Payday Loan Fairy

I am not referring to a consolidation loan, I am refer to the services that take your bills and lump them into one monthly sum. If you have had a good experience, which company did you use?

Oh my god, are you going to get some spam on this question... Consumer credit Counseling is a non-profit. They are very good...They have contracts with all of the credit card companies that provide much lower rates.

Avoid the companies that state that they will negotiate your balances down, they will ruin your credit and will take much longer. Plus the credit card companies will still come after you anyway....


By the Way.....Jesse K and October G are examples of the spam I was reffering to.....

2007-10-01 13:46:21 by mrsfliege

Most debt consolidation companies do nothing better than simply ruin your fico score in order to settle your debt. If you really want to work with ...

Do these services negatively effect your credit? If so, for how long?
Are there any major pros to these services?

Yes, they negatively effect your credit. All you're doing is paying them to poorly manage your debt. What they do is put you into default, on purpose, and then negotiate with your creditors. It ruins your rating even further and makes them rich doing it.

You need to do what is called a "debt snowball". It's explained on this site. It's ultra simple.

First, scroll down and click "Listen to Dave". JUST LISTEN.
http://www.daveramsey.com/tdrs/index.cfm/2007/9/17/Getting-rich
This one audio clip of his CHANGED MY LIFE when I heard it.

Listen to this man for free, on the radio or online. This is like getting financial wisdom from Bill Gates except this guy has a national radio show. He takes a call like yours atleast once a week.

2008-01-05 23:47:10 by mommytomonkey

consolidation but charges a $40 fee. They also do credit counseling (which I don't need.) I just need to lower my monthly payments because of high interest. I don't want a service like credit conseling to effect my credit score. Any response would be appreciated.
I definately don't need any credit counseling as much of my debt was accrued through phenomenal interest.
I just want to have one payment a month with the lowest possible interest.

Som debt consolidation/credit repair companies charge you fees and then trash your credit. The get your creditors to settle for less by not paying them till you're a couple months behind then threatening bankruptcy.

Check with Consumer Credit Counseling Services (CCCS): http://www.nfcc.org/ . They offer free counseling and can look at your finances and advise you how to proceed.

If you are just looking to take out a loan to pay off you debt, it's just shifting your debt. You end up paying more interest over the longer term. Many people end up running the credit cards right back up so you are even deeper in debt.

If you really work at it you can pay off all that debt. Make a strict budget. Eliminate all the extras -- cell phone, eating out, new clothes,etc. Put every penny you can squeeze out of that budget on the highest interest rate debt, while making minimum payments on the rest. When the highest interest rate debt is paid, move to the next till they are all paid.

You can pay it all off in 2 or 3 years. Even faster if you get a second job and throw that at the debt.

2007-10-22 16:46:34 by Professor Bradley

I have about $15,000 worth of credit card debt(on more than 1 card). I don't use the cards anymore. I'm paying what I can but feel like I'm just going around in cirlces. I haven't defaulted on any of them and I'm not behind in payments. What's the best thing to do?

The best thing to do is to pay off your cards with the highest interest first.
Your other option (depending on your credit) is to transfer the balance to a credit card that has a low introductory rate.
If your credit is good enough, you may be able to qualify for 0% for 1 yr.
In the meantime, if possible, cut up your credit cards so you dont use them.
Do not close them once they are paid off. Having that open line of credit looks good on your credit report.

2008-01-17 10:11:38 by Mike G

If so, would you please share your story?

yes , debt CONsolidation only treats the sympton not the Cause. Some 75% of CONsolidation users find themselfs back in debt with in five years and at higher levels.
CONsolidation companies cost you more than they save. Better deal is burn the cards, get 2nd and 3rd jobs work till you can't and do it some more. Pay smallest balance 1st off, then 2nd smallest, 3rd smallest while paying minimum on others. the interest rates don't matter - WINing against them does.
visit DaveRamsey.com to learn what you haven't and what the banks don't want you to know

2006-10-25 08:03:22 by Scott C

I have 2 credit cards and I am 21. One with a balance of 3000 and one with a balance of about 700. I cant afford my payments whats my best option? they have very high interest. I cannot get a loan to pay them off with a cheaper interest rate. Help please.

A possible alternative loan resource you may want to explore is www.Prosper.com, a site which puts private lenders in contact with private borrowers. A private lender may be more willing extend you a loan than a traditional bank.

2008-01-08 11:48:08 by sweetgurl2504