Credit Card Debt Help For Recent College Grads

Each year, college students are faced with an increasing amount of debt. Students use all the resources available to them to make it through college: federal loans, private loans, credit cards, and even generous family members. Yet, according to CNN, the average debt that students had upon graduation among the class of 2018 was $39,950. Today, that number is certainly much higher.

Many recent grads end up piling up credit card debt after graduating and then struggle to find a job. For credit card debt help for recent college grads, it will be worth your while to learn how to negotiate a credit card settlement.

How Credit Card Debt Happens

College is a formative, important time in the lives of many young people across the world, especially in the United States. Besides taking up a course of study that could possibly determine a student’s career, college is also a time of socialization and self-discovery. However, no matter what happens in college, most graduates walk across the stage with a huge amount of debt.

Students may be encouraged to take out loans from all sorts of providers and credit cards, with the assurance that the money will flow easily to cover the accrued costs after college. Instead, students struggle to find a job out of college and rely on credit cards to cover apartment payments and bills. The bottom line is that this generation of young people needs extreme credit card debt help.

How does credit card debt happen? From a distance, it may seem absurd that so many people let their credit card debt rise to such a ridiculous sum. But like many common issues, such as academic stress or rifts in a relationship, little things can accumulate slowly over time and then suddenly appear at a breaking point.

For instance, very few people accrue credit card debt from large purchases like a new car or a boat. Instead, smaller, seemingly harmless purchases build up-going to the movies, for example, or dining out. As everything adds up, the total balance can become substantial in no time. More students would likely seek credit card debt help if they were able to realize how far over their heads they are.

Getting out of college is exciting-it’s a time where you gain true independence from your parents and take on the world by yourself. The thrill of getting your own apartment and managing your own finances is enough to make some college grads forget about money for awhile.

Getting a first credit card can feel like someone handing you a blank check. You can spend just about as much money as you like with no questions asked; and if you can’t afford it at the moment, just pay it back later. This kind of power gives young grads a false sense of control and responsibility. They may not be aware of the lurking danger of credit card debt or know how to negotiate a credit card settlement.

In the moment, it may not seem like a big deal to go shopping and put it on the credit card. A small spending spree here or there won’t cause financial ruin, you think to yourself-but it can be easy to lose track of exactly how much you’ve spent if you don’t keep good records. Recent college grads can easily start a long trail of debt by paying off one credit with another. This downfall is a slippery slope, and graduates should seek credit card debt help.

Money managing is a continuous process that you should be thinking about while things are bad or good. When you’re ahead of your payments and in good financial standing, you can take advantage of that position to secure the hard times ahead. Contact your credit card companies and ask if they can give you a lower rate. They’ll be much more likely to do this when your account is free of debt.

Companies may initially turn down your request, but don’t be afraid to give yourself leverage by telling them you’re shopping around at other credit cards for a lower rate. It never hurts to ask, and you can possibly secure yourself a lower interest rate if you end up with a balance on your card in the future.

Dealing With Credit Card Companies

What many people don’t realize is that if you know how to negotiate a credit card settlement, it’s possible to relieve debt or find some alternative payment plan. Debt is nothing new to credit card companies. They deal with it all the time—one could argue that they actually expect it. Since debt is such a common event in the last couple of decades, credit card companies have many strategies for dealing with it.

Many creditors will offer credit card debt help by being lenient with payment deadlines in the case of emergency. If you give warning as soon as an emergency happens and before your payment due date, you’ll have an even higher chance of getting some sympathy from your credit carrier. Naturally, some companies will be more forgiving than others, so there are no guarantees. Here are a few life event scenarios that might gain you some repayment leeway:

• Medical injury
• Sudden loss of job
• Family emergency
• Recent college graduation
• Recent relocation

To be fair, the first time you ask your credit card company to negotiate a balance, they may outrightly turn you down. However, don’t make the mistake of assuming that there is no way to negotiate credit card balances with any company. One or two rejections may be the anomaly-and the next company you ask may be happy to help assist you in relieving your debt. Just remember that all companies are different, and that there’s no reason to assume you’re stuck with your credit card debt just because one company rejected you.

