Credit card debt is increasing every day, with credit cards becoming easier to obtain, consumers balances are on the rise, and people are even using one credit card to pay off another. Credit card debt is also becoming a problem on college campuses and it is a major factor in a lot of bankruptcy cases, with near $20 billion discharged in chapter 7 bankruptcy cases each year. It is an outbreak in world but even more so in the western world, most notable in the US.
A debt consolidation loan could help you to consolidate the high debts on your current credit cards to a lower interest rate and probably a lower payment. Consolidation loans are intended to help consumers pay off their bills and lower debt. When you have many cards with large amounts of debt and high interest, debt consolidation can be a life saver.
Rates on credit cards vary quite a bit, so a good idea is to know all your rates and try to transfer balances to lower rate cards when ever possible. It is also possible that consumers can call their creditors and negotiate for lower interest rates, usually it’s best to consolidate the debt at a lower rate when possible. If you fail to make your monthly payments as agreed, your interest rate will then go to the penalty rate which is usually quite high.
Overwhelming credit card debt is also causing students to be hounded by creditors and in many cases, declaring bankruptcy said Candy Acezedo, director of education at Consumer Credit Counseling Service. A high debt can also force a student to take a part time or regular job, which often will have a negative effect on their studies.
The best way to stay out of trouble with debt, is to just use your head and don’t spend money you know you will have a hard time paying back. If you are already drowning in debt, there are free credit counseling agencies that can be found online, that will be able to help get you started in the right direction.
Credit Card Debt – On The Rise
Credit card debt can be the source of needless stress in our lives, and has the potential to have a negative impact on your life. Credit card debt is not just a problem in the U.S. it is also increasing in industrialized countries as well. Credit card debt is also a major issue in a large number of consumer bankruptcies. Credit card debt will make it more difficult to live the life that you deserve.
Students
College students are among the most vulnerable to credit card debt. Credit card debt is growing faster among students than in any other part of society. Students are often offered incentives to apply for credit cards, and some requirements are often waived. With the ability to buy something now and pay for it later can be hard to resist for students, and most are already struggling financially. The Public Interest Research Group’s – “PIRG” Student Credit Card Trap study in 1998 found that most students who received credit a credit card from campus tables had higher unpaid balances than other students who received the credit cards elsewhere and were more likely to roll over their balance from month to month.
Interest
Credit card companies have started to take an interest in educating credit card users because knowledgeable consumers are much less likely to be overwhelmed by debt, leaving them in a much better position to make their payments on-time and avoid getting bad credit and even bankruptcy. If your already overwhelmed by credit card debt, consider a debt consolidation loan, so instead of having a lot of high interest credit card bills due, you now will have one bill that is due once a month usually at a lower rate. Consolidating credit card debt can be as simple as contacting one of the many credit counseling agencies on the web. According to the Consumer Action, (a public interest organization) who does a survey once a year of over one hundred credit card companies, card holders can be hit with late fees of up to $39 and raised interest rates.
The increase in credit card debt is rising at an alarming rate. Some popular economists are predicting that the rise in credit debt is likely to continue. Many people do not realize how debilitating credit card debt can be to their lives.
Could Your Debt Cost You Your Home?
For homeowners struggling with debt problems, losing your home is the ultimate nightmare. Not only will you suffer the emotional upheaval and traumatic change of lifestyle involved, you may even find that it isn’t the end of your financial problems. Your property can be sold at much less than the market value, which might not even be enough to clear your debt, leaving you homeless but still indebted.
Fortunately, this nightmare scenario is not as common as you may think. Repossession is a last resort for your creditors, and is only an option for a select few of them. Any debts you have on credit cards, bank accounts and the like are classed as unsecured, which means that even though your possessions could be seized to pay off what you owe, your home is not directly at risk unless your debts are serious enough to warrant bankruptcy.
Although government related debts such as tax arrears can also be cleared through forcing the sale of your home, this is not a particularly common occurrence, and the main risks to your home are loans which are secured on it. This includes your mortgage and any equity loans you’ve taken out.
Mortgage lenders will not exercise their repossession right lightly, as it’s an expensive option for them, they’ll be missing out on your future interest payments, and it doesn’t do a great deal for their public image to be seen turfing families out on to the street. However, the prospect of repossession proceedings is still a serious business and you should urgently seek advice from either the lenders themselves or a qualified and licensed debt advisory service.
The repossession process is not a quick one, and you’ll generally have around six months between falling into arrears and being served an eviction notice, which is ample time to rearrange your finances with a consolidation loan or remortgage, or even to negotiate new terms or a repayment program with your mortgage lender.
Repossession must follow a legally specified course, starting with a simple letter from the lender to you notifying you that you are in arrears, and asking that you make arrangements to resolve the matter. If no resolution is reached, a second letter will be sent warning of legal action.
If you’re still in arrears at this stage, and haven’t made a genuine attempt to negotiate with the lender, a solicitors letter will be sent giving you 7 days to clear the arrears or make an acceptable proposal on how you plan to do it. There needs to be no further notice for court proceedings to start if you don’t respond to this final letter.
If it does get to court, then a judge can grant a possession order which gives your mortgage lender the legal right to evict you. In practice, judges will try to broker an agreement on an acceptable and fair way forward, especially if children are involved. Even if an order is granted, this doesn’t necessarily lead to eviction, as mortgage companies can keep the order in reserve as an inducement for you to clear your arrears.
So, if you’re worried that you might be facing eviction, remember that it is in fact a fairly rare thing for a mortgage lender to enforce, and that there is plenty of opportunities to stop the process once it’s started. The best advice is to keep calm, contact the lender, and seek advice on how you can come to arrangement that keeps your creditor happy, but more importantly keeps you in your home.