The holiday season is officially behind us and that means kids are back at school, the parties are over, and the decorations have been taken down. It also means that the holiday bills are on their way if they haven’t already arrived. We all want to give our families a great holiday, and often that means shelling out a significant amount of money on gifts and food and everything else required for the perfect holiday, but this desire can also result in significant financial stress. Today we talk dealing with holiday debt.

When ready cash is unavailable, many families turn to their credit to manage shortfalls over the holidays. This can result in an endless stream of credit card bills come January – credit card bills that can quickly become difficult to handle, especially when you consider the rate at which interest accumulates, particularly when you’re only making minimum payments.

Thinking about how you will get on top of all these bills? Here are some consolidation options that can help when it comes to dealing with holiday debt:

• A loan. If you have good credit, a loan can help to merge all of those high interest debts into one, manageable monthly payment. However, if you have bruised credit or a great deal of debt, a loan will be difficult to obtain and thus may not be the best option. Additionally, if a loan is on the table even with bruised credit or a mountain of debt, you may be looking at an interest rate of 20-30%, which may be even higher than the ones you currently have.

• Refinancing your home. If you have equity in your home, refinancing your home can be a great choice for dealing with holiday debt. Refinancing your home will often result in lower interest rates and more flexible repayment terms.

• Government programs. There are programs made available by the government to help reduce debt and consolidate those numerous payments into one single payment. These programs will also mean freezing interest. The ability to take advantage of these programs largely depends on your personal financial circumstances and reasonable ability to repay your debt.

• An example of a government program is a consumer proposal. A consumer proposal is an intelligent method for dealing with holiday debt. A consumer proposal involves filing a proposal with all of your creditors, who then need to accept it. Once accepted, your debt may be reduced and all payments are combined into one monthly payment.

Prior to making a decision, the best approach is to have a financial assessment completed by a financial consultant who can look at your finances and help to arrange the most effective option.

Don’t let the thought of dealing with holiday debt keep you from making plans for the new year.

Call DebtCare today at 1-888-890-0888 – we can help.