The Pros and Cons of Debt Consolidation Loans


You are swimming in debt. You have 4 credit cards maxed out, a car loan, a consumer loan, and a house payment. Simply making the minimum payments is causing your distress and certainly not getting you out of debt. What should you do?

Some people feel that debt consolidation loans are the best option. A debt consolidation loans is one loan which pays off many other loans or lines of credit.

I'm sure you've seen the advertisements of smiling people who have chosen to take a consolidation loan. They seem to have had the weight of the world lifted off their shoulders. But are debt consolidation loans a good deal? Let's explore the pros and cons of this type of debt solution.

Pros

1. One payment versus many payments: The average citizen of the USA pays 11 different creditors every month. Making one single payment is much easier than figuring out who should get paid how much and when. This makes managing your finances much easier.

2. Reduced interest rates: Since the most common type of debt consolidation loan is the home equity loan, also called a second mortgage, the interest rates will be lower than most consumer debt interest rates. Your mortgage is a secured debt. This means that they have something they can take from you if you do not make your payment. Credit cards are unsecured loans. They have nothing except your word and your history. Since this is the case, unsecured loans typically have higher interest rates.

3. Lower monthly payments: Since the interest rate is lower and because you have one payment vs many, the amount you have to pay per month is typically decreased significantly.

4. Only one creditor: With a consolidated loan, you only have one creditor to deal with. If there are any problems or issues, you will only have to make one call instead of several. Once again, this simply makes controlling your finances much easier.

5. Tax Breaks: Interest paid to a credit card is money down the drain. Interest paid to a mortgage can be used as a tax write-off.

Sounds great, doesn't it? Before you run out and get a loan, let's look at the other side of the picture - the cons.

Cons

1. Easy to get into further debt: With an easier load to bear and more money left over at the end of the month, it might be easy to start using your credit cards again or continuing spending habits that got you into such credit card debt in the first place.

2. Longer time to pay off: Most mortgages are the 10 to 30 year variety. This means that rather than spend a couple of years getting out of credit card debt, you will be spending the length of your mortgage getting out of debt.

3. Spend more over the long haul: Even though the interest rate is less, if you take the loan out over a 30 year period, you may end up spending more than you would have if you had kept each individual loan.

4. You can lose everything: Consolidation loans are secured loans. If you didn't pay an unsecured credit card loan, it would give you a bad rating but your home would still be secure. If you do not pay a secured loan, they will take away whatever secured the loan. In most cases, this is your home.

As you can see, consolidated loans are not for everyone. Before you make a decision, you must realistically look at the pros and cons to determine if this is the right decision for you.

Wesley Atkins is the owner of www.credit-cards-advisor.com">http://www.credit-cards-advisor.com- which aims to get you fitted with the www.credit-cards-advisor.com">best credit cards to suit your situation. With numerous www.credit-cards-advisor.com/articles/index.html">credit card articles and easy www.credit-cards-advisor.com">online credit card applications you will never choose the wrong credit card again.


MORE RESOURCES:

Best Syndication

Homeowner Debt Consolidation: Conquer The Debts
Best Syndication, CA - 3 hours ago
So, Homeowner Debt Consolidation is a friendly debt consolidation program that benefits homeowners to get rid of irritating debts in an easy and hassle free ...


Best Syndication

The Tools To De-mine The Dangerous Financial Field
Best Syndication, CA - 6 hours ago
Summary: Debt consolidation loans are those borrowings which are availed to handle multiple loans by going for a single borrowing. The credit-taker gets his ...


Best Syndication

Have a Systematic go at the Financial Worms Eating in to your ...
Best Syndication, CA - May 14, 2008
And this debt has the propensity to add to itself with each passing month. So there are numerous people in the UK who require debt consolidation and ...


Americans feel threat of financial strain – but do you?
MoneyExpert, UK - 13 hours ago
Click on MoneyExpert.com's Debt Consolidation calculator to see what you can save. Banks, building societies and plenty of specialist firms offer personal ...


Great Depression Affecting Mental Wellbeing Says Study
Free Press Release Center (press release), Canada - May 13, 2008
For those who hold concerns about the stability of their finances, debt consolidation could help alleviate fears by allowing monthly outgoings to be managed ...


Enel's Profit Up Though Debt Rises
Wall Street Journal - 16 hours ago
Revenue rose 55% to €15.08 billion from €9.73 billion, lifted by the consolidation of Endesa. "The continued strength of margins in the Italian market, ...


Bankruptcy: A Guide to Going Bankrupt
Finance Daily, UK - 16 hours ago
... a Debt Management Plan, an Administration Order, Consolidation Loan or Full and Final Settlements. Below is a description of these options. ...


Best Syndication

Unsecured Debt Consolidation Loans: A Risk Free way to Get Rid of ...
Best Syndication, CA - May 6, 2008
Unsecured debt consolidation loans prove to be extremely useful in such circumstances. These loans are provisioned to consolidate your various debts into a ...
Unsecured yet Smart enough to Deduct the Debt Burden Best Syndication
The Loans To Tie All Of Your Economic Problems In A Single Knot Best Syndication
Availing Burden-less Finance is Easier Now Best Syndication
Best Syndication
all 6 news articles


Right Time for Debt Consolidation Help
PR-USA.net (press release), Bulgaria - May 7, 2008
Kankuratan.com offers Online Debt Consolidation and Debt Management service in America. Our friendly American staff of certified credit counselors and ...


‘Express Consolidation’ Telemarketers Settle FTC Charges
7thSpace Interactive (press release), NY - May 8, 2008
Specifically, the orders prohibit violating the FTC Act and the TSR by making false and misleading statements in marketing debt consolidation services to ...

debt consolidation - Google News

site map
Nocommentweb.com © 2000 - Partners

psychology help | snus | ekspress lån | express loan | Santander Spain | cheap insurance | snus|