subject: Credit Debt Consolidation - How To Lower Your Monthly Payment And Reduce Credit Card Debt [print this page] Credit Debt Consolidation - How To Lower Your Monthly Payment And Reduce Credit Card Debt
Credit debt consolidation programs can be a good option if you're buried in credit card bills and want to avoid bankruptcy. If you have over $10,000 in unsecured debt and have multiple high interest credit cards then debt consolidation can be a really good option. You should however understand how these programs work before signing anything.
Credit debt consolidation programs will combine all your high interest credit cards and come up with an affordable payment to pay back those debts at a lower interest rates. Not only will your interest rates be lower but you will also have a lower payment. Most of these programs will charge a fee but when compared to the savings in interest payments it is usually far less than the money you will save. Just a couple point decrease in interest rates can result in thousands in savings over the course of your loan.
Bankruptcy should always be your last debt relief option. If you are really struggling with paying back credit card bills and feel like you are just trapped then debt settlement can be a good option. Debt settlement is where you negotiate to reduce the actual balance. The typical debt settlement deal is negotiated for 40-60% of the balance. While it will take a short term negative impact on your credit score, you will also be able to significantly cut your unsecured debt in half.
Thanks to new federal laws debt settlement has become a much less risky option. These laws ban debt relief companies from collecting their fees upfront. Now consumers that enter into such a program will not have to pay a dime until their debts actually settled.
Getting out of debt through a debt settlement process is currently very popular but you need to know where to locate the best performing programs in order to get the best deals. To compare debt settlement companies it would be wise to visit a free debt relief network which will locate the best performing companies in your area for free.