Debt consolidation and Personal Finance - How to make the best decision?

Over the last decade, personal loans have gained prominence. It is used extensively for big but not enormous projects, small business projects and also for debt consolidation purposes. It's easy to draw a loan for repaying a high interest and pending credit card debt. However, you shouldn't take it this carelessly. Debt repayment is a process, and it involves changes that undergo in the mindset of an individual, whether it's a bank or a credit card loan.

For year’s debt repayment, debt consolidation and personal finance have been working hand in hand, to bail out individuals and business owners from massive debt. Simply put, personal finance has all to do with how you manage your savings, capital flow and also your investments. It covers everything from banking, budgeting, investments, mortgages, insurance, retirement planning, estate planning, and tax planning. Sometimes, personal finance is used as an umbrella term to indicate the overall industry that offers financial services to households and individuals. Personal finance suggests investment and financial scopes.

So, when you manage your personal finance well, a debt consolidation loan comes easy! Efficient management of personal finance gives you a favorable credit score and limit further debts. And these are two essential pre-requisites for acquiring a debt consolidation loan. Read the debt consolidation reviews available online to know better. Sometimes a personal loan is the best debt consolidation loan that you can opt-in for to settle all your past debts. But just in case you are unsure about drawing a personal loan, use the personal finance best practices and consider the following before you arrive at a final decision.

1. Plan to pay all your debts

Are you planning to roll your credit card amounts in one massive personal loan? If yes, then you need to have the exact idea as to how you'll pay off your debt in the forthcoming years, for instance, the coming four or five years. Question yourself if your new monthly payment manageable for you? Are you struggling to pay it? And for that are you depending entirely on the brand-new free balance credit cards? You have to be very honest about your financial standing before you take any more loans to settle your existing debts. So, get clear with yourself about what you can and can't do to clear your debt. It will save you from financial disappointments and incurring excess debts.

2. Your debt is of a high amount but is still within your control

Opting in for a personal loan for debt consolidation is apt when you have manageable debt. If you are confident that you can clear your debt within five years, a personal loan for debt consolidation is the best choice for you. But just in case you want to become debt free within the next six months quickly, a personal loan might not work best. It's because you will be saving a minimal amount as your interest, which isn't worth all the trouble you will take.
On the other hand, if you are clueless about how to repay all your debt even when you have four to five years at hand, even then a personal loan isn't the best idea for you. The solution here is to opt-in for credit counseling first to understand how to manage your personal finance. After that, you can decide on the debt consolidation loan.

3. Your expenditure is within your control

It's important to realize that when you consolidate your credit card debt using a personal loan, that doesn’t make the debt disappear magically. The idea is to pay for your all your debt, in one single payment, by paying monthly and not accumulating any further debts. If you know that you have reached the maximum limit of your credit card and that you will not take any new loans to add to your debt, then a personal loan can be your savior in the form of debt consolidation. Once you are ready to streamline your finances and debt repayment, a personal loan can work wonders for you. If not, then you'll be incurring added debt.

4. You have a high credit score

Have your past debts placed a number on your overall credit score? If yes, then the personal loans available to you might or might not be lesser in expense than carrying on to pay through your credit cards. FICO and its score expectations might make it tough for you to procure a debt consolidation loan at a low interest rate. Individuals will require a credit score of more than 760 to start expecting the low-interest rates.

And if your balance is high, but you make sure to pay on time, you will have a decent credit score to get a low loan interest. On the other hand, if you have the habit of missing out on your payment regularly, then your loan becomes more of a lateral initiative, considering your monthly interest payments. And just in case, you aren't able to tackle your present interest rate through personal loan debt consolidation method, and you might as well have an advantage on your side. Equipped with a personal loan, all you need to do is ensure that you clear up a fixed payment. Make sure that this payment will help in paying off your entire loan towards the end of tenure, which is usually anything between three and five years. By doing this you can move out permanently from the debt trap, but gradually.

However, planning this all out by yourself can be challenging! It's essential to have a holistic view of the entire financial scenario before deciding on drawing out a personal loan. And often when you are all snowed in debt or are trying to re-arrange your existing financial situation, you always can't think clearly. So, it's a smart call to reach out to a professional service provider who can guide you with counseling on matters of personal finance management and debt consolidation, to make it possible for you to arrive at an informed decision.