| You don't want to be saddled with debt for the rest of your life. You can't have creditors banging at your door or calling you all day looking for their money. This stressful, unhealthy life will wear on you and bring you nothing but misery. Use debt consolidation to fix your finances by reading below.
Don't look at debt consolidation as a horrible thing that you are doing alone. This is a real common situation. Millions of people have been exactly where you are right now, and they've survived. Know that going in. It's nothing to get worked up about. Channel that potential anxiety into the right action steps to move forward.
To help you consolidate your debts consider borrowing against your 401k plan. Many employers allow employees to take a loan out against their retirement plans. One of the benefits to this is that you pay the money back to yourself. The interest rates are generally very low and the interest paid also goes back into your account.
While going through the debt consolidation process, strive to identify the reasons you are now in debt. You do not want to find yourself in debt again within a few years. Try soul-searching to see what caused this situation to avoid it from occurring again.
Pay off your smallest loans first. Then concentrate on large amounts. Using this technique allows you to quickly get some small bills paid off. Then, you can use the money that you had been paying towards those small bills to help pay off larger loans. This technique works well when you are saddled by a lot of small credit card balances.
Do not get involved with a debt counselor that works for a company that pays by commission. This is a red flag as it's going to alter your situation according to the best interests of the debt counselor and not your best interests. Instead, look for a reputable company that pays their counselors accordingly.
Check the privacy policy of the debt consolidation agency you are interested in. You should go over their privacy policy very carefully and make sure you are comfortable with it. You will have to trust this agency with a lot of personal information and trust them with your money and your debt.
Consider contacting a consumer credit counselor before signing the dotted line on a debt consolidation loan. Many people reach for the loan too quickly and fail to think it through. A good credit counselor will show you how you got into the debt and the best ways of dealing with it, which may or may not be with a debt consolidation loan.
If you want to have a debt consolidation agency help you, ask how your funds will be protected before payments to your creditors are made. Some agencies will keep your funds in a savings account until it is time to pay your creditors while others might invest the funds for a short amount of time.
A solution to your financial burden can be found in debt consolidation. It is up to you to make use of the research you have done today to better your situation. If you can take the time to do it right by using this advice, you can truly change your life. |