Question About Debt Consolidation!!!

Hi J.,
My name is T. and I was in the same shoes you're in about 3 yrs. ago. I had a guy from Primerica Financial Services that sat down with me and showed me how everything works and did a free financial needs analysis for me. He went over things such as: debt management, retirement, childrens education, etc.I saved about $200 bucks a month. It was great! So, great I decided to go to work with the company. If you're interested, I would love to speak with you and give you more information. Call me @ ###-###-#### ask for T..

my husband used consumer credit counseling and it was wonderful - his monthly payments weren't too high and i believe there was just a small consultation fee in the beginning - his credit is now much much better because he was able to get everything under control with their help (we had no problems buying a house) - good luck! i hope that you can everything under control quickly!

J.,
Before you do any consolidation I would check out www.daveramsey.com or tune in between 1-4 p.m. on AM 570. Dave also has a book out and a course on finances (Financial Peace University). It is great, easy to follow, and really works (without having to consolidate).

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me.

Hi J.,

I have not done debt consolidation through a company, but I can tell you what we did. We found a credit card that ran a low interest rate for a certain amount of months and put all cards on that one card. When the time ran out on that one we would transfer to another and close the previous one. So on and so forth. If you find one with a low interest rate more of your payment will be applied towards principal rather than interest. Let me know if you have any other questions.

J.

Check out Oprah's website and find the link to the "Debt Diet". She's done several shows on it where great advice was given. Good luck!!

Not sure how much debt you have or how many credit cards you have, but I would not recommend debt consolidation. You have a better chance of settling with each creditor individually. I went through this and when I stopped doing debt consolidation, my debts were paid off faster. A lot of my creditors settled for 25% less of my balance and allowed me to pay what I could afford each month. Some even reduced my payoff by 50% to settle the debt. It is better when you are in control and dealing directly with each creditor, because you know where your money is going versus putting a third party in the mix.

Before you take that drastic step check out Dave Ramsey. His website is www.daveramsey.com. He also has a radio program on 1-4 on klif 570 AM. Better yet, he will be in dallas doing a live show in February at the Potters House. His website has the details. I drug my husband to see him last year and he said it was the best seminar he had ever been to. Good luck.

I went through Consumer Credit Counseling Service about 5 years ago. First, I contacted the creditors myself to see if I could get them to lower there interest rates before going w/ CCCS's services for some it worked, some it didn't. I think CCCS is a good thing if your creditors are not willing to work with you, because there able to get the creditors to lower the interest rates when you aren't. They charge a minimal fee and your always able to pay more as your able to. If you have student loan then I would first consolidate the student loans and allow them to deduct the monthly payments from my bank account, the lenders usually offer another 1/2 of percent reduction for doing so.

I hope this helps!!!

I have to second the Dave Ramsey recommendation. My church is doing a Financial Peace University class that you should also consider. If you work the Dave Ramsey plan, it will work.