, that appears on most credit applications.

4) Always pay your bills on time. Even paying the minimum, although it’s not perfect, is much better than nothing. Payments that are more than 30 days late will have a negative effect on your credit rating.

5) Credit reference agencies tend to place more emphasis on bad reports (such as court debt judgements, credit application failures) than good reports (such as loans that have been paid off successfully). Negative details will remain on the files of the credit reference agencies for six years. So it’s a good long term strategy to avoid bad reports and build up as many good reports to your name as possible.

6) Avoid all those ‘credit repair’ companies that claim they can improve your credit record. They can….at a price! You know, the type you see advertising in the back of national newspapers, claiming that they can remove Debt Judgements or other court decrees that exist against you name.

What a load of rubbish! These companies can’t do anything that you can’t do yourself. So forget using a credit repair company. These shady characters are nothing more than a front for a lender or a broker trying to sell you a loan.

Here’s the sketch: You pay them to ‘clean’ your credit record. They apply their ‘powerful’ methods and magically give you the ‘all clear’. But they’ve not actually removed anything from your record….because they can’t. But you won’t know that!

And then to prove your new ‘creditworthy’ state they either offer you a loan or put you in contact with a company that’s willing to lend to you.

If you accept, you’ll have fallen into the realms of sub-prime finance, which means rip-off city.

Using the details that I have just provided, you can easily take steps to improve your credit record yourself. And in the process allow you to refinance your current debts to a much lower rate of interest.

by Stuart Laing

But, as always, I feel that it’s my duty to warn you of the unseen pitfalls that are associated with consolidation loans.

Now it goes without saying that you should avoid accepting consolidation loans from mysterious companies that advertise in the back of national newspapers. Many of them are only one step up the food chain from loan sharks, and their interest rates are usually astronomical.

Only consider consolidating with a reputable lender. But even then you must be very, very careful! These are two rules that you should stick to like a limpet.

1) Never borrow more money than you need to cover the loans that you want to consolidate.

2) Never borrow the money over a longer period than your current debts.

All will become clear as we continue. Just remember, if you break these rules then you’re asking for bankruptcy!

Right, the first thing to do is to find out the terms of the proposed deal…to the last letter! They’re not always as good as they seem.

Know how the deal works and what will be required of you both financially and practically. The more you know about the agreement, the fewer nasty surprises you’ll receive!

Financial Requirements

Don’t let their sales force talk you into borrowing more than you need. All their sales patter is utter fabrication that’s designed to get you to borrow even more! Their slick presentations will ‘show’ you how you could ‘borrow more but pay less’

They claim that the larger sum will give you more money to spend yet cost you less each month. This is a classic trick that’s used to make you borrow even more. But they’re just taking advantage of the fact that <strong>you’ll be repaying the debt over a longer period of time at a lower rate of interest</strong>. Don’t fall for it! It’s a con!

Let’s take a typical example. Imagine you had five different loans of $2000 each, spread over 5 years at 17% APR. They would cost you a total of $242.05 every month. So you intend to consolidate, borrowing $10000 over 5 years at 6.7% APR at a cost of $195.85 per month.

That would give you almost £50 a month to reduce the size of your debts even faster. At least that was your intention!

But you leave the consultation having been ‘convinced’ (or conned) to borrow $15000 over 7 ½ years at 9.5% APR at a cost of $230.63 per month. You briefly wonder what happened, but then console yourself with the fact that you’ve got another $5k on the hip and have ‘saved’ $11.42 a month, quite oblivious to the fact that you’ll now be repaying the loan for 2 ½ years longer.

You’ve been conned! They must have seen you coming!

And the result? Instead of paying 60 x $242.05 = $14523 under your old selection of loans, or even 60 x $195.85 = $11751 under your intended consolidation plans, you’ll now pay 90 x $230.63 = $20756.70. It means that your attempts to ‘save’ have cost you $6233.70 more than you were originally paying and $9005.70 more than you could have been paying.

In effect you’ve just broken two of the cardinal consolidation sins that I mentioned earlier.

You’ve borrowed MORE money than you strictly need over a LONGER period than you needed!

Don’t fall for all their lies. They may be very plausible, but then they should be, that’s how they make their living! Slick, feel-good presentations that make you wonder how you could ever have lived your life without them and their ‘wonderful’ products. Don’t allow them to lend you any extra. Don’t borrow over a longer period. It will only cost you more in interest, despite what they tell you.

Before you approach a consolidation lender, know exactly how much you want to borrow and how long you want to borrow it for. Then stick to it, regardless of what they say! And if they can’t provide what you want, then go elsewhere.

Finally, use the quoted APR rates to decide which loan is better value. In many countries, lenders MUST tell you the APR if you ask.

It’s also vital to know whether there are any penalties for late payments. Find out everything before you sign anything!

Practical Requirements

If the sums involved are large (normally $20000 plus), most lenders will require security, such as a mortgage over your home, before they offer you a consolidation loan.

If you accept that and fail to keep up with the repayments your house could be repossessed. Let me say that again. Caution: Your home could be at risk if you fail to keep up with the repayments!

So you must be deadly earnest about your ability to keep up with the repayments before you sign anything! You must be 100% committed to repaying the loan.

Consolidation loans should never be entered into lightly. They can help to speed up the repayment of your debts (due to the lower rate of interest), but they are the last chance saloon!

Make sure you read and understand EVERY clause of the small print before you sign the agreement.

by Stuart Laing