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What is Credit Counseling and Debt Consolidation?

You are in debt and you don’t know what to do. You’ve stopped answering your telephone but that can’t go on forever. The debt is growing through late fees and over the limit credit card fees. It is time to seek help from a credit counselor.

A credit counselor is charged with the job of helping you with your financial picture. When you are in debt, that picture is a little gray and out of focus. A credit counselor can help you get back on track.

• They do not judge you on the choices you made but instead help you to make better choices from now on. Counseling of this type is designed to change your mind set about your financial situation so that you aren’t sitting in their office again in two or three years.

• A credit counselor must be trained in debt management and counseling by an outside organization. Check with the National Foundation for Credit Counseling to see if the company they work for is listed. Any credit counselor with good references won’t be working for a charlatan.

• Turn to friends or other family members for recommendations. If anyone you know has had to manage their debt with help ask them who they used for credit counseling. You can also turn to your local church community for recommendations. There are a number of Christian credit counselors if you would prefer.

• The first meeting with a credit counselor is usually free of charge. This is the time to lay out your financial problem and see what advice they can give to you. If the credit counselor is worth their salt, they can give you a number of tips in that first meeting.

• Gauge your feelings throughout the meeting. Does what they say make sense to you? The steps you have to take will more than likely be difficult but there should be logic there.

• This person will be helping you deal with a very personal issue and you need to be able to trust him or her. Trust your gut. If the person seems like a flake or too good to be true, try someone else.

• Don’t forget to inquire about their service. Just for the financial advice, there will be a small fee. Some credit counselors give out free budget worksheets and other materials or hold free or low cost classes about debt management.

Credit counseling is designed to help you change your wicked spending ways and get out of debt. A counselor can only advise but if they make sense, work hard to try it their way. A good counselor will help you get positive results.

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