Being a single woman trying to make ends meet can be tough. There's always a tax rebate or an EI Refund in Canada to help you out, but if you want to take a more permanent path to financial solvency, you have to think ahead. Letting debt accumulate in high interest accounts like your credit cards will take decades to pay off, and having several different sources you owe payments to can get confusing. The solution in both cases is debt consolidation.
When you consolidate your debt, you concentrate it all into a single debt or account so that you can make one simple monthly payment instead of a dozen - one to the credit card company, one to the phone company, another to daycare fees. How debt consolidation works is that one entity or organization will purchase your debts from the other companies so that they all reside in one lump in one place. This makes it easier for you to see how much you owe in total and to track your progress in paying it off.
When you're looking for a way to consolidate your debt, you should always choose the option that offers the lowest interest rate. The less interest you pay the faster you will be able to pay off your debts and the less you will pay in the long run for the privilege of getting better credit. Credit cards and payday loan companies have the worst credit rates around. Never consolidate your debt onto a credit card or into a payday loan.
Often the best choice for consolidating debt is for people to fold their other debts into their mortgage. Mortgages are flexible loans with much lower interest rates than credit cards or lines of credit, and you can extend the period of your loan in order to keep the payments down. Speak to private lenders from a mortgage representative at your bank if this is something you want to do, but the catch is that you have to be able to qualify for a mortgage.
If your debt has gotten so bad that you don't qualify for a mortgage you're going to need help to consolidate your debt. Contact a non-profit credit counselling service for advice. They can often secure you a consolidated loan at a reduced interest rate to help you snatch your solvency from the jaws of bankruptcy.
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