The Washington Post has reported that TransUnion, one of the three major credit reporting bureaus, says average credit card debt has declined for the first time since early 2007. Nationwide, the average debt per credit card borrower dropped 1.25 percent to $1,673 in the first quarter of this year from $1,694 in the previous quarter.

Trust me. This is a temporary blip. This report falls under the umbrella of “some good news about to go bad”.

With the way things are right now in the economy, there is no way this is a trend. Don’t bet on it. People will be relying on their credit cards more and more as gas continues to go up, and the dollar continues to go down. While not great news for consumers, this is good news for those companies offering their services through the Lead Exchange.

Debt is becoming a big space in the lead industry.  Look at gas prices. The average state is paying $4 plus per gallon.  How does this affect consumers?  Simple, they are paying for gas with their credit cards.  According to an article read today Bankrate reported an average credit card interest rate at 13.42%. This mean that consumers are not only paying for the high priced gas but also interest on it.  

You see how this relates in the debt space.  Consumers are falling behind on their credit card payments as the economic headache is affecting their everyday lifestyle.  

Debt Settlement and Debt Consolidation companies more now than ever are in urge of helping these consumers with their debt.  Meaning, they are buying more leads.  The demand for leads in the Debt space is high as the consumers are becoming more buried with debt.

Good time to start spending marketing revenue on this lead type!

What is the difference between Debt Settlement and Debt Consolidation?  They both need help to clear their debt, right?  How are these companies helping the consumers?

Debt Settlement occurs when a creditor is agreeing to settle a debt for a dollar amount that is lower than the initial total amount owed.  It is an agreement that will reduced the actual payoff amount.  For the most part consumers will pay the debt settlement companies an amount that they can afford.  The debt settlement companies saves the debtors money until they have reached an amount that they can settle their unsecured debt with the creditors. 

Debt Consolidation means taking out one loan to payoff several other loans and or accounts.  The borrower may then have one lower monthly payment that extends over a period of time verus several seperate monthly payments.  The loan taken out is normally secured on property, a house or car for example.

Even though both of these companies are slightly different they are also a lot alike.  They both work to help the client clear the debt owed, in addition they can only help clients with unsecured debts.  Both these companies prefer to work with unsecured debt amounts of 7k and higher.

Unsecured debt is anything that you do not have to put up any material as security for debt.  Some examples are:

• credit cards
• medical bills
• unsecured personal loans
• legal bills

Examples of secured debt are:

• mortgage (house payment)
• car payment
• utility bills

So is there much of a difference between the two?

As more and more consumers are increasingly finding themselves in the unfortunate situation of dealing with higher interest rates and other fees as credit card companies respond to delinquencies, there will be an even bigger opportunity for Debt Consolidation and Debt Settlement Companies to gain market share. This past January, the average debt on credit accounts and fixed-payment accounts such as auto loans climbed to $16,600, up from $15,500 last April, according to the credit reporting agency Experian. Over the same period, the average number of accounts per individual that are overdue by one payment has increased. As gas prices continue to increase, and more people go delinquent, the demand for assistance with debt will increase. Good time to be in the debt consolidation business!

According to a study released by Bankrate, Inc. in February 2008, 66% of Americans say debt is often the result of unfortunate circumstances beyond a person’s control, while 60% say it is usually the result of bad decisions. In addition, 64% of the people polled who carry debt admitted that debt is a cause of worry for them. While there is a difference between bad debt, and good debt, people have more debt than ever before. A combination of bad debt, and increasingly higher debt loads means more people will need of a debt consolidation or settlement solution than ever before. There is currently an open corridor opportunity for the debt consolidation or debt settlement company who can position themselves as the market leader.