Is Student Loan Consolidation Good
October 31, 2008
Consolidating your student loan(s) is one of the smartest things that you can do. You should consider a student consolidation loan if you have several federal student loans or even just one large one.
Student consolidation loans will have fixed interest rates which are similar to those of the loans that are being consolidated. The amount that you can save through consolidation can be up to 58%.
Federal Stafford loans, Federal Direct Loans, Federal Perkins Loans as well as many others can be consolidated. Most of the time, they already have low rates.
Advantages
- You will have a single loan payment which is often lower than what you currently pay.
- It is easy to set up.
- It will help lower your debt burden.
- You can secure the lowest interest rate at the time.
- It can help you qualify for new or renewed deferments.
What To Consider
When you consolidate, make sure that the interest rate that you are offered is lower than your current rate. You want to pay off your student debt easier and maybe quicker too.
While consolidation can simplify the loan repayment process and lower your monthly payment, in the long run it usually increases the total amount that you will have to pay.
Student loan consolidation provides lower monthly payments by allowing you to spread the loan over 30 years in some cases. You are paying more payments, so be sure to compare the total cost of repaying your unconsolidated loans with the cost of repaying them through the consolidation loan.
The process of consolidating is very flexible. Consolidation is available from before you graduate down through years of repayment.
First, you need to gather information about your current loan. You need to know the balances and the interest rates, the names and addresses of companies and the names and addresses of personal references. The National Student Loan Data System can help provide you with the information that you need since it holds the most complete and accurate information for federal loans.
Paying Them Back
You will have 2 options to pay these loans back.
1. Pay a standard amount each month. This will include principle and interest. This is the lowest cost of interest paid way to go.
2. Or a graduated repayment. Here you start with lower payments that are only interest, but then they will keep increasing.
Usually repayment of your consolidation loans will begin in 60 days and will take from 10 to 30 years to fully pay back.
There are some questions that you should ask the lender before going forward.
- is there a rate reduction, for example for making your payments online or on time?
- does the loan meet your specific needs?
- is that the best interest rate available?
To get a student loan consolidation, you can still be enrolled in school or graduated. Either way, you’ll find many lending options that will fit your needs.
Visit Consolidate loan for more. Ron King is a researcher, writer, and web developer, visit Articles for authors. Copyright 2006 Ron King.
Foreclosed HomeDiscover The Truth About Foreclosed Homes
October 31, 2008
Foreclosed houses are houses that have been closed by an individual or a group of individuals before another person owns them. Such situations arise when mortgagers either dont bother to take their house back or are unable to release it because of financial adversities. As a result mortgaging companies takes over the charge of the house and offers to resale it.
You might have come across property news and newspaper advertisements, local magazines or even the Internet having information about foreclosed homes. Even the real estate agents have foreclosed homes offers in plenty. To know more about foreclosed homes you can talk to the real estate agents or even the assessors. Plan a visit to the local courthouse would give you a rough idea about the various deals and how their dealing process. Similarly, you can also attend the foreclosure home auctions to know more about the auction options and the risks involved.
Planning to buy a foreclosed home is one of the most significant financial decisions an individual has to take. Purchasing foreclosed homes includes bargaining the foreclosed sale, acquiring mortgage, getting the title insurance and finishing the home purchase.
Before buying a foreclosed house you should be well informed about the various options available. This applies especially to the first time foreclosed homebuyers who are new to the foreclosed property transactions. As mentioned before, consult a reputable title agent or attorney before buying a home.
Many people harbor wrong notions that foreclosed homes are basically shabby homes in rundown neighborhoods. However, its only people who are actually investing in foreclosed properties that know that this notion is incorrect. Foreclosed homes come in a variety of size and shapes, consisting of large, beautiful new homes in the most sought after neighborhoods.
You are in for a terrific amount of savings, if you are buying a foreclosed house. Strange as it sounds, this is true. By buying homes at 10% to 60% below the original market value simplifies making monthly payments and generates huge savings on the whole. In some circumstances, individuals can buy homes with very less or no deposits, even if they have a bad credit history. Foreclosure pricing is also known for building equity instantly.
