A Debt consolidation loan: Is a personal loan you use to pay all your debts. You may odtain it from a finance company, bank, credit union, debt consolidation company, merchant association, debt pooling service, or nonprofit consumer debt service. You may also borrow from friends and relatives. A Debt consolidation loan: Lets you effectively shift responsibility for many debts to the responsibility for one larger debt. In order that this debt is manageable, your payments are spread out over a longer period of time. As interest accrues on this typpe of loan, the total amount of debt you owe also increases. You trade a larger payback and longer debt period for a smaller periodic payment. Sometimes a debt consolidation loan offers an immediate answer to your debt, allowing you: The convenience of paying only one creditor A lower monthly bill To shop for a lower interest rate and moree favorable terms An alternative to bankruptcy To possibly save your credit. With a consolidation loan, Your fixed monthly consolidated payment is calculated according to the lowest payment amount accepted by your creditors. The agency you have hired will distribute the amount of your fixed monthly consolidated payment to each creditor. Most creditors will only reduce or stop your interest fees if their minimum payment is met, but if so, the interest rate reduction with these programs can range from no change to the freezing of interest depending on the creditors policy. This can save you thousands because rates that are usually 12%-24% can get reduced to 10%, 8%, 6% or 0% Once you've found yourself in debt it may feel like a downward spiral from which you don't know how you'll ever regain your footing. It's hard enough to find simple answers and may seem impossible when the collection agencies constantly call your house and threaten the security of you and your family. Ultimately your decision to choose a debt consolidation loan, a debt management program, or a consumer credit counseling program to consolidate credit card debt, should be based on your own personal financial situation. |
