So what is it?

A budget!

Eeewwwh. I know. Budgeting is probably the worst part of money management, at least to me. I mean cutting back… no problem. Saving a little for a rainy day… easy. But sitting down to develop a budget that I actual live with… horrible.

And yet, if you want to succeed at consolidating your credit cards or any other obligation that you have… you must take the time to layout a realistic plan to ensure that you are going to be able to keep your new promises.

I mean a consolidation loan is just that, a loan, so if you don’t want to be under even greater stress in six months, you really have to be sure that when all is said and done, you can afford to pay the new consolidated payment that you are agreeing to.

So now you know.

I would suggest that you look for some free counseling and get help setting your budget from a professional counselor. If you pick one of the no obligation services online, you can get their input before you even sign up with them.

Good luck and let me know how budgeting works out for you.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Chad

Well getting into financial trouble is the easy part.  It can even be fun, right? It’s the getting out that stinks. So really the main questions you should ask yourself to find out if you are ready to take the next step towards consolidating are these three easy ideas.

First even Christian consolidation doesn’t eliminate your debt. But it does do away with the late fees and the over the limit fees. Unfortunately, you will still have a monthly payment.

So the question is this, Can you afford to make a monthly payments to repay the amount that you owe? Sometime it’s just the overwhelming burden of the harassing fees and phone calls that keeps people from getting ahead. Is that the case for you?

Secondly, If you said yes to the first question, then you have to decide if you are willing to change the habits that led you into your financial mess in the first place. Are you ready to live on a budget, cut out excess spending and commit to living within your means? If not, consolidation will not be able to help you.

Sorry to be so direct, but I went down this road once and it only multiplied my money problems.

Lastly, you have to ask yourself if you are willing to do the work that it take to find a reputable consolidation service. There are companies who are here to help and ones who are there to take your money. If you aren’t willing to sort through the good and bad ones you may be setting yourself up for even more financial trouble.

That’s it.

Are you ready to take the next step on the road to financial health?

Chad

The good news is that selecting the right consolidation service is not as hard as it seems.

First you must realize that neither “non-profit” nor “Christian” is any indication on the quality of the consolidation program that they can offer. In fact, it’s easy to add misleading terms to your name in order to scam those of us who have gotten in over our heads financially.

Here’s what to look for.

#1 Do your research. Check around online. It is likely that you will find both recommendations and complaints for every company that you come across.

But use your good judgment, are the reviews from people who are just mad because they can’t get a loan to further spend themselves into trouble OR are their legitimate complaints about not being able to contact their representative, mix up in payments or other shady business dealings.

I would say that if more than 2 out of 10 complaints seem justifiably negative, stay away.

#2 Once you have found a couple that seem to match up with the goals you have in mind for getting out of debt, contact them. See who in responsive, who is helpful and who you would most prefer to deal with in the long run.

So that’s the way you can find the best company to consolidate with.

Chad

With that said, I do have one word of warning. While a consolidation loan is far from some type of sinister scam the money guys pull over on unsuspecting victims, you do have to be careful.

And here is how.

Because when you consolidate it does exactly what you want, it lowers your interest rates, compresses your bills into one payment and frees up extra spending money each and every month, it also gives you the opportunity to continue spending.

And with continued spending comes the real chance that you could make your financial situation even worse than what you are trying to get out of.

So when you decide that a Christian consolidation loan is the way you want to escape the money trap, just be careful that you also are committed to good money management and controlled spending.

A budget will be your best friend when you decide to consolidate.

Let me know what steps you took or will take to keep the spending within your new budget.

Chad

I didn’t want to get scammed.

I didn’t want to look like an idiot.

And yet I needed help. I couldn’t provide myself the consolidation relief that I needed. I mean, I was the one who got myself into mountains of credit card problems.

I wish I had know at the beginning how easy getting help was. And not only did I not feel like an idiot, but ultimately I felt encouraged, educated and empowered to improve my money management skills.

Here is what you can expect.

#1 You just fill out the simple form on the right. You don’t have to worry about anyone sharing your information. It is completely confidential. I don’t even get a copy of the information submit.

