Debt Consoldiation

[Olive]

i know didi thats what i was saying, it seems quiet alot of interest

[didispunk]

Oh sorry!

ya it does seem like heaps! I know GE Creditline etc.. their interest goes up to 22.5% or so..
Maybe just a super higher rate!

[Olive]

eeekk at 22%
i guess thats the trade off for these kind of services, sticks&stones id certainly look into doing all you can before doing debt consolidation

[Fuzzywuzzy]

I would be trying to consolidate your debt with your bank and not one of those debt companies. Shop around for a good interest rate on a personal loan - you will still have to meet their borrowing requirements with regards to income and generally have a good record with paying your existing debts. At least that way you can get a lower interest rate and not have it on your credit history. Give you bank a call and see what they can do for you. Good luck!

[Netix]

Olive - I feel like a real nit! I didn't go for the agreement, as I wasn't even sure of getting the money off DH every week, and as it turns out, I managed to negotiate some really good arrangements with the co's that I owe money to anyway.

OMG, I can't believe I didn't check that...

[AnyDream]

would be trying to consolidate your debt with your bank and not one of those debt companies. Shop around for a good interest rate on a personal loan - you will still have to meet their borrowing requirements with regards to income and generally have a good record with paying your existing debts. At least that way you can get a lower interest rate and not have it on your credit history. Give you bank a call and see what they can do for you. Good luck!

This is very good advice.

The trick here is to minimise your interest rates...so try to borrow at the lowest possible rate, or you will be adding to your debt not reducing it (ie don't take out a personal loan with an interest rate of 21% to pay off a debt that is being charged at 9%). Be clever about it. Some of your debts will be costing you more than others, it pays to identify which ones are costing the most and pay those off first. Don't take out a higher interest loan to pay for a lower interest debt or you will cost yourself unneccessary $$.

For example if it's tax debt (or other govt depts) they tend to charge interest close to the rate of inflation (quite low), and often allow you to make an arrangement to pay it off much slower. That's better than paying off the same amount with a higher interest rate loan. But things like store credit and high rate credit cards etc need to be paid off first as they will cost you the most because the interest compounds. That means you pay interest on the interest they have already charged, so you end up paying an awful lot more than the actual interest rate.

Also, if you don't have any success with a personal loan, shop around for a low-interest credit card - they often have a reduced or interest-free rate for the first 6 - 12 months, if you're strict about making your payments weekly, and cut up your card so you can't add any debt to it, that could be an option, provided you get as much of your debt paid off during the low-interest period. But ONLY if you know you can be disciplined and not add to the debt by spending more.