How is Bankruptcy Different from Debt Consolidation?
The economic crisis of the past few years has resulted in more people having a difficult paying off their outstanding debts. This has resulted in a huge amount of debt that has caused serious financial instability for hundreds of thousands of people. Fortunately, consumers with overwhelming debt have helpful choices to eliminate their outstanding debt. Two such choices are bankruptcy and debt consolidation. When determining which debt relief option is best for you, it is important to understand the differences between bankruptcy and debt consolidation.
Bankruptcy
The key objective of filing for bankruptcy is to discharge most or all of your debts. Once you are discharged from bankruptcy, you are legally debt free. It will allow you to make a fresh debt-free start in life. The discharge wipes out many types of unsecured debt like credit card and medical debts. A bankruptcy repayment plan will have more restrictions than a debt consolidation plan. With bankruptcy, your credit score is negatively impacted. You cannot remove bankruptcy from your credit report for a specific number of years such as 7-10 years.
With bankruptcy, you will be denied loans from major lenders and you will have to pay higher interest rates on your credit cards and loans. As well, your personal financial affairs will become open to the courts and a trustee can liquidate your assets and divide it among all of your creditors. You may also be required to turn-over any disposable income to repay your creditors.
Debt Consolidation
Debt consolidation helps a person get out of debt from multiple lenders. You will combine all of your debts into one loan with one lower interest rate. All of the penalty fees will be waived allowing you to put more money into paying off the one loan. Basically, it combines all of your debts into a single debt management program. The consolidation counselor will negotiate with your creditors on your behalf.
With debt consolidation, each month you pay the credit counseling company or the consolidation company instead of the creditors. The company will then make the payments to all of your creditors. Debt consolidation will have less of an impact on your credit score. As well, debt consolidation does not come with all of the tight restrictions that you will have with bankruptcy.
For people who have been overwhelmed by debt, they know it can seem like a vicious cycle of which they can never break free. Too much debt can cause a great deal of stress, anxiety, depression, and family conflict which is why it is essential to take steps to get out of debt. With debt consolidation and bankruptcy, you will no longer have to deal with annoying creditor phone calls at all hours of the day and night, and paying multiple debt interest rates and penalty fees. The debt relief solution that you choose will depend on your financial situation. Before you make a decision, it is wise to consult with a credit counselor who can help you make the right debt relief choice.
