THE CONSUMER DEBT SAGA
Are you down with the “get now, pay later” syndrome? These are some of the symptoms: you go shopping, see great clothes on sale. You do not need new ones, you just had a shopping spree last week, but you can’t resist the “30% off” tag so you charge it to your credit card. You are doing some grocery shopping, have limited cash, supposedly just enough for the list on your pocket. But you see bulk or volume sales of your home stuff at great bargains, and you reach out for that credit card, promising to pay the entire charges before they fall due. You “accidentally” ward off to some appliance warehouse shop and see the home entertainment center you have been pining for, slashed by up to 30% of its original price. You are over drafted on your credit cards, but approach customer service anyway, who offered you a retail installment loan, which allows you to bring that entertainment center home, giving only 10% down payment and you are given twelve months to pay for the balance, with agreed interest, of course. Your consumer debt saga does not end there. You have other payables representing store cards, gas cards, back taxes, auto finance and other personal loans. It’s enough to make your head ache, or spin!
Well, it’s not the end of the world for you. There are great companies out there offering bill consolidation, which allows you to combine all your outstanding financial accountabilities by way of unsecured debts into a single loan account. This in turn can lessen the interests you pay, or altogether do away with past due payments and late penalties for your existing consumer loans. With a good program, it can even help you pay bills faster. You must not worry about not having enough to pay your consolidated bill. Companies offering bill consolidation online feature a mortgage calculator to help you determine your capacity to pay.
