Getting Your Debt Under Control
by Ellise Walsh

With inflation rising faster than wages for several years now, it is no surprise that more and more people are borrowing more and more money just to meet daily living expenses. While our parents may have only gone in debt to buy their house, and then only reluctantly, workers today may find themselves using their credit cards for such basic necessities as groceries and rent in addition to larger things like car payments.

With this level of debt, it is no wonder that more and more people are finding that they are in debt over their heads and unable to pay their bills. There are some debt problems that consumers can handle themselves, and others that may require professional assistance from a credit counselor or debt management service. Whether you need to seek professional help depends on the severity of your debt situation.

If you have already missed several payments, of if you are being harassed by bill collectors, it may be time to seek the professional assistance of a debt management, debt settlement or credit counseling service. It is important to take care of these situations before they negatively impact your credit rating.

If you are simply feeling a bit stretched by your monthly payments, you may be able to take some steps on your own to alleviate the situation. If you have a high interest credit card with a high interest rate, for instance, you may be able to transfer that balance to a card with a lower interest rate. If you have a lot of high interest credit card debt, you may look at refinancing that debt with a lower interest loan like a personal loan or a home equity loan.

If you are unable to transfer a balance or take out a low interest loan, it is sometimes possible to deal directly with the credit card company or other creditor. In some instances, credit card companies are willing to lower the interest rate on their loans. In some cases, they may even be willing to settle for less than 50 cents on the dollar, although those cases are somewhat rarer.

If you are unable to negotiate more favorable terms with your creditors on your own, a credit counseling agency or debt management firm is often more successful. These firms are very skilled at negotiating with creditors, and it may well pay you to use their services to get your debt under control.



Credit Counseling & Debt Settlement—We’ve also written articles about these alternative forms of debt repayment. You may want to look into each of these to see which one is right for you and your current situation.

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