Debt Reduction Solutions

With the ever-rising costs of living, debts are something that piles up in our lives that are a major cause of stress. We often find ourselves in a quagmire of financial crisis when we try to extend our credit for the next month just to find out that we are again facing the same problem and the over-extended credit just keeps adding up to present debts. In worse cases, people are known to declare bankruptcy to save them from impending doom.

Debt Reduction Solutions

In the case that you are unable to pay off your pending bills or find yourself trapped with increasing debts, there are some debt reduction solutions you can use in order to control your finances better. It is important to look up the similarities and differences between the two debt reduction solutions in order to understand which of these solutions is better for you before making a choice.

1. Debt Consolidation

Debt consolidation programs are excellent alternatives to bankruptcy and offer consultation to manage and reduce debts. They also provide you with options to handle credit card debts.

a. Debt consolidation programs can plan your finances and give you a debt consolidation loan to pay off all your debts.
b. They offer specialized debts consolidation too in the case of credit card debt consolidation.

c. They have a very low interest rate and you are required to make only one monthly payment that is very small and is planned keeping in mind your financial situation.

d. You can use these programs with all kinds of debts – secured and unsecured.

2. Debt Settlement/Negotiation

This is different from debt consolidation. A debt settlement consultant will reach a settlement with your creditors to drastically lower your interest rates up to 50 percent of reduction is possible. This system works because most creditors are reasonable and are interested in obtaining their money so they will be willing to reduce their rates as they know that they stand a better chance of getting their money in this fashion rather than from a person who declares himself bankrupt and can no longer pay the money.

a. You can choose the debts you wish to include in the debt settlement program.
b. There is no guarantee that all creditors will accept debt settlement though most will.
c. You will still be responsible for all secured debts incurred.
d. This system is most suited for people who are employed and working hard to clear their debts.

Credit Card Debts Solutions

Control the urge to flash that plastic. Each time you swipe your credit card; you are further pushing your credit limits and adding to expenditure. The start to saving can be done if you change your spending habits and reduce or eliminate the use of credit cards. Credit card companies offer attractive benefits and schemes to lure the user into making a lot of non-essential spending as they stand to make a profit from pending balances. People end up ensnared in debt and then most of their money can just flow in the direction of clearance of credit card debts.

Lenders also tend to avoid lending any money to people with a bad credit card history or a high amount of balances. Bad credit is an extremely bad partner to have when you are in need of a loan for making a huge purchase such as a home or car. It is possible that bad credit does not go against you in obtaining a mortgage or finance but the terms of finance may be very narrow and binding as in a higher rate of interest or a bigger down payment which basically adds up to yet more losses and possibly more debts.

Tips for credit card debt reduction:

1. The best way to cope with credit card debt is to stop the problem at its source that is to stop using the card. Cutting down on those expenses could help you save money which you can use to pay off your debt.

2. The minimum payment you need to make is just about equal to the sum required for the finance charges. For quick debt reduction, keep track of this and make a higher payment than the minimum payment. The more you pay the sooner the debts clear off.

3. Make sure that you use a zero percent interest credit card. That way you will not be paying interest and transfer all your existing credit card debts to that card too.

These are a few of the debt reduction solutions you can use to eliminate debt from your lives. The best thing of course, is not to incur debts at all but if that is inevitable it is equally important to take charge of your finances and keep your debts under control, in order to lead a stress free life.

By Jayashree Pakhare