Today, you might find more opportunities for buying foreclosures than ever before. To some extent this is because of the high debt rates getting more people into financial trouble, and partially because lenders are giving mortgages to higher-risk borrowers. However, the good news is that together these factors are increasing loan default rates. People who plan to buy foreclosed homes can pick and choose the home they want at a great price. Many of these homes are not advertised, as they are not profitable for the real estate agents.
Foreclosed homes can prove to be of good value for the right person who is willing to consider all the options available. If you are a buyer of foreclosed homes, keep in mind that these houses are not necessarily vacant. Till mortgage companies hand over the house to the buyer, the original residents still own it. Basically, it depends on the buyer decision to keep the original owners as tenants or ask them to vacate the house. Furthermore, furnishing or renovation of the house is not the responsibility of the original buyers.
Sell Your Home Fast? As Is Now will buy your house in 24 hours if approved and you get cash in your pocket. We help you get rid of your home fast for any reason including to Stop Home Foreclosures : http://www.asisnow.com/main.php.
Is Student Loan Consolidation Good
October 30, 2008
Consolidating your student loan(s) is one of the smartest things that you can do. You should consider a student consolidation loan if you have several federal student loans or even just one large one.
Student consolidation loans will have fixed interest rates which are similar to those of the loans that are being consolidated. The amount that you can save through consolidation can be up to 58%.
Federal Stafford loans, Federal Direct Loans, Federal Perkins Loans as well as many others can be consolidated. Most of the time, they already have low rates.
Advantages
- You will have a single loan payment which is often lower than what you currently pay.
- It is easy to set up.
- It will help lower your debt burden.
- You can secure the lowest interest rate at the time.
- It can help you qualify for new or renewed deferments.
What To Consider
When you consolidate, make sure that the interest rate that you are offered is lower than your current rate. You want to pay off your student debt easier and maybe quicker too.
While consolidation can simplify the loan repayment process and lower your monthly payment, in the long run it usually increases the total amount that you will have to pay.
Student loan consolidation provides lower monthly payments by allowing you to spread the loan over 30 years in some cases. You are paying more payments, so be sure to compare the total cost of repaying your unconsolidated loans with the cost of repaying them through the consolidation loan.
The process of consolidating is very flexible. Consolidation is available from before you graduate down through years of repayment.
First, you need to gather information about your current loan. You need to know the balances and the interest rates, the names and addresses of companies and the names and addresses of personal references. The National Student Loan Data System can help provide you with the information that you need since it holds the most complete and accurate information for federal loans.
Paying Them Back
You will have 2 options to pay these loans back.
1. Pay a standard amount each month. This will include principle and interest. This is the lowest cost of interest paid way to go.
2. Or a graduated repayment. Here you start with lower payments that are only interest, but then they will keep increasing.
Usually repayment of your consolidation loans will begin in 60 days and will take from 10 to 30 years to fully pay back.
There are some questions that you should ask the lender before going forward.
- is there a rate reduction, for example for making your payments online or on time?
- does the loan meet your specific needs?
- is that the best interest rate available?
To get a student loan consolidation, you can still be enrolled in school or graduated. Either way, you’ll find many lending options that will fit your needs.
Visit Consolidate loan for more. Ron King is a researcher, writer, and web developer, visit Articles for authors. Copyright 2006 Ron King.
How To Get Debt Collectors Off Your Back Permanently
October 30, 2008
Debt collectors are liars, cheaters, etc… They take advantage of every loophole possible and even break the law. They have been featured on almost every news program from CNN to 60 Minutes. There are laws in place to contain their harassment and collection efforts and to make this process more civil, but most figure the risk of getting caught is minimal and that the rewards of endlessly harassing and fleecing victims is far greater. We now have the power to take back our lives, stop them in their tracks and sue them for more than they are trying to collect.
