I’ve been considering looking into one of those payday loans so that I can buy my wife a very pretty diamond necklace and earring set that she’s been mooning over from the local jewelry store. I hate to borrow any money for anything, in this tight economy, but she has made a lot of sacrifices for me over the past few years, and I’d like to surprise her with something special for Valentine’s Day. It was on a Valentine’s Day that I proposed to her!
I have to admit that one of the reasons that these kinds of loans are tempting is that so many of them don’t require any credit check. Recently I heard that having too many credit checks on your record can actually hurt your credit rating! I had just got a copy of my credit report and saw that all of my creditors ran a fresh inquiry on my credit last month, and I found that disconcerting. And a lot of employers are doing credit checks now too! I don’t know how or why it is any employer’s business what my credit rating is! So if I can get a loan without any credit check, I think that might be a good idea.
If the television news can be believed, the average American family is drowning in debt! I was reading an article in a magazine recently that many people are now starting to fall behind on their mortgages rather than fall behind on their credit cards! That flies in the face of traditional debt management techniques. Seems to me that one would take a good hard look at getting some debt counseling before deciding to fall behind on any of those creditor accounts!
Having to choose which bill to pay, and which one to let slide is never an easy choice. One has to take a look at what would you really lose if you don’t make the payments? If I were in that position, I’d put the local accounts, such as dentists, lawyers, and entertainment services on the back burner and let them slide a little bit. Many of those professionals that allow you to make payments will let you skip a payment or two if you call them up and explain your situation to them. In many cases doctors and lawyers will agree to taking a smaller monthly amount and not charge you any late fees.
When my wife was going through her troubles with her first husband, her lawyer let her pay in small amounts and often let her skip payments for a few months if things were bad. So my advice is to take a hard look at which accounts can slide, and which can’t.