Debt Consolidation

**maat55** · 07-03-2008, 08:20 PM

I recommend that you handle this yourself. There is nothing a debt consolidation can do for you that you can't do yourself for free. Without know your specifics, here are some general things you can do:

Set up a budget. Only neccesities in order of importance:

Food, utilities, rent, auto gas etc. No beer, dingdongs, ciggerettes etc.
Pay the minimums on any consumer debt. If you are not able to do this, you need to sell things and get a second job.

Pay the minimums and apply all extra money to the smallest debt till payed off and move to the next. It would be helpful if you were to list your expenses and income.

The important thing is to change your spending habits and work through this on your own and you will come out of this much smarter and focused on never getting this way again. Post more info and we can better help you.

**Seeker** · 07-03-2008, 11:33 PM

Originally posted by peanutbutter8204 View Post

Anyone know of any debt consolidation companies other than CareOne that does not charge any fees? It is much easier for me to pay in one lump some rather than several payments.

There's no such thing as getting "free" service.

Debt consolidators either

1) consolidate every loan you've listed and pay up front in your behalf (essentially you pay them for all the loans that they have pre-paid) and they build-in an additional amount of dollars because you are carrying the consolidated loan with them instead now, or

2) they talk with your creditors and agree at a discounted rate and because they (the debt consolidators) are handling the monthly payments, they will get the better interest rates (rather than the creditors dealing with individual people).

Either way, they make money, or they wouldn't be in business.

If you do go with one of these companies, then please check the BBB before getting involved.

**deadgoon** · 07-04-2008, 02:56 AM

I too recommend doing it yourself and avoiding debt consolidators. What sort of debts do you have?

If you have multiple credit cards, try surfing the balances onto other cards. Many times, you will get a low to no interest rate on transfered balances. So if you have two cards, surf all the balance onto one. When the interest rate discounts expire, surf the balance back to the first card, or find another card with a low introductory rate.

You may also be able to get a consolidation loan from your bank if your credit isn't shot, but don't do this for loans with interest rates that are lower than the consolidation loan.

Another thing to try is online bill payment. Most banks offer this for a small fee. It's free at my bank. This allows you to set up one time payments or you can also do automatic payments. Either way, once it's set up, you can pay your bills just by entering the amount and submitting it. You can also set up reminders that email you when a bill is due.

Again, do it yourself. There's no easy way to get out of debt.

**Gailete** · 07-05-2008, 02:56 PM

I'm wondering why it is easier to make one payment rather than several? I realize you may save a bit on stamps and checks, hand cramps maybe, but why get someone to do something for you that is easily done by yourself?

Debt Consolidation