First, lets start with what is actually owed and how most collection agencies work. Usually a unpaid debt is either sold or turned over to a collection agency. 95% or more of these debts are credit cards, store cards, gas cards, etc… These debts are then tiered according to age of debt, amount, credit, job history, etc… Generally most debts are bought for pennies on the dollar. Recent debt may go for $.15 to $.25 on the dollar whereas old debt that has had numerous collection attempts goes for $.05 or less and debt that is beyond the statues of limitations for the state the debtor resides in goes for less than $.01. So, for instance if you owed $10000.00 on a credit card, the debt collection agency paid at most $2500.00, but probably paid less than $1500 for it. Now, what’s interesting is that they will call and write you stating that you now owe $14000.00 or so stating that it has accrued interest and various questionable fees. This is all profit if you were dumb enough to pay that. A fair settlement would be $1700.00 or less. So, the point here is that you don’t ever owe what they are trying to collect from you - it is always far, far less.
Secondly, lets give you some more ammunition - The 1977 FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act) gives you rights the debt collectors won’t tell you about. If you don’t want to hear from them again, its easy. Just write them a letter stating that you wish they cease all contact with you (make sure you put in the letter that - P.S. This letter is in no way an acknowledgement of the above listed debt(s) - that way they cannot even attempt to try and re-age your debt (add another 7years of collection and reporting to further harass). Send the letter registered return receipt requested mail and keep your proof of receipt. If they contact you after this for any reason other than to tell you they are either dropping the issue or taking it to court (99.99% won’t go to court as it costs them more money and their odds of getting anything are almost zero - even with a judgement) then you can sue them for each occurrence for $1,000. People win these suits every day - most settle out of court for a lot more than the original debt (just look this up on the internet under small claims court). You also have the right to question the debt and have the debt collector provide proof. Many debt collection agencies are being sued by many debtors for their failure to provide proof. Just look up Asset Acceptance on the internet - they are one of the biggest abusers of this federal law with thousands of outstanding lawsuits for harassing debt collection practices.
So, now you know how to stop debt collection agencies in their tracks. You know how to get relief - sue them! If enough people sue them things will change. Also use your state and local resources. State Attorney generals go after debt collection agencies that routinely break the law, Consumer protection agencies (the Better Business Bureau, etc…), the Federal Trade Commission goes after the worst abusers, and, of course, your state department of insurance and finance (whom actually licenses these agencies rto operate in your state). You state department of finance and insurance, or similar, has the power to fine, punish and even banish the debt collection agency from your state. Every state requires a debt collection agency to be licensed and put up a large financial bond (around $50,000) to operate in your state. Call these folks if you are having problems with a debt collection agency - they will get immediate results in your favor. Don’t threaten the collection agency that you have these rights - use them. Bring the collection agency to its knees if they are violating your rights.
The other problem is are these bills, debts even correct? Many hospitals, doctors, etc… have no ethics and will purposely double or even triple bill patients without insurance because they know they can get away with it. If you have a question about your bill demand a itemized bill and have this professionally examined. This will reveal things like overcharging ($100 tissue boxes, 1000 percent markup on medicines, etc…) We entrust these hospitals and doctors with our lives and then they screw us by double billing or worse. Right now there is no government policing on hospitals. Many times a debt collector will actually make up a debt or illegally pass one on to you from someone else (Asset Acceptance has been sued for this many times). Do not assume that you owe any debt and take them to task. If you do owe it, pay it, but pay the least amount possible, and pay it on your terms. If they break the law - make them pay!
If you have a problem with a bill make it known to your state politicians. If enough people do this things will change. Write to your local newspaper, tell a friend, do a press release. Tell others of their rights. Cigarette boxes come with warnings - shouldn’t debt collectors and debt collection agencies with their high propensity to skirt the law also come with mandatory warnings? The more the word gets out, the better the odds something will be done about it.
David Maillie holds numerous patents including his recently awarded patent for headlight repair, cleaner and restorer. He can be reached at M.D. Wholesale: MDwholesale.com Bestskinpeel.com
Which Charity Credit Cards Are Worthy Of Your Support
October 29, 2008
Donating to good causes is a great way to help people who are less fortunate. People have always been able to help good causes by giving up their time or handing over cash. Now the process is even easier.
