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Digital News Report – You may be faced with debts that seem to be unmanageable. There are several ways to get yourself out of debt. While you can work out your own plans to pay off your debts, it may be worthwhile to seek out the help from a consumer credit counseling service. Through the credit counseling service you may be able to participate in a debt management plan that can help make the process of paying off your debt simpler.
To get out of debt, you are going to have to decide on a game plan to the credit card balances paid off. That usually involves looking into setting up a realistic budget and finding a system to pay off the credit card balances in the shortest time frame that you are able to accomplish. If you don’t know where to begin, you might want to seek help from a reputable credit counseling service that can get you on the right track. Through these companies, you can also find debt management plans that will also provide assistance on tackling the unsecured loans and credit card debt.
Do-it-yourself debt help may be great for those that can have the perseverance and discipline to follow through on goals and tasks. You will have to track how much money you spend in a monthly spending journal. Many times people are not aware how much money they need on the basics each month. Once you start to see how much the monthly expenses are you can determine what can be cut out and what needs to have a spending limit attached to it. You can also shop around for lower rates for things, such as your telephone service, or your insurance premiums. These can sometimes add hundreds of dollars a year without changing your lifestyle. You can contact all of your credit card companies to get a lower interest rates.
You can find many books detailing how to get yourself out of debt, which is an essential part of being successful with your finances in the future. Of course, chances are once you have realized how much you have to spend each month you might realize that you don’t have enough money to pay off all the credit card minimum balances each month.
If you can’t make the monthly payments you can contact those that you owe money to and ask them to work out a payment plan that can reduce your monthly payments. You should be proactive in talking with your credit card companies as soon as you have trouble making those minimum monthly payments because once they turn your account over to collections it is very difficult to work on lowering your monthly payment on your account.
If you have already been turned over to debt collectors you can remind them that federal law says that they cannot call before 8 am or after 9 pm or at your work place if your boss doesn’t approve those kind of calls. The debt collector isn’t allowed to harass you or lie to you or use any unfair practices to collect on the debt. If you write a letter to them requesting them to stop contacting you, they must stop contacting you.
The good news is if you can’t face the debt alone, don’t. There are professional services that are available to help you get through the piles of debt. You can contact a credit counseling service that will help you to work out a repayment plan. Before joining up with a debt counselor you want to know how much they charge, check with the Better Business Bureau for complaints, and shop around to compare services and what each one offers. They help set up a budgeting, educate you about handling money and set you on a path to pay off the debt.
If you can’t make the payments because funds are short the credit counseling service may suggest getting a debt management plan. These plans have you deposit a set amount of money each month with the credit counseling service, they then use the funds to pay off all your unsecured debts. You should ask how long the plan will take and if they are going to get the creditors to lower the interest rates and waive some of the penalty fees.
The FTC warns that you should be careful when selecting a credit counseling service. They say watch out for organizations that charge a high up-front fee or monthly fees for participating in there programs. Exercise caution when they pressure you for “voluntary contributions” usually seen in non-profit credit counseling services. The credit counseling service skips the initial consultation of your finances and directly sends you into a debt management plan. The credit counseling service doesn’t provide education on money handling and financing. They also warn consumers to avoid companies that demand that you make payments into a debt management plan before the creditors have accepted you.
By: Victoria Brown