If you are looking to consolidation your debt there are ways to do it. A debt consolidation loan will take all the debt you have and consolidate your payments into one monthly fee. You will probably be paying a much lower rate of interest, and your monthly payment will be much lower than the total of the bills that you owed. If you owe a lot of money, and your credit rating is not the best, then you may have a hard time finding a consolidation loan at a lower interest rate. You have to be careful in this situation, because you may end up paying more than you anticipated and find yourself in deeper debt. Assuming your credit rating is good, you might consider using credit cards to pay off your debt. Use cards that have the lowest interest rates, and dont be afraid to call credit card companies to see if you can transfer debt from another card for a lower rate of interest. This is a fairly common practice, and it works. Another option is to take out a home equity loan, borrowing against the value of your home. You can borrow as much as you need to pay off your debt as long as there is that much equity in your home. For instance, if your home is valued at $240,000 and you owe $120,000, if your credit is good, you should be able to borrow as much as $120,000. If your credit is good, you will get a decent interest rate and your monthly payments will be low. The interest is also tax deductible. There are two types of home equity refinancing -- fixed and line of credit. A fixed loan gives you a certain amount of money to pay off your debt and if there is a remaining amount, you can use it as you wish. A line of credit gives you an open option to borrow against a certain limit that is originated when the loan is approved. If all else fails, you can also seek the services of a credit counseling agency that will set up a payment plan and work with your creditors so that you will make one monthly payment to the agency who, in turn, pays off your debt. Just make sure the credit counseling agency is reputable and pays your bills on time. Otherwise, youll be responsible because, ultimately, you are still responsible. |