Debt Relief Options

You Should Know What Your Options Are

We know searching for a debt relief solution can be overwhelming and confusing. The truth is that debt settlement is not the only option for getting out of debt and isn’t the best solution for every individual. You may notice, however, that the alternate solutions have both strengths and weaknesses. What’s most important in this situation is that you find the one program that works for you.

  • Debt consolidation
  • Bankruptcy
  • Credit counseling
  • Do-it-yourself

Contact a debt relief specialist now at (888) 492-9199 to see which option is best for your unique situation.

Debt Consolidation

The biggest difference between debt relief and debt consolidation is that with debt consolidation you still end up paying your debts in full, plus interest. Debt consolidation allows you take out a single loan to pay off multiple debts that have varying interest rates, shifting your debt from one place to another. The catch is that you’ll need to put up your assets for collateral – a home, a car, or property, etc., meaning if you can’t pay off your consolidation loan, creditors can go after this collateral instead. Debt consolidation can often lower your interest rate and cut your monthly payments, but you will most likely see your payments spread out over a long period of time.

Debt consolidation loans can be difficult to qualify for, particularly if you’ve already fallen behind on our payments and have seen your credit score suffer. Transferring your debt balance from one source to the next may bide you some time but it doesn’t make the debt go away or cut down your debt any sooner. In fact, it can sometimes take ten years or more to pay off your debt in full with debt consolidation, which, with interest, could double the amount you pay off.

Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is often thought of as an immediate start-fresh solution to your debt problems; however, you may have to wait a decade or more for that fresh start to become a reality. Bankruptcy can stay on your credit history for seven to 10 years, making it difficult to qualify for a loan, rent an apartment, buy a house or a car, or even get a job. In some cases, court records will show a bankruptcy under your name for up to 20 years.

Not only will you have to pay attorney’s fees, but new bankruptcy laws may stop you from wiping out your debt completely. Chapter 13 bankruptcy can put you on a repayment plan, meaning you may still have to pay off some or all of your debt, and other types of bankruptcy may require you to give up unprotected property.

Because bankruptcy is not an easy or quick fix and has such a negative reputation, Rescue Debt Solutions only recommends bankruptcy as a last resort. If you’re still considering bankruptcy, we suggest you seek legal counsel to determine your specific bankruptcy risks.

Consumer Credit Counseling

Credit counseling helps you manage your debt repayment process by placing you on a monthly debt management plan. While the credit counseling agency may be able to lower your interest rates and cut down on creditor calls, it will not be able to help you negotiate down a lower payment amount. In other words, you will still have to pay your balance off in full. Credit counseling services typically take longer than a debt relief program.

Do it on your own

Tackling your debt by yourself, in most cases, is not a practical situation; it is time consuming and challenging. Your creditors have little-to-no incentive to lower your balances or rates on an individual basis, whereas a debt relief company can leverage the debt profiles of several individuals when negotiating with creditors. And we all know how difficult it can be to self-budget and save for larger payments, not to mention you could spend hours upon hours on the phone with creditors – hours you may not have. If you plan to pay off your debt by making just your minimum monthly payments you could be living with your debt for more than a decade, depending on your debt.

Contact a debt relief specialist now at (888) 492-9199 to see which option is best for your unique situation.