Use the following website to calculate the length of time to pay off just the credit cards at their current interest rates and their respective monthly payments. You will be astonished and probably sick to your stomach.
http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/debtplanner/debtplanner.jsp

After you’ve done those simple calculations, then proceed to research and find a more viable means to resolve the credit card dilemma much sooner. You may just do so if you follow along here.

You should run as fast as you can from any debt settlement or debt consolidation program. They are very costly, extremely ineffective and can leave you exposed to lawsuits.

First of all traditional debt settlement has well over a 70% failure rate, mainly because they provide you no protection from the creditors. They offer to settle your debts for average of 50%, they charge you 15% of your debt as a fee, then you pay income tax on the cancelled debt. When all is said and done you are back to at least 85% of what you started with in costs out of pocket. What did that accomplish for you? All during that agonizing 4 or more year process your credit is in the tank, precluding you from moving on with any of your financial goals. That’s a long time to be exposed to lawsuits.

In debt consolidation you are trading an unsecured credit card debt for a secured debt backed by an asset such as your home. That is the worst possible financial blunder ever offered in the credit industry. It could cost you your home.
Here is a proven solution where you can empower yourself with a unique program that enables you to pay off those accounts for as little as 10 cents on the dollar. You may save up to 90% off on the balances your creditors say that you owe. You can be debt free in about 18 months, protect your home and other assets, be protected from creditor liability lawsuits, saving you many thousands $ $ $ in out of pocket costs, no tax consequences and your credit will be restored at the end of the process. Do your research. Just Google “credit card debt resolution” or “zero credit card debt” and you will find the ultimate solution.

His best bet is to go through Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University and learn to manage his money and pay down his debt using the debt snowball method.

Once he feels better about having control over his finances, he’ll feel better about starting a family… even if his debt isn’t completely paid off.

Good luck.

First, and most important, DESTROY ALL your credit cards. No use consolidating debt if you just use it as an excuse to get into more debt.

Second, make payments that are about the same as you make on the total of all your payments at the moment. ie if you have 3 payments of $ 75.00, arrange your new loan so that your new monthly payment is about $ 200.00.

Now, to answer your question. Debt consolidation is getting one loan to pay out all your other loans. This means that you have only one payment per month to pay and that payment is a set amount. Depending on the terms of the loan the payment or the length of the loan may vary if interest rates go up or down.

With debt consolidation, you arange a personal loan which may be secured or unsecured at an interest rate which is far lower then your credit cards and often with reduced fees. Here, you may pay 15% to 20% interest on your cc but only 7% to 10% on a personal loan. A saving of between 5% and 13% on $ 3000.00 will be as little as $ 150.00 to as much as $ 390.00 in the first year.

The thing is that you have only one debt to pay, and destroying your credit cards stops ffurther debt.

Yes, it should help reduce the interest you pay on your debt. The only way you can eliminate it is to pay it off.

There is some great advice in the bible to everyone, not only Christians. It comes from Rom 13:8 and says ” Owe no man any thing, but to love one another…”

I have debt, but I am heading to the place where I can be compliant with this Godly advice.

Debt consolidation companies are companies that act on your behalf talk to the companies you are in debt with, perhaps negotiate the debt down if you have not paid on it in awhile and perhaps it has gone to collections. Some or most of these companies are non-profit companies, however there is a charge of a percentage of what they save for you that is normally leveled against you.

You can do the same thing yourself by finding a company that will give you a loan to pay off all your credit card debt and other debt that you might have into one single debt, thus reducing your debts to a single debt with a lower monthly payment, and in most cases lower interest rate, but the interest rate will depend on your credit scores off your credit report. You don’t have to have the top scores to accomplish this. Lower scores simply mean that your interest on your debt consolidation loan would be a little higher, though probably less than what you would be paying for all your credit cards and on the debt combined.

From what I gather you have two credit cards that you are behind in payment since you indicated you have 2 cards over a 5 year period that you have yet to pay back what you have used on them.

They have probably been sold to another company by now. this is called a charge off by the company that originally had your credit card debt. You, in some cases, can call those companies that have purchased your unpaid debt, make a bargin to pay them in one lump sum, say you are able to pay them 1/3 of what you owe. In this instant you stated that the debt was at one time $ 1000. If it was sold for that amount you might be able to pay if off completley for around $ 350.00, just make sure that if you do you ensure that the company send a piece of paper to the credit bureaus that the debt is “PAID” simply “PAID” this will cause your credit score to go up a little better than “PAID CHARGE OFF” which they will place on your credit report if you don’t ask them to place “PAID” on your credit report.

I hope this has helped you in some way.

1. Re-payment history

This factor carries the highest weight in your credit report. How steadfast are you in repaying your loans, makes your credit report shine. Experts claim that this factor alone accounts for 35% of points in your credit score. So, if you falter on repayment front it is sure to be reflected poorly on your credit score.

2. Outstanding debt

The next comes your debt burden. How much you owe is a factor that according to experts carries about 30% weight in your credit score. This is
30% is based upon outstanding debt. To get a better score it is advised that you keep your outstanding debt to a minimum.

3. Length of your established credit history

The time for which you have a credit history also matters. The longer your established credit history the more credit reporting agencies believe in you. This could be simply because of the fact that they have more data to analyze your financial position. Experts give it a 15% weight in determining your credit score.

4. The state of your financial accounts
How much money do you have in your bank account, your income levels, your house, car, your assets etc. comes the next. A healthy bank account reflects a healthy credit score. Experts find that credit reporting agencies give this factor 10% weight while determining your credit score. Read more from: http://www.credit-card-gallery.com/article/204,5_critical_factors_affecting_your_credit_score

The VISA Signature card is a top level card. You not only have to have a good score, but superior income, and a LONG credit history. If you have this you probably have more than 1 other credit card. If you only have one other credit card, the chances of you getting approved for the Signature card will be slim.

Now, if you are able to get the Signature card, your score will drop a bit because of the inquiry. But if you are at a 750 credit score it would be minimal and nothing you would really have to worry about. However, I would not close out your other card. Not sure how the utilization would be effected, but your length of credit history would be shortened. This too could lower your score a bit.