Debt consolidation Loans: Read Before Your Apply
Sunday, July 5th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed
You may have seen it on television and heard it on radio — people who are out of money have rolled all their debts, including credit card debts, into one, have gotten interest payments reduced, and apparently have restored some order into their finances. The loans designed to help in these situations are known as debt consolidation loans and can help you regain control of your debts.
debt consolidation lines of credit may seem to provide an easy solution to replace several outstanding debts - store and credit card debts, car and home loans, etc. - with a single payment on an easy schedule. But keep in mind that there are risks involved in taking out debt consolidation loans. You are simply converting several short term credit cards debts into one longer one.
Your Consolidation Choices
You have two options in getting debt consolidation loans: personal loans and home loans. If you want to go down the personal loan route then checking options with your current bank or lender may be the first port of call. A thorough househoild budget and repayment plan may be required. This should boost your chances of getting the loans you need from your lender.
If you have built up sufficient equity in your home, you may want to choose the home loan option. In this case, you can arrange to convert some of the excess equity to cash to help you pay your higher-interest credit card debts. By tapping your home equity, you gain a longer period within which to pay off other debts — if need be, for a term as long as your home loan. The result: lower monthly repayments and an easier cash flow.
The Risks
You can massively reduce the total amount of interest yoy pay by paying above the minimum repayments each month. Getting the loan itself is not cheap as there are application fees and other charges that lenders will levy on debt consolidation loans.
If you are not financially secure then you could be putting yourself at further risk using your home equity. Putting your home at risk would be terrible to you need to keep on top of the required payments.
It is extremely important to realise one thing: your spending behaviour is your most dangerous adversary. For example, debt consolidation loans might allow you to pay off credit card debt on three credit cards amounting to $10,000 — which helps you because of the reduced interest burden. But you now have three credit cards with available credit limits you can access in full. It’s very easy to be tempted. With the debts cleared on your cards you could quickly forget you still have the $10,000 debt to pay off.
debt consolidation loans are useful only if you resolve to clear this debt as quickly as you can and to avoid racking up more new credit card debt until everything has been paid off. A good way to minimise the temptation to use your credit card will be to cancel all but one of the cards. For the remaining one, arrange to have the credit limit lowered to a level you are sure you can pay.
Take stock and create a budget plan that takes into account all your monthly income and outgoings. You need to cut the fat from your budget, doing away with expenses that are not required and refocus that money on making loan repayments above and beyond the minimum balance required. Remember, self-discipline is the key to make debt consolidation loans work.
Article by Richard Greenwood of compareyourbank.com.au which allows consumers to compare banks online.
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