Finding the Right Debt Counsellor for You

04-Apr-2008

A debt counsellor provides advice on debt management issues, and they often help by reducing your debt significantly and by helping you work towards becoming debt-free. Many provide the advice for free, charging you only once you decide on a plan of action that involves further use of their services. For example, if a debt counsellor advises you to consolidate your debts and you follow their advice, they will then charge you for the consolidation products that they sell you. You can choose how much you would like the debt counsellor involved in your financial life, ranging from using a free phone helpline or free on-line survey to hiring their services as a debt negotiator. If you indeed choose to use a debt counsellor, do your homework to make sure that they are licensed and reputable. Often, your creditors can refer you to a qualified debt counsellor.

Debt Management News reports that ?one in ten [people is] living beyond their means? and that ?in the past six months around five million people have missed monthly payments on credit cards.?  Clearly, people are overwhelmed by their financial situations and seem not to be able to free themselves without help. A debt counsellor, as a more or less detached third party, can give you the calm advice that you need, and can follow up with practical products. Generally they will begin with an overall look at your current financial state. They may then suggest that you allow them to work on your behalf, contacting your creditors to negotiate. Most often, if your creditors oblige, you will stop making payments to your creditors, and instead you will make payments to your debt counsellor?s company. They will in turn hand the money over to your creditors. Often, these payments are much more manageable; however, you must remember that you will pay in the end for this relaxed schedule.

If all you need is a someone to take an unbiased look at your finances, then contacting a debt counsellor service may be all you need to get your financial life together. And if you find that you need more in depth help, a debt counsellor can point you in the correct direction.