#2 You will get a free no obligation financial consultation over the phone by a trained consolidation counselor. They will review your financial situation and let you know what options you have for getting the relief that you are looking for.

#3 After you agree upon the best plan for you, your counselor will begin contacting your creditors with four goals in mind.

1. Reduce your total amount owed.
2. Lower your interest rates.
3. Eliminate all late fees and over the limit penalties.
4. Stop the harassing calls from collection agencies.

#4 To ensure that you get on the road to a debt free life, your credit counselor will provide you with the money management skills you will need to completely eliminate your money problems. The skills you learn will be things like budgeting, how to control spending and saving for the future.

1. Stop the harassment from collection agencies. The only thing worse than being up to your eyeballs in credit card debt is to have your creditors hounding you at home, at work or even on your cell… during church. Yeah, that happened to me. I know, turn off your phone.
2. You get a ready made plan. I could never say enough about the importance of having a plan that points you to the light at the end of the tunnel. When you have bills piling up month after month and overlimit fees and intrest charges are building faster than you can pay them off, having a little light at the end of the tunnel is that little something that can make all the difference.
3. Overall you can have a lower monthly payment. So getting control of the run away fees in #2 and actually lowering your monthly payment really is the best of both worlds.
4. Usually when you consolidate, you will only have one bill to pay. No more writing out 6-10 to even a dozen payments. They all get rolled together into one easy payment.
5. Professional consolidation services usually can reduce your interest rates and late fees. Lower fees equals more money going to pay down your debt.
6. The Plan in #2 leads to this one… you get a quick and consistent payoff. Probably the most rewarding thing about debt consolidation of your credit cards is that you will finally start to see your balances go down month after month.
7. When you put all of these together you get benefit #7, peace of mind. When you have a plan and you can see it working, it feels good.

So pray about it today and start looking for the financial help that will put you on the road to the peace God intended for your life.

What are other reasons you would consider to consolidate your debt?

Let me know below.

Chad

The truth is, a consolidation loan can be either one. This page is here to help you weed through the double talk and to find your way out of the credit frustration you have found yourself in.

So, what is a Christian consolidation loan, anyway?

Well, debt consolidation loans are loans that you get from a bank to pay off all of your current debts. So instead of paying several bills every single month, you only have one payment to make on all of the money you owe.

Debt consolidation loans for Christians (or not) can either be unsecured or secured. That simply means that if the loan is unsecured, you only have to give your word (and proof of income. If a consolidation loan is secured, then you have to have some collateral to guarantee the loan. In most cases this is your home or some other asset that ensures your repayment.

But, how do you know as a Christian, if you are a good candidate for a debt consolidation loan?

• Do you have several bills that you have to pay each month, usually with different due dates and amounts?
• Are you having a hard time staying up to date with all of your bills, causing you late fees and higher interest rates?
• Are you current interest rates higher than 8%-10%?
• Do you have equity in your home that you could use to simplify your life?

So, what do you need to get a Christian debt consolidation loan?

• You will have to show that your income will allow you to repay the loan. This may require that you provide a current budget that addresses all of your spending.
• Documentation showing that you own the collateral that you intend to use (unless you are applying for an unsecured debt consolidation loan).

So that’s what the bank will want from you, but what should you look for from the bank to ensure that your consolidation loan will do more good than harm?

• You must know all of the fees that will be charged in order to get the loan. Some companies are notorious to scam people in debt because they realize what a vulnerable situation it can be.
• Your interest rate is critical. Make sure you know what you are signing up for. With a secured loan, the rate will likely be less than with an unsecured debt loan, but only you can decide if that is okay for you. It may make more sense for you to pay a slightly higher rate in exchange for not having to tie the debt to your home.
• This one will seem obvious, but make sure that your monthly payment will be less for the new loan than for all the bills you are consolidating. Otherwise, you are wasting your time.

So, quickly before you run off and get a Christian debt consolidation loan at your local financial institution, do you want to know the potential downside of consolidation loans?