Many charities now have branded credit cards that enable consumers to donate to the charity every time they spend. These charity credit cards are backed by major UK banks. The Royal Bank of Scotland, Halifax and the Cooperative Bank all support several charity credit cards.
Learning About Charity Credit Cards
When consumers first sign up for a charity credit card, the issuing bank makes a donation to the relevant charity. This sum ranges from 5 to more than 40. The actual sum donated will depend on the terms of the particular credit card deal. If consumers keep and use the card, then card issuers usually make a second donation at the end of six months or a year.
Charity credit cards also give ongoing support to charities by paying a percentage of any spending on the card to the nominated charity. For example, most cards contribute 0.25% of spending to the charity. This means that 25 pence is donated to charity for every pound spent on the card. Some charity credit cards offer a donation of as much as 1%, so the amount given to charity increases to match. This is worth thinking about when deciding which charity credit card to go for.
What Causes Can I Support With Charity Credit Cards?
There are cards for almost every good cause. These include:
- Cancer charities such as Cancer Research UK and Breakthrough Breast Cancer Trust
- Children’s charities such as the NSPCC, Great Ormond Street Hospital and Barnardos
- Animal charities such as the RSPCA and PDSA
- Aid agencies such as Christian Aid and Oxfam
- And many more.
To find out if the charity you want to support has a credit card, telephone them or visit their websites. There are also several credit card comparison sites to help consumers decided among the different credit card offers.
What Incentives Are There For Using Charity Credit Cards?
Charity credit cards offer the same incentives to new cardholders as other cards. This means that, depending on the offer, cardholders can benefit from:
- Low annual interest rates
- 0% balance transfer rates for a fixed period
- 0% interest on purchases for a fixed period
- other rewards and incentives.
Some credit card issuers may charge a one-off balance transfer fee. This should be considered when deciding on the right card.
As with all credit cards it is essential to make payments regularly and on time to avoid attracting any penalty fees.
Once people have selected the right charity card, making a donation is as simple as doing what they would do anyway. All they have to do is spend money in the usual places and their favourite charities will get the benefit.
Joe Kenny writes for the Credit Card Guide, offering views on credit cards in the UK, visit them today for some great 0% balance transfer offers and start clearing credit card debt today.
Getting A Wedding Loan
October 29, 2008
Weddings are becoming more and more expensive, with the average UK wedding costing well over 15,000. Each year the cost is rising, and people are spending more and more on their weddings. In order to pay for this very special occasion, you might want to consider taking out a wedding loan. A wedding loan can help you to fund all or part of your wedding, and means you can have the ceremony you really want. If you want to know more about wedding loans, here are some things to consider before applying.
Wedding loans are unsecured
Although it might be possible to get a secured wedding loan, most wedding loans are personal unsecured loans. This type of loan does not require you to put up something of value as collateral, meaning you do not need to put your home at risk. Also, a lot of people who are just getting married do not own property, and if they do will have a mortgage already and will not want to take out more money against their home. As long as you have reasonably good credit, you will be able to get some sort of unsecured wedding loan. Unsecured loans are also quicker to get hold of, because you do not have to go through the house valuation process.
How much debt do you want?
One thing you need to consider before taking out a wedding loan is the amount of debt that you are your partner are willing to carry into marriage. You will need to decide whether or not you apply for the loan separately or jointly, and take into consideration other debts you might have such as credit cards or mortgage payments. Only borrow what you can really afford to pay back. Although your wedding day is important, it is not worth getting into serious financial trouble over.
Greater ability to budget
Once you have worked out how much you want to borrow and applied to see what the amount you are eligible for, you can budget your wedding. If you have an amount already secured, then it is much easier to work out a budget for your wedding. You know how much money you have to work with, and so can plan the details within this budget.
