Salt Lake City, UT (PressExposure) March 04, 2010 -- With the economy in a recession, the housing market in free fall, and unemployment at its highest level in decades, more and more Americans are finding themselves with more debt than they can reasonably afford to repay. The problem is made worse by the fact that the typical household has their debt spread among a number of different creditors. Each has their own interest rate and their own minimum payment. Increases in minimum payments in recent years means that many people are sending in only the minimum payment each month. This can lead to years or even decades of paying off relatively modest balances, at best. At worst, it can mean a trip to bankruptcy court and a decade of being unable to obtain credit again.
Compounding the problem is the fact that even a single late payment to a credit card compay can trigger a late fee of as much as $39 and an increase in the interest rate. Rates in excess of 30% are not unknown for customers who routinely have problems paying their bills. Late fees and higher interest rates do not help anyone get out of debt; they just make the problem worse and can make the borrower even more likely to file for bankruptcy.
The solution for many people with problem credit debt is to obtain the services of a debt consolidator. A consolidator, or a debt consolidation company, is one that is in the business of helping people with financial problems consolidate credit debt so that they can repay on a timetable that works for both the lender and the borrower. A debt consolidator can often arrange for a customer to replace a number of large, unwieldy bills with a single loan, payable once a month, at a reasonable rate of interest. By making a single payment at a lower rate of interest, the debts can be repaid on an accelerated schedule, getting the customer out of debt much sooner than if he or she continued making only minimum payments.
Speaking of debt consolidation services, Charlie Essmeier, owner of DebtGoAway.net, said, "Thousands of people benefit from debt consolidation services every year. The industry could help even more people, but most of them don't even know that these services exist. We're trying to change that."
How much help one can obtain from a debt consolidation company will vary from customer to customer, depending on the amount of their debt, their income, and their credit history. Obviously, the only way to know what sort of help you may be eligible for is to contact a debt consolidator and speak with them personally. Fortunately, most debt consolidators offer free initial consultations, so there is no reason for anyone with a debt or credit problem to hesitate to take action.
If you have problem debt, the sooner you take action, the sooner you can once again be debt-free.