I am drowning in debt right now, does anyone have any advice via personal experiene?
I ended up taking out a personal loan from a bank. Paying off all my debt (car – 10,000, credit cards – 7,000, and school loans – 4,000) I did it this way because it raised my credit score for taking out the loan and paying it on time and gave me 1 payment (for 5 years unfortunately) that I had to make and not the car, 8 credit cards, and 2 loans. It has worked wonders and I made myself a budget. It has to work for you or you won’t follow it so if you like to shop you have to give yourself some (not a lot) of money to do that. I used Oprah’s Debt diet to help.
First – Myth: Debt consolidation saves interest, and you have one smaller payment. Truth: Debt consolidation is dangerous because you treat only the symptom. Debt consolidation is nothing more than a “con” because you think you’ve done something about the debt problem. The debt is still there, as are the habits that caused it – you just moved it! You can’t borrow your way out of debt. You can’t get out of a hole by digging out the bottom. True debt help is not quick or easy. Larry Burkett, noted financial author, says debt is not the problem; it is the symptom. I feel debt is the symptom of overspending and undersaving. Our certified counselors will not recommend debt consolidation for a client. Why? Because debt consolidation doesn’t work. Debt Consolidation Statistics A friend of mine works for a debt consolidation firm whose internal statistics estimate that 78% of the time, after someone consolidates his credit card debt, the debt grows back. Why? He still doesn’t have a game plan
