Paying off debt

Submitted by ssjng4 on Thu, 12/06/2007 - 12:11
Forums

Good morning... i am trying to clear up my debt? is it good to consolidate or should i pay each one off one by one. I heard that it is not good to settle, is that true?

Well ssjng,

Settlement is the last recourse that you have before filing bankruptcy. If you have the capability to pay off your debt I would suggest that debt consolidation is a far better way to do it. Your monthly payment will be distributed amongst all the accounts.

Fri, 12/07/2007 - 06:17 Permalink

Great suggestion Laura, you can also look into some non profit agencies will help you with some budgeting, tighten up the riegns so to speak on unneccessary spending for awhile until you get everything under control. You have options. If it comes done to bankruptcy or debt consolidation, definately choose the consolidation, will be better for your credit rating.

Sat, 12/08/2007 - 12:56 Permalink

Yeah it really depends on your financial situation...if you have the funds to pay off one at a time then do that but if you find that it's all too overwhelming andyou're not able to pay any or little of them then consolidation would be the way to go. when you pay it off yourself it's a very disciplined balancing act because you're paying more money toward one creditor while maintaining your good standing with the others too so be sure, if you're doing this yourself, to distribute your funds effectively. let us know how you do
i settled and it was good for me because my credit was shot to heck and back anyway and consolidating actually helped it a little because people could see that i was taking the bull by the horns so to speak. if you're credit is good and ifyou have the money, then i would do it yourself if at all possible to avoid consolidation because credit counseling will go on your credit report and some companies find that a good thing while other's shy away from granting you credit because of it.

Sat, 12/08/2007 - 13:06 Permalink

It is very possible to do it yourself as debtstinker says, you have to sit down and put it all in writing to get a clear picture of what you are facing. Write down all your bills and all your income.
Write down the balance of each of them and see if you can throw a few extra dollars towards one of them to get rid of it quicker.
Set short and long term goals.
Most importantly don't make any bills while you are doing this and try not to make anymore once you complete paying off what you have now.

Sat, 12/08/2007 - 21:21 Permalink

ssjng4, here is an awesome calculator and webpage for you to use if you plan to do it yourself.

TOS VIOLATION- Richard

Sat, 12/08/2007 - 22:19 Permalink

hey good that's pretty awesome thanks i think many of us can use this tool and we all hope that ssjng is doing well and that whatever the decision made will be the right one!

Sun, 12/09/2007 - 01:48 Permalink

You are welcome debt, I think it is an excellent way to figure out your bills and the intrest accumulation.

Sun, 12/09/2007 - 13:16 Permalink

no kidding. I know from experience that when i took out credit i never thought about any of that until it kicked me in the butt and all of a sudden it piled up and i had to consolidate. when i was a younger, never did i realize that what i did 11 years ago would still not only affect me today, but affect my family too. thankfully my husband has been more than supportive and doesn't make me feel bad for my past financial mistakes!

Mon, 12/10/2007 - 02:30 Permalink

You are lucky, some guys would not take it so lightly, you will get through it in no time, just keep plugging away. you will be okay.

Mon, 12/10/2007 - 03:19 Permalink

Any financial decision depends on your financial status. Chalk out your earning and expenses and what you can save out of it. Depending on that you can perform your check on which suits you better- consolidation or debt settlement.

This is will be completely your decision whether you want to do it yourself or work with an agency. I would rather do it myself because the amount of money I save by not using any agency I can pay off atleast two of my credit cards. But it is personal choice as I said.

Mon, 12/10/2007 - 04:33 Permalink

Good point Richard, if you can do it yourself, that is great, some folks don't have that know how. I personally would do it myself to save money like you would.

Mon, 12/10/2007 - 19:01 Permalink

That is why we have this forum here. to make people aware. I hope this comes of help because we share our experiences here. I just hope we can help all who come here and make atleast one happy with the contributions that we make.

Tue, 12/11/2007 - 12:03 Permalink