Is Debt Consolidation Better Than Bankruptcy

Debt consolidation is a process whereby the borrower obtains a new loan to replace credit card balances and other unsecured debts. For example, if you have an unsecured loan, 3 credit cards, and a line of credit, you may qualify for a consolidation loan to pay off your outstanding obligations. You will be making 1 payment a month instead of 5 separate payments.

Debt consolidation loans are usually provided by credit unions and banks. Some borrowers use the services of consolidation companies that negotiate the terms and conditions of the new loan.
Debt consolidation offers a number of advantages, and one is that borrowers are usually allowed to repay the loan over an extended period of time. Another advantage is that borrowers who manage to repay their outstanding balance benefit from an improved credit score and perfect credit report. Thus, qualifying for such a loan is a way to simplify your monthly payments, reduce interest costs, and get better control of your finances.

One important question is whether consolidation is a better option than bankruptcy. Generally, bankruptcy is a good solution for businesses and individual borrowers who have multiple large debts and are unable to handle them. There are many downsides to declaring bankruptcy, however. First of all, not all debts are discharged. You will lose non-essential possessions and your credit cards, and you won’t have access to financing for some time. This includes loans and mortgage loans. Some types of debt are not discharged, including income taxes, past due alimony payments and child support, resulting from divorce procedures, and court fines. Debts incurred by using fraudulent means such as providing incorrect or false information and writing bad checks are also excluded. Exempt property includes household furnishings, motor vehicles, a percentage of your wages, and life insurance.

Note that if most debts are non-dischargeable, declaring bankruptcy is not a good solution. Moreover, bankruptcy is a complicated process, and the different provinces have different rules to regulate bankruptcy. You may want to use the services of a bankruptcy lawyer who knows the ins-and-outs of declaring bankruptcy.
For more information on consolidation continue reading here: http://www.canadabanks.net/default.aspx?article=Consolidate+Your+Debt

Tax Debt Relief Guide

At present, tax debt falls under the regulations of the CRA, and the agency has more authority compared to other creditors. The agency can take a number a measures, for example, it can seize money in your savings accounts and investment accounts, place a lien on your home, and more. A lot of factors can contribute to income tax debt, including cashing a RRSP, improper deductions when a large account is being closed, pensions of newly retired persons, working multiple jobs, and more.

Persons who look for information on applying for debt consolidation in Toronto often wonder if this is really possible – can you make a deal for any taxes owed? This is a possibility in certain occasions. If you owe taxes, and you cannot pay the amount if full, you may want to negotiate the terms of your payment. As a first step, you should visit an office of the CRA and explain your financial situation. When offering a payment plan, you may propose to break down a larger amount, say $1,500 into 15 monthly payments of $100. The CRA will either accept your payment plan or it will reject it and attempt to collect the taxes you owe.

Note that even if your proposal gets accepted, you are still charged penalties and interest until you repay your debt. Then, if the Canada Revenue Agency rejects your offer, they have the right to withhold GST credits and child tax credits until you repay your debt now. They can take money from your bank account and garnish your wages. As you see, tax debt is a serious matter.

The CRA does not accept payment plans that propose to pay less than the amount owed. This makes sense. If you are allowed to pay less, then everyone else will want the same deal. One option is a repayment plan where you work with the Canada Revenue Agency and a second option is to consider government programs such as the former CRA Fairness, now Taxpayer relief provisions. Under this program, the CRA can accept late-filed, revoked, and amended tax elections, waive penalties and interest, and offer income tax refunds. The latter is possible beyond the three-year period that is allowed, but only for testamentary trusts and individuals.

The Canada Revenue Agency makes this possible because there are cases in which the taxpayers face unforeseen events that prevent them from meeting their tax obligations. These circumstances include natural disasters such as floods and fire, personal misfortunes, such as death in the family and sickness, incorrect information and error by the CRA, and service disruptions like strikes.

When would the CRA cancel penalties and interest? This is possible when human-made and natural disasters occur, as in the case of fire and flood. A second category includes sickness and serious accidents, including emotional and mental distress. Finally, disruptions in services and civil disturbances are a third category. The CRA also cancels penalties and interest when they result from the agency’s own actions, such as processing errors as a result of which people are not aware of certain obligations. Selecting a good payday loan in Toronto solution can be hard, to make informed decision online fast loans application.

How To Approach Credit Card And Debt Consolidation

Credit card and debt consolidation is a two-edged sword. Sometimes you have a lot to benefit from it, and other times you have a lot to lose. How do you approach the issue? The most obvious step is putting away your credit cards. Do your best to pay for all purchases in cash. Cash is still king, sometimes, and especially when it comes to people who are deep in debt. It is a good idea to transfer all credit card balances to a card with low interest. One option is to apply for a zero percent interest credit card, moving your balances to it. This can be done periodically. This can be an issue, but you benefit by saving a lot of money and time to pay back your debts. The next thing you should do is make your payments as high as possible. If you are making the minimum payment alone, you are really only paying off interest, not the actual bulk of the debt. At the same time, interest is usually more than the principal amount, but this depends on the way your payment scheme has been developed. Going for a zero rate card may be a good idea, but remember that most of these rates are only initial ones.

