How to Choose a Debt Consolidation Company

Video Transcript

"Hi, my name is Bill Rae. I'm with HBW of Florida, and I've been in the finance field for well over 20 years. I've seen a lot, and helped a lot of folks. Today's question is: How to choose a debt consolidation company. Let's start off by telling you you need to be careful. In today's environment, there are many, many companies out there that are what we would consider scams. Willing to take your money, willing to tell you whatever it is you want to hear, but they're only after the fast dollar. I'm often amused when I talk to companies who tell me that they're going to help me get out of my credit card company by simply adding another charge to my credit card. In today's environment, what you want to watch out for is companies that tell you that they will make all your payments for you or, better yet, I'm always leery of those who tell me that I should stop making payments to force companies into negotiating with me. Obviously, non-profit companies are the best place to start. There are some very good ones out there, but you can make a plan yourself. If you haven't reached the point where you're frustrated, simply list all your bills down on a sheet of paper. Who do you owe? How much do you owe? What's your monthly payment? And what's the interest rate? Then begin a systematic attack on those bills. Start by picking one and making all the payments, if you can, on all the others while you're doing it. Add 10 percent more to that first one and when it's paid off, take all that money and add it to the next one. When you do this, you'll be able to pay yourself out of debt. We've shown many people how they can get out of debt within three to five to seven years, simply where they're at, asking no extra monies, but just following a plan. There's only two ways out of debt: increase your income or cut your spending. My name is Bill Rae, that's my opinion. I'm with HBW and we're helping you build wealth."