Your Debt Threat

With the economy in shambles, unemployment pushing 10% and a credit crunch that is squeezing tighter, consumers are searching desperately to consolidate credit card debt. Many ultimately decide to find that relief with some sort of debt consolidation loan.

With very few options, consumers often end up with a choice between a balance transfer or a debt consolidation loan as their options to get help with credit debt. Admittedly, the utility of one option over the other will depend mostly on of unsecured personal loans, and the options available to that consumer to consolidate credit card debt.

Interest Free Credit Cards: A Short Term Option For Help With Debt

While not a long term solution for consolidating debt, a 0 APR balance transfer is an interest free way to consolidate credit card debt for about six to twelve months. If the consumer wanted to extend the consolidation for a longer period of time, he or she would search out other 0 interest credit cards near the end of the initial term and transfer the balance before the interest free credit cards offer expired.

However, there are three major disadvantages of using short term interest free credit card balance transfers to consolidate credit debt.

The balance transfer usually carries a 3-4% balance transfer fee. If the consumer is lucky the balance transfer fee would be capped at $50 to $75 dollars. However, in recent months, some issuers have been removing the caps on balance transfer fees.

Good credit scores are essential to access 0 APR balance transfers. If the consumer has missed a payment or made a late payment on any other bill, that fact will be registered with credit agencies. Issuers are unlikely to approve the application (especially one with a 0 APR balance transfer offer).

It is a gamble. when using interest free credit cards for consolidating debt, the consumer is “betting on the come” (to borrow a term from the game of craps). The consumer is betting that he or she will either be able to pay off the credit debt before the end of the time period or transfer the remaining balance to another interest free credit card.

That is a steep gamble, especially in our current economic climate.

As such, the interest free credit card should be reserved for those that can pay off the balance within six to twelve months.

Unsecured Debt Consolidation Loans: A Long Term Solution To Credit Debt

A long term alternative to the interest free credit cards balance transfer game is to consolidate debt with a low interest debt consolidation loan.

Unlike the juggling involved in the balance transfer, the unsecured debt consolidation loan takes the complication out of credit card debt relief. A debt consolidation reduces many credit card debt obligations to one single monthly repayment. The consumer does get the advantages of: (1) a single low monthly payment, (2) the security of knowing all other debts are paid, and (3) the peace of knowing that when the final payment is made, the consumer will enjoy complete debt relief.

What About Secured Credit Card Debt Consolidation Loans?

In most states, the consumer can open a home equity line of credit (HELOC) and use the equity in their residence to consolidate credit debt. However, in our current economic climate, home values have plummeted and there may be no equity upon which to draw.

Secondly, it is not a good idea to turn an unsecured debt into one secured by your personal residence. Credit debt is legally an unsecured personal debt. In other words, in most cases, the creditor cannot take your home in response to defaulting on a credit card.

When a consumer takes out a debt consolidation loan using a HELOC, they are turning unsecured debt into debt secured by his home.

This is rarely a good way to simplify family finances.

As such, when an unsecured consolidation loan not be available, a balance transfer is preferable even if it is a short term interest free credit card or low interest balance transfer option.

Do You Need A Short Term Or Long Term Debt Consolidation Solution?

If you have a small amount of unsecured personal debt that you could generally pay off in six to twelve months, then an interest free credit card is a good option for you. Be prepared for a balance transfer fee and be able to produce a good credit score. For those in need of longer term solutions help with debt and/or have bad credit, then an unsecured debt consolidation loan is the preferable choice.

Accessing a HELOC is not a wise solution for credit card debt relief.

Rick Bertrandt is an attorney and debt consolidation counselor. Mr. Bertrandt counsels his clients to consolidate credit card debt using the tools found at 0 Credit Cards Guide.com

In the recent years, the significance of California debt consolidation loan has increased radically, and one of the primary reasons for this dramatic increase is the escalating consumer debt. The total American consumer debt touched the $2.2 trillion benchmark in the year 2005, and it still continues to grow. Today, more and more people, who are knee deep in debt, are using California debt consolidation loans to get out of the debt trap quickly and safely. Let’s find out what makes California debt consolidation loans so effective.

