Like a huge percent of the population, a few years ago, I found myself in a fairly steep financial hole. After a major cross country move and a period of Job hunting I found that my credit card debt as ballooning. Every month I was robbing from Peter to pay Paul. Even making the minimum payments was giving me an ulcer. Finally, after realizing that I was never going to pay my way out I decided to look around for some creative solutions.
I rejected bankruptcy out of hand. I didn’t want to go through the financial and legal rectal exam the process required. More significantly for me however was my desire to pay the money back. Not that I was living recklessly or particularly irresponsibly, but I had borrowed the money, and I wanted to pay it back!
I don’t mean to cast dispersions on those who take this option. I know folks who have accepted this option due to truly uncontrollable circumstances like impossible medical bills. But this was not true in my case. I just couldn’t justify trying to get out of debt that I had accepted in good faith. Of course this also ruled out most of the companies that advertise on television offering to “settle your debt for a fraction of what you owe!” While bankruptcy of course requires seven years in order for the client’s credit to recover, negotiated settlement may never fully recover due to the fact that potential lenders see the loan applicant as potentially skipping out on future debt. Nothing in this life is free, and most of these offers smack of scams to me.
I was wary of debt consolidation companies too. I understand the principle but taking out another loan to pay the others seemed fraught with other dangers, like interest rate increases… not to mention the fact that I was in no ways certain to qualify for a loan large enough to consolidate all of my debt. So I looked around for another option. I found one in the form of Clearpoint Financial Solutions.
The company is a thirty year old, not for profit financial counseling organization. They also come highly recommended by the Better Business Bureau. I searched for consumer evaluations and only found one negative review. Admittedly I didn’t search exhaustively, but as far as I could see it’s a legit company. Of course they negotiate with the borrower’s creditors in order to get a low stable interest rate. The borrower is unable either to use his or her credit cards or apply for new loans or new cards as long as they are enrolled in the program. Participants make a single monthly payment to Clearpoint, and they disperse an agreed upon amount to the creditors. This approach is much better for the borrower’s credit long term than either bankruptcy, or negotiated settlements.
Credit counseling programs like Clearpoint may not be for everyone, but it’s been great for me. After just a few years in the program I have paid off a sizable chunk of what I owe, and I stand to be debt- free next year, (aside for my mortgage). With financial times being what they are being without an added monthly bill (especially one that size) is going to feel pretty good! Personally I would recommend Clearpoint any day. I was and will be a huge relief for me! For more information on Clearpoint Financial Solutions, see their web site at http://www.clearpointcreditcounselingsolutions.org.
