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Debt Consolidation: The Truth Is Out There
By John Collins
You’re broke. You’ve got bills that amount to more than what you could earn in a year. Heck, it’s even more than you could earn in a decade. You can’t borrow from your parents, your relatives, your friends or your ex-partner. And your bank manager has personally written you a letter – sadly, it’s not about the state of the weather but the state of your account. It’s soooo like Becky in Shopaholic it’s almost eerie. But alas, there will be no multi-millionaire named Luke to go dashing to your rescue. So what to do? Switch on the TV, of course. The nonsense pouring out from the boob tube would surely lessen the stress. And then…something catches your eye. What’s that? Oh my. Is that a sign from heaven?
Should you try consolidation?
Over the years, consolidation has become a popular method to use to conquer those outstanding bills from credit card companies, student loans and so on. Originally, consolidation started to boom with countless advertisements in the Internet but after a while, it also began to advertise in TV. Making itself a focus of attention in such a way was both a good thing and a bad thing for consolidation companies.
Good because it made more and more people aware that consolidation may be something they haven’t considered to getting them out of the financial trouble they’ve found themselves in.
Bad because their aggressive marketing has made other people --- like the government --- aware that they exist. And so now, a lot of consolidation companies have been targeted by a number of lawsuits over the years.
But first and foremost: what’s consolidation anyway? In a nutshell, consolidation is adding up all your outstanding bills and bringing them to the consolidation company. Then you
have them talk with your creditors in giving you more time to pay off or lower the interest rates or the monthly payments. Debt consolidation companies are very careful to emphasize that they don’t make your debts vanish, only tolerable and they help you to become financial worry-free, if there is such a state of being. Debt consolidation is also now known as settlement and negotiation. Anyway, it all means the same thing.
So is it advisable to use consolidation or is it a curse in disguise? It truly depends. If you try researching over the Internet, you’ll surely come across articles that warn you against enlisting the help of a consolidation company because in the end, you’ll be more financially bankrupt than you were before. But some articles say that it’s a good thing because it’s a method where you can solve all your problems in one swoop.
In the end, it’s really up to you if you want to take a risk or not. If you do, then the first step you should take is to look for a consolidation company that you can truly trust. There are websites that list consolidation companies that are worth trusting. You can also check the Better Business Bureau for their own list but some say that a good rating with the BBB basically amounts to nothing. But if you don't want to use consolidation as a last resort, that’s okay, because there are still other alternatives. You can talk personally with your creditors and assure them with your sincere desire to pay your loans off but requesting for a little more time. Sincerity always works. Then you can get counseling and enroll yourself under a financial fitness program or a therapy for those who are unable to control their spending.
You can find out more about at http://www.debt-guides.info
John Collins manages Debt advice
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