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Debt Consolidation Solution - The 20 Worst Debt Warning Signs

by Ian Wilkie

For a range people being in debt is often exceedingly stressful, the pressure of being in debt makes it hard to worry about everyday living and bills, if you have been receiving telephone calls and letters from creditors it makes life even worse, at times debt can be so bad that you have to consider filing bankruptcy because of the debt burden.

Prior to the debt beginning to pile up to excessive levels, there are warning signs to indicate that you could possibly be headed for problems, below are the 20 worst debt warning signs.

1. It starts to become difficult to payment normal bills.

2. It becomes increasingly hard to make ends meet each month.

3. You’re spending more dollars than you earn.

4. You discover yourself using credit cards to pay for normal items such as groceries.

5. Your credit card balances continue to grow.

6. You have a good number of credit cards that are at or close to the credit limit.

7. You start lowering your monthly credit card payments.

8. You’re juggling credit card re-payments, holding off one credit card to pay one more.

9. You dip into your savings to cover non-emergency items.

10. You find it difficult to save even the littlest level of cash each month.

11. You are getting telephone calls or letters or both from creditors and debt collectors.

12. You are unaware of the amount you owe and are frightened of finding out.

13. Credit cards become a necessity instead of a convenience.

14. You have to borrow cash to pay your monthly bills.

15. You apply for new credit cards because you don’t have any cash.

16. You hide how much you’re spending from your family and friends.

17. You’ve recently been denied a credit card or loan.

18. You have no method of paying for unprepared items like car repairs and medical bills.

19. You have given thought to filing bankruptcy.

20. You delayed going to the hospital or doctor because you can’t pay the co-payment.

If you answered yes to one or more of these 20 worst warning signs, then you could possibly be headed for debt issues, hopefully you are early enough in the stages of any debt problem that you can start a preventative process now, by beginning to budget, chances are if you’ve been having trouble paying bills and other items each month, you have not been living by a budget, what better time to start than now, additionally cut back your spending, use your budget to evaluate your spending, make a record of leisure items such as movie rentals, entertainment and restaurant meals.

Importantly, obtain debt help look for consumer credit / debt counseling services to assist you in paying off your credit cards, by commencing your debt consolidation solution today, you may become debt free in the future.

Ian Wilkie is a published expert author of many Debt Consolidation Help articles and owner of - My Debt Consolidation Solution your one-stop online resource for Debt Consolidation Services.
Article Source: BestVideoFlix and Articles

Nurse Your Credit Rating With Debt Counseling
 by: Dakota Caudilla

The most important first step you should take is to admit that you have a financial problem. As soon as you do that, you have taken a very big leap towards positive debt counseling and will soon recover from your debt problems. As they always say, the biggest obstacle to debt recovery or debt consolidation is denial. As long as you refuse to face up to your debts and financial problems, you’ll remain stuck in your predicament.

Debt counseling is a kind of service that you can make use of in order to understand your future financial plans and to plan ahead with adjusting your lifestyle and spending in order to recover from your financial crisis. Debt counseling is often advertised as non-profit, but let me tell you something, they are not always non-profit. But if the debt counseling service can help you leap over this financial problem, what’s paying a little bit of money to get professional advice, right?

Some people refuse to visit a debt counseling company because they fear that it will affect their credit rating, or make it even worse. The good news is that credit counseling companies rarely report your visits and reveal your personal financial information to the credit bureau. However, even if they do report your counseling service to the credit bureau, which is better – continue to sink into your financial debts or get professional debt counseling services so that you can avoid bankruptcy?

If you want to work on debt consolidation and restoring your financial health, we recommend using a debt counseling service because these are people who are trained to work at the numbers and provide you with alternatives. It’s far better than not using debt counseling and doing it yourself blindly – especially if you’re not sure how all this debt counseling and debt consolidation things work. Let the debt counseling people handle all the nitty gritty details for you. All you need to do is to ensure that you have a budget and use every single ounce of your willpower to resist overspending.

In most cases, there is no such thing as a better debt counseling agent and the worse debt counseling agent. They are, essentially, the same. The cost of using a debt counseling agent may, however, be different. However, the debt counseling agent will take about 6 months to work out your proposal and getting it accepted by all the creditors (depending on how many creditors you have and how much money you owe them). But the work of a debt counseling agent is to help the creditors see that this is the best that you can afford. If the creditors refuse the proposals, they may see NOTHING at all.

If you’re wondering if you can actually do this yourself, the answer is ‘yes’. But if you asked me, I would say that all this legwork is better left to the debt counseling professionals. As it is, budget watching and paying is already a big enough job.

About The Author

Dakota Caudilla, journalist, and website builder Dakota Caudilla lives in Texas. He is the owner and co-editor of http://www.finance-source.net on which you will find a longer, more detailed version of this article.

Expert Tips On Choosing A Credit Counseling Agency
 by: Bill Smith

With the debt levels at all time high, credit counseling agencies are reaping on the boom. However, as a consumer, it is in your best interest to choose a credit counseling agency wisely. In generally accreditation is helpful and an accreditation with either the National Foundation for Credit Counseling or the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies is recommended.

When you have narrowed the list of credit counseling agencies you want to work with, it is a good idea to call up your local Better Business Bureau and see if any complaints are filed with them. If a credit counseling agency has many complaints filed against them, you are better advised to move on with other companies.

It is also important to understand what is being offered by a credit counseling agency. A reputed credit counseling agency will offer you a range of services including a certified personal counselor, personal financial budget calculation worksheet, DMP (debt management plan) details, work with creditors to lower interest and a lot of free resources and credit counseling information.

If a credit counseling agency offers erasing your credit history, it generally indicates a red flag. Credit history cannot be erased. Accurate information about your credit accounts will stay on record for 7 years.

Credit counselling fees:

A reputed credit counseling firm will offer budget services for free and charge you for DMP (debt management plan) or other premium services you seek. As a consumer look out for a reputed credit counseling agency that will charge you between $15 - $30. $50 can be considered at the high end of the spectrum when you are totally comfortable with the services they offer.

Try to gather further information on credit counselors. Ask what kind of training is given to credit counselors. Ideally look for companies that offer training as well as accreditation by an outside source. Additionally ask how the credit counselors are paid? If they are paid a commission, they might pressure you into accepting a DMP.

I hope all the above listed information will be helpful in selecting the right credit counseling agency for you. Any research before selecting a credit counseling agency will be time well spent.

About The Author

Bill Smith is a debt counselor for http://www.americreditservices.com/. Visit our resource listed below http://www.americreditservices.com/credit-counseling/credit-counseling-1.htm http://www.americreditservices.com/debt-consolidation/debt-consolidation-3.htm