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A few weeks ago, one of my closest friends confessed to me that she has been struggling financially. Her credit score is around 600, and she's accumulated thousands of dollars in debt. She told me she was eager to take the right steps forward to fix her situation before the year was over, but she didn't know what to do first.
I reached out to a financial advisor to find out what a person can do about consolidating debt when their credit score is low. Certified financial planner Jeff Wood shared three tips.
While those with a good credit score can get a debt consolidation loan, which combines multiple debts into one loan, it's more difficult to be approved for a personal loan with bad credit.
Instead, Wood said that some institutions might be more likely to provide a collateralized loan, which is a secured loan backed by an asset that the person owns, like a home or vehicle.
"Since a collateralized loan gives more security to the lending institution, the rates are more likely to be lower than other loans, and it would be more likely to be approved," he said.
While this option can lower a person's interest rate, he advised that people should be cautious about the risks involved before opting for this route.
"A person could lose their home or vehicle if they default on the loan, whereas this danger wouldn't exist with an unsecured loan," he said.
If you want a less risky route, Wood suggested looking into zero-interest credit cards to pay down the debt on your other credit cards.
"Some people can use these offers to pay off higher interest cards and save money along the way," he said. "However, it is very important to compare the interest rates to ensure a no-interest transfer does indeed put yourself in a better position to save on interest and pay off balances."
While this route sounds less risky, balance transfer credit cards can still come with downsides, especially if you don't pay off your debt balances during the no-interest period.
"If that's the case, you'll be hit with a higher interest rate when the introduction period ends," he said. "It is very important not to open new debts and still have an underlying spending problem that may run debt balances even higher when all is said and done."
Realistically, Wood says that if you want to consolidate your debt and fix up your finances, you have to make sure you aren't adding to your debt problem.
Without a good budget, Wood said it is easy to overspend and add on more debt. "An easy way to make a budget is to use a spreadsheet with income and expense categories along the left and then use each column for various subsequent months to track income and expenses in those categories and to get an understanding of where your spending is ending up."
"A budget also allows you to consider each expense and whether there are ways to lower or eliminate them," he said. "Things like eating at home, riding public transportation, doing home haircuts, and canceling subscriptions could add up to a lot of savings after a while and will assist you in conquering your debt."
