Debt Consolidation

It’s easy to get into overwhelming debt; it happens to good people every day. The leading U.S. economic indicators prove that you are not alone.

Do you find yourself in any of the following situations?

You really don’t know how much you owe or when your payments are due.
You skip paying some bills in order to pay others.
You use your credit cards to pay for general living expenses like food and rent.
You receive harassing phone calls from creditors at work or at home.
You are taking cash advances from one credit card in order to pay off another card.
You are making the minimum payment on the debts you owe but your total debt continues to rise.
You have to borrow money from family and friends to just to make ends meet.

When these things start to happen most of us start looking for ways to ease our burden. The fact that you are reading this shows that you are sincerely trying to find the right steps to get out of debt.

Creditors recognize that people, such as you, who enter a debt consolidation program, are trying to repay the debt they owe. Therefore creditors are more willing to extend favorable terms to such clients in the hope that they (the creditor) will avoid the significant expense of turning the account over to a collections agency or can avoid a drawn out process if you declare bankruptcy.

What does debt consolidation mean?

Debt Consolidation: The process of consolidating your debt consists of negotiating with creditors in order to obtain the lowest monthly payment needed to satisfy all of your current unsecured debt.* Under most debt consolidation plans, your monthly payments are often lowered and the interest charged is reduced. When interest rates are reduced you can end up saving thousands of dollars. In most cases a reduced payoff period is also negotiated, saving you years of payments.

You make one monthly "lump" sum payment, which is divided among your creditors. This monthly payment will, in most cases, be lower than the total of each of your individual bills. This is not another loan – it is a method used to work with your creditors to reduce and/or eliminate high interest charges, waive late fees and other penalties, and update your past due account to show it as current.

So if the following is happening to you because of uncontrollable debt:

Late fees and penalties.
Unsure of which bill to pay first.
Family arguments over money.
Afraid to answer the phone because of creditor harassment.

Know that there is a common sense approach that will allow you to pay your current monthly bills easily, get out of debt sooner, repair your credit rating, and at the same time save money.

Consolidate your debt to improve your peace of mind and reach your financial goals.

Consolidate your debt into one affordable monthly payment.
Stop harassing phone calls from your creditors.
Drastically lower your monthly payments.
Save thousands in interest payments.
Pay off all your bills years sooner.

*Unsecured debts are things like credit cards, department store cards, personal signature loans, lines of credit from a bank or credit union, medical bills, and past due utility. In other words, any money that you owe that did not require that you put up any collateral to obtain.

A secured debt, on the other hand, is a debt such as a home mortgage or auto loan, which usually cannot be consolidated, because a creditor can repossess your car or foreclose on your home in order to recover their money.