The Risks of Debt Consolidation Loans
You may have seen it on television and heard it on radio — people who are out of money have rolled all their debts, including credit card debts, into one, have gotten interest payments reduced, and apparently have restored some order into their finances. The loans designed to help in these situations are known as debt consolidation loans and can help you regain control of your debts.
Debt consolidation loans may seem to make it quick and easy to wipe out your existing credit card and personal loans debts and get in control of your spending. But keep in mind that there are risks involved in taking out debt consolidation loans. You are actually changing short term credit card debts into longer ones.
Your Options
You have two options in getting debt consolidation loans: personal loans and home loans. If you are keen on personal loans, you may want to explore possibilities with your existing lender first. A thorough househoild budget and repayment plan may be required. This way, you have better chances of convincing your lender to provide the debt consolidation loans you need.
If you have built up sufficient equity in your home, you may want to choose the home loan option. In this instance you can access some of the equity you hold in your home at a lower interest rate than your existing debts and use that to pay off high interest credit cards. By tapping your home equity, you gain a longer period within which to pay off other debts — if need be, for a term as long as your home loan. The result: lower monthly repayments and an easier cash flow.
The Caveats
You can massively reduce the total amount of interest yoy pay by paying above the minimum repayments each month. Getting the loan itself is not cheap as there are application fees and other charges that lenders will levy on debt consolidation loans.
Don’t forget the risks involved with debt consolidation via your home loan. You would not want to lose your home, so make sure to stick very strictly to your repayment scheme.
You need to realize that your spending habits got you into this trouble and history will repeat itself unless you change. For example, debt consolidation loans might allow you to pay off credit card debt on three credit cards amounting to $10,000 — which helps you because of a reduction in the monthly interest charges. But you now have three credit cards with available credit limits you can access in full. It’s very easy to be tempted. You might forget that you still have a $10,000 debt to repay.
Don’t get yourself into a debt consolidation loan unless you are serious about changing your spending habits by paying off your debts and avoiding new debts. Do away with all but one of your credit cards once they are paid off so you can’t get so far back into debt. For the remaining one, arrange to have the credit limit lowered to a level you are sure you can pay.
Take stock and create a budget plan that takes into account all your monthly income and outgoings. You need to cut the fat from your budget, doing away with expenses that are not required and refocus that money on making loan repayments above and beyond the minimum balance required. Debt consolidation loans won’t provide a solution in themselves, you need will power and discipline.
Article by Richard Greenwood of compareyourbank.com.au which allows consumers to compare credit cards online.