If I have over $30K in debt which is the better option ... debt settlement or debt consolidation?
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$30K of debt is $30K of debt whether it's owed to one creditor or 20 so unless you can get one awesome interest rate, just pay what you owe and develop a plan to target the smallest balance first and then apply that amount to the next lowest balance and then the next, etc. Before you know it, you will have all $30K of debt paid off. Debt settlement WILL mess up your credit because you make yourself off as a deadbeat and you'll be treated like one. The best plan is to sit down with your income and expenses and work out a plan that will work for you but cut up your credit cards TODAY so you can attack what you already owe. It does no good for you to pay off credit cards while using credit cards. Stop the insanity!
Debt consolidation - if a company settles for less, the difference is considered to be income (which the IRS will tax), and it is worse on your credit record thatn debt consolidation.
In debt consolidation, you actually pay off what you owe, which is the right and moral thing to do.
Debt settlement is always better if you cannot afford to pay off your debt in a reasonable amount of time.. That sounds like a large debt amount, and you may need to go to Consumer Credit Counseling which will handle your payments and negotiations. You won't be able to get any unsecured credit while the payment process is underway.
go to www.adviceontime.com and read their articles on Credit. This will help you! good luck
I would say debt settlement because normally they would freeze the outstanding balance at the point of the agreement and not charge any further interest. You would have to pay them, but you would be paying the principle off and this would be a lot faster than incurring a large loan plus interest.
It all depends on how important your credit score is too you. Consolidation means you pay off all your debts and the only hit you your credit score is any points you lost for late payments. Settlement means that you can not fulfill your debt obligations and the creditors are setteling for what they can get now. This results in lower payments but you credit score will take a hit in addition to any points lost for late payment. So that all being said If you do not plan on buying a house, car or borrowing money for the next few years the settlement can help you save some money upfront. If however you do plan on buying a house, car or borrow money in the next few years Cosolidation would be your best bet.
8 years ago I had an equal amount of credit card and other debt. With a combination of debt consolidation, canceling all credit life and disability insurance( the premium added each month increased the balance), and living on a very strict budget I have reduced my total debt to less than $8,000.00. I have done without anything but bare necessities to make payments that covered the totral amount of interest plus 100 -200/month on the principal. As cards were paid off I cancelled the cards so they were no longer available for use and added the amount I had been paying to them to the payments on other cards. It is really important to cancel cards that have annual membership fees attached. It can be done but it will take years of tight budgeting, self dicipline, and using the total amount of income tax refunds to pay extra on credit card debt every year. If I continue living in my budget I will be debt free by this time next year. Good luck in your efforts.
If you do a debt settlement, request to have the debt remove permanent from your credit. Not to show it was paid off, but removed.
God Bless
Consolidating debt is an ideal way to reduce your amount and tenure of debt. You make a single payment to one lender on a certain date and this will help you clear off the debts faster. But the fact remains that debt consolidation is not easy all the times. If you owe a lot of money, obtaining a consolidation loan at the lower rate of interest can be difficult. Choosing a high interest loan can increase your debt.
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