Debt Reduction Strategy
Getting into debt these days has become very easy. Credit card companies bombard us with offers in our mailbox, ads on TV, promotions in stores. If you can sign your name, it seems like you can get credit.
But what happens when you use so much credit that you can no longer pay your credit card bills every month?
What is credit card charge-off
Have you been told by a creditor that your debt is about to "charge-off"? Did the bill collector make it sound like you will be ruined financially if you allow this catastrophe to happen? If you're behind on your bills, unable to keep up with payments on your credit cards and other debts, sooner or later you will hear a creditor representative threaten you with the dreaded "charge-off." So what is... Read debt consolidation article
Debt Consolidation Loan - Start Afresh
You payments are mounting. You don't know what you can do to pay off those mounting bills. Also, excessive spending and cumbersome financial responsibilities are slowly taking you to bankruptcy.
More and more people are now beginning to look at different alternatives to manage their debts. Debt consolidation programs help consumers to get rid of the burden of excessive debt. Debt consolidation experts can help consumers to assess their individual situation and give recommendations on how to get out of their tough situations.
Availing a Debt consolidation loan is an easy task. All it takes is a few simple clicks.
A consumer needs to be honest about the situation and willing to work with creditors. Hiding things will not help the consumer get back on track. While filing for bankruptcy may sound like an easy way out, this is not necessarily true. The damage to your credit score and your credit report is worse. A better alternative to bankruptcy is to work out a plan to get yourself out of that big pile of debt. The name of the plan is debt consolidation.
Paying off debt is a learning process that will help you gain more financial freedom in the long run. But before you take the plunge, you must first familiarise yourself with the pros and cons of taking a debt consolidation loan.
The pros:
Single payment: Making a single payment is much easier than figuring out how much to pay to whom and also when.
Reduced interest rates: In case of a secured deal, you get reduced interest rates. However, if the loan is unsecured you typically have a higher interest rate.
Lower monthly payments: Since the interest rate is lower and because you have only one payment vs. many, the amount you have to pay per month is decreases significantly.
Only one creditor: This simply curbs you finances as in this case you have to deal with only one creditor.
Rebuild your credit: The biggest advantage of a Debt Consolidation Loan is that it lets you start life afresh. You can use this loan to repair your credit.
Isn't it great, but! Before you run out and get a loan, let's look at the other side of the coin - the cons
The cons:
Mount on further debt: With an easier load to bear and more money left at the end of the month, your continuing spending habits may lead you to more debts.
Longer time to pay off: Most loans are lent for a period of 5 to 25 years. This means that rather than spending a couple of years getting out of debt, you will end up spending the entire length of your life getting out of debt.
You can lose everything: If you avail a secured debt consolidation loan and fail to pay it back, then you can actually end up losing your home. This is because secured loans require some collateral to be pledged against the loan.
Remember to weigh both the positives and negatives before availing a debt consolidation loan.
About The Author: The author is a business writer specializing in finance and credit products and has written authoritative articles on the finance industry. She had done her masters in Business Administration and is currently assisting Easy-Debt-Consolidation-Loan as a finance specialist.
For more information please visit:http://www.easy-debt-consolidation-loan.co.uk
Credit cards have become a way of life for most individuals and families. The convenience of credit cards has led to their increased usage and with that increasing credit card debt. The statistics on the average credit card debt held by consumers is staggering at nearly $9000 by the average American said the Consumer Federation of America in a recent report. Credit card debt is not simply a problem because of the average amount owed, but also because of the interest rate charged, which only increases the amount of debt and makes it much more difficult to pay off. If you were to pay just the monthly minimum on $9000 of credit card debt at 18% interest, it would take approximately 42 years to pay off that debt. That's a long time to pay for that new television you so desperately wanted and probably don't have after 42 years.
With increased credit card debt, many of us are threatened by surmounting debt issues and many of us are looking for solutions besides bankruptcy since in 2047 we probably don't want to be paying for that now obsolete and probably non-existent television we bought way back in 2005. One possible solution is debt consolidation.
How can debt consolidation help with credit card debts?
While there are several ways to go about debt consolidation, if you are not quite in a position where you need a debt counselor and debt management plan and your credit is still in good shape, you may be able to consolidate your credit card debt with a bank loan or transfer your credit card debt to a lower interest credit card. The benefit of both is that you only have one monthly payment to make and the interest rate is usually substantially lower. If you transfer your debt to a lower interest credit card, you need to exercise some caution, though. Some credit cards offer special interest rates when you do a balance transfer, but this lower interest rate may not always be fixed until you pay off the debt. It may only last a few months and then the rate goes right back up. If you go this route, managing your debt may be easier than if you have to pay to several lenders, but much more difficult than if you were to consolidate with a single loan because you need to continually calculate interest rates and how they will affect your credit card debt.
Here's an example of how obtaining a lower interest consolidation loan or transferring to a lower interest credit card can affect your credit card debt:
Let's say you have $1000 in outstanding credit card debt with an average (APR) of 18 %. If the outstanding balance remains at $1000, over the course of a year you would pay approximately $180 in interest charges alone. If you consolidate your credit card debt into a single loan with a lower interest rate or if you do a balance transfer onto a credit card with a low interest rate you would save a significant amount of money.
If the new loan or credit card have a 9% APR, the amount you pay in interest charges would be half of the higher interest cards meaning you would save roughly $90 in interest charges over the course of that same year. If you save $90 for a debt of $1000, then think about a debt of $10,000. You will save about $900 just in interest alone and pay down the debt that much quicker.
The author of this article runs OpinedMind.com and is currently a Ph.D. student writing articles on the issues of student loans and scholarships and debt management based on personal experience and many hours of research.
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Debt Consolidation Loan - Start Afresh
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