A few years ago, I was in a pretty serious car accident. During the aftermath, I became really familiar with a lot of different types of lawyers. I worked with personal injury lawyers, insurance lawyers, and many others. Perhaps the most important, though, was the estate planning lawyer. I was really young, and neither my wife or I had thought about starting a will. But the accident kind of scared us into it. What would happen if one of us were to die? Even when still in the hospital, I was working with the lawyer to draw up a will. Now, I have some peace and security about what the future will be like if something should happen to me. And I have a lot of experience working with various types of lawyers! The accident was kind of a blessing in disguise in that way.
For many people, a loss of income, a prolonged illness, or even a single missed paycheck can be enough to send them spiraling into more debt than they can possibly repay. If you are one of these people, you should know that there is some light at the end of the tunnel. This is because while you may not be able to undo your past financial mistakes, you can overcome these mistakes through the use of several debt relief options. Below you will learn more about a few of the options that may be available to you and how they can help you to enjoy a much brighter financial future.
Debt Consolidation
Debt consolidation loans provide you with the ability to pay off all of you old debts at once and begin making just one loan payment each month rather than making payments to multiple creditors. This option may also provide you with the opportunity to save a considerable amount of money on your overall debt by allowing you to eliminate debts that are associated with high interest rates, or by asking your original creditors to accept a smaller sum in order to settle your account.
While debt consolidation loans offer an immediate answer to your current debt collection problems, these loans will not eliminate your responsibility to repay this debt. Furthermore, individuals with extremely low credit scores or low income levels may find that they are unable to qualify for a debt consolidation loan.
Credit Counseling
People often make the mistake of believing that credit counseling agencies simply offer financial advice to help them get out of debt. However, while it is true that these agencies offer a wide variety of educational services, they will also offer additional services that are designed to help you successfully pay off your debts within a certain amount of time. For instance, a credit counselor will typically contact all of your current creditors in order to try and make payment arrangements on your behalf. Once a payment plan has been set up, all of your monthly payments will be made to the credit counseling agency, who will then in turn pay all of your creditors.
While credit counseling services can provide you with the tools you need to make better financial decisions in the future, these services may not provide immediate relief from the debt collection problems that you have right now. Consequently, these services may not be right for individuals in true financial crisis.
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is currently the only debt relief option that allows individuals the opportunity to completely discharge their responsibility for repaying many of their debts. Consequently, this option is often ideally suited to individuals with little or no income, or who are simply unable to commit to a monthly payment on top of their current financial responsibilities.
While filing for bankruptcy will allow you to enjoy a fresh financial start, it can also have a huge impact on your credit score. As a result, you may find it incredibly difficult to obtain new credit in the years following your bankruptcy.
A Final Thought
Everyone's financial situation is slightly different. Consequently, there is no single debt relief option that will be right for everyone. If you find that you are struggling to find the debt relief option that is right for you, you may wish to consider consulting a bankruptcy attorney, such as Curtis A. Anderson, Attorney At Law. Even if you are not considering the option of filing for bankruptcy, these attorneys can often provide valuable information on alternatives to bankruptcy.
Share11 March 2015
