1. Debt consolidation is an extremely useful
financial technique that allows consumers who
are carrying too much unsecured debt to
combine those debts into one low, monthly
payment. Using debt consolidation, a consumer
can dramatically decrease the interest rates
applied to their debts and reduce the amount
they pay each month. In addition, since the
interest rates are so much lower, consumers
who consolidate often get out of debt faster
even though they pay less each month. This
makes being able to consolidate your debt
essential if you are struggling under the burden
of too much debt. However, many consolidation
options require you to have strong credit scores
in order to qualify successfully. For instance, an
unsecured personal debt consolidation loan or
a credit card balance transfer both require you
to have extremely strong credit in order to
qualify for an interest rate that’s low enough
to provide the benefit needed. If your credit
scores are too low, you either won’t get
approved or will get approved at an interest rate
2. that’s too high to provide the debt relief you
need. This can be a big problem if you are a
consumer struggling under the burden of too
much credit card debt. As credit card debts
increase, the amount you are expected to pay
on each bill goes up as well. Eventually, you
reach a point as your bills are going up where
you start struggling to make sure everything
gets paid on time. In many cases, you may be
late, miss a payment entirely, or pay less than
the full amount due. All of these delinquencies
get reported on your credit reports and can
contribute to decreases in your credit scores.
Luckily, not every debt consolidation option
requires you to have good credit scores in order
to qualify. A debt management program is the
one debt relief option that allows you to
consolidate debt even if you have bad credit.
This is possible because you enroll in a debt
management program through a credit
counseling agency. Since the agency acts on
your behalf to negotiate with your creditors,
your credit scores are not a factor for
qualification. As long as you have a means to
pay the lowered monthly payment the credit
counselor negotiates for you, you can enroll.
What’s more, enrolling in a debt
management program can help get you on the
right path to rebuilding your credit. Your total
debt owed and credit history, together, make up
two thirds of your credit score calculations. By
making your payments to the debt management
3. program on time every month, you decrease
your total debt and build a positive credit
history. This helps to increase your credit
scores. For consumers with bad credit, many
see an increase in their credit scores upon
successful completion of the program. In
addition, because the interest rate on the debts
is so low, most consumers complete the
program and get out of debt in just five to seven
years.
debt consolidation loans