Credit card debt has become pretty much a commonplace amongst American families. It is said the average household carries around $9,000 of credit card debt and pays a little over $1,200 in interest a year. However a more saddening fact is that more and more people are getting divorced every year. Large amounts of credit card debt can be a burden to anybody but someone going through a divorce may feel a much heavier burden.
Life can be very unfair at times, but many of these times can be avoidable. Something I see very often with people getting divorced in relation to their credit card debt is very unsettling. Many people get stuck after the divorce having to pay off their ex spouses debts. Which can be very depressing for the person to say the least. Many times this person didn’t even use the cards, but the fact that they co-signed with their spouse makes them just as responsible. So the only way for couples to avoid this situation is to have separate accounts and for each person to build their own credit. So just in case things don’t work out like you intended when you took your vows, you won’t be tied to someone else’s financial problems. Which is what leads a lot of people to divorce court in the first place.
Now for couples who have no intention of divorce but need to figure out how to get out of debt have a few different options. Assuming bankruptcy is not an option, two of the most common forms of debt relief are either online consumer credit counseling programs or credit card debt settlement. Both of these methods have their respective pro’s and con’s. As to which is better really has to do with the particular financial situation someone is in. With it getting more difficult to run a family many people turn to credit counseling, however the decrease in payment usually is not to much. So for families with heavy debt problems that have gotten very hard to maintain debt settlement is usually a better option. Credit counseling is more of a convenience for people who can pretty much maintain the same payment, seeing as they will lower interest and then have a fixed payment. Which helps to accelerate the payback process greatly when compared to minimum payments at high interest. Debt settlement on the other hand actually reduces the balances which makes things a lot easier to payback
One must be wary though both
debt settlement companies and credit counseling companies have been known to not live up to the hype. There are many reputable companies out there as well as many un-reputable ones. The easiest indicator as to whether a company is good or bad is the BBB. Another way to check up on a company is to check out the State’s Attorney General to see if the company is under investigation.
Tags: Family
