logan Posted November 21, 2003 Share Posted November 21, 2003 now that im out of school im trying to get rid of all the mistakes i applied for while i was in school.. a whole bunch of credit cards.. i was thinking of consolidating it.. but i heard mixed opinions about consolidation.. anyone with a cpa or anything able to enlighten me if its good or bad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maplecookie Veteran Posted November 21, 2003 Veteran Share Posted November 21, 2003 http://www.profina.org/financiallibrary/vi...x?id=DebtConsol and http://www.profina.org I hope these websites help. They have a number listed also to get information. If you look in the yellow pages in your area for debt management or something like that, often times they will have non-profit organizations that can help you make the right decision based on your circumstances. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikey1001 Posted November 21, 2003 Share Posted November 21, 2003 If your credit rating is still at an acceptable level, one where a bank won't laugh at you, then call your local branch, set up an appointment with the loan's officer and gather all your info (all debts + assets) and get them to put it all into a consolidation loan. It creates just one monthly payment for you and at a much lower rate than any credit card. The downside to this option is that the bank will NOT make you close the credit card accounts, so be very careful. You could end up with a large loan and then rack up your cards all over again on top of that. My advice, and I learned this the hard way, keep one card, and one card only. Unless you're a small business owner, the average person should be more than able to survive with one credit card. And here's another little known fact, once you have a good raport going with your creditor, you can call them up and TELL them you want a lower interest rate. If they don't want to oblige you, then say you are closing your account and taking your business elsewhere. Trust me, they'll cut the interest rate. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bull Posted November 21, 2003 Share Posted November 21, 2003 Can be good but only, I mean only, if you pay it off and don't start the bills all over. :no: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poind Posted November 22, 2003 Share Posted November 22, 2003 A lot depends on what kind of income you have now, if you have student loans, just how much credit card debt you have.... If you have multiple student loans, look into if you may benefit from consolidating those and locking in low interest rates. You only get to consolidate student loans once, so be careful. Financial aid office wherever you studied can probably still recommend such things to you. Regarding credit card debt: Their interest rates are nasty, and if you're asking things like this, I'd recommend you stop charging new things onto them altogether. If you ever get an offer from one card that allows you to transfer things onto it for an extended period with little or no interest and little or no transaction cost, do so. You can contact many cards and simply request a lower interest rate, and as long as you've at least been making minimum payments, you can usually get one. Especially if you're having financial problems, they'd rather get things back at a lower interest rate than risk you declaring bankruptcy. If you have steady income right now, and simply want to get things more under control, talk to your bank (or any bank) about something like a consumer loan to pay off credit cards and get things paid back at a more reasonable interest rate. They may want a sign of good faith that you're willing to outright cancel most or all cards if they give you the loan, and you will almost certainly need to have relatively steady income to be considered so they can set up a payment plan they know you can meet. Depending on family situation and how much debt you have, *some* people can simply arrange with parents / relatives to have their high-interest credit card debt paid off, and they thereafter just pay back the family member with a more reasonable interest rate as they can. First and foremost, you need to decide if you can reasonably pay off your debts if you can get them to a reasonable interest rate given whatever your current income is. There are various methods to try and get this interest rate down dramatically, especially if you have steady income now that you're out of school. If these credit card debts are overwhelming regardless, you would not be the first person to leave school with such (and cc companies are getting "investigated" for improper marketing to college students in recent years and how it affects many things). If you do not have current steady income or see other alternatives, you may very well need to consult (for free, generally speaking, though they'll charge about $1000 in total if you go ahead beyond that) with a bankruptcy attorney(s). Student loans are *not* able to be discharged, though you can request deferments and such for them if you have need. If you have severe doubt about ability to pay things off even if you can get them to lower interest rates, you should be talking to the attorney sooner rather than later. Anything you pay to cc debt in the meantime will be lost money should you end up needing to declare bankruptcy. If you have decent income, stay away from fly-by-night consolidation operations, and see what you can arrange with your bank for a low-interest loan to help pay off the cards and consolidate payments. Until you know how you're handling things, you should probably cease any-and-all new charges to the credit cards sooner rather than later, and be prepared for cards to request freezes to new charges occurring should you contact them, or a bank asking you to cancel cards (or at least hinting you should) should they give you a loan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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