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When you are being overwhelmed by credit card debt you have five debt elimination options available to you. We will review all of these options.
- Do nothing and hope things get better
- Debt consolidation
- Enroll in credit counseling or debt management
- File Bankruptcy
- Enroll in a debt settlement program
Option One: Do Nothing
Americans are charging over 1 trillion dollars worth of goods and services on their credit cards each year. Unfortunately the average household has over $9,000.00 in credit card debt. It is common for families to have 25,35 and even 75K or more of credit card debt on their books. There is no type of debt that can destroy a family faster then credit card debt and medical bills.
When you get into credit card debt unless you pay your balances in full each month you are already getting yourself behind the eight ball. By the time you get to the point where you are barely able to make your minimums each month you already know you are in trouble. At this point in time many people start to borrow from Peter to pay Paul. In other words, borrowing from one card to pay off the balance of another card. The next step from here is not being able to meet your obligations and those low interest rate cards that seemed so attractive at first will begin to sport interest rates well over 20%. Banks also have the ability (universal default) to begin raising your interest rates at their discretion.
Unfortunately most people choose to do nothing by the time they get into this situation. Procrastination can be a very expensive habit when it comes to handling your creditors. Hoping the problem will go away is not a real option. Late fees and increased finance charges will continue to mount and become an overwhelming situation both financially and emotionally. Eventually your debts must be handled. Your creditors are not in the business of being sympathetic to your cause. Their job is to make money for the people on Wall Street.
Option Two: Debt Consolidation
Debt consolidation is the route most people think of when it comes to solving their financial woes. Why not take all of your debt and wrap it up into one monthly payment at a lower interest rate typically 11-12% on average. It all sounds well and good but being able to borrow the money in this type of environment can be quite difficult. With most consolidation loans being backed by people’s homes and with the recent melt-down in the mortgage markets this can be next to impossible. You can’t borrow your way out of debt.
Option Three: Credit Counseling or debt management programs
Credit counseling and debt management programs are basically one and the same. As the debtor you will make one monthly payment to a counseling agency and they will distribute the funds to your creditors on your behalf at a lower interest rate. Credit counseling agencies have come under an incredible amount of scrutiny as of late due to the way they derive their income. They depend on the creditors for the bulk of their income in the form of kick backs from the creditors. If you think about it how can you get impartial advice from a credit counseling firm when in fact they are deriving their income in this fashion. Seventy-Five percent (75%) of people that start credit card counseling programs drop out within the first year.
Option Four: Bankruptcy
When you finally come to the end of the road and there is no other way to solve you situation bankruptcy may seem like the only option. Once you have declared bankruptcy all creditors will cease in their collection efforts. Many people in this country file bankruptcy for this reason not realizing there are other ways and means to get the creditors off your back.
There are two types of bankruptcy available to you the consumer. Chapter 7 involves the full discharge of your debts while, Chapter 13 being the other option where as the debtor you will pay back a percentage of your debt over a 3-5 year period. Both options typically would not be considered when the debtor has equity in his/her home.
Most creditors would prefer to work out a deal with the debtor then have them file bankruptcy. Their philosophy is “A bird in hand is worth more then two in the bush.”
Option Five: Debt Settlement
Debt negotiation or debt settlement as it is now called is an honest and effective alternative to the above mentioned programs. In a debt settlement program you will pay back a portion of the debt usually 50% or less. Debt Settlement programs are the only programs where you are not paying back 100% of the principle plus interest and late fees. People ask what happens to the rest of the money that they owe and the truth is the balance is actually forgiven by the creditor in a transaction called a settlement. This process allows you to become debt free in a much shorter time frame then any other program due to the reduced principle you are paying. The major advantages of enrolling in a Debt Settlement program are;
- Honest and Honorable way to avoid bankruptcy
- No public record of ever enrolling in a debt settlement program
- You choose how long you want the program to run
- 2-3 year program vs. 6-9 years in debt consolidation and counseling programs
- Allows for flexibility if a monthly payment is missed.
If you would like to see if your debts qualify for Senior American Debt Resolution debt settlement program please fill out our online form or call us at 201-485-8387 .
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