After the initial interest-free period is over, your interest rate goes up. At this time, the most logical thing to do is cancel the card and go for another one with a zero rate introductory period. At the same time, if you keep dropping the cards like hot potatoes after these periods expire, people may start getting suspicious of you and turning you down.

It is important to avoid using credit cards with high interest. Just transfer the balance and throw them out. Do not be tempted to keep them just in case of a cash emergency. Just toss them, period.

You can also apply for home equity line of credit for the purpose of debt consolidation. If you find it difficult too manage on your own, look into debt consolidation companies, which can offer valuable advice.

With a HELOC or home equity credit line, you will be able to obtain a low interest loan, paying off credit card balances. On one hand, you are adding another bill to the relentless load. The good news is that you will save a lot in interest, as you will no longer make multiple payments, making it possible to pay back the credit line and eliminate your debt.

It is important to note that credit card debt can help improve or hurt your credit report and score. It is good to have available credit, showing to reporting agencies that you are a responsible borrower. Credit card debt can be approached in two ways - you can either maintain some credit available or pay your debts in full. With regard to debt consolidation, zero percent credit cards and HELOCs are two possibilities. You can also shop around for a low interest personal loan, using the money to eliminate your credit card debt. You will not find it difficult to get approved if you have a good credit score.

Need to find consolidation loans that match your needs? Check out the Financing Directory for more information.

Debt Consolidation Loans Work With Your Own Equity

A debt consolidation loan is a credit-line that might help you get small or large sums you owe to various individuals and place the financial debt obligation with one organization, rather than in the management of several lenders. Individuals may choose this method if they are re-financing a home and wish to add the cash they owe to numerous creditors to the cash they owe on their house. Alternately, some consumers get a new loan company to obtain a consumer loan, which streamlines all their debts. Occasionally, a consolidation loan may save individuals money, particularly if they obtain loans at a rate of interest lower than the rate of interests on the bad debts they presently owe. Nevertheless, this is not usually the case.

A simple unsecured debt consolidation loan that several folks undertake is combining their college loans just after graduating from high school. These are usually very easy to obtain and they are not exclusively based on credit rating. It may be useful to just make one college loan payment per month, instead of making many payments to different loan companies.

Like any consolidation loan, it is essential to figure out if consolidating scholar loan debt alters anything about the debts you owe. As an illustration, agreeing to a higher monthly interest or stiffer settlement terms will not be beneficial for you. Ensure that you crunch the amounts so that this type of loan is to your benefit, or is not going to put you deeper in debt.

Make sure you estimate things like loan origin fees, if they are present. Check out all the organizations or services to which you owe funds and see which genuinely has the best bargain for a personal-debt consolidation loan.

Other individuals choose a debt consolidation loan if they owe cash on a variety of charge cards. This yet again needs to be done cautiously. You must examine all your current loan companies, the interest charges you pay, as well as the costs included in loans you may take out to make a deal with a single loan provider.

Consolidation loans might not always perform to the borrowers gain. This is especially the case when a few loans have zero % or minimal interest introductory features, but then leap to a higher interest rate at a fixed point. Examine all the terms and conditions ahead of deciding whether consolidating consumer debt will cost you extra or less dollars in interest rates or loan fees.

One more thing to be cautious about, especially when you are including your unsecured debt to a mortgage, is the thought that you are free of debt since you are not making many small payments.

Need to find consolidation loans that match your needs? Check out this guide for more information.

Debt Consolidation FAQ

Debt consolidation is simply a method for creating an umbrella under which to place all outstanding debts into one new large loan or repayment program and proceeding with payoffs. There are a couple methods to use to accomplish this task.

Consolidating debt into a larger loan

This is where you obtain money from family, friends or a financial loan institution such as a bank or credit union in an amount large enough to pay off all the debt you wish to consolidate. By doing this you are left with a single loan, which will make managing your finances easier. It clears the deck, so to speak, of the old debt load. It replaces the old debts with one much larger new debt. In reality, you may end up paying more by the time you are done with the debt consolidation than you would have under the separate bills. This is due to taking a longer time for repayment and possibly having more interest in the final accounting. Even if you end up paying more, debt consolidation may allow you to improve your credit score and get on the path of financial health. Consolidating your debt will make budgeting easier, as you will deal with one single payment monthly.

A debt consolidation program.

You can do this via third-party, which can be a non-profit organization. They negotiate with the lenders you owe money to, trying to lower your interest rates, reduce the interest you already owe, and in some cases lower the loan principal. They can also propose a debt settlement plan, in which your creditors accept lower repayment installments. One thing to remember when using a debt consolidation program is that you still need to keep your spending under control. If you keep overspending, You don't stand a chance in your efforts to eliminate debt.

Do-it-yourself approach to debt consolidation

You may want to seek out and obtain a new credit account that is large enough to transfer the old debts over to, if your credit record is still in good shape. If you have damaged credit, the chances of getting a very large new credit account would be very slim to non-existent.

However debt is repaid, debt consolidation means that you bring all debt into a new form. The old financial obligations are retired and substituted for a larger loan, easier to manage.



