A woman convicted of probation violation tried to use the famous Monopoly ?get out of jail free? card to avoid incarceration, the judge humored her by asking the local sheriff if they accepted the cards to which he replied ?no?. She was eventually jailed, but not without at least trying her luck first.
The ?get out of jail free? card originated from the timeless game of Monopoly and made its debut in 1935, since then over 200 million games have been sold worldwide and has become the most widely played board game in history (recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records).
Since then the expression ?get out of jail free? has been immortalized in modern society to mean ?a way to get out of a sticky situation? and just like been given the card to get ourselves out of an undesirable situation, so is the act of debt consolidation when we find ourselves in financial difficulty and need a little outsider assistance.
Is Debt Consolidation Like a Get Out of Jail Free Card?
In a manner of speaking it is based upon a similar fundamental premise that if we?re in a situation where we?re struggling financially and are have difficulty coping with our current level of debt then we have the opportunity to alleviate that burden through consolidation.
When we?re not careful it?s easy to accumulate more debt than we think we have when we don?t proactively track our spending.
How Do I Know If Debt Consolidation is Right For Me?
1. When at least half of your income goes towards paying your debts.
2. When constantly worrying about the level of debt you have to the point where it effects your sleep, job performance and general behavior.
3. When you feel a sense of helplessness from being financially over extended on a regular basis, this is different if it?s once in a while and you?re able to eventually regain control of your finances, but if you constantly feel this way no matter how much extra you pay to get ahead only to find you?re still at square one, then consolidation might be the option for you.
4. When you don?t meet your financial commitments. If you miss payments or have a sketchy bill payment track record.
5. When you?re sacrificing important things. If you?re having to pay visa before paying the power bill then you?re not managing.
What Consolidation Will Do For You
Debt Consolidation will take all of your existing payments, credit cards, loans and condense them into one manageable weekly, monthly payment (whichever terms you agree upon).
Interest rates are competitive for these types of loans so it pays to shop around. I would start with your bank. If you have a home you can leverage it by borrowing against the equity you have. The equity is the difference between the current market value your home is appraised at and the amount owed on the mortgage. The equity is the amount that you can borrow up to the value of.
Because consolidation puts your total debt into perspective, you?re able to keep up with your payments which helps your credit scoring while establishing a new positive payment track record for your credit report.
What Consolidation Won?t Do For You
It?s not uncommon to get into situations of extreme debt through unforeseen circumstances and emergencies, however there are instances where we do get into unnecessary debt through poor management on our own behalf, so if you consider consolidation as a option then you still need to devise a budget if you do not already have one, and stick to it faithfully.
Use any extra disposable income left over to pay off your debt faster. Remember, debt consolidation will relieve the pressure of your current debt but it won?t change how you got into the debt in the first place, especially if it was due to poor financial planning and lack of budgeting. Keep a close watch on your future finances.
Once you get into the habit of living by a budget and eventually become debt free, your new budgeting skills should keep you out of debt, permanently.
Isobel Miller enjoys writing on a number of topical subjects, one of them addressing debt and financial issues and strives to uncover the answers to your most burning questions. www.debteliminationinfo.blogspot.com
Tags: game, circumstances, monopoly, free, history, games, Board Game, habit, era
