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Once an individual has determined that he or she is in troube in terms of debt, that is, the expenditures per month exceed the monthly income, it is time to go about setting a course of action to right the situation before disaster results. Most debtors will embark on either an official or unofficial debt consolidation program that could include any or all of the following elements: debt counselling, debt management, or consolidation loans. Individuals should keep in mind that as taking out a loan to pay off the creditors is just another form of debt, it is the least desirable of these options. Instead, the first step in a program would be to make a monthly budget that takes into account expenditures such as food, utilities, car payments, mortgage payments, and insurance payments. All of these expenditures have priority as they are essential to life and must be taken care of first. After determining how much money each month is needed for these bills, debtors will need to determine how much they can afford to put towards those outstanding bills. If individuals show enough initiative in these cases and report their plan to a creditor, the odds are that they may accept the plan as is and the debtor will not have to resort to more stringent measures of formal debt consolidation.

Formal debt processes should be avoided for the consumer for the simple fact that, even if the measure is a relatively burden free process such as debt counselling, there is a good chance that your creditors will find out that you have applied for credit repair measures. In order to receive effective consumer debt counseling, an individual must disclose information about finances and debts and these reports will cause a negative score on credit, affecting future applications. Again, though, there are some creditors that may see the application as a sign of individual initiative in terms of paying them back and therefore may still be willing to extend an individual credit once the current situation is resolved.

The very last resort for any individual debtor is taking out a loan in order to conslidate their bills. The worst case scenario is taking out a secured loan, where the individual puts up collateral such as a house. ALthough a second mortgage seems appealling due to the fact that individuals receive a large hunk of cash quickly, the fact is that if an applicant cannot pay their debts, they stand to lose absolutely everything. Individuals must really think about how they came to this spot in the first place; is it really worth a house to pay off the bills that were incured going out to eat or on home entertainment suystems? If an individual must opt for a loan, they should make sure it is unsecured.

When ti comes to debt consolidation and alleviation, there are a few main parts. The first part comes in recognizing that the situation needs a solution, and looking into options.Next, teh money and means to pay off creditors must be found. Finally, individuals must make sure that they see how the sitatuion occurred in the first place and take steps towards avoiding similar mistakes in the future. Individuals who find themselves in heavy debt must take the bull by the horns and be prepared for a lengthy process which requires a lot of commitment in order to re-establish financial well-being.