Answer is, they treated the symptom, not the cause. Debt consolidation only works if you address the underlying problem, which is that you spend more than you earn. Once you’ve consolidated debt, it can be very difficult to do it again.

The way it’s supposed to work is that a loan pays off your debts, you sweep away all your past mistakes and extravagances, get a grip on your finances and vow to live within your means. This way you never againt have to face the consequences of any more mistakes and extravagances.

But maybe you had just cause for spending too much. Medical bills are the largest cause of bankruptcy in America. If you got sick or had a major accident you’ve got big bills to pay and this can devastate your finances. If this is you, face up to your debt situation before it gets out of control. Your hospital probably has someone on staff to help people in your situation. Find the person with a sympathetic ear and use them. It’s better to ask for help than to prevaricate and suffer alone.

Your aim should be to keep current with all your non-medical bills, but to work out a way of paying your doctor over a longer period of time. If your medical care providers know that they’ll get their money in the end, there is usually a payment plan that you can use. Remember to keep up to date with your household bills: you’ve got to pay your energy bills but the doctors can wait. They can afford it.

Or maybe the reason you’re still in debt is that you still have to pay your student loans but you’re not yet earning enough to live. If you’re young enough to be in this situation but old enough to have graduated, then the answer’s simple. Get a better job, or get a second job, or both. This sounds tough and it is, but life is tough. If you’ll learn how to be in control of your money at an early age, you’ll be learning how to be one of life’s winners.

For those who are in debt but not sick or young, the simple truth still remains. You’re spending more than you earn.

Here’s a way you can help yourself. Get out your wallet, take out the dollar bills and the credit cards and spread them out on the table. See those credit cards? You probably think of them as infinite plastic. You use them over and over to buy what you want. Until they actually are maxed out, they seem infinite. They will always gratify your spending impulses. That is, if you will let them.

See those dollar bills? They can buy the exact same things as the plastic, but when you’ve handed them over, they’ve gone. If you want more of those bills, you’ve got to earn them. Now get the truth into your head that you can only spend up to the value of those dollar bills. Not one cent more. If you can discipline yourself into this frame of mind, you’ll begin to see that you can repay your debt.

And here’s another thing. You can cut up your plastic even while there’s still money to pay on them. Think about it: destroy the cards but keep up your repayments and one by one those debts will disappear.

If you can think of debt consolidation as a last resort, if you can tackle the causes of your debt (not the symptoms) and if you can promise yourself to start afresh, you can be debt-free.

A debt consolidation loan could help you to consolidate the high debts on your current credit cards to a lower interest rate and probably a lower payment. Consolidation loans are intended to help consumers pay off their bills and lower debt. When you have many cards with large amounts of debt and high interest, debt consolidation can be a life saver.

Rates on credit cards vary quite a bit, so a good idea is to know all your rates and try to transfer balances to lower rate cards when ever possible. It is also possible that consumers can call their creditors and negotiate for lower interest rates, usually it’s best to consolidate the debt at a lower rate when possible. If you fail to make your monthly payments as agreed, your interest rate will then go to the penalty rate which is usually quite high.

Overwhelming credit card debt is also causing students to be hounded by creditors and in many cases, declaring bankruptcy said Candy Acezedo, director of education at Consumer Credit Counseling Service. A high debt can also force a student to take a part time or regular job, which often will have a negative effect on their studies.

The best way to stay out of trouble with debt, is to just use your head and don’t spend money you know you will have a hard time paying back. If you are already drowning in debt, there are free credit counseling agencies that can be found online, that will be able to help get you started in the right direction.

Whenever you are approaching a decision about your credit it is of primary importance to pull your credit report. The government has mandated that all individuals be allowed an annual free credit report. When accessing this report make sure that you have gone to a truly free credit report site. Some companies lure people into their sites by advertising a free credit report and then ask for credit card information. Free credit reports are available from such sites but if you have supplied them with credit card information you may find that your card will be billed thirty days later for a credit report update. The charges will continue ever thirty days or so after the initial billing until you have cancelled the service. The best idea is not to give out any billing information in order to receive your free report.

