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debt consolidation - anyone done it?

kayleebugskayleebugs
in Babies: 9 - 12 Months
Morning ladies!  So we have a good amount of credit card debt. We've been paying it off and have always managed to be able to transfer it to a zero percent offer. Well, those have run out! I was thinking of doing a debt consolidation plan just to finish off the debt. Has anyone ever done this?
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Re: debt consolidation - anyone done it?

  • SpecialWifeSpecialWife
    I've only consolidated my students loan and that was through the gov't. It's great but I'm guessing it would be different for credit cards.
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  • Kentuckychick_8201Kentuckychick_8201
    We are doing it right now, it is awesome.  Call Care one, they are highly recognized and approved by the better business bureau, that's who we go through.  They set you up a monthly payment and tell you exactly how long it will be until you will be out of debt.  Then they automatically deduct the money from your checking account on a certain day of each month.  You still receive statements from your creditors, so you can actually watch your credit debt go down. 
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  • kayleebugskayleebugs

    imageKentuckychick_8201:
    We are doing it right now, it is awesome.  Call Care one, they are highly recognized and approved by the better business bureau, that's who we go through.  They set you up a monthly payment and tell you exactly how long it will be until you will be out of debt.  Then they automatically deduct the money from your checking account on a certain day of each month.  You still receive statements from your creditors, so you can actually watch your credit debt go down. 

     

    This is the company i was just looking at. Do they charge you a fee? 

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  • CrazycrustaceanCrazycrustacean

    If your considering debt consolidation, i'm assuming your credit rating is not good. If it is good, I wouldn't do the consolidation because it damages your credit. 

    Having said that.... if your credit rating isn't good, you may want to consider negotiating with the companies yourself. We have been negotiating with our cc co's and settling our debt for WAY less than we owe. It hurts our rating as well, but we had nothing to lose since our rating was shot anyway. 

    hth if you'd like any info, please pm me. 

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  • Soter1Soter1
    I did Consolidated Credit Counseling about 4 years ago, did it in the 3 years.  Best thing I ever did!! Good luck! It really helps teach you.
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  • kayleebugskayleebugs
    imageCrazycrustacean:

    If your considering debt consolidation, i'm assuming your credit rating is not good. If it is good, I wouldn't do the consolidation because it damages your credit. 

    Having said that.... if your credit rating isn't good, you may want to consider negotiating with the companies yourself. We have been negotiating with our cc co's and settling our debt for WAY less than we owe. It hurts our rating as well, but we had nothing to lose since our rating was shot anyway. 

    hth if you'd like any info, please pm me. 

     

    OUr credit is good,,,it's just our zero percent is running out and we haven't gotten anymore offers....what is your PM

     


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  • GabbysMamaGabbysMama
    sfl
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  • kayleebugskayleebugs

    imageGabbysMama:
    sfl

     

    What does that mean?

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  • lexigrllexigrl
    We are using Care One as well and love them, we have been with them for about a year and we are really watching our balances drop.
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  • SpecialWifeSpecialWife


     

    SFL=Save for later

     and you can pm anyone by clicking "contact" at the bottom of there post.

    ETA- to check your PMs see bottom left of your Bump screen (where you see 0-6,6-12, Baby names, etc at the bottom under "my boards.")

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  • stdldb29stdldb29

    We got all our bank to give us a personal loan. I had practically no credit, it was a good score, but that's because I had nothing on it! We did that about 10 months ago and will be paid off in August. We will be credit card debt free by our 2nd wedding anniv. We pay well over the monthly payment though. Like 4 times as much.

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  • YouAreMyILoveYouYouAreMyILoveYou

    From what I've read online and in Suze Orman's book, debt consolidation is ONLY good if you have a shotty credit score.

    We have an excellant score but are in debt with a few credit cards (~$6,000 on a few different cards). We considered conslidation, but decided against it. We are just paying the bills ourselves and not negotiating w/any compaines, as that also hurts your score.

    If you own a home & car already and do not plan on moving or buying a new car in the next 10 years or so (about 5 years for a car) then I'd look into it. In our case, we own a home but want to move ASAP. It's better for us, and our FICO score, if we just take the time and money to pay it down the old fashioned way -- one bill at a time, with the highest intrest card being paid off first.

    I only wish it was as easy to get OUT of debt as it was to get INTO it.

    Good luck!

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  • stdldb29stdldb29
    And ours wasnt considered debt conso. so it never hurt our credit score. Only the personal loan is on our credit.
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  • AndrewsgalAndrewsgal member

    Don't do it! It will ruin your credit score. You can do all the stuff they do yourself and not pay a fee. Even if they say there is no fee there has to be something, they are not doing it out of the goodness of their heart!

    Read Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover, it will teach you how to live debt free.

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  • littlelondylittlelondy

    Here's my two cents... I work in finance, I have for 8 years. If you have bad credit, then YES it's a great idea. If you have good credit or you are trying to build your credit back, then it's a terrible idea.

    Typicall it works like this. You make monthly payments to a company who puts your funds into an escrow account. They then negotiate settlements with your creditors. By doing this, all of the bills go unpaid until you have enough in the account to start paying them off.

    So your credit will show late payments. In addition, under each tradeline on your credit, it will say "Account Managed By Debt Consolidation Company". If you ever wanted to get a new credit card, refinance your home, buy a car, etc. You will get denied b/c it shows that you are unable to handle the debt load. The combination of the two will ruin your credit and it could take years to rebuild. Not to mention, the charge off accounts will remain on credit for 7 years.

    So, I would try to find other avenues. Refi your home, negotiate the settlements on your own.

    I hope this helps!

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