Before You Consider Debt Consolidation | FoxyDollar

If you?re struggling with multiple credit card bills and find them too stressful or too difficult to pay; you might be tempted to consider consolidating them. The process of consolidating multiple unsecured debts (no collateral involved) and replacing them with single loan is called debt consolidation.

What happens is that the debt consolidation company gives you a loan to pay-off all those multiple debts and that you will repay in single monthly payment with supposedly lower interest rate. Debt consolidation is legal as long as the company offering them follows FTC, state and federal rules. ?It does sound rather tempting right? But before you sign the dotted line on that debt consolidation application, here are some serious things to consider.

First, debt consolidation treats the symptom rather than the cause of the problem. It is paying credit with credit. It does not do anything about the real cause of multiple debts which is overspending.

Next, debt consolidation supposedly lowers the interest rate and lowers the monthly payment. That is just the tip of the iceberg. In most cases debt consolidation lowers the monthly payment not because of lower interest rates but because the term of the loan or the period of paying back the loan has been extended. Overall, a person stays in debt longer and pays the company more.

Statistics reveal that more than 50% of those who availed of debt consolidation ended-up acquiring more debt in the long run. A force of habit perhaps or these people have found an easy way out?

Perhaps the only positive thing about debt consolidation is it might save a debt-strapped individual from filing for bankruptcy which is a much worse fate. Other than that, debt consolidation should not be viewed as an easy way out from maxing credit cards or to get-out from the hassle and stress of keeping track of multiple payments and balances.

Truth is debt consolidation is a last resort. The real way of getting out of consumer debt is to live below one?s means and commit to sound personal finance habits.

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