Tony Brewer

Yesterday the weatherman kept calling for snow all day and night yesterday, but snow never came yesterday.  I was disappointed this morning when I got up and looked outside the window and still saw the lawn, covered with leaves (I still haven’t had the chance to get rid of the leaves!)  I was actually hoping for snow to cover up the leaves so the lawn wouldn’t look so bad!

Well it finally DID snow – just a few flurries, starting around 2pm this afternoon.  The first snow of the season is always exciting to everyone I know.  At least it gives us all something new to talk about!  And, it helps to put everyone into the Holiday spirit, that’s for sure!

The television news is frequently talking about the growing problem of consumer debt.  There has also been much coverage about how the economy is so shaky that people are worried about losing their jobs and their homes, and many plan to cut back on the Christmas spending because they are so worried about their debt load.  Consumer confidence seems to be at an all time low, and people are scrambling to figure out ways to make ends meet.  Costs continue to increase, but salaries do NOT increase very often anymore, if at all.  People are considering themselves lucky to simply have a job at this point!  But many people are finding that their current job is no longer paying enough to pay their bills, because the cost of living has increased so much.  That is where the consumer should consider Debt Consolidation as a way to handle their current financial crisis.

The Bills.com website has a lot of good advice about different ways to handle debts, but they strongly encourage people to consider debt consolidation.  A very popular way to consolidate debt is to take out a second mortgage on your house, so that the monthly payments are lower.  Also, mortgage loans are often a lower interest rate than credit cards, so it is possible to get out of debt quicker.  One of the biggest advantages of doing that method is being able to claim the interest paid as a tax deduction at tax time.  Debt consolidation is a better option than credit counseling or bankruptcy because both of those choices can have a negative effect on the consumer’s credit rating.