Credit Counseling

What Consumer Credit Counseling Can Do for You

If you have a lot of credit card and consumer debt, keeping up with your payments can be difficult, sometimes almost impossible. It’s a major source of stress in many people’s lives, and unfortunately, some people allow it to take a larger toll on their families than they have to. Not realizing that there are solutions to their financial burdens, they live paycheck to paycheck. Even when they attempt to create a budget on their own, it doesn’t work for any number of good reasons. In short, they fail to take one simple step: asking for help.

Being debt is a challenging situation, but fortunately there is help for those willing to seek it. With assistance from consumer credit counseling services, any number of solutions can be found, enabling you to not only get out of debt, but to get on with your life and even start saving for retirement.

What Kinds of Services Do Consumer Credit Counselors Provide?

Credit counseling agencies offer a variety of services, including budget counseling, money management planning, and free classes about savings and debt management. Many organizations will give you a great deal of information for free, or depending on your circumstances, charge a small fee to get you started on a plan that can turn things around. Debt management plans can significantly improve your financial situation, as can other options provided by consumer credit counselors, such as debt consolidation or debt settlement.

For complete details concerning all the services provided by consumer credit counselors, it’s best to talk to a debt consultant.

Money Management Solutions Through Credit Counseling

When you’re in debt and struggling to make payments, it’s never easy to come up with a budget that actually works. Some people can find a way to manage their money alone for a while, but few who are in debt succeed at this. When credit counselors analyze your expenses for you, they bring professional objectivity to your financial situation and provide expert advice. They can propose changes you may never think of on your own, and they can often work with creditors to come up with new payment plans that you would not be able to arrange on your own.

Most consumer credit counselors have the power to make arrangements with major lenders that allow them to negotiate deals on your behalf. Sometimes they can settle debts for you, or they can consolidate them to make your payments lower.

Credit Counseling and Avoiding Bankruptcy

Because bankruptcy has serious legal and financial consequences, the federal government now requires that anyone considering this route first obtain consumer credit counseling. If you’re thinking about declaring bankruptcy, this is good news, because it means you might be spared from making a difficult and costly legal move that doesn’t always work for every debtor. By meeting with credit counselors in advance, you’ll learn more about your options.

What Happens When You Meet With Credit Counselors Before a Bankruptcy

Organizations will work with you confidentially to find alternatives and various solutions to repaying your debt. Often these solutions will involve strict personal budgeting and money management, or they may entail other arrangements that can prevent bankruptcy. Depending on your circumstances, bankruptcy may indeed be the right option for you, but by meeting with consumer credit counselors first, you might learn that you are able to prevent that costly and more difficult route.

How Do I Get Started?

The first step to getting consumer credit counseling advice and eventually coming up with a plan is to gather as much information as possible about your financial situation. The more information you can gather, the more accurate your free analysis is going to be. Keep in mind that you can initially share information anonymously. If you’re not ready to take action yet, you don’t have to share your identity.

The information you’ll need includes your monthly income and living expenses, your estimated assets, and information about all your secured and unsecured debts. Everyone’s situation is different, and your credit counselor will determine the best approach for you. Once you are ready to proceed, your credit counselors will handle all of your personal information in strict confidence.

How We Got In Debt

As a realtor my income always fluctuated. Sure, I would have a few months with little if any pay, but it seemed that my next paycheck was just around the corner as soon as I wrapped up the next sale.

It wasn’t until the market dried up last year that my job really hurt us. We were used to using our credit cards to make ends meet. We would just pay them off when I got my next big commission check. This time that check never came. I hadn’t sold a home for 9 months and we were over $44,000 in debt and could no longer afford to make the minimum payments…

What We Did About It

With the new laws we knew that filing bankruptcy wasn’t an option for us. A friend suggested we contact Curadebt, a debt negotiation firm. So, we filled out the form for a free consultation and signed up right away. Curadebt negotiated with our creditors on our terms. They saved us over $33,000 and from filing bankruptcy. I have included copies of the letters I received from the negotiation process.

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Capital One Settlement

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Conclusion

We avoided bankruptcy and saved over $33,000 with the help of Curadebt. Life is so different now that we are out of debt. Once again, we have a firm handle on our finances.

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What To Do Now

Head on over to Curadebt for a free, no obligation Debt Consultation.