Benjamin’s Musings

Debt consolidation

Getting into debt is much easier than digging out of it. It is even more difficult to keep your credit and credit score decent in the process. I thought that I had a lot of a debt, but then I talked with friends and coworkers- they have even more. It is kind of scary the state that most citizens in our country are in. Think of all the ads you get in the mail for pre approved credit cards. And all the ads you see and hear for debt consolidation and low interest loans. Not to mention the temptation of interest free financing. I would dare to say that most people do not pay the balance off within the alotted interest free time frame. And a lot of companies will backcharge the interest from the date of sale if you do not. It is a vicious cycle, that is difficult for even the most financially savvy person to evade. A lot of people resort to not paying their bills at all and get late fees and over the limit fees added on to their initial balances. These fees get interest compounded daily! The same applies to cash advances. I have been in situations before where I had to take a cash advance out to pay a bill, even another credit card bill. That really is a sucky situation to be in. I have even heard stories of people turning to debt consolidation or credit counselors, and being screwed even more. My dad used a so called christian company, and the creditors kept calling (they are supposed to stop once it is turned over) and he finally called the credit counseling place and come to find out the payments he was sending them, had never been applied to any of their debt. It is ridiculous. It is almost impossible to be debt free in our society today. It is one thing I dream of, but can’t ever quite realize. I am working toward it, though. If I had to do debt consolidation, I would definitely do someheavy research on the internet to find out the best scenarios and possibilities.