Debt counseling

Debt counseling

Debt counseling

There are a lot of people who are under huge burden of large debts. Due to these worries, they are not able to lead a normal life which affects their performance at the job or profession and also has an adverse impact on their family life. Debt counseling is the mechanism through which a person can get rid of his mounting debts in a convenient manner. Debt counseling is provided by the experienced and well qualified persons in the field of finance and debt management. These expert advisers tell you a number of preventive measures to stay away from debt trap by planning their expenditure in a prudent manner. Apart from this, these experts also devise various means to lessen your burden of debt repayment through effective debt management plans. To get proper help and assistance, you should provide all the relevant particulars about your existing debts to the debt counselor. You should not conceal any vital fact from your debt counselor in your own interest.

Through debt counseling, your advisers negotiate with the creditors on your behalf for reduction in rate of interest or for a relaxation in the original repayment period or in some cases, a portion of debt can also be waived off altogether. Debt counseling guides a person having debts to repay all his debts by loan consolidation or mortgage loans. In some cases, credit cards companies agree to accept lesser amount of monthly repayment as per terms of agreement under a debt management plan to provide a substantial relief to the debtor. Most of the debt management companies claim to get the 40 to 50 per cent concessions for their clients in respect of credit card dues but in reality, 10 to 20 per cent discounts in total amount have been seen to be given by the creditor companies. Before engaging the services of a debt counselor, you should thoroughly enquire into the reality of his claims about various concessions and facilities.

While every person wants to get rid of his debts as early as possible, there are a few precautions to follow before you choose a person or agency for debt counseling. First of all, you should collect the relevant information about various debt counseling companies to assess their capabilities to help you in settling your debts in a convenient manner. For this purpose, you may collect feedback on these companies from their previous clients about their past performance. You should not get attracted to a company which charges nominal fees as lesser fee does not necessarily imply better services. Debt counseling also helps you to get the rate of interest reduced in certain cases. With a lesser rate of interest, your monthly repayment obligation is reduced and you can repay a debt earlier than compared to the original repayment period. This results in a lot of mental peace for you besides saving a substantial amount of money for you.

In the year 2005, with the introduction of some major changes in the laws related to the bankruptcy in the United States, debt counseling was made mandatory in the cases where the debtors chose to file a petition for bankruptcy. As per the provisions of these rules, a person has to obtain the services of a non-profit credit counseling company during the 180 days period prior to the filing for bankruptcy. One of the various counseling sessions with the engaged company may be conducted over telephone or online through the internet. There are various websites where you can get useful information about different aspects of debt counseling along with the necessary particulars about the companies providing the services of debt counseling. You should be cautious from various newly emerging credit counseling companies who allure customers and then dupe them by misappropriating their money and not depositing it with the creditors. Debt counseling companies are often funded by the creditors in the form of 5 to 10 percent of collections paid to them in the form of Fair Share. Some credit counseling companies advise their clients not to deposit any money directly with the creditors and when they receive the first repayment installment, they retain it with them as their fees for debt counseling. This unfair practice adversely affects the financial interests of the person who is already under huge burden of debt.

Whenever a person is under the huge burden of several debts, he should immediately contact a renowned and experienced debt counselor as any delay in going for debt counseling shall only make his financial condition worse. A timely help from a capable debt counselor may result in lot of convenience in repaying your dues but you should follow the instructions and advice of your debt counselor in a regular and disciplined manner. A competent debt counselor is your greatest friend and well wisher to save you from unnecessary monetary loss and severe mental stress resulting from huge burden of debts. A debt counseling agency or person chosen with a little care, caution and prudence can save you a lot of trouble and financial loss at the later stages.