• While a debt consolidation loan allows you to pay smaller monthly payments, the loan period is typically much longer.
• With secured loans, you are linking the loan to something of value that you own. If you fail to repay the loan, you could loose your stuff.
• A consolidation loan does not stop you from spending money on your credit cards once they are paid off. It is completely possible that you could fill them right back up and have both a consolidation loan, as well as all you previous credit card bills coming to your house again.

So the real question is, can Christian debt consolidation loans really set you free from debt?

Yes!

But all the other good Christian money management guidelines still apply (and even more so) once you have consolidated your bills. Consolidation loans only solve your debt troubles if you stop spending more than you make.

And if you don’t stop spending?

You will discover yourself stuck in the debt trap that the consolidation loan was suppose to get you out of.

So be careful, pray and let God lead you concerning a consolidation loan.

Chad

In general, ‘consolidation services’ mean those options that you have to get out from under your financial obligations. Some of the options are:

Consolidation loans, Debt settlement, Credit counseling and just good christian money management.

But how do you pick the right Consolidation Service for you?

First you have to ask yourself a couple of questions. What is your primary goal with consolidating? Do you want to stop owing money as soon as possible? Is having the lowest possible monthly payment your biggest concern? Or maybe you have equity in your home or a line of credit available, do you mind using it?

All of these questions will point you in a certain consolidation services direction. For instance, if you have equity and want a low monthly payment, then a good consolidation loan might be your best option.

But what about getting out of debt in the fastest way possible? Maybe you should consider settlement.

You get the idea; there is no perfect answer to which of the available services you should choose. But if you spend time researching your consolidation solutions, you will find the right path to freedom.

Two things to consider. Some Christian debt consolidation services will show up on your credit report and may lower your credit score. Their idea is to get you free from your obligations not to preserve you credit score.

And secondly, if your finances are out of control, you may want to consider hiring (or finding free) a Christian credit consolidation services provider to assist you along the road to financial freedom.

Once you know your budget, it will quickly become apparent if you need to get professional services involved.

Hope this helps.

Chad

Now when you consolidate wisely this can actually help you pay off your balances quicker, at a better interest rate, all while improving your overall credit score.

And so, how can we be smart Christians and be sure that we are using consolidation loans to improve our finances instead of to further damage them?

Simple.

Follow these 3 easy rules to force the amount you owe to plunge and your freedom to soar!

1. Before you even attempt to arrange to consolidate, you must be resolved to NOT get into any additional debt until your current obligations (including your new consolidation loan) are completely paid off.
2. You must commit to paying off your consolidation loan as quickly as possible. You don’t want to take your current balance due and stretch it out over the next 30 years. Why? Because that is 30 more years of oweing someone money!
3. Don’t consolidate fixed rate loans into a variable rate one that can increase over time. Your interest rate on your new combined loan must be lower than the interest rates on what you are consolidating. Don’t fall for the trap of moving 10%-12% interest rates to a 15% interest rate just because the payment might be lower.

So do you think consolidation might be right for you? Still not sure?

Either way, you may want to get the advice of a trustworthy nonprofit credit counseling service. This is even more true the more bills you plan on consolidating. If you don’t, you could find yourself on the wrong side of an expensive blunder.

Want To Avoid The Scams Online?

You need to be cautious of online offers for both Christian and regular consolidation services. They can easily turn out to be ridiculously expensive and often even full fledged scams.

Here are the warning signs to watch out for.

1. Never pay upfront money to a company just because they promise to loan you “more than enough money to pay off your bills”.
2. Never consolidate though finance companies. You will pay higher interest rates, more fees and in the long run damage your credit rating more than without consolidating.
3. And never trust a company that says they will negotiate with all of your creditors for you and then loan you enough to pay of the lower balances that they negotiated. All you have to do is send them money monthly to cover your “new loan”.

I know, some of these “warnings” may seem obvious, but when you are in over your head and creditors are breathing down your neck, even a bad solution might be tempting.

Good luck finding the right Christian Consolidation loan for you!

And let me know who you used.

Chad