If you can relate to any of the warning signs listed below, then you may be on the verge of serious debt trouble and should consider carefully your different debt consolidation options:
- You have been denied approval for new credit or a greater spending limit on current credit.
- You need new credit or a greater spending limit on current credit.
- You consistently pay only the minimum on your credit cards.
- You use one credit card to pay off another card (or cards).
- You charge more in expenses than you make in payments in a particular month.
- You do not know how much you owe, because you do not want to know.
- You do not know what is on your credit report, and you do not want to know.
- You are receiving phone calls and/or letters demanding payment.
- You must get a cosigner for loans that normally do not require such action.
- You take money out of savings or another interest-bearing account to help make ends meet.
- You keep spending habits or costs hidden from your spouse of your family.
- Your credit card bills consistently are higher than you expect them to be.
- You have had checks bounce.
- You have had your credit card unexpectedly declined when making a purchase.
- You do not having any savings, especially if you did in the past.
- You charge your credit cards to or near their credit limits.
- You know that you could not get by without using your credit cards.
- You put approximately the same amount, or increasingly more, on your credit cards each month. This may indicate that you are living off of them.
- You use, or are considering obtaining, cash advance or payday loans to make ends meet.You need your next paycheck to survive – the definition of living “paycheck to paycheck”.
- You spend more than 20% of your income on credit card bills, or more than 35% on debt in general.
- You have – and need – more than two or three credit cards.
- You frequently ask friends or family for monetary assistance.
- You are leasing a car, or are financing it for more than five years, because you cannot afford higher payments.
- You have to work overtime or get a second job to cover all of your expenses.
- You use credit cards to pay for necessary items that you bought with cash in the past.
- You use your credit cards because you do have the immediate funds to pay for items, rather than just for convenience purposes.
- You pawn your personal items or otherwise try to get money for them because you need the cash.
- Your debt load is rising while your income is decreasing.
- You depend on the “float” time between the writing of a check and when the money is taken out of your account.
- You are offered higher interest rates than most other people.
- You do not know how to meet unexpected expenses when they arise.
- You owe more on items than the items themselves (such as a car) are worth.
- You frequently pay your bills late. If this is because you are juggling multiple debts and could benefit from simplification, then consider a debt consolidation loan.
- You find that it takes longer to pay off credit card balances than it did in the past. For example, 60 or 90 days instead of 30.
- You have thought about bankruptcy.
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