Credit counseling agencies offer debt management programs that can you get back on track.
They exist to help people when they are at their most desperate in their financial situations.
Their purpose is to negotiate with your credit card companies to get a lower interest rate on your credit cards.
This will ultimately allow you to pay a lesser amount each month and can help you get back on your feet.
They can also negotiate options where late payment fees and over-limit fees are wiped off your record.
This last item usually happens after you have been making consistent payments for 6 months or more.
To have a successful experience with a debt management program, you need to have enough income to pay your bills and not miss a payment to the credit counseling service.
This is another form of debt consolidation as it consolidates all your credit cards into one payment which is then paid to the credit agency helping you, who in turn makes your payments to your outstanding credit card companies.
If you make it through the program successfully, you will find that all of your debt is paid off and your creditors will appreciate the fact that you have paid off your accounts.
You will be required to close your credit card accounts; however, this may be a wise decision.
After a period of time has passed, you will be able to get a new credit card - just remember the warnings.
If you have ever made late payments or had over-limit fees, your credit card companies have probably raised your interest rate as high as they are allowed to.
They now consider you to be a credit risk.
This means that your rates could be as high as 28-32%.
If you are in a debt management program, you will be able to have those high rates lowered substantially - probably in the 6-8% category.
This is a reasonable expectation when working with a debt management program.
Be advised that it can take a long time to pay off all your debt through a debt management program.
There are faster options, such as bankruptcy or debt negotiation, but joining a program can be more emotionally heartening and you will get the results you seek.
Another important factor in using a debt management program is the effect it will have on your credit report.
It will show as a negative mark and will stay there for up to 10 years.
As you start making steady payments, you will be slowly rebuilding your credit and your score will start to rise.
This, however, takes time.
A final note, make sure before joining any type of program, that it offers the services you need.
They exist to help people when they are at their most desperate in their financial situations.
Their purpose is to negotiate with your credit card companies to get a lower interest rate on your credit cards.
This will ultimately allow you to pay a lesser amount each month and can help you get back on your feet.
They can also negotiate options where late payment fees and over-limit fees are wiped off your record.
This last item usually happens after you have been making consistent payments for 6 months or more.
To have a successful experience with a debt management program, you need to have enough income to pay your bills and not miss a payment to the credit counseling service.
This is another form of debt consolidation as it consolidates all your credit cards into one payment which is then paid to the credit agency helping you, who in turn makes your payments to your outstanding credit card companies.
If you make it through the program successfully, you will find that all of your debt is paid off and your creditors will appreciate the fact that you have paid off your accounts.
You will be required to close your credit card accounts; however, this may be a wise decision.
After a period of time has passed, you will be able to get a new credit card - just remember the warnings.
If you have ever made late payments or had over-limit fees, your credit card companies have probably raised your interest rate as high as they are allowed to.
They now consider you to be a credit risk.
This means that your rates could be as high as 28-32%.
If you are in a debt management program, you will be able to have those high rates lowered substantially - probably in the 6-8% category.
This is a reasonable expectation when working with a debt management program.
Be advised that it can take a long time to pay off all your debt through a debt management program.
There are faster options, such as bankruptcy or debt negotiation, but joining a program can be more emotionally heartening and you will get the results you seek.
Another important factor in using a debt management program is the effect it will have on your credit report.
It will show as a negative mark and will stay there for up to 10 years.
As you start making steady payments, you will be slowly rebuilding your credit and your score will start to rise.
This, however, takes time.
A final note, make sure before joining any type of program, that it offers the services you need.