Do It Yourself or Get Help?

You might be debating whether to get professional help and consolidate debt now or try it on your own first. Answer the following questions to find out if you might be able to deal with your debt on your own successfully.

1. Have you already tried a do-it-yourself approach? If you're like many debtors, you've probably already tried to tackle debt with a plan of your own. You may have tried cutting back, cutting up your credit cards, and other DIY strategies. How did these self-help tactics turn out for you? Unless you were successful in paying off a good chunk of your debt, you might want to consolidate debt now instead of retrying failed strategies.
2. How much debt do you have? Remember that professional debt consolidation has a number of expenses associated with it. For consumers who have fairly minimal amounts of debt (less than $5,000 or so), the cost of consolidation sometimes outweighs the benefits. If you have a small amount of debt, you might have more success with your own repayment plan. Just make sure you pay your debts off as quickly as possible before more interest accumulates.
3. Have you already tried reasoning with your creditors? People who consolidate debt now will have the advantage of professionals on their side to help reason with creditors. Of course, you can do this on your own, but if you've already tried asking your creditors for better rates and were denied, a consolidation service may have more luck.
4. How well do you stick to self-imposed plans? For people who have the ability to make a plan and stick to it, self-help debt consolidation may be the answer. You will likely need to make the same payments for years and years, however, which gets challenging for even the most diligent debtor. If you tend to lose focus or motivation, you might benefit more from a more structured, formal plan designed by a debt consolidation program.
5. Have you spoken with a credit counselor or financial adviser? A credit counselor or financial planner can give you sound advice on whether you're capable of tackling your debts alone. If you need to consolidate debt now, they can recommend myriad ways to do so to minimize your expenses and get you out of debt faster.
6. How long will it take you to get out of debt alone vs. with a consolidation service? Get an estimate from a professional service on how long it will take to get out of debt if you consolidate debt now. Compare that figure with how long it will take you to get out of debt on your own. If the consolidation service can help you get out of debt substantially faster, it's probably worth the extra money to consolidate.