Debt Counseling | Loan Modification Part 10

Government requires you to get help

Too many bills? Debt counseling can help.

Believe it or not, there is still one aspect of the federal foreclosure prevention plan that we haven’t discussed. This particular provision should prove useful and helpful even to people who don’t need mortgage aid.

Anyone who takes part in either the Loan Modification or the Refinancing program through the federal government is required to go to debt counseling if their total debt payments each month are more than 55 percent of their income.

Add it all up

Total debt payments include credit cards, car loans and any other personal loans, alimony and any other credit or bills you are paying off. So, if you make $2,000 per month and you spend more than $1,050 on debt each month, you will be required to go to debt counseling.

What is debt counseling?

The government has been requiring people go through debt counseling for many years. Currently people are required to get debt counseling if they want to file for bankruptcy.

Debt counselors look at your total debt and figure out the best way to pay it off. Many people find that they need debt consolidation. Getting your debt consolidated can often reduce your interest rates.

More benefits to debt consolidation

You don’t have to use the government’s program or be in mortgage trouble to get debt counseling or debt consolidation. Anyone who has a lot of credit card or other high-interest debt will likely benefit from debt consolidation.

Debt consolidation also allows you to only  make one payment per month that goes to all your various forms of debt. Check out this page for more information on debt consolidation.

The end

This concludes our series on Loan Modification and the federal foreclosure prevention plan. If you still have questions, many can be answered at the government’s web site makinghomeaffordable.gov.