Debt Consolidation

I am using Consolidated Credit. On the whole I have been happy with them. They got great reductions on my APR rates with my credit cards (as low as 1% !!!!) I have no MAJOR complaints. Some questions you might want to consider asking:
1) What do they charge or what is the % they are taking out of your monthly payments?

2) Do they keep track of what you owe or do you have to keep them updated?

3) Do they charge to automatically debit your acount for the monthly payments?

These were all things I didn't consider. Hope this helps.

It depends on which direction you wish to go. I own a mortgage company in Arlington, TX and we can do home equity loans...which will give you the best interest rate (with a tax deduction), but if you do not have a home or equity for that matter, you may want to call a credit union to see if they have an unsecured loan to help you consolidate your debt.

ost of the CCCS-type companies are not as helpful as they seem. They take 15% off the top of every dollar you give them as their "contribution" and they divide the rest of your money to send to your creditors (whether they agree to accept a partial payments, or not). Then they mail your payments(along with veryone else's) at various times of the month- irregardless of your due dates. So you end up with late fees added to your bureau.

If you stay "in the plan" until the end, some of the creditors will remove the late pays on the credit report- but not all. So, your credit can be ruined. But if you watch them like a hawk and change your due dates to coorespond to their dispursments you will be much better off.

Side note: if a creditor calls you- take the call. The debt management company will tell you not to. But this is not bankruptcy and you are not provided any protection under the law. Plus, the creditor will enlighten you to any damage being done to your credit report. Hope that helps. I have a lot of experience in this area. I have worked in credit for 11 years.

Please look at Heidi's advice carefully. Debt CON-solidation companies aren't necessarily out for your best interest.

As an alternative, you might consider Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover or Financial Peace University. (www.daveramsey.com). YOU can pay down your debt on your own! It just takes a little organization and a lot of commitment. The Dave Ramsey Radio Show is on AM 570 between 1 and 4 pm. Listening to that and reading his books changed the way I think about, handle and spend money! If I can change my ways, believe me, anyone can!

Contact Consumer Credit Counseling. They are a non profit agency & they work. Most of the private companies take your money, do nothing and leave you in worst shape than when you contected them.

Elimidebt

www.elimidebt.com

We signed up with them and our payments are a lot lower than what they would have been with other companies. They are a non-profit debt management company, as opposed to a credit counicling company (which a CCC affects your credit score more negatively than a Debt Management).

Good Luck!

Consumer Credit Counseling Service is the only one I recommend. I used their services years ago, and they were a real life-saver. They are non-profit, and their counselors will sit down with you and all your bills & make out a do-able plan with you, and give you tools to stay on track.

http://www.cccsnct.org/component/option,com_frontpage/Ite...

We used Consumer Credit Counseling Services which is part of Money Management International. Their website is www.moneymanagement.org. The day we signed up all of our interest rates were lowered! Due to what we owed and to which companies it didn't lower our monthly payments by much but we could have everything paid off in less than 5 years where without debt management it would have been over 45 years at the same monthly rate. Overall it did reduce our stress and every month and in two years we will be debt free!

Good luck.