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Wednesday, November 26, 2008

How To Consolidate Debts

By John Brennan

Our debt is increasing daily, whether it is the national debt, debt being incurred by businesses or that occurring in our own households. Being in debt at a time the economy is failing only makes things more difficult. Owning an average of 7 to 8 credit cards does not help the situation either. It is just too easy to spend money that is there but not our own.

One way out of this situation is debt consolidation, a process that more and more peoole are becoming familiar with. Rather than paying of one credit card with another credit card which at best only prolongs the inevitable. Debt consolidation, if approached correctly, can result in eventual reduction and even elimination of debt. There are several ways to consolidate debt with this correct approach in mind.

What debt consolidation accomplishes is to pay off all credit card and other debt, rolling it all up into a single loan which usually has a significantly lower interest rate and a monthly payment schedule much lower than the combined payments of all the other debts. Through debt consolidation you will witness a reduction in time, expense, and anxiety.

Probably the most commonly used debt consolidation tool is the home equity loan. Here you are effectively making the equity in your home work for you. The collateral you have in your home makes it possible to get a secured loan and a secured loan will almost always feature a lower interest rate, sometimes significantly lower, than will a non-secured loan. If you don't own a home you might wonder if it is still possible to get a debt consolidation loan.

Yes, there are loans without security or other ways to consolidate, but it gets a bit more difficult. Interest rates will also become higher. Credit card transfers are a possibility but you must pay back the outstanding in a certain time limit.

There are better ways to go including accessing life insurance or retirement funds which you may have. You can sometimes make either withdrawals or get low interest loans from these sources. Another source well worth looking into is the credit union. You can look around for a credit union which you are eligible to join. Working at a business or belonging to a union or a large organization may help in finding a good credit union.

There are also non profit organizations that assist with debt consolidation. They actually negotiate with your creditors to get fees waived and interest rates reduced. You can try this on your own but usually it is better to leave that to people who have the tools.

You certainly don't have to live with debt even though at times you may feel you have no choice. Help is available and debt consolidation can be a very effective tool. You have to play your part by doing what you can not to fall back into debt, admittedly not an easy thing to accomplish. But the only way to become debt free is to work find the tools available and to work at it.

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