(MoneyWatch) Looking for love? You’d better get your finances straight. According to a survey by CreditCards.com women said they would dump a lover who could not pay their routine bills just as quickly as they would send a guy packing that proved to have a criminal past.
That survey went on to report that 70% of women said that either a criminal record or crushing debt was a deal-breaker. Men it seems are less concerned with only 37% saying if their girl pal had a ton of debt they would kick her to the curb.
A majority of the women polled said that a partner with any kind of debt was a turn-off in addition, 68% said that money was the most important factor in a relationship. When asked, most people wanted to know their partner’s credit score before they got seriously involved.
Well, yet another reason to get rid of that debt. If you are single and have any intention of being in a relationship, looks like you’d better get your financial house in order. It stands to reason as relationships can be difficult at times and to add the burden of extreme debt to the equation makes it even more so.
Debt impacts a person’s life in ways other than the prom queen not dating you because your Blockbuster account is overdue. Excessive or unmanageable debt can ruin your credit score, eat up all of your earnings, prevent access to money in the future, affect your emotional health not to mention is a leading cause of divorce.
Do you have debt that is unmanageable? How do you know if you do? Unmanageable debt in general means having more debt payments than you can keep up with monthly. If the total of your monthly expenses and debt payments exceeds your monthly net income, your debt my friend is unmanageable.
Can you dig yourself out of this unmanageable debt? Well, maybe but you might not be able to do it yourself. Let’s take a look at a few ways to get out of debt.
Don’t increase your debt. I realize that this goes against the government’s idea of how to get out of debt, but trust me when I tell you; taking on more debt doesn’t make debt smaller.
Record and categorize your spending. Get it down on paper so you see where everything is going. There may be places you can spending or eliminate debt that you haven’t thought of until you wrote it down.
Make a budget. I know, if your debt outweighs your income, there is no budget. But maybe there is. You could contact all of your creditors and ask for a payment moratorium, this could possibly give you time to pay off some debt and take on the rest when the payments start up again.
Your best bet. Your best bet if your debt has reached that point where it is unmanageable is to contact a professional to help you out. DebtHelper can help.
Here’s How It Works
ž An experienced credit counselor works with you to determine your monthly budget
ž DebtHelper negotiates lower monthly payments and interest rates with your creditors
ž You then make lower monthly payments on time
ž Since Your credit card interest is either eliminated or reduced, more of your payment is applied towards principal rather than interest!
ž You’ll get a monthly statement showing how much you’re saving
ž Average monthly payments drop from $925 to $603
ž Simplify your life – Your bills are consolidated into one simple and easy monthly payment
ž Your credit stays intact and may even improve!
Debthelper.com provides service to you regardless of your circumstances. Start taking control of your credit card debt and sleep soundly tonight! Call us today at (561) 472-8000 or toll-free at (800) 920-2262.
