A business’ balance sheet begins with financial assets, but the balance sheet of your personal finances should begin with your peace of mind. Debt is messy. Debt is complicated. Debt is expensive. But most of all, debt is stressful. If you’ve found yourself juggling bills to make payments, avoiding collector phone calls or just carrying a substantial amount of debt you should consider the advantages of consolidation. Making payments on your own terms, over a time horizon of your choosing can make your life simpler and less stressful.
How Can Consolidation Help Me?
Automated phone calls from “Fill-in-the-blank credit services” or mailed statements with ominous warnings stamped at the bottom can bring an otherwise pleasant day to a screeching halt. Even a well-organized person can find it difficult to keep track of every bill. When credit is involved, the consequences of losing track of those bills may involve a detrimental effect on credit scores and the rate or even eligibility for future loans.
Debt can be extremely expensive. A late payment fee of $35 for a $1,000 credit card balance isn’t simply an additional 3.5 percent interest fee; it is more than a 40% surcharge (3.5% x 12)! A small hiccup in the cash flow of a paycheck to paycheck lifestyle can start a snowballing of debt that is hard to contain. If you consolidate debts, put them on a manageable payment schedule, and adjust to a reasonable interest rate you can stop that escalation.
The advantages of consolidation are changing the time horizon, and simplification. There is no magic. A dollar a year from now is not worth as much as a dollar today. A short term loan company or credit card company will charge you dearly if you cannot produce that dollar today. With consolidation, you structure your debt over a longer time horizon. Payments are made according to what you can reasonably afford now and in the future. You benefit from knowing every month how much you have to pay, and making many of your creditors go away.
Consolidating your debts offers an opportunity to take stock of where you stand financially, and add predictability and stability to those finances. In the process of reducing the complexity you will undoubtedly spare unnecessary expense in the form of late fees, surcharges and simple interest. Your personal finances should begin with peace of mind.
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