Do your monthly bills seem to be overwhelming? Are you finding it harder and harder to keep up with everything you owe? If so, then bill consolidation may be for you. This is a way to pay your bills by placing all or most of them into one low payment plan. The length of time that you have to pay for this one loan may be for a longer period of time than what you originally owed, but the interest rate is usually much lower. This will make keeping track of what you owe much easier. It is a great way to help you manage your money.
As with any program you have both advantages and some disadvantages when consolidating your bills. One great advantage is that the payment that you will be making after consolidating your bills should be a lot less than the total payments you were paying before the bill consolidation. This means more money for you and your family each month. Most of the time the interest rate on these loans are much lower than the ones you were previously making. Replacing several payments with only one each month is also much easier to keep up with.
Some disadvantages include the fact that since it may take longer to pay off your loan, then it is possible that you may end up paying more interest by the time the loan is paid off. If you choose to use a home equity loan, then you must use your home as collateral. What this means is that if the loan is not paid off then the loan company can foreclose on your home.
If you have a credit card that offers a low interest rate, then you can transfer your bills over to that one card and consolidate your bills this way. Be sure and know all the details about your credit card before using it to consolidate your bills. On some credit cards the interest rate will go up when the balance goes up.
Home equality loans is another way to consolidate your bills, but if you choose this option look around and compare companies to try and get the best rate. There are also companies that specialize in bill consolidation loans. Not only do you have to provide them with your information, but be sure and know all the details surrounding this type of loan before making the commitment. The interest rate may be higher than you think and you may need to put your home up for collateral.
Christian Tylor is a freelance publisher based in Atlanta, Georgia. He publishes articles and reports in various ezines and provides bill consolidation tips on http://www.freenetpublishing.com