Getting credit card debt help can make a huge difference for your financial situation. Your settlement could take the shape of something as small as moving the payment date, getting a lower interest rate, or even requesting a payment reduction for a time. Learning how to negotiate a credit card settlement can even earn you more significant benefits, such as a long-term repayment plan with little or no interest.

For many of the minor credit card debt help requests, you can simply talk to someone in customer service. This is a good place to start, as the representative will be able to put you in touch with a specialist if the situation calls for it. If you’re looking to get an interest rate reduction, you’ll probably end up talking to a manager.

If you anticipate that you won’t be able to make your next payment won’t be on time, call your credit card company in advance and talk to the appropriate department. Most companies will transfer you to the right department from the phone operator menu.

For the most part, customer service representatives don’t have the authority to accept or deny requests for debt negotiation. If they tell you that you can’t negotiate, just politely listen until the representative is finished speaking before asking to be transferred to another department or a supervisor. It’s prudent to speak personally to a manager or supervisor about your ideas regarding how to negotiate a credit card settlement. Don’t give up the fight for a new payment plan until you talk to several service agents and at least one manager.

Know the Facts

Since credit card companies make a lot of money from people suffering from debt, they’ll probably try to deny you an alternative repayment plan at all costs. You need to stay vigilant in your quest for a better rate. It can help to know some of the tactics that companies use to keep you paying the maximum.

Secured and Unsecured Debt

Secured creditors are ones that have interest in some kind of asset, like a car or a boat. With these creditors, if you don’t pay your debt, you are liable to lose your property of these assets.

Unsecured creditors allow you to buy goods on credit without any asset security backing it. Most credit cards are unsecured, meaning that you’re not in danger of losing any property as a result of neglecting to pay off debt. Knowing the difference between these types of debt is essential to getting the best credit card debt help.

Creditors may try to scare you with threats to take away your property during a negotiation—even if your debts are unsecured. If you know from the outset that your debts are unsecured, then you can deflect this tactic and gain leverage toward your new debt settlement.

Learn the Creditor’s Weaknesses

If you enter into negotiations with a debt collection agency, be sure to read up on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which limits the tactics of collection. The more you know about your rights under the FDCPA, the more you’ll sharpen your tactics about how to negotiate a credit card settlement.

Lawsuits are expensive for creditors, so they’ll typically try to reach a settlement before it gets to the courtroom. The time and cost of litigation is only worth it for a creditor if the debt is enormous. You can use this as a bargaining chip—urging to simplify the process by reaching a civil agreement that works for both sides to avoid having to go to court.

Remember that unsecured creditors don’t have the ability to repossess property. This means that there’s more negotiating power on the table for you.

Don’t be afraid to pull the bankruptcy card with unsecured creditors. If you can’t reach a debt repayment agreement and declare bankruptcy, the creditor will probably get nothing at all. In other words, if the company wants anything at all, it’s in their best interest to offer you some credit card debt help.

What Happens If You Succeed?

If a credit card company agrees to give you an extension, a better rate, or any kind of debt-managing alteration, ask to get the agreement in writing. Also, be sure to get the full name and job title of the person that you had negotiated with. Occasionally, an agent might tell you that you can pay later, only to be faced with a call from the company later demanding payment.

If you don’t have the name of the agent you spoke with, or any kind of documentation on the agreement, the company will have no reason to believe that an arrangement was reached. A key aspect of learning how to negotiate a credit card settlement is keeping great records so that you can defend yourself if you get a call from a credit card company down the line.

The Best Repayment Method

If you can begin your repayment with cash, you can likely get a creditor to settle for a lower amount. The more liquid your payment is, the better your chances of reducing the sum. It’s a bad idea to use equity on secured property to pay for unsecured debt. For instance, getting a home equity loan to pay off your debt may put you at risk for losing your house if you run into more financial trouble in the future.

For the best advice follow the credit card debt help for college grads guide. Furthermore, you can seek credit card debt help for recent college grads by consulting with the expert team at Budget Build Buy and be on your way to achieving the next financial milestone.

Credit Card Debt Help For Recent College Grads