Non-profit credit counseling organizations are well acquainted in budgeting and debt management. at Freedom Debt Relief , you’ll learn these are two key requisites of someone struggling to make payments on their unsecured debts. If this someone is you then you’re probably wondering how credit counseling can help you.
Well, there are various ways and we’ll name them all below so read on.
What Can A Credit Counselor Do For Me?
A credit counselor will either meet with you in-person or serve you from an office. He/she, after discussing your financial difficulties with you, will tailor make a plan to solve these issues.
A credit counselor will:
- Offer you financial advice
- Engineer a budget for you
- Assist you in obtaining a copy of your credit report
- Arrange a debt management plan
The plan is usually as follows, you make a monthly payment to the credit counseling organization and they make payments to all your creditors on your behalf. In most cases, no negotiations are made to reduce the amount owed. Instead, any negotiations made can be aimed at reducing your monthly payments, extending the payment term, waiving certain fees and lowering interest rates.
You may be asked to close some or all of your credit cards before their proceedings commence. This prevents any further debt; hence quicken your journey to credit card relief.
Finding and Choosing a Credit Counselor
For good credit counselor recommendations visit:
- National Foundation for Consumer Credit Counseling
- Financial Counseling Association of America
- United States Trustee Program
These sites will help you locate a credit counselor in your area. Once this is done, you’ll need to do some thorough research on each credit counselor. Following this, you’ll want to choose a reputable credit counseling organization, that’ll work tirelessly to provide credit card relief.
Your chosen organization should be able to send you free information concerning the organization as well as its services.
You may find asking some of the following questions helpful in your search for a reputable credit counselor:
1. What services do you have on offer?
The ideal credit counselor organization will have various services on offer. If the organization quickly turns to a debt management plan before a thorough examination of your situation, this is a red flag.
2. How do you offer your services?
This may be in person, over the phone or online.
3. How much are the fees?
Get a quote of the price in writing. Though they are non-profit, some organization may deduct a fee from your monthly payment to cover the cost of their services.
4. How are your counselors paid?
It is often a red flag if the employees of the credit counseling organization are paid if you sign up for specific services or if you contribute to the organization.
What Services Do Credit Counselors Offer?
Non-profit credit counselors should be able to assist you with various things such as the following.
Bankruptcy Counseling – This service allows you to reflect on whether filing for bankruptcy is a good choice for you. He/she should tell you all the pros and cons of the decision and what it entails.
Credit Report Reviews – To help you locate any possible errors that may be doing harm to your credit score, the credit counselor may review your credit reports. This will help you find ways to improve your credit score.
Debt Management Plans – These debt management plans allow for debt consolidation, and fee and interest reductions.
Home ownership Counseling – This service is for those ready to purchase a home. They are counseled to make sure they are financially prepared for the act. If you already own a home and are struggling to keep up with payments, a counselor will assist you with loan modifications.
How credit counseling can help you ultimately depends on your situation and needs. If you are someone who often struggles with paying creditors, then this might be the perfect fit for you. Look into it, do your research and get the credit card relief you deserve.
