Question by Ray C: Where do I start? Deep in debt and terrible credit, I finally have a new good paying job but is it too late?
I just finished college and I’m about 00 in the hole with credit cards. about 00 of it is in collections…but it’s not a third party collections company if that matters, it’s still within the credit card company. My grace period for my student loans (000) just finished and now requires payement. my credit score is in the 500s. Since I have graduated I have finally been able to make decent on time payements, but my interests rates are ridiculous and my payments aren’t doing much of a dent, I’m paying about 0 on my cards a month which half of it almost goes to interest. i can’t qualify for anything financial like consolidation loans…what do I do? im desperate and want to fix it…who do I go to? should I get someone to come in a straighten it out, or can I should I take care of it myself? my budget is tight with my other bills since i live alone and have to take care of rent, insurance, student loan payements, etc. on my own. I tried to call one of my credit card companies to lower the interest but they said I had to go through a debt consolidation company in order for them to lower it. is it best to go to someone?

Best answer:

Answer by abradley57
The only way to get your interest lowered, an possibly your debt, is to go through a credit counseling company. Check them out carefully though, because they’re not all the same and they don’t all do the same job. What they will do is negotiate a lower interest rate with all your debts. You will make one payment to them and they will make the payments to each of your debtors. You’ll pay them off faster than if you do it yourself. Another option os to go to an attorney that handles this. He can do the same or possibly better job. It just depends on his experience. Make sure whoever does it puts in writing what they are saying they will be able to do for you before you sign anything.

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Question by spadezgurl22: anyone know of any good debt consolidation programs?
I have mounting debt mainly due to student loans (whihc I would liek to pay seperate) but everythign else from credit cards and phone bills etc is very hihg close to 15,000. I want to consolidate so ic an make monthly payments to all of them and try to save my credit. any good place u can recomment that will no charge me a high interest rate or take too much profits away?

Best answer:

Answer by pioneerlendersmod
Student loans are good loans even if they leave you with a bit of debt. You can use a student loan consolidation program or look for a program that combines both your student loans and other debts into one consolidation program.

The key to a successful consolidation program is to avoid going back into debt. You mentioned credit card bills, utilities, etc. If you are falling behind on everyday expenses, I would suggest getting a 2nd job so that you don’t fall back into debt even after a successful consolidation program. Good luck.

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Question by turin: Is 4% a good rate for a student loan?
Is 4% a good rate for a student loan / student consolidation loan?
Tell me what your interest rate is if you have one
4% is what I have after I consolidated all my student loans last year

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Answer by Selling Money Books
Yes, I never had a student loan but my home loan is around 7.

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Question by Powderpuff: Why does Sallie Mae require a cosigner for private student loan consolidation even with good credit?
It absolutely makes no sense. Even with superior credit you are still paying through the roof!

“If you have a superior credit history and a cosigner on your Private Consolidation Loan (or a cosigner with a superior credit history), your interest rate could be as low as Prime – 0.50% (6.75% APR) with no origination or disbursement fees.
If you have fair credit history and no cosigner, your Private Consolidation Loan interest rate could be Prime + 6.5% (13.75% APR).”

I worked so hard to build up a good FICO score and need a good consolidation rate. My parents have awful FICO scores. What should I do?

Best answer:

Answer by sallyforthnow
Find a relative to help. Student Loan companies are regularly dealing with students who default. Even if you don’t, they have to make up the difference for the money they are loosing from all the bad loans. And if you default, they want someone else attached to go after. The only thing you might consider is a credit card with a 0% balance transfer rate (6mos. is typical). You can transfer to the card and pay off whatever you can, then transfer to a new card six months later, aka. credit rolling. This takes a lot of discipline but is the easiest way to avoid all interest charges. Most cards have limits on balance transfer amounts so you may need two or three. If you close the accounts after you open new cards, it will improve your FICO too. Also, you don’t need cosigners for cards. Like I said, risky and takes discipline, but it works.

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Question by AClaire: Good student loan consolidation lenders?
I am looking to consolidate my student loans with a federal consolidation loan. I know the interest rates are based on federal regulation, but I’m wondering about the other offers/benefits. If you have consolidated loans with a company, can you share personal experience about your lender–customer service, helpful website, quick loan processing, etc etc? Why did you chose your lender? Thanks!

Best answer:

Answer by Holly
I consolidated my loans through two different lenders. I consolidated all my Direct Loans through DL and all my Sallie Mae loans through SLM.

I chose not to consolidate the two lenders together because each was offering me a great deal for the loans I had with them. (I had about k with DL and about k with SLM, so I was planning on paying them off differently.)

Both offered a great % rate plus an additional % reduction for setting up a direct withdrawal from my bank account.

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Question by Dirk L: What are some good Student Loan Consolidation Companies?
These crooks known as Sallie Mae have screwed me. Two years ago I started receiving my student loans, and the interest rate at the time was only 2%. I even have a sheet of paper stating that.

My total in loans was ,000.

I get my statement in the mail last week and suddenly I owe them ,000 and they jacked up my interest rate to nearly 18%. I nearly cried. I called Sallie Mae right away stating, I cannot pay 8.00 a month it is just ludicrous.

I only have a couple more weeks to find a cheap, but very respectable loan consolidation company. My sister uses Nelnet, but they haven’t gotten back to me yet.

For all of you college graduates what is a cheap, but VERY respectable and honest Student Loan Consolidation company?

You can email me with details if you’d like.

Thank You.

Best answer:

Answer by jml167
All of my student loans were through Citibank initially, and last year I consolidated through them. They gave me a 5% interest rate which I think is very reasonable. They have also been very helpful on the phone when I had questions and they have never adjusted my interest rates without informing me first. Their website is www.studentloan.com and I would recommend them highly.

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