Pennsylvania has seen its share of hardship in recent years. Although the state wasn’t devastated by the housing crisis and subsequent recession, many smaller communities like Johnstown and Scranton have experienced long-term economic declines.
Meanwhile, many manufacturing jobs in big cities like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have disappeared without a trace. The unhappy result is a statewide unemployment rate of 8 percent and a poverty rate of nearly 13 percent. Despite its location in one of the most expensive regions of the country, the state’s median household income is nearly $1,000 lower than the national average.
This situation has created an unsustainable consumer debt bubble that threatens Pennsylvania’s long-term economic viability. If you’re struggling with unsecured debts like credit card bills and business loans, you should seek help from a trustworthy Pennsylvania debt relief provider.
Pennsylvania Debt Consolidation Options
Fortunately, you have several Pennsylvania debt consolidation options at your disposal. Read on to learn more about three of the most popular alternatives to personal bankruptcy.
Debt Management Plans in Pennsylvania
If you’re struggling with a stubborn basket of credit card debts, seek help from an established credit counselor in Pennsylvania. Although it might strike you as odd, the close connections that most credit counselors maintain with national credit card issuers may actually prove beneficial in the long run.
This is because credit card companies would prefer not to lose your account to delinquency. By agreeing to the interest rate reductions that your credit counselor will propose, your credit card issuers will ensure that you’re able to keep paying your debts. Meanwhile, you’ll see your annual interest rates reduced by a substantial margin.
What’s more, the Pennsylvania debt management plan that your credit counselor ultimately draws up will consolidate your disparate monthly payments into a single easy-to-remember debt payment. In other words, you’ll no longer have to worry about making a dozen or more debt payments each month.
Of course, not everyone has the luxury of time. Since some debt management plans can take seven years or more to work through, you’ll want to consider other Pennsylvania debt relief options as well.
Pennsylvania Debt Consolidation Loans
Debt consolidation loans are regarded as a solid alternative to credit counseling. When you take out a consolidation loan in Pennsylvania, your lender will immediately pay off your existing loans and refinance your debt load into one massive credit vehicle.
Like debt management, this approach will radically simplify your monthly repayment schedule. You’ll be responsible for making just one payment to your debt consolidation lender.
It’s crucial to note that Pennsylvania debt consolidation loans aren’t for everyone. If the effective interest rate on your debt burden isn’t particularly high, one of these loans might not save you very much money. Likewise, most debt consolidation lenders don’t extend credit to folks with poor credit scores.
Fortunately, this won’t stop you from finding debt relief in Pennsylvania. If you can’t score a debt consolidation loan, you might have a strong alternative at your disposal.
Debt Negotiation in Pennsylvania
Also known as debt settlement, debt negotiation permits folks who have poor credit to reduce their outstanding debt burdens. When you enroll in a program of Pennsylvania debt settlement, you’ll immediately begin saving for a lump-sum payment that could reduce your debt burden once and for all.
While you’re saving for your final payoff, you won’t have to continue to make payments on your existing unsecured debts. You also won’t have to worry about fending off pushy phone calls from your collections agents. Instead, you’ll be able to sit back and let your debt negotiation team work out settlements on each of your unsecured debts.
By the time it’s all said and done, your Pennsylvania debt settlement plan could save you more than 40 percent on your outstanding debts. Although this process might hurt your credit score in the short term, it could also release you from many of your obligations and enable you to begin planning for a debt-free future.
Stop worrying about what new financial problems the future might hold and start researching your Pennsylvania debt relief plan today!
