Getting rid of debt?
I see tons of commercials for getting rid of your credit card debt by refinancing your mortgage/ home loan. The problem is, I don’t own a car or a house, I work part-time, and I’m a full time student. Are there companies that do debt consolidation, etc. for people like me?
There are debt consolidation companies that will work with you, but I strongly recommend against using them. As a general rule, they are not doing anything that you cannot do on your own, and they are charging you for that “service”.
Here are a few things that you can do to get your debt down to a manageable level.
1. Stop spending money on stuff you do not need. A large coffee a day is around $1.50 to $2.00, that’s around $45 -$60 a month. Same for bottled water, cell phone service, renting or buying videos, games, CDs, etc… Dedicate that extra money to paying down the credit card with the highest interest.
2. Set aside some money every month to pay a significant extra amount on one card, the one with the highest interest. Even if it is only $5, it is TONS better then just paying the minimum. As you reduce what you owe, the amount you pay in interest every month will go down allowing you to pay off debt faster.
3. if you are still having difficulty making the payments, for whatever reason, call the credit card companies. Tell them your situation. They would rather work with you, then send the account to collections. There is a lot that they can do, like reducing your interest rate, or allowing you to skip a month or two without penalty.
Best of luck.
