“Dear Steve,

My debt is as follows: $8.5k – Chase Mastercard, $2.6k – Amex, $2.6k – Macy’s Visa, $2.6k – Best Buy, $500 – Discover. I have inerest rates between 21% and 28% on all of the cards due to late payments. Right now I am current on all of the cards but I am only able to make minimum payments. I am in sales and due to the economy my income has decreased to the point where I am barely able to keep up with these minimum payments. I am also pregnant so my cash needs are only going to increase, not decrease within the next couple of months.

Before I found your site I was thinking about signing up for the BOA Clean Sweep consolidation program but after reading your notes on the program it doesnt seem like a very good program.

My ultimate goal is to reduce my mothly payments and actually pay off this debt as soon as possible. What debt consolidation programs/companies would you recommend over others? Please help!!!!!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

Nicole”

The Answer:

Dear Nicole,

Whew, glad you found me before you got hooked by that Clean Sweep program from Bank of America. That one really turned out to be a stinker.

What strikes me first is fact that with the baby on the way, the money you can afford to pay on your debts may get smaller. Babies are wonderful but they seem to eat a lot of food and money. The new baby expenses, like childcare maybe, might just make it totally unaffordable to repay your debts if you are just getting by on minimum payments.

This might be the perfect time to take yourself aside and have an honest chat with yourself. If you anticipate your expenses going up and/or your income going down after the blessed baby arrives then maybe a debt consolidation loan isn’t the smart play here. In that case a little chit-chat with a local bankruptcy attorney is in order.

Having a new child around is stressful enough, but trying to deal with bills you can’t afford on top of that can be an emotional sanity killer.

If I’ve missed the mark altogether and you’ll easily be able to get by after the little cherub arrives then look at the peer-to-peer network LendingClub.com as a reasonable place to get a debt consolidation loan.

Please update me on your progress by posting updates here in the comments section of your question. I’m very interested in how this works out for you.

Big Hug!

@GetOutOfDebtGuy

P.S. Be sure to read ‘The Secret of Surviving Through Difficult Economic Times. What I Learned On My Journey‘.

If you have a credit or debt question you’d like to ask just use the online form. I’m happy to help you totally for free.

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• Debt Loans and Debt Consolidation

Read the full article at GetOutOfDebt.org, click here: My Ultimate Goal is to Reduce My Monthly Payments and Get Out of Debt. – Nicole