Save yourself money
Wedding loans can also help to save you money on your wedding. Even if you have money set aside for your wedding, some of the costs might end up being paid for on a credit card, which carries a much higher interest rate than a loan. Also, if you are pre-approved for a wedding loan, you have the finance in place and can negotiate with suppliers for your wedding. If you can pay people like caterers and entertainers up-front, then they may be willing to give you a discount. This will help you to save money on your wedding and also ensure that everything runs smoothly.
Shop around and read the contract
As with any loan, it is important to shop around for the best rate. Also, make sure that you read the contract in detail before signing it. Your wedding is important, but so is the loan you use to pay for it. Long after your wedding day has finished you will be paying back the loan, so you need to make sure that it is right for you.
Peter Kenny is a writer for creditcards-gb.co.uk Please visit us at Unsecured Loans and Secured Loans
Credit Card Minimum Payments to Increase Soon
October 29, 2008
The Office of the Controller has strongly recommended that credit card companies make their customers pay higher minimum payments, up to double the current amount to try to help us get out of debt. So instead of approximately 2% of your balance, you could pay up to 4%. This will affect at least 7% who currently only pay the minimum and those who can only afford to pay a small portion over the minimum.
These days the average consumer has 4-6 credit cards, not including gas cards, and $8-20 thousand dollars in credit card debt and rising. Paying only the current minimum and never charging again will keep you in debt for 30-60 years, depending on interest, late fees and over limit costs.
The guidelines to raise the credit card minimum were made in 2003, but the banks and credit card companies wanted some time to ease into it. Some say, they waited until the new bankruptcy laws were into effect, so they would have less to lose.
There’s no set date when your credit card company will start increasing your minimum payments, just know they will and probably soon. Some already have. I’ve read dates from July to October of this year and many thought it was going to happen last year, so be warned.
What can you do, if you will not be able to afford this increase?
You can contact your credit card companies and see if any will work out a lower payment for you on a temporary basis. Keep in mind that frequently, when you have payment arrangements like this, they will not let you use your credit card, so keep at least one available for emergencies.
You can hire a debt consolidation company to get a personal loan for you and pay off all your credit cards. Personal loans usually don’t have very low interest rates, like a home equity loan or refinancing your home. If you don’t think it will take you too long to pay off or you don’t own a home, this may be the way to go. You can also hire these people to make payment arrangements for you or charge off some of your debt. Be careful here, any debt they get “charged off” for you will show that way on your credit report, lowering your credit score dramatically, and you will have to pay taxes on the charged off amount as income.
One solution, is to either get a home equity line of credit or refinance your home. The interest rates are lower than a personal loan or credit card and spread out farther, so you will pay a much lower monthly payment. You always have the option of paying more than the minimum when you can afford to.
If your debts aren’t too terrible, but you may need more in the future for home repairs, my suggestion would be to go with the home equity line of credit. Get approved for a little more than your debts and expected home repairs, so you won’t have to worry about getting another one for a while. Try to pay more than the minimum whenever you can without risking your cash flow.
If you have a lot of credit card debt, home repairs that need to be made, an unstable job or other situation that could make matters much worse at any time, you should probably consider refinancing. If it’s been at least a year or more since you purchased or previously refinanced your home you probably have enough equity, depending on where you live of course. Also, if you’ve been making your payments on time for the past year or more, you’ll have a good payment history and should have a good enough credit score to get a decent rate.
If you have late payments, you still may want to consider refinancing at a higher rate, as a temporary solution. Your interest rate will probably be much less than your credit card interest, so you’ll pay a lower monthly payment and not risk ruining your credit or worse, losing your house. If you pay all your bills on time for the following 11/2 to 2 years, you can refinance again to get a better rate.
If you think that the rise in credit card minimum payments will affect you adversely, try to make a decision on what you are going to do about it soon. The longer you put it off, the harder it will be to deal with in the future.
Sandra Wellman is a mortgage specialist who can help you refinance your home or get an equity line of credit to help you pay off those credit cards. You can contact her at 510-713-7800 ext 135.