Debt counseling saves you from a lot of stress and mental worries. When you have a large number of creditors you have to talk to them either personally or over telephone at least once in a month. With the help of debt counseling you have to deal with just a single person. You have to pay a consolidated amount to the agency per month and it shall take care of all your monthly repayments as and when these fall due. Debt counseling also educates you about various ways to manage your finances in a better and planned manner to avoid debts as far as possible. This is the preventive role of debt counseling agencies. Many debt counseling agencies advice to go for debt consolidation for repayment of all your dues but you should properly assess all the pros and cons of a loan consolidation as you might have to repay the amount over a longer period than the original one in case of separate debts. Role of debt counselor in these cases is of advisory nature only and you are under no obligation to follow his advice. You should discuss all the aspects related to your indebtedness with the debt counseling agency in an open and candid manner.

Before engaging a debt counselor for management of your debts you should properly ascertain whether he is capable of helping you in a significant manner. You should verify the past record of credit counseling agency from a number of reliable sources. Debt counseling not only helps you to repay your debts with convenience in a planned manner, but it also educates you to keep your expenditure below your income level so that you are not a victim to debt trap. In a few cases where the debt burden is so high that it is not possible for the indebted person to repay his dues with his present earnings, debt counselor may advice you to go for bankruptcy proceedings. Mortgage loan is also another option to clear your various debts of smaller amounts but you should exercise this option after much thought and with a great caution. A few debt counseling agencies mislead the innocent clients to fall in the trap of debt consolidation which might make their financial status worse than earlier. You should be cautious from these selfish persons who watch their own interest at the cost of their clients.

One of the most important tips given during the debt counseling is to classify all your debts in high priority and low priority sections and plan your repayments in the order of priority. Secondly, you should always aim to spend less than what you earn so that your financial balance is not disturbed and you are not a victim to the debt trap. Besides this, you should also make constant and vigorous efforts to augment your sources of income to be able to repay your debts in a shorter period. Debt counselors help you to plan your monthly budgets in a useful manner. Debt counseling also provides required help in the direction of improving your credit rating. If you follow the debt management plan in a disciplined way and meet your repayment obligations in time, you are sure to improve your credit scores in a significant manner. You should always choose the debt counseling company which has a sound standing and good reputation in the market. While an experienced and trusted debt counselor may lessen your worries of debt repayments, an unprofessional debt counselor may make the situation even worse for you.

You should also make a periodical review of all your existing debts and also keep a close watch on the prevailing market conditions to explore the possibilities of a loan with cheaper interest rate which could be utilized to repay the existing higher interest bearing debts. Debt counselors suggest both types of loans- secured debts and unsecured debts. In the case of secured debt, you have to mortgage your immovable property with the creditors in the form of collateral security whereas in the case of unsecured debts, no collateral security is asked for. In case of an unsecured debt, you can get limited amount of loan and generally these loans carry a very high rate of interest. If you do not have sufficient disposable monthly income for debt repayment, you might not be able to repay your debts easily and coupled with the burden of higher rate of interest, such types of loans may thrust you deeper in the trouble.

With the increasing passion for all the luxuries, a person sometimes incurs some expenses without caring for his resources. This results in his indebtedness as more and more financial institutions allure the consumers to avail loans for several non productive purposes also. The increasing tendency of buy now pay later has left thousands of people in every city highly indebted. To come out of this debt trap, one has to seek the help of debt counseling. Debt counseling equips you in a better manner to manage your finance and repay your debts at attractive terms and conditions with much ease and convenience. On the one hand, a debt counselor educates you to spend and save judiciously to avoid debts and on the other hand, it also helps you to come out of the debt trap if you have already fallen into it. Thus, a double advantage of debt counseling helps you to manage your personal financial status in a better and well organized manner.

There are a number of debt counselors in each city who provide various types of services related to debt counseling. Of these, there are a few who insist upon raising a debt consolidation loan or debt consolidation mortgage loan. You should be aware of such type of agencies as these are watching their own interest in the disguise of helping you to clear your debts easily. There are a few genuine individual debt counselors and debt counseling agencies which strictly follow the rules stipulated by the Financial Services Authority in this regard and provide you proper guidance and help in a fair way. For effective management of your debts, you should also improve your spending habits to save extra amount of money every month to repay your debts early which will help you to save a lot of money in the form of interest and other costs, besides giving you much desired mental relief of clearing all your debts in time.