Nobody likes to feel that they are drowning in debt, yet, sadly, all too many people are faced with that feeling every waking hour of their day. A struggling economy certainly doesn't help the situation. You may feel as though you are at the end of your rope with little hope, but don't despair. There is good news out there. There are debt relief consolidation solutions available to you. Once you start looking at the various solutions available to you, you will see that they typically fall into three main categories: balance transfers, credit counseling agencies and consolidation loans. Let's take a closer look at each of these.

Balance transfers are normally used for credit card debt. The card companies will lure you in with a low rate for any balances you transfer from another card. they do this because they would rather get some of your money than none of it. At first, this can sound like a great choice. After all, if you can transfer your balances from a card charging 19% interest to one charging only 5%, you could save thousands of dollars over the life of the debt. You have to be careful, though, and read the fine print. The lowest rates are usually good for a few months, and then you will be charged the regular rate, which may be higher than what you're paying now. that doesn't mean balance transfers are a bad form of debt relief consolidation, it just means you have to pay attention to all of the terms.

Credit counseling agencies do things a bit differently. They do not give you a loan of any kind. Instead, they will work with the people you owe money to, to give you better rates, forgive late fees, or otherwise reduce the amount you owe. It is best to go with a well-respected agency, as they will tend to have more clout with the bigger creditors. Once they have made the arrangements, they will present you with a detailed plan of what those arrangements are. You will then either honor them yourself, or send the credit counseling agency the full amount. When doing the latter, the agency will allocate the money you send in as per each agreement they have made. Most will charge a fee of some kind, but this will almost always be much lower than the next option.

Debt consolidation loans are usually taken out in one lump sum to cover all of the debt owed to various creditors. The problem is that the very fact that you need some form of debt relief consolidation means you are a higher risk borrower, which translates into higher interest rates. It can also make it difficult to find a lender, but with some perseverance you should be able to find one that meets your needs. However, this is a major loan, and you have to be extra careful that you read and understand all of the terms of the loan. Regardless of what you choose, the one thing to keep in mind is that you want to pay less than you are now.