California debt consolidation loans provide the same basic benefits as other debt consolidation loans viz.

o Consolidate all your smaller loans so that you make only one monthly payment to the debt consolidation company instead of innumerable payments to different creditors.

o Extends the repayment period so as to reduce the monthly payments.

o Low monthly payments allow you to save a few pennies, which can be used to write off the debt quickly.

In addition to these basic benefits, all California debt consolidation loans are secured loans. Therefore, their interest rates are many times lower that other types of loans. While credit card companies charge somewhere between twenty and thirty percent, the interest rates of California debt consolidation loans fall within the range of six to twelve percent. Lower interest rate means that a major portion of your monthly repayment installment goes towards clearing your debt.

Another benefit of California debt consolidation loans is that your debt will be paid off within the defined period of time. In simple words, if the tenure of your California debt consolidation loan is five years, then at the end of five years your would have repaid all your debts. The shorter the duration of the loan, the more benefits you get. Short-term California debt consolidation loans have smaller service fee, lower interest rates and lesser extraneous costs. As your expenses will be low, you savings will be obviously high.

One of the chief benefits of California debt consolidation loans is that they are specifically geared towards people who genuinely wish to clear all their outstanding bills and debts. Unlike credit cards, which continue to give your credit despite your growing debt, California debt consolidation loans give you a fixed amount of money. All this money is used to pay off all the unpaid bills. You will not get any more money until you pay off your California debt consolidation loan. This strategy prevents you from falling into another debt trap.
In nutshell, California debt consolidation loan is the best option for you if you want to lighten your debt burden as quickly as possible.

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You may be wary of debt counseling services, or wonder which debt counseling service to choose.  I understand.  Sometimes it is hard to settle on the right type of counseling, especially when it comes to a private matter like you finances. But the longer you wait to do something, the longer it will take for your situation to improve. It is no secret that the way you handle your debt is directly related to your credit-worthiness in the future. I’m sure that you do not want to have the same car or house forever, right? So it is very important to present your best self when applying for future credit accounts and debt counseling is a way to get on the right track – especially, if you feel like your debt is getting out of hand.  

So what exactly is debt counseling? Actually it’s pretty simple.  It is a method of debt-relief where a professional helps you revamp your debts to come up with a monthly budget you can live with and a spending plan that allows you to pay your balances off quickly.  If you have any kind of outstanding balances at all, a counseling session can show you how to manage your hard earned money so you keep more of it.

For example, if you are making the bare minimum payment on your accounts – this will not get you anywhere.  In fact, it puts you deeper in the hole in the long run because your money is going towards, not the principal amount due.  A professional counselor can help you renegotiate some of your bills so you can get a handle on your finances and actually pay them off.  Most times you counselor can set up a program that can have your bills paid off in months, not years.

Do you have bad credit?  Do you get annoying phone calls and letters to your home? It seems like they will never go away, right? As long as you have delinquent accounts, the calls and mail will not stop.

Some collection agencies take it as far as calling your neighbors or your place of work. No one wants to have this kind of stress on them – having delinquent accounts is bad enough without someone reminding you about it. If this is your story, you need debt counseling.  A counselor is on your side.  They act as a “go-between” by negotiating and shielding you from creditors as they help you make a plan toward financial recovery.

Now before you ask, yes, debt counseling services do have a cost attached to them – but initial consultations are usually free.  Once you talk to a counselor, you will find that their bottom line cost is nothing that will break your pockets.  Many times counselors will not charge anything up front.  Instead they will roll their payment into your overall debt-reduction program.  In the long run, it may be the best money you’ve ever spent.

You can use the power of the world-wide-web to find a debt counseling service quickly and easily. There are trusted online resources available. Remember, you should not feel ashamed that you need help.  There are millions of people who do.  Get the support you need.  You are not alone.

L. Waters, Research Writer

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