Take advantage of options for getting out of debt

The three most common topics of questions I receive for this column revolve around saving for retirement, teaching children about money and eliminating debt.

We've dealt with the first two items in the last few months, so it's about time I answered reader e-mails dealing with the third.

First is a question from Maria, who wrote in with a question about debt consolidation. She cited a column I wrote in early 2004 in which a financial professional said he did not recommend such consolidation for someone who was not a homeowner.

"So what would I do if I don't own a home?" Maria asked.

Well, Maria, you have a few options, according to Mike Peterson, spokesman for American Credit Foundation in Midvale.

Mike says the easiest way to complete a kind of do-it-yourself debt consolidation would be to, first, look at the minimum monthly payments you have on all of your debt. Then, commit to keep paying that amount every month until you're debt-free.

Typically, if you are dealing with credit-card companies, your minimum payments will decrease as you pay off that debt, he says. But if you keep paying the same amount each month — and roll over those payment amounts to other debt as you pay off various accounts — you should be able to get out of debt in six to eight years.

"That's really a way that doesn't cost them any money but will help them pay down their debt a lot faster," he says.

If you are looking for consolidation that will lower your monthly payments, you probably have two options.

First, check with your bank or a finance company and see if they will offer you a signature loan.

"But make sure the interest rate is going to be lower than what you're currently paying," Mike says. "And make sure you're not going to have to pay origination fees that throw the whole benefit out of the water."

The other option is to seek help from a credit counseling company, which will allow you to consolidate your unsecured debt into one lower monthly payment.

I hope that helps, Maria. At least it gives you a few options.

And speaking of options, a reader named Sheilah is facing some of her own.

"My husband and I have over $100,000 in company stock," Sheilah wrote. "We are in debt to credit cards to the tune of almost $20,000. Should we sell enough stock to wipe out this credit-card debt?"

In this case, Mike says, consider the interest rate on the debt and what it's going to cost you to liquidate the stock.

"With high-interest credit-card debt, in most cases you are going to be better off cashing in some of the stock to pay off that debt," he says. "This is due to the fact that it will be difficult for the stock or mutual fund to guarantee a return greater than the interest on the debt.