Wednesday, 21 September 2011

Debt Consolidation - The Ins and Outs

By Alan Jeffries


Debt consolidation, bankruptcy and IVA advice have become all too familiar words for many people seeking help with spiralling debt. The economic crisis and subsequent recession has seen risk adverse creditors reign in on accessible easy credit at low interest rates. Gone are the days when credit card holders could easily carry out a balance transfer on existing debts to a lender offering low or 0% interest rates of a year or even longer.

Combined with rising unemployment and higher costs of living many people are struggling to manage even their basic cost of living expenses such as food and fuel bills. Debt spirals out of control as you miss a few repayments, incur penalties and higher rates and a vicious circle begins. A viable solution for many, before resorting to bankruptcy is to consolidate their debts.

Debt consolidation has been a credible solution to easing the financial burden for a lot of people who may otherwise be facing bankruptcy further down the road. Consolidation essentially consolidates all your debts with one creditor which means you will only need to worry about making one monthly repayment instead of the stress involved with remembering to pay multiple creditors throughout the month at different dates.

If you have been bombarded with payment demands from your creditors you will know only too well how stressful uncontrollable debt can be. Consolidation allows you to take control of your finances again, paying off what is affordable and continuing to meet your other monthly outgoings. Reducing multiple debts into one payment means you are less likely to miss a payment and thereby hold onto a good credit rating.

Consolidation is not the answer for everyone, it very much depends on your individual circumstances and seeking IVA advice may be a more viable option. Whatever you do, try to leave bankruptcy as your very last resort. When most people start looking into consolidation they have often left it too late and have already missed repayments which has damaged their credit rating. This will make it harder to secure a debt consolidation loan with a low interest rate.

By the time many people start to seek help, they are already beyond the help debt consolidation can offer, for example they have already missed repayments and their credit score has dropped, making it difficult to secure a consolidation loan or if you do, the interest rate will be higher with a poor credit score. In the long run this could make consolidation very expensive. You should also think very carefully before taking out a secured consolidation loan as you may end up putting your home at risk. An unsecured loan is a much better option.

Always seek IVA advice before going down the bankruptcy route as IVA advice may lead to a workable solution if you have debts over 12,000 and are in regular employment. An IVA is an Individual Voluntary Arrangement where you can arrange to make reduced monthly repayments over a fixed period, usually for five years.

An IVA is a legally binding agreement with your creditors to make reduced fixed repayments over a period of usually five years. After that any remaining debt is written off. Your creditors cannot take any action against you for the duration of the IVA, relieving you from the stress of harassment from creditors. Bankruptcy and IVA advice should always be sought from a reputable company.




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