Disclaimer: This article is provided for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered a substitute for professional and/or financial advice. The information found in this article is provided "AS IS", and all warranties, express or implied, are disclaimed by the author.

Debt Management or Debt Consolidation

Borrowers who can’t keep up with their monthly payments have important decisions to make. They have to figure out which is better: to manage their debt and thus keep it under control or to consolidate it and make it more manageable in this way.

Management or Consolidation?

Cruel as it may sound, debt builds against the financial health of a private person just like the cancer spreads inside the patient’s body. In this line of thought, debt management is applicable when your debt is still manageable, that is, while it could be controlled by means of careful budgeting and responsible planning of the expenses. There are quite a few financial institutions, including virtually all big banks in Canada and the United States, which provide flexible and secure debt management services to their costumers. Essentially, debt management boils down to somebody else’s taking control of your financial situation so as to save you from your own habit of building debt. Its ultimate goal is debt reduction and, in time, debt elimination. Before starting your search for a debt management provider, note that most of the really good debt managers know their price and their services are everything but cheap.

When does debt consolidation come in handy?

Debt management may be compared to some kind of medical treatment meant to prevent the financial cancer in the form of debt from spreading further. Debt consolidation, on the other hand, comes in handy when one already finds it difficult to keep track of numerous debts that he or she has accumulated. It is likely that the borrower will keep on building them avalanche-like in the future, leading in the end to financial collapse, which is also known as bankruptcy.

How does debt consolidation work?

Debt consolidation helps make your debts more manageable by paying off your numerous old debts with one single fresh and often larger debt. If you come to think about it, this could save you tons of cash on interest rates and late payment charges. Instead of paying off many credit cards or consumer loans each month, some of which you are very likely to forget about and incur penalty charges, you will be making one single payment that will cover all your smaller debts.

Debt consolidation isn’t easy to get

When applying for debt consolidation, you practically go to some provider of financial services and tell him: “Look, I have built a startling amount of small and useless debts that are like a millstone on my neck, but if you give me this large loan that I am applying for, I promise to get rid of them and be a good payer in the future.” Will you believe it, if it were you in the banker’s shoes? Probably not but in fact, there are many financial companies on the market whose job it is to help people pay off their debts by means of debt consolidation. All you have to do is shop around for a reliable lender with reasonable interest rates and convince it that you are not going to screw it up again. Good luck!


Information on more debt and bankruptcy and financial terms

Disclaimer: This article is provided for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered a substitute for professional and/or financial advice. The information found in this article is provided "AS IS", and all warranties, express or implied, are disclaimed by the author.

Get Rid of Credit Card Debt Once and for All

People are getting tired of the downturn in the economy the credit card debt, but it is not improving. If you have credit card debt and can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel then these tips should help you get back on the right track. You just have to be honest with yourself and the people within your family.

1.Asses your credit card debt honestly. It’s not good thinking “it’s ok, I’ll pay this off in a few more months...” Get down to raw figures and actually look at how much you owe in total. It might blow your head off, but at least you’ll know. Now you can manage it realistically. The next step is to find out what your biggest financial drains are a month. If there is anything you can cut out, great, do it. If it means drinking “Rola Cola” for a year instead of Coca Cola it isn’t the end of the world.

2.Next you must do a budget that doesn’t rely solely on more credit. Paying off credit cards and loans with more credit cards and loansmeans you’ll die in debt. You have to determine where the problem is and change it, instead of rolling everything over every month. You don’t lose weight by continuing to eat cake. You don’t get out of debt by continuing to spend the same amount of money.

3.Start saving. I know saving seems crazy when you need to pay off debt, but money that is saved is your money and can get you out of problems in the future. Put a small percentage of your wage each week in to a savings account.

4.Pay off the most expensive credit cards first. You can’t take baby steps here. What’s the use paying off the easy cards? You’ll still have a black cloud over you.

5.Don’t spend more than you earn. Stay in a few weekends a month. Don’t buy anymore clothes for this year. If you need brand name clothing, fair enough, but why brand name food? You’re eating it not wearing it. Turn off all the lights when you leave a room, unplug electrical equipment on standby, use public transport. When you think about it, there is a lot you can do to cut your monthly spending and it doesn’t always have to be that way. When you are out of debt you can up your lifestyle a little.

6.Seek professional help or credit counseling, they can guide you on the best way to take action and put everything in a clear and easy to understand manner.

7.To fight the temptation, once you have paid off any credit cards, cancel them and dance on their grave. The ideal is to end up with one credit card that you only use when you have to and use your debit card for everything else. The key to getting out of credit card debt is to be honest with yourself and make a plan. You need to understand your situation and have a plan of action before it can change.

8.If it all seems too much to manage seek debt consolidation services where your debts are taken on by an organization and you are left with one big loan or card. It doesn’t necessarily make it cheaper, but it is a damn sight easier to manage.


Disclaimer: The information contained in this website is provided as an information service only and does not constitute financial product advice. None of the information provided takes into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. You must determine whether the information is appropriate in terms of your particular circumstances. For financial product advice which takes account of your particular objectives, financial situation or needs, you should consider seeking independent financial advice from a Financial Services Licensee.