Debt Problems, Debt Management & Consolidation of Loans
People are living on credit. The culture of taking out loans and
improving the standard of living, which started in the twentieth
century, has flourished in the twenty first century. The total
amount of outstanding debt in the UK has reached ₤1,148.
83% of this is in the form of mortgages and 4.9% is in the form
of credit card debt. The number of people filing for bankruptcy
has also increased in 2005. Over 50% Britons used credit cards
and store cards for Christmas shopping.
People have no idea how they are going to repay their debt when
they take out a loan or use credit cards. Initially, borrowers
find it difficult to keep up with their monthly payments. Then a
situation comes when they start missing out on payments. This is
where the problem must be tackled otherwise the situation may
lead to default or even bankruptcy. Constant harassment by
creditors can be very embarrassing. It may even lead to family
problems.
If you default, the lender may initiate legal proceedings
against you to recover his money. In case of a secured loan
, the lender may repossess your property. To avoid this,
you may go for bankruptcy or debt management. Bankruptcy will
discharge you from all your debt obligations. However, once you
are declared bankrupt, you might not be able to take out a fresh
loan for a very long time. A better option is to go for debt
management. The first step is to close down all your unused
credit cards accounts. After this, you can talk to your creditor
and apprise him of the situation. He might come out with a
solution which will help you repay your loan.
Debt management also includes debt consolidation. You can take
out a loan to consolidate your debt. This will help you
consolidate all your high rate outstanding loans and unpaid
credit card bills into a single loan. A debt consolidation
loan carries an interest rate lower than existing loans and
credit card dues. There are several types of debt
consolidation loans . A homeowner loan can be used to repay
your existing loans. You can also use a personal loan to carry
out debt consolidation.