Choosing a Credit Card When You Have Poor Credit
October 28, 2008
Poor credit is something that can happen to just about anyone, and it’s not always due to circumstances we could have controlled. Sometimes life events just go beyond what even the most budget conscious could have paid for.
Once you have things back under control, it’s time to start rebuilding your credit. Even if you hope to never have debt in your life again, building a good credit history can help you.
Your credit history can impact your ability to get a job, a car, a home. It can even impact the rates you pay on insurance. Places you wouldn’t necessarily think of may run a credit check on you.
This makes selecting a credit card to help you build up that score very important. You want it to be something that will help you rather than make things worse.
Many credit cards for poor credit have annual fees. These may not sound too bad, and in many cases really aren’t that bad, until you add them on top of all the other fees that may be charged. Some companies have a fee to join and a monthly fee on top of that, to where the fees are costing you more than you may have planned on spending on the card.
Right off the top, make sure you understand the fee schedule before you even apply for the card. There’s no point in paying for a card you’re going to loathe. Take a little time and you can find much more reasonably priced credit cards.
And don’t pay a fee until you actually get the card. This is one of the best ways to avoid being scammed. You may be having a hard time building up your credit, but that’s no reason to skip your due diligence. It’s for your own protection.
The interest rate offered to you matters, even if you aren’t particularly planning on carrying a balance. You might need to at some point, so do take this into consideration.
A big consideration is whether you want to go with a secured or unsecured credit card. You can find these available to you, pretty much no matter what your credit looks like. Which you prefer is pretty much up to you.
However, if you prefer a secured credit card, make sure that it is a true secured card and reported to the credit bureaus. You do not want to be wasting your efforts with a prepaid debit card when you’re trying to rebuild your credit score. The two can sound very similar, so be sure to ask the company when in doubt.
The grace period can be another major sticking point. You want to have enough time that you actually have a chance of getting your payments in on time. You may be capable of taking that bill the day you get it and sending your payment straight in, but what if you don’t? You need a sufficient grace period to allow yourself to comfortably make that payment.
Beyond all these factors, you want to look at what you really want from the card. If you’re going to carry a balance, a rewards card honestly is probably not the best choice, since the interest will probably eat up your benefits.
Going from a poor credit score to a good one takes time, but it’s a necessity of modern life for most people. If you work at it you should be able to improve your credit score steadily and make the move to a regular credit card over time.
Stephanie Foster blogs at http://credit-blog.findcreditonline.com/ on credit related issues. If you need to find a credit card for poor credit, she suggests looking over the unsecured credit cards at her site.
Credit Card Minimum Payments to Increase Soon
October 28, 2008
The Office of the Controller has strongly recommended that credit card companies make their customers pay higher minimum payments, up to double the current amount to try to help us get out of debt. So instead of approximately 2% of your balance, you could pay up to 4%. This will affect at least 7% who currently only pay the minimum and those who can only afford to pay a small portion over the minimum.
These days the average consumer has 4-6 credit cards, not including gas cards, and $8-20 thousand dollars in credit card debt and rising. Paying only the current minimum and never charging again will keep you in debt for 30-60 years, depending on interest, late fees and over limit costs.
The guidelines to raise the credit card minimum were made in 2003, but the banks and credit card companies wanted some time to ease into it. Some say, they waited until the new bankruptcy laws were into effect, so they would have less to lose.
There’s no set date when your credit card company will start increasing your minimum payments, just know they will and probably soon. Some already have. I’ve read dates from July to October of this year and many thought it was going to happen last year, so be warned.
What can you do, if you will not be able to afford this increase?
You can contact your credit card companies and see if any will work out a lower payment for you on a temporary basis. Keep in mind that frequently, when you have payment arrangements like this, they will not let you use your credit card, so keep at least one available for emergencies.
You can hire a debt consolidation company to get a personal loan for you and pay off all your credit cards. Personal loans usually don’t have very low interest rates, like a home equity loan or refinancing your home. If you don’t think it will take you too long to pay off or you don’t own a home, this may be the way to go. You can also hire these people to make payment arrangements for you or charge off some of your debt. Be careful here, any debt they get “charged off” for you will show that way on your credit report, lowering your credit score dramatically, and you will have to pay taxes on the charged off amount as income.
