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The 5 Most Significant Blunders People Commit During Debt Consolidation.
Consolidating your debts can simplify your finances and reduce your monthly payments, making it more manageable to repay what you owe. Nevertheless, debt consolidation is not without its risks – making mistakes during the process can result in more debt that takes longer to pay off. To ensure successful consolidation, it’s important to steer clear of these five common errors that borrowers tend to make.
Failing to account how you accumulated debt.
Managing your finances is comparable to treating a sports injury: without examining the root cause of the problem or evaluating current habits, you run the risk of repeating the same mistake. Many people assume that debt is solely the result of poor spending habits, but in reality, unexpected events such as a medical emergency, home repairs, divorce, or the death of a family member can also lead to debt. Although it may be tempting to rely on credit cards or delay payments in the short term, without an emergency fund or a repayment plan, these debts can quickly become overwhelming. In addition to exploring debt consolidation options, it’s essential to review your spending habits, organize your finances, and establish safeguards to protect yourself in the future.
Starting without a Strategy
Debt consolidation is not the final solution to becoming debt-free. After consolidating your debt, you need to start repaying it. To create a repayment plan, you should ask yourself the following questions:
- How much money can you allocate towards debt repayment each month?
- Do you plan to use your bonuses, tax refunds, or cash gifts to pay off your consolidated debt?
- Have you updated your monthly budget to include debt repayment?
- Can you increase your monthly payments by taking up a second job?
- Can you cut down your expenses and use the saved money to pay off your debt?
Taking a Higher Rate Loan
To become debt-free, consolidating your debt is just the first step. You also need to come up with a repayment plan to start paying off your debt. This can be done by considering how much you can put towards debt repayment each month, if you plan to use bonuses or tax refunds towards your consolidated debt, if you have updated your monthly budget to include debt repayment, if you can increase your monthly payments with the help of a second job, and if you can make cuts in your spending and redirect the saved money towards your monthly payments.
Failing to Repay Transferred Debt Promptly
Opting for debt consolidation through credit card transfers is often driven by the desire to benefit from promotional interest rates. However, these rates are only temporary, and failing to repay the consolidated debt before the promotional period ends can lead to increased debt owing to higher interest rates. To avoid such a situation, it is crucial to carefully study the terms and conditions of the credit card, especially regarding the expiry of promotional rates, and devise a payment plan to pay off the consolidated debt as soon as possible.
Failing to collaborate with the appropriate experts
A common blunder made by people is failing to seek guidance from a debt consolidation expert. It can be difficult to choose the right solution, but individuals should know that they don’t have to handle it alone. Reputable debt consolidation companies offer free consultations to assist those in debt in exploring their alternatives and selecting a plan that is suitable for them. To begin, you can check our list of the top five debt consolidation companies.
Our 2023 Picks for the Top 5 Debt Consolidation Companies
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8.5
Very Good
4.2/5
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7.6
Good
3.8/5
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7.4
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3.7/5
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6.7
Fair
3.4/5