The Bull market which had lasted throughout the 1920s had even led one eminent economist, Irving Fisher, to state that "Stock prices have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau." It seemed at the time that everyone in the nation was obsessed with the stock market and share dealing became the "in thing" to do. Another basic is something you no doubt heard as a child - "never put all you eggs in one basket". It's as true today as it ever was and will be forever no doubt. Of course we all want to be in at the bottom of the latest, greatest stellar investment but to put all your cash into that one stock isn't investing its gambling. This was the Dutch East India Company who issued the first share ever to be sold on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. The Dutch as leaders in this new field soon began to develop some of the financial instruments that we are all still familiar with today. They introduced things such as traded options, short selling, unit trusts and even debt-equity swaps which were revolutionary at the time. In that plan you need to be able to tell them how your bad credit came about. Was it a problem with your job? Was it down to ill health? You also need to explain what has changed now and how you will be able to meet the new payments. Try not to be over optimistic here. And for goodness sake tell them the truth, if you don't they will almost certainly find out and you'll fail. Without this you are not investing but gambling. Let's take an example of the silver markets about 30 years ago. Two brothers Nelson Bunker Hunt and William Herbert Hunt decided to corner the silver market along with some of their business associates. They succeeded in driving the price up to around $54 an ounce before the authorities changed the rules on margin trading. It is not just the reduction in the amount of money they have to find each month that makes debt consolidation loans so appealing to people. Perhaps the greatest benefit of all is the peace of mind such loans can bring. For anyone who has been haunted by the worry of how they find enough money every month to service their debts they can be the answer to their prayers.