Get a report from each of the three credit reporting agencies (Experian, Trans Union and Equifax). When you ask for your report the site will also offer to send a credit score (FICO score) for a small additional fee; knowing your FICO is also beneficial and generally worth the nominal cost. Again, read the fine print and be careful not to set up any ongoing transactions.

After receiving the three reports analyze them carefully. You are unique but your name may not be. Make sure all the credit card bills are actually yours. Also check to make sure your social security number is listed correctly. Social security numbers are keyed in by hand and thus subject to error. One digit misplaced can give you someone else’s derogatory credit. Report any errors to the agencies. Make the report to all three agencies as they do not share information.

Now you have a list of all the revolving credit card debt that you owe, the balances and contact information. This is the money owed that may be ripe to consolidate on one credit card. Contact the creditors and find out what the current interest rate is on each card and if there are any programs which would allow you to reduce that rate. Let the companies know you are actively shopping for alternatives to your current rates. Customers in good standing with their credit card companies, customers with high FICO scores and customers who regularly charge and make their payments are valued by credit card companies. It may be that you will be offered incentives to retain their cards. Also, inquire about any balance transfer opportunities or other programs such as frequent flier miles.

Now you are going to design your own program to consolidate credit card debt. Compile a list of all the companies with columns comparing the like features: Interest rates, penalties, incentives, credit limits. When choosing which company to use to consolidate your credit cards, look at all the features not just the interest rates. Narrow down the options to two or three cards. Speak with company representatives. It may be possible to negotiate even better terms.

Once you have chosen an institution with which to consolidate credit card debt, follow through and transfer as many of your outstanding balances as possible to that one card. Adjust your credit card behavior and be disciplined about your use of credit. Cut up all the other cards. You may even wish to close all accounts other than one for emergencies. Don’t carry the two remaining cards in your wallet. Remember, charge cards are nice as long as you, not the card, are in charge.

There are common mistakes that you can try and avoid when you are trying to consolidate your debts. Firstly of you should always shop for a particular lender and not for a certain type of loan. The quality of the loan that you end up with depends squarely upon how trust worthy the company you choose is. You should always look at their history up front in order to make certain that they have quite a few happy customers that go back several years. This enables you to be certain that the company you go with has a long history of helping individuals that are in the same situation as yourself.

You should try and avoid the unknown debt consolidation companies and try to stick with companies that are fairly large and reputable in nature. While this could go against your instinct to hunt for the best particular deal, this is done in order to be sure that you do not become just another statistic. Lots of people that have problems with their debt and need help consolidating are usually seen as the most vulnerable towards people that are looking to take advantage of their respective situations. A larger and more known company usually has a fairly comprehensive financial regulation behind it. They are unable to take the risk of ripping people off without damaging their reputations as a result. It is bad business for them in the short run and even the long run. They are likely to have a lot of ways to make sure that it is a safe thing for you and that you will also be treated fairly.

While debt consolidation is an excellent way to reduce the amount of outstanding bills that you needed to pay or even lower the interest rates of your current bills or perhaps even to get some tax relief from it. Just like anything else in life though, you should be careful not to over do it though. You should not at all use debt consolidation to get yourself out of debt because you have over spent and then continue to over spend. This will not help you at all in the long run or the short run. Additionally, you should not pay off the debt that has you paying off the debt that has lower interest than the loan consolidation is even worth to you. It is also important not to deplete your home equity continually so that you do not leave yourself with assets available in the case of an emergency as it will lower your standard of living years down the line when you will eventually need it.

By utilizing debt consolidation you are capable of relief from your current budget. It will allow you to bring down your current monthly payments on your debt and to as a result have more cash available in order to spend on other things that you may need. Not only this, but some of the options available to you will also allow you to get some tax benefits in the process.

