If you’ve followed the news, you’re probably aware that money is tight these days. The banks don’t want to lend to anyone who has bad credit, but those are precisely the people who need to find a way to refinance their loans. There are some places that will refinance for you, but the terms are sometimes confusing and sometimes seem like they might not be a very good deal. So what should you take into account if you need to refinance with bad credit?

• Ask a lot of questions. Do not be afraid to ask questions from the loan officer you are talking to. Many of these people are fast talkers who are paid to get you to sign the papers as quickly as possible. Therefore, it is your job to hold back and not make any rash decisions. No matter how bad your situation is now, it could get even worse if you sign a bad deal.

• Take the time to think it through. It sounds tempting that you’ll reduce your monthly mortgage payments by $200. But remember that doing it will ultimately cost you thousands of dollars more since you’re creating a new loan with longer terms and paying more fees. This might be a good deal, especially if it means that you can stay in your home. However, you need to ensure that you will be able to afford that new payment and to decide if it’s worth adding thousands of dollars to your expenses.

• Talk to a lawyer. Most people want to believe they can understand the documents themselves. However, you need to speak to a lawyer who understands these things and who works for you to make sure you didn’t miss something. Even though it will add to your expenses, ultimately, you’ll be happier if you do it and your bad credit finance loan will not feel like such a burden if you understand what you’re getting into.

President Obama recently announced that this years’ deficit will be $1.4 trillion. What that means is that in a single year, the United States Government has borrowed $1.4 trillion in order to keep itself going. That’s on top of whatever it collected in the form of assorted taxes on the good people of this country. In spite of that mind boggling spending, people are still drowning in debt, the official unemployment rate stands at 9.8 percent and is expected to continue climbing. The unofficial numbers are even more depressing, since many people are not registered as unemployed anymore since they’ve already exhausted all their benefits. The actual numbers are closer to 20%, a truly frightening figure in today’s economy. Add to that the runaway debt that many Americans have managed to rack up over the years and you’ve got a really horrible situation brewing. A great many people are defaulting on mortgages and credit cards and some are hoping to find relief by looking for services that consolidate credit card bills. The idea sounds good, but watch out! There are unfortunately an awful lot of people trying to prey on those seeking relief and not everyone is out to help you out of debt. Finding out about consolidating credit card bills can be a minefield if you aren’t careful about who you ask for help.

The way it works when you work with a legitimate credit card consolidator is that you provide them with the information on all your various credit cards. They then contact the companies on your behalf and negotiate a deal, sometimes just a lower interest rate and sometimes a reduction in the total you owe. Depending on how much you’re able to pay on the spot, as opposed to how much you need to pay out over time, you can save significant amounts of money with these services. However, a great many of them will simply take your money and run, causing you to rack up ever greater amounts of debt and causing ever greater problems for you as a debtor. So how can you protect yourself from the scammers? Follow these simple rules:

• Look for a company that has been in business for a while. The scammers tend to come and go quickly.
• Ask questions. Lots of them. A legitimate place will happily answer any questions you have. Scammers will try to get you to hand over money quickly.
• If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. One obvious scammer promised to get your debt down to as little as 35 cents on the dollar. I’m sorry to say that this will not happen without bankruptcy and if they make claims like these, they’re probably scammers.