“Dear Steve,
I applied at LendingClub.com and at Prosper.com for a loan to consolidate my debt. I was declined at both. I have been trying to find a solution to consolidate my debt and eventually eliminate it. No places simply want to provide a loan.
My credit score is good (690 ish). What other steps should I take to consolidate my debt? Currently I have about $25,000 in debt. I make my payments on time, however I am simply unable to make any headway with the interest rates.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Brian”
Dear Brian,
Thanks for contacting me for some advice.
Legitimate lenders have limits and while they are willing to accept some risk, there is a line they will not cross.
Based on your credit score you can see that there is room to grow.
But what is most likely going on here is you are getting close to being maxed out and your debt to income ratio is pretty high.
If you focused on both paying down your debt some more and working to see if there is anything you can clean up on your credit, you may be better suited to apply again in the future.
What you might want to do is start with The Get Out of Debt Guy 8 Easy Steps to Eliminate Your Debt Checklist and see how you might be able to make some adjustments to start making some progress.
If you look at your income and expenses and feel you can make the minimum payments plus some on a consistent monthly basis then the free program from ReadyForZero.com may just give you the structure and tools necessary to pay down your debt faster than what you’ve been doing.
Applying for a debt consolidation loan is one of those things many never think about till they get close to hitting a wall and yet that’s the least optimum time to go for it.
The other factor I don’t know is a debt consolidation loan is even the best solution for you in your situation. It might just be you are running so tight you are unable to properly save to build your emergency fund and build your retirement fund. In that case it might actually be time to look at other options.
But again, The Get Out of Debt Guy 8 Easy Steps to Eliminate Your Debt Checklist will get you headed in the right direction.
Please post your responses and follow-up messages to me on this in the comments section below.
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