Just like most things however, there are some drawbacks to debt consolidation that you should be aware of before going about it. These loans tend to carry some risks and you need to be completely honest with yourself in order to avoid getting trapped in by it. If you end up taking out another loan you need to make sure that you stick with it, or else you could very well end up going even further into debt and hurting yourself. To succeed you need to make certain that you change the spending habits and budgeting that got you into the situation you are in to begin with. A lot of these types of debt consolidation loans will make it so that you will be paying off the loan for a longer period of time so even with the benefits of it and how it can help you out, over a period of time your cost of the loan may exceed what your current debt is as a result of it. You also need to be careful not to empty out the assets of your home equity as you may need that cash in a pinch one day.

Following these simple steps can allow you to take advantage of debt consolidation and to be a step ahead of the game so to speak. Take a close look at your options for you are the consumer, it is always best to shop around for the best deal and to weigh your options carefully. Debt consolidation is designed to help those individuals that have piled on a fair bit of debt to relieve the burden of multiple bills and to allow them to focus on budgeting and managing their lives. Debt consolidation can help anyone that is looking to get back on the path of financial freedom if they are able to have the wisdom to stick to it.

ezconsolidation.com is an online debt consolidation service provider that helps you save money by reducing your interest rates, lowering your monthly payments, avoiding bankruptcy and having only one payment per month. Depending on your total debt amount, ezConsolidation can save $300.00 or more per month.

If you understand why Chinese medicine is superior to occidental medicine, you will be able to solve a lot of problems beside debts.

Chinese medicine:

Identify the source of the problem ==> Make The Patient Conscious about these problems ==> Eliminate the problem ==> Explain to the patient how to avoid this problem ==> Explain to the patient what to do to put this problem far away for him

Occidental medicine:

Identify the problem (not the source, only the most apparent) ==> Eliminate (or maybe not) the problem ==> Give the solution

It’s clear now that in the second case, the patient doesn’t really know the causes of his problem, and he is more likely to fall again in the same situation.

In the first case, everything is done for the patient to understand his problem at the root. He will be able to fight with more weapons, and win while in the second case, he doesn’t know who, and where the menace is coming from…

You must identify the real cause of your debts if you want to be debt free. Now that I explained to you how to deal with any thread, let me explain why so much people have so much huge debts.

The reason is that the interest rate is leading to these situations. It is inevitable, for the growth of the economy to establish interest rates, and to be able to adjust them, when it’s time to do so.

Question: Do you remember the Chinese principle? How do you know that the society based on the interest rate is the most advantageous for people?
Like the commerce is based on justice, interest rate is based on injustice, as we have seen earlier. It is the real cause of debts, and the cause of your problem right now. It is the source.

How commerce is based on justice? You will understand after reading this: You own a product A, and other human being need this product for one of these 3 reasons:

Vital Need (water, foods…)

Solve a problem (the car – train, bus, plane – for long distances;air conditioned…)

Feel Good (beauty products, health care…)

You are exchanging these product A against money. You need that money, and your customers need your products. It is justice because everybody wins.

It is exactly the opposite effect with interest.

Once you understand and start implementing this Chinese principle, you will be able to find even more causes to your problems. See here the inevitable consequence of interest: Master/visa card, Discovery, American Express. Everybody has one, or more.

You are given the right to buy what you can’t buy. What does that mean? It means that without this loan and the interest that you will pay for it, you will normally not be able to buy your car, or your house, or… Unless you win more money, or borrow from someone!

Our subject here is to find the ways to get out of that debt. But the most important is to let you control.

We get used to credit card companies adjusting their lending rate by 1/4% as interest rates fluctuate but did you know they can alter any of the terms for any reason. For example they can increase the late payment fee and they can increase the interest rate without the need to justify it. If you are late or miss just one payment the low rate you are currently being charged can double or even treble almost overnight.

2. Credit card companies can increase the cost of a purchase months after you bought it.

If you purchased a widescreen plasma TV 3 months ago, using a card which at the time was costing 9.9% apr, and you are late with just one payment, the credit card company can charge you a late payment fee, say $40, and increase the interest rate to 29.9% apr, or even more, and there is nothing you can do about it.

