Get Out Of Debt

You are swimming in debt. You have 4 credit cards maxed out, a car loan, a consumer loan, and a house payment. Simply making the minimum payments is causing your distress and certainly not getting you out of debt. What should you do?

Some people feel that debt consolidation loans are the best option. A debt consolidation loans is one loan which pays off many other loans or lines of credit.

I’m sure you’ve seen the advertisements of smiling people who have chosen to take a consolidation loan. They seem to have had the weight of the world lifted off their shoulders. But are debt consolidation loans a good deal? Let’s explore the pros and cons of this type of debt solution.

Pros

1. One payment versus many payments: The average citizen of the USA pays 11 different creditors every month. Making one single payment is much easier than figuring out who should get paid how much and when. This makes managing your finances much easier.

2. Reduced interest rates: Since the most common type of debt consolidation loan is the home equity loan, also called a second mortgage, the interest rates will be lower than most consumer debt interest rates. Your mortgage is a secured debt. This means that they have something they can take from you if you do not make your payment. Credit cards are unsecured loans. They have nothing except your word and your history. Since this is the case, unsecured loans typically have higher interest rates.

3. Lower monthly payments: Since the interest rate is lower and because you have one payment vs many, the amount you have to pay per month is typically decreased significantly.

4. Only one creditor: With a consolidated loan, you only have one creditor to deal with. If there are any problems or issues, you will only have to make one call instead of several. Once again, this simply makes controlling your finances much easier.

5. Tax Breaks: Interest paid to a credit card is money down the drain. Interest paid to a mortgage can be used as a tax write-off.

Sounds great, doesn’t it? Before you run out and get a loan, let’s look at the other side of the picture – the cons.

Cons

1. Easy to get into further debt: With an easier load to bear and more money left over at the end of the month, it might be easy to start using your credit cards again or continuing spending habits that got you into such credit card debt in the first place.

2. Longer time to pay off: Most mortgages are the 10 to 30 year variety. This means that rather than spend a couple of years getting out of credit card debt, you will be spending the length of your mortgage getting out of debt.

3. Spend more over the long haul: Even though the interest rate is less, if you take the loan out over a 30 year period, you may end up spending more than you would have if you had kept each individual loan.

4. You can lose everything: Consolidation loans are secured loans. If you didn’t pay an unsecured credit card loan, it would give you a bad rating but your home would still be secure. If you do not pay a secured loan, they will take away whatever secured the loan. In most cases, this is your home.

As you can see, consolidated loans are not for everyone. Before you make a decision, you must realistically look at the pros and cons to determine if this is the right decision for you.

Using a government grant as a debt solution is not a very popular option. In fact, for many, it’s just not an option they are aware of. Why, you may ask. Is it just too unrealistic? Does the government really give out money to pay off debts? In short, yes; but there is a little more to it than that. Read on to find out more.

Government grants are the most overlooked form of debt solution available. Everyone harps on about IVAs, debt consolidation, debt management and even bankruptcy gets more attention. All these solutions can see you debt free, but there are costs associated with them and it will usually take a few years too.

With a government grant, you can become debt free immediately. You will have no repayments to make & there are no up-front fees.

So if it’s so good, why is it so overlooked?

Put simply, most people do not know about them. Everyone knows about grants for small businesses & for charity’s, but not for the individual drowning in debt. Most people go straight to a debt solution company, who of course will not utter the words ‘government grant’ and ‘free’ – they want their big, fat, juicy commission fee!

So now you know all the advantages, lets get down to business. How do you get one?

Firstly, the government is interested in boosting the economy, in helping the disadvantaged; this is the purpose of these grants. They are certainly not interested in helping you pay off your credit card bill or funding your holiday of a lifetime. If you think it’s that easy, you may as well stop reading now – this just isn’t for you.

This article is to help individuals who, through no fault of their own, have found themselves in serious debt problems and have nowhere else to turn. It is intended to open up a solution that they didn’t know existed. One that can help them regain control of their finances & get on with their lives. If this is you, read on.

People find themselves in debt for a variety of reasons & often, it isn’t just overspending. The break-up of a marriage, death of a loved one or unexpected redundancy can launch a person into a sea of debt. If you are in a similar situation, you are much more likely to be accepted for a government grant.

Another factor that will be considered is your ability to repay your debts. Unfortunately for many, if you are managing to keep on top of your debts, you will struggle to get accepted. They are set-aside for those who are really drowning in debt, with no hope of paying back the money they owe.

You are by no means guaranteed a government grant. In fact, for the majority, an alternative debt solution will be the only option. The key is being aware of them & checking to see if you are eligible. In the past, it has been overlooked through ignorance. Remember, there is nothing stopping you applying for one. at worst, you will be turned down & then you can look into other debt solutions – at least you will have tried!

Don’t miss out on this opportunity. If you are in a helpless situation – let a government grant help you!

Many people suffering from deep debt obligations often look towards debt consolidation as the answer to their problems. Sometimes the debt is so painful, they don’t always look at both the pros and cons of this debt solution though, so we’ll take a brief look here.

First though, what is debt consolidation? Simply put, it’s the process of combining all your debts into one. If you have ten debts of $10,000 each, then you have a total debt of $100,000. Some of those debts however, might be generating an additional 10% interest, while others are generating 15%-20% interest. In other words: Some of your debt is more expensive than others.

This is where debt consolidation comes into play. In theory, you’d take out a loan for $100,000 at a reasonable – or hopefully low – interest rate. Then you’d use those funds to pay off all ten of the smaller debts. This leaves you with just one payment to make each month, and one interest rate to manage.

Consolidating debt can be done with debt consolidation loans, by transferring your debt to zero or low interest credit cards, and by taking out a home equity loan.

Using the equity of your home to pay off debts can be risky, because if you default on the new loan, you could lose your home.

Likewise, using zero interest credit cards could also be problematic in the future, because these offers are usually designed to lure you in. The zero interest doesn’t last.

Debt consolidation loans might be helpful, but be aware that when you have debt problems to begin with, you might not qualify for low enough interest rates. So if you choose to go this route, be sure to do all the math: Figure out whether the consolidation loan actually will reduce your overall payments – including the total interest you’ll be paying for the life of your loan.

Some credit and debt counselors feel debt consolidation of any kind is a bad move to make though. In fact, it’s estimated that 70% of americans who take out some sort of loan to consolidate their debt end up with the same or worse debt problems within two years.

A better, more long-term solution might be to consider using a debt counselor. Professional counselors negotiate with your creditors to lower your payments or interest rates, while at the same time coaching you to manage debt more effectively. The unfortunate side effect of using counselors though? Your credit report will take a hit because you’re not technically paying your bills as originally agreed.

So there you have a general overview of debt consolidation, the common solutions and options, along with pros and cons of each. Be sure to research all your options completely before making a decision of course, because you don’t want to make your debt problems worse in the long run.