One solution, is to either get a home equity line of credit or refinance your home. The interest rates are lower than a personal loan or credit card and spread out farther, so you will pay a much lower monthly payment. You always have the option of paying more than the minimum when you can afford to.
If your debts aren’t too terrible, but you may need more in the future for home repairs, my suggestion would be to go with the home equity line of credit. Get approved for a little more than your debts and expected home repairs, so you won’t have to worry about getting another one for a while. Try to pay more than the minimum whenever you can without risking your cash flow.
If you have a lot of credit card debt, home repairs that need to be made, an unstable job or other situation that could make matters much worse at any time, you should probably consider refinancing. If it’s been at least a year or more since you purchased or previously refinanced your home you probably have enough equity, depending on where you live of course. Also, if you’ve been making your payments on time for the past year or more, you’ll have a good payment history and should have a good enough credit score to get a decent rate.
If you have late payments, you still may want to consider refinancing at a higher rate, as a temporary solution. Your interest rate will probably be much less than your credit card interest, so you’ll pay a lower monthly payment and not risk ruining your credit or worse, losing your house. If you pay all your bills on time for the following 11/2 to 2 years, you can refinance again to get a better rate.
If you think that the rise in credit card minimum payments will affect you adversely, try to make a decision on what you are going to do about it soon. The longer you put it off, the harder it will be to deal with in the future.
Sandra Wellman is a mortgage specialist who can help you refinance your home or get an equity line of credit to help you pay off those credit cards. You can contact her at 510-713-7800 ext 135.
Is Debt Consolidation Really For You
October 27, 2008
Well, it’s time to do something about your debt. You are tired of the sleepless nights, the harassing phone calls, and the generally depressing cloud hanging over your head. So after careful thought, you decide to get debt consolidation. But is debt consolidation really for you? How would you know? Many of us are the “take the bull by the horns” type and don’t do well with third parties working for us as we feel they are just taking our money. And you know that with debt consolidation, they probably are taking your money. That is even more reason why you need to carefully consider if debt consolidation will really fit you. The first task at hand in determining if debt consolidation fits you is to study all the facts around the area you are venturing into. Debt counseling, credit counseling, and debt consolidation are like the American Wild West in the credit arena. In other words, picture yourself at a card table with a bunch of unshaven renegade outlaws and all of them are out to get your money either fairly or underhandedly.
The first thing to understand when seeking a debt consolidation on your credit cards or other unsecured debt is that with a debt consolidation this debt will transfer to secured debt. Let’s face it. You approach the debt consolidation company as a high risk person who had problems with unsecured debt. There is no way they are going to get you unsecured debt. If a debt consolidation loan is advertised as unsecured then you had better check it out because usually debt consolidation is secured. By secured we mean that you will have to put your primary residence up as collateral or security for the loan in the case of default and you cannot pay. This means you would lose your house. Are you willing to take this risk? Is this for you?
Keep this one point in the back of your mind: credit card debt is unsecured. That means that no matter how much they harass you, they cannot take your home or car as these were not used as security on the loan. Considering this, a debt consolidation may not be for you if you have tough skin and weather the storm while you get your financial situation back on track. Debt consolidation companies claim that they can save your credit but in reality, by the time you get to this point, your credit is ruined. Better to try to pay something on your debts and weather it out because if you can manage to get through the storm you can rebuild your credit later. But with unsecured debt, you have more freedom actually.
Something else to consider when determining if a debt consolidation loan is right for you, ask yourself what you are going to do with your credit cards once the consolidation loan pays them off. Take a hard look at yourself and determine if you have the discipline to not run the charges up on you cards again after a consolidation loan gets you out of hot water. Ask yourself if you are willing to cut up your cards to keep that from happening. You know yourself best and it is of utmost importance to be honest with yourself when considering if a debt consolidation loan is right for you.
For more resources on managing your debt visit: http://www.debtconsolidatecenter.com/
