Advice on debt consolidation

Advice on debt consolidationThe myth is that debt consolidation saves interest In tough financial times people often turn to debt consolidation to find a solution to their monthly cash-flow shortage. Debt consolidation is defined as taking out a new loan to pay off a number of liabilities and consumer debts, generally unsecured ones.

However, there is the myth the debt consolidation will be the answer to your problems - and then there is the truth.

The myth is that debt consolidation saves interest, and you have one smaller payment. The truth is that debt consolidation is an indication of over-indebtedness and treats only the symptom.

Bank Windhoek's executive officer: credit, Anton Smit, has this advice: “With debt consolidation you are only extending the problem, because you think you solve the debt problem, but in reality the debt remains, as do the habits and behaviour that caused it. You cannot borrow your way out of debt. You cannot get out of a hole by digging out the bottom.”

Having debt is not the problem; it is the symptom that is at issue. Debt is the symptom of overspending and under-saving.

More often than not, debt consolidation does not address the root problem, he explains.

In most cases it has been proven that, after someone consolidates his credit card debt, the debt grows back.

That is as a result of not having a plan to either pay cash or not buy at all.

The game plan also does not include saving for unexpected expenses that will also become debt. “Debt consolidation seems appealing because there is a lower monthly payment and a better rate can be negotiated.

However, in almost every case the lower payment exists, not because the rate is actually lower, but because the term is extended. If you consolidate short-term debt, you get a lower payment, but if you stay indebted longer, the lender receives more interest, which is why some lenders are in the debt consolidation business,” Smit advises.

“It is normally a bad idea to pay a short-term acquisition, like clothing, over a long period.

The clothes might already have been thrown out, but you are still paying it off.

“The answer is not the interest rate; the answer is a total money makeover.

The way to get out of debt is by changing bad financial habits. You need to commit to getting a written plan, sticking to it and start paying off the debt. Live on less than you make and don't spend what you can't afford.

“Dealing with financial problems can be stressful, which is why most people need help getting through it. Speak to your bank before your cash flow is in dire straits and think twice before you consider debt consolidation,” Smit recommends.

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