Debt And Your Credit
Debt And Your Credit
You may be in the situation of having so much credit card debt that you are feeling stressed, worried and afraid of what might happen. At the same time, you may also be so concerned about your credit score that you hesitate to do what’s necessary to get out of debt.
In other words, you’re feeling the squeeze between the stress of your debt and the worry about your credit score. This is not the right place to be. I’ll bet, when you go to bed at night, or worry during the day, that you are worrying about your debt not your credit score. Everyone I’ve ever talked to is worried about their debt.
Let us take a closer look at the DEBT side of the problem first, then we’ll look at your credit concerns.
THE 4 WAYS TO GET OUT OF DEBT
You have only 4 ways of getting out of debt in the U.S. You can:
1. File bankruptcy – If you qualify with the new law in place.
2. Do it yourself - Try to work with your creditors to get them to lower the interest rates and monthly payments, or get a personal loan to handle it, or even keep making minimum payments for 20 plus years.
3. Go into Debt Consolidation and either put the debt on your house, or join one of the non-profit Consumer Credit Counseling companies to
help pay your debts.
4. Debt Negotiation or Debt Settlement.
That’s it. There are no other choices.
YOUR DEBT VS. YOUR CREDIT SCORE
When it’s time to choose your way out of debt, the next big worry is your CREDIT REPORT! In fact, concerns about your credit report can freeze you from doing anything effective about your debt, which sends you right back into your worries, stress and upsets about your debt. That’s called a mental trap. There are a number of falsehoods about credit that you need to know so you can have a better understanding about your credit. If you feel like the banks and credit card companies are toying with you when it comes to your debt and credit report, you are absolutely right!
SCARING YOU BY USING YOUR CREDIT!
First, having a good credit report is important in today’s society. The
history of credit goes back a long ways, way before there were “credit reports”. A handshake that one would repay a debt was common in the past (but not very common today). Having good credit gives a person some confidence in their ability to make their way through the economics of society. That said when a person is faced with overwhelming debt and they need to DO something about it, they can often become scared because of their concern about their credit report. And right there is the problem. The thought of having bad credit prevents action from being taken on your debt.
One of the best ways to scare a person is to give them one idea, then
make them believe that if they don’t follow that idea, something bad will happen to them. Whole blocks of society are built on this premise.
For example, if you don’t pay your creditors on time, no matter what the crisis is in your life, you will suffer the consequences of bad credit. For the average person with $15,000 in credit card debt at 18% interest, the credit card companies want you to believe that it’s better for you to be in debt for the next 30 years, than have bad credit.
If you feel like you’re in a trap, well you are. You’re trapped into the idea that you MUST have good credit, no matter what the problem and that includes keeping in your payments of your overwhelming debt.
But, what if you miss one payment, or more? Maybe you already have.
Well, you will have bad credit for 7 years. How awful! Or is it?
Lets put all of this together. What the banks and credit card companies
want you to believe is that it’s better for you to be in credit card debt for 30 years, making your payments on time, every month, rather than miss payments and have bad credit for 7 years. But, that doesn’t seem right – to be trapped in debt for 30 years of paying creditors to avoid 7 years of bad credit. Something is wrong with the logic of this “idea”.
YOUR CREDIT REPORT AND YOUR OPTIONS TO GETTING OUT OF DEBT
Let us look at how the above choices will effect your credit report.
Doing a bankruptcy, joining a non-profit, Consumer Credit Counseling
Program and Debt Negotiation will all have a bad effect your credit score. At the same time, if you’re overwhelmed with debt and are having a hard time paying your creditors, EVEN IF YOU DO PAY THEM ON TIME, you will have bad credit!
Why?
There are TWO points of concern about your credit score even if you
make your payments on time. One is your income to debt ratio, meaning how much money you bring in and how much you spend each month. If you are spending all of your income on bills and expenses, you are considered a credit risk.
In addition, if you have used most or all of your available credit, then you will have a lower credit score, even if you pay your creditors on time. Again, they consider you a credit risk.
This is CRITICAL information that your creditors don’t want you to know. They want you to keep making your minimum payments, on time, so they get their money.
THE REAL VALUE OF YOUR CREDIT REPORT
I have talked to people again and again that are overwhelmed with debt that is destroying their lives and are also worried about having bad credit. The question to ask is this – how valuable is your credit report when you are overwhelmed with debt? What would your credit do for you if you owe too much? What will you be able to use your credit for?
The fact is, with overwhelming debt and no way out, lenders will likely not give you another loan! How much confidence would they have in your ability to pay it back? Again, credit is valuable, but only when you can use it! If your worry about your credit is trapping you into your debt problem so that you feel that you must keep paying your creditors on time, or face the consequence of bad credit, what are you going to do? You HAVE to do something, or the debt problem will continue to consume you and your life will be full of worries, upsets and stress!!
MAKING A DECISION ABOUT YOUR DEBT FIRST!
Anytime a person finally makes a decision in any part of their life, even if it’s wrong, it is better than no decision. For any person, the idea of “maybe I should do this and maybe I should do that” back and forth, back and forth is a wicked position to be in.
What you need to do is to get out of your STRESS, WORRY and FEAR that are happening as a result of your debt. THAT is where you have to make your decision.
Credit can always be improved, if just through time. Debt will persist and persist and persist and will not go away until you do something that is effective!
THE REAL CATCH ABOUT YOUR CREDIT
Here’s another thing that the credit card companies and banks DON’T
WANT YOU TO KNOW. Getting out of debt, regardless of the consequences on your credit score, will improve your income to debt ratio. In other words, when you get out of debt, you will be eligible for more credit!
As pathetic as it is, your income to debt ratio is so important to the banks and credit card companies that when you improve it by no longer having debt, you become a “debt candidate” to the banks and credit card companies. Even if you were to go into bankruptcy, in all likelihood, you would be able to get credit cards about 12 months to 18 months after you filed for bankruptcy. I have talked to people that had that happen to them. They did a bankruptcy and were able to go back into debt, 18 months later! Why?
For 2 reasons; 1. Their income to debt ratio is improved and 2.Because, they can’t file for bankruptcy for 7 years. This means that the creditors know they can get a person back into debt and keep them there for at least 7 years without that person being able to get out if it through bankruptcy. If you think this is crazy, you’re right!
Because debt goes on for many years and credit can be fixed in at least 7 years, the real decision you need to make is that you need to get out of debt! Period!
IN SUMMARY
You may be a person that is worried, or even overwhelmed by your debt. The problem is frozen in place by the fear that if you really DO something about your debt, your credit report will be in bad shape.
Your credit will be effected by ANYTHING you do to try to get out of debt if you have too much debt. If you are barely able to make your payments to your creditors, even if you make them on time, you will have credit that is of little worth. Bankruptcy, using the non-profit companies and debt settlement will also have an adverse effect on your credit report. The point is this – YOU NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR DEBT! This problem will not go away unless you do something about it. You need to make an informed decision on what to do.