They can, in effect, increase the cost of your TV months, or possibly even years after you purchased it. The TV retailer wouldn’t be allowed to do this but your credit card company can.

3. Discount offers are only good if you keep up all your payments.

Interest free balance transfers and initial periods can dissapear for any minor omission. Failure to keep to all the terms of a card will result in special terms being withdrawn and possible penalty interest being applied. If you have interest free purchases and balance transfers make sure you keep up the payments.

4. It’s not just your card payments you have to keep up.

If you miss a payment on your mortgage, or your car or any other financial payment, your credit card companies can re-assess your credit score and increase your interest rate accordingly.

If you therefore miss a loan payment on your boat or car, but still pay the payments due on your cards, you can find that your credit card interest charges jump to 2 or 3 times the original rate.

5. Credit card companies are today making record profits from you.

If you don’t pay your cards in full each month credit card companies make the majority of their profits from you and a substantial portion of that is in the additional charges they levy.

It makes little or no sense to keep money in the bank earning 5% maximum and pay 29.9% or 19.9% or even 9.9% on your cards. Pay off the card and use the card for emergencies rather than the savings. Without the card payments you will be able to rapidly replace the savings.

Without your knowing credit card companies can hold you hostage at the very time you may really need financial assistance. Don’t allow credit card companies the continuing opportunity to make record profits at your expense, and at the same time the opportunity to benefit from any misfortune.

If you can pay the balance off withing 3 to 6 months do so otherwise consider some form of consolidation loan to remove the noose credit card companies have around your neck.

Still, credit cards are a fact of 21st century life, and it only makes sense to understand how to use them wisely. While it’s probably impractical to keep all plastic out of your wallet, it is prudent to limit the number of cards you have, and, of course, to pay all balances in full every month. Indeed, having only a traditional American Express card, which doesn’t allow you to carry a balance, can be an excellent way to impose fiscal discipline on you and your family-although, as the Visa ads point out, not everyone accepts American Express. For the rest of us, who do occasionally dabble in credit-card debt, here are a few ways to keep your habit under control.

1. Take advantage of frequent-flier programs tied to credit cards, but keep in mind that interest payments on a high balance can quickly turn “free” flights into outrageously expensive ones. At a dollar per mile, running up a debt of 25,000 may get you a plane ticket, but it will also saddle you with $4,500 in yearly interest payments, assuming an 18% annual rate.

2. Look very closely at credit-card offers before you bite. Obviously, most of those 2.99% and 3.99% rates will be in effect for only a few months. But there may be other catches as well. Making a late payment, even if it arrives only a day after it was due, may immediately trigger a permanent rate hike. Also, low initial rates sometimes apply only to transferred balances, and you could get charged a fee for making the transfer. Check, too, to see whether there is an annual fee, or charges for exceeding your credit limit or even for closing an account.

3. Avoid amazing grace-period tricks. What you’re looking for is a provision that says you’ll never be charged interest as long as you pay your bill in full by the due date. But some cards have no grace period, calculating interest from the moment you make a purchase, while others give you only a limited time after making a charge before interest is imposed. That period of 20 days or so may end before your payment is due.

4. Don’t forget to cancel cards you no longer use. If you don’t, they’ll show up on credit reports, and that could be a problem, particularly if you’re applying for a home mortgage. Your would-be lender may be reluctant to make a loan to someone who has a cumulative credit-card limit of $50,000, $100,000, or even more.

2-Pay Credit Card with Highest Interest Rate
Now start paying highest rate credit card first. Always pay more than minimum amount. If you are addicted to minimum payment traps then you will never be out of debt for whole of your life. Banks have arranged minimum debt trap in such way that a loan could take many years to be paid off if you are just paying in minimum amounts. Always pay more than minimum. These small extra payments will save you literally thousand dollars.

3-Start Frugal Living
For as long as you are in debt, start frugal living. Cut off your credit cards. Ask companies to not offer you more credit cards. Discard impulsive buying. Try to save every penny if possible. These few dollars added to minimum payment amounts will create a snow-ball effect towards your credit card debt payments.