Credit Consolidation Eases Financial Burden

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479

Summary:
When considering the pros and cons of debt negotiation it is important to educate yourself about the process.  This means researching debt negotiation and related terms like debt arbitration and debt settlement.  You will more than likely find in your research that while debtors often seek to negotiate debt settlement while lenders have little motivation to arbitrate the incurred debts.  To a lender, debt negotiation is giving away leverage and money – something that they are...


Keywords:
negotiate debt settlement, credit consolidation, personal finance


Article Body:
When considering the pros and cons of debt negotiation it is important to educate yourself about the process.  This means researching debt negotiation and related terms like debt arbitration and debt settlement.  You will more than likely find in your research that while debtors often seek to negotiate debt settlement while lenders have little motivation to arbitrate the incurred debts.  To a lender, debt negotiation is giving away leverage and money – something that they are willing to consider only if it means avoiding having the borrower enter bankruptcy.  

The lender has provided money and/or property in good faith based upon your commitment to repay the debt.  However, most will respond to a level of sincerity when approached by borrowers that have a true cause and a viable plan for repayment.  Certainly you have nothing to lose by asking.  After all, if you are completely overwhelmed by your financial predicament, you may be able to alleviate some of your personal finance burden by negotiating in good faith with your lender.  

Credit counseling can assist you in identifying the most logical actions for you to take and they can also provide tools and suggestions to help you be successful in your negotiations.  They may identify credit consolidation as a more appropriate action and can fully explain the pros and cons of consolidating a mountain of debt into a single monthly payment, almost always at a lower rate of interest.  It is important to remember that any assistant the counselor can offer you is not a cure all for the underlying problems of overspending however.  While consolidating debt can make it more manageable in the short term future, people have to make changes in the spending habits that led to the financial crisis before the long term future can also look secure.  

Start small.  If you are determined to take control of your financial situation and want to pay off your debt in order to create a new financial leave, contact your creditors and negotiate for a lower interest rate, a longer pay back arrangement with smaller monthly payments or a different, more realistic repayment plan. 

One plus to negotiation is that the credit report will eventually reflect the payment as being paid in full and this works to your benefit in the long run.  In addition, many debt negotiation or credit counseling companies include credit repair services as part of their basic programs.  This additional repair service can assist an individual in removing negative items that were caused by the program.  There may be, however, some additional fees incurred by seeking this additional level of service.  

In a nutshell, debt negotiation has both pros and cons.  However, in a world where a few negotiations may be able to avert bankruptcy filings and other extreme actions that cause extreme damage to credit histories, they may be the best solution for you.