Credit Card Debt Relief
If you are reading this then it is likely that you are looking for credit card debt relief and wish to know the truth about debt management plans. Services that are offering credit counseling may sound promising, but you should inform and advise yourself before running into anything – the information given here should help you to do this and should be used for reference as you instigate your personal plan for credit card debt elimination.
When you have credit card debt, the advertisements for debt management plans are at every turn – a day doesn’t go by that you don’t see some form of credit card debt management advertising. Every minute of the day they act as a temptation that sounds too good to pass on – but what is the real deal behind them?
These consumer credit counseling services are basically telling us that they can help to eliminate our credit card debts, but how do they propose to do this? The management plans are devised to get your interest rates and fees lowered – so that the pressure is off your shoulders a little. Credit card debt consolidation is in the works too; by paying the credit counseling agency one monthly payment and having them pay off individual creditors for you.
It all sounds quite straight forward until now – it even sounds like a good route to go. It is this belief and trust that could be the cause of a further downfall though, and you must take extreme care when considering all. You could end up paying such companies a lot of money without getting out what you deserve.
To backtrack, there was a time when banks and creditors under a policy called ‘Fair Share’ funded such as counseling agencies. Then, this Fair Share funding was cut short by the banks and creditors, hence the need for credit counseling agencies to charge customer fees. There have been reports that fees are so high that they can level with a month’s consolidated payment and just to have a management plan set up.
The shocking truth is, all that work they intend on doing when setting up a management plan – well, it is something that you could do alone, without their help and without those extra fees. Couldn’t you call the creditor personally to discuss lower interest rates? You stand a better chance than you think, especially if you have been on time with all past and current payments.
What other options do you have to eliminate your credit card debt legally? Before you leap into the hands of a credit counseling service, consider trying the following first. If things are spiraling out of control then your prime responsibility is to stop using your credit cards and getting into further debt and trauma. In fact, this is also one of the first things advised by debt counseling services! Furthermore, it’s one thing to stop using the credit cards you have, but you should also refrain from getting a new credit during your personal management plan.
You can help yourself by reviewing your finances, beginning with a list (and be honest down to the cent) of all your debts – inclusive of credit cards but also mortgages, student loans, car finance and so on; basically, everything that you owe. Draw up a clear plan that states the interest rates and minimum monthly payments of each credit/loan you have been outstanding. Now it might be a shock at first to see it all thee in front of you – but this is a crucial step to eliminating your debt. Go through them individually and prioritize them, asking yourself at the same time if some of those credit repayments could be made easier by calling and asking for lower interest rates.
Another possibility is to get a credit card with a 0% or low introductory balance transfer rate and then put all your open balances onto that one card. It can be risky, because it is easy to lose track of the time and one day that nice introductory balance transfer rate is going to expire – leaving you with an interest rate that is not so friendly on the pocket. Be careful when considering this option.