Debt Consolidation Sources

Posts Tagged ‘debt consolidation’

I’m trying to repay my debt but I am having a very hard time. I have about 40k in debt including interest I’ve accumulated (over estimate, to be safe) most of which is 1 private and 1 federal student loan (probably 35k worth) and the rest are utility bills that are years past due. I’m in my twenties, not a home owner, and currently not a student. Most all of, if not all of, these debts have already gone to collections. I work a job with unsteady hours so I’m never sure how much my pay check will actually be for, this makes it very difficult to budget. Not to mention, I simply don’t make much money. I’ve been actively looking for a higher paying and steadier job but haven’t had luck, yet.

I was wondering if debt consolidation would be a good option for me. I’m wary because so many other people here on yahoo answers have said that they are scams that ruin your credit rating and leave you owing more than you originally did. Is this true? If so, are there other ways to consolidate your debt that are safer? I’m told bankruptcy isn’t an option for me because it will not cover student loans, the vast majority of my debt. Is this true? My biggest worry is my student loans, I feel confident that I could pay off my past due utility bills.

So my main question here is, what is the best option for an impoverished twenty something to pay off crippling student loan debt?

I really want to go back to school and finish my degree, but I don’t know how I could possible afford going back to school when I’m drowning in so much debt from past student loans.

I had previously anticipated cost of living adjustments (COSA’s) for both the VA disability (I’m a disabled veteran) and Social Security disability. Thanks to the economy, my projections have been laid waste as the government has friezed those adjustments the last three years. Where I once projected having an extra 0 a month, I’m now finding myself short a month and I’ve been borrowing against my credit cards to make all my debt payments. Keep in mind that non-credit card creditors don’t care that I haven’t been getting the COSA’s and these bills (utilities, groceries, security, insurance, etc) keep increasing, not just annually, but some have increased monthly.
I have three credit cards: two of them charge around 21% interest and the third around 30%. I’ve tried to get the interest reduced and have succeeded in some cases, but after a period of time the rates go right back to what they were before. I’ve tried debt consolidation with my commercial banks (the bank I hold my mortgage with and the bank my checking account is with), but have been denied help by both.

So, I’m hurting.
My question is … Is there a debt management program that you can recommend that would help me out? One that won’t hurt my credit?

Or am I better off declaring bankruptcy?
I really want to pay all my bills and don’t want to leave my creditors holding the bag, so bankruptcy would be the last option if there were any other way.
If it helps, I’m a disabled vet (certified 100% thirteen years ago).

I can’t get a loan without a co-signer and unfortunately I don’t have access to one for miles. I’m trying to get back into a SUNY school who screwed me over on a medical leave so now I owe over 6 grand of unpaid balances to the NYS attorney general where the school sent the bill to be collected legally. I’ve tried everything from a salliemae loan to an alternative loan from my local bank, everything requires a co-signer which I do not have. I’m currently looking up debt consolidation web links for help ASAP. Any other help would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks for reading all of this, I really want to go back to school and it’s very frustrationg dealing with so many financial difficulties.

This is part 2. This video accompanies the written review I wrote at GetOutOfDebt.org/17657 about the Heritage Debt Settlement Web Site.

My step-mother is a disabled vet, with a massive amount of credit card debt left over from my father passing away. She’s simply doesn’t have enough income from VA disability to pay for all the debt and has been waiting for almost 2 years to get her first Social Security hearing, which still isn’t until next month.

She doesn’t want to claim bankruptcy, she simply wants to consolidate a few credit cards and a small home equity loan into a single low interest account she can make large payments on. I believe in total, she has about 20k dollars worth of debt between all the accounts and is paying just over the minimum payments about 0 a month. She’s not really making progress with the current state of things.

Most of the debt consolidation sites seem to simply be bankruptcy attorneys, which is obviously not what she’s looking for.

We are in the Texas, so any state programs, federal programs or anything the VA might offer would be great. I’m looking for a non-profit or social service that can assist her, not just an attorney out to make some money off people who are already struggling.