Who Needs Debt Consolidation?

Debt consolidation means to combine several small debts into one single payment per month in order to lower monthly payments or high interest rates. Typically, consumers will consolidate credit card debt, medical bills, or unsecured loans into a secured loan. This secured loan will allow consumers to reduce the high interest rate and create payments that are more manageable. There are other ways to consolidate debt by working with credit card companies to reduce interests and payments without taking out a secured loan. The method of debt consolidation varies with each financial situation. The question is, who needs debt consolidation?

Now that you know what debt consolidation means, how can you tell If you should consider consolidating your bills? Here are some questions to consider when making the decision to consolidate.

How To Avoid Bankruptcy

In many cases, bankruptcy can be avoided if the habits that lead to one filing bankruptcy are curbed early on in life. It is never too soon for individuals to learn how to avoid bankruptcy.

People in the United States tend to live on credit quite a bit. Many individuals feel pressured to keep up with neighbors, friends and family and end up overextending themselves on their credit cards. Unfortunately, credit card lenders are pretty indiscriminate as to who they issue credit. There are hundreds of thousands of credit card companies in the United States today. And once someone gets one credit card, chances are they will begin to see many offers coming through the mail for more credit.

This can be tempting, especially for younger people. A good percentage of people who file bankruptcy in the United States each year are young people recently graduated from college. In addition to student loans, college students often use credit cards for everything from pizza to books, with the intent to pay off the debt once they graduate and get a job. Hard reality sets in when they realize how long it will take to pay off the debt mounted on their credit cards, especially as it continues to accumulate interest at a high rate. Still, college students are a prime target of credit card lenders. And many of these young people are handling credit for the first time in their lives. It is very easy to let it get out of hand.

Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act

The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 received a lot of objection from bankruptcy lawyers, judges and consumer advocate groups. Many felt that this act, which became effective on October 17, 2005, would hurt consumers who got in over their head with credit card debt and not give them the option eliminating the debt and starting fresh.

The purpose of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, with regard to bankruptcy, was to eliminate people who took advantage of the bankruptcy laws for their own gain. For most people, filing bankruptcy is one of the most traumatic experiences they have to endure. Most people who file are ashamed and embarrassed at having failed to pay their debts. Most people are raised to pay off their debts in a timely manner and most Americans are very credit conscious individuals. We worry about our credit scores and borrowing power to the point of mania.