Credit Counseling Questions.

 When you find yourself thinking about using a credit counseling service, you need to be very careful. You need someone who will help you, not just some pushy sales associate who wants only to sign you up for their service. The debt industry has grown dramatically as American consumer has taken on an increasing load of debt. This increased competition for debt dollar has attracted some charlatans to industry. You need to be very careful you know with whom you are dealing. You are about to place your financial life in someone else’’s hands. Make sure you have answers to some questions before you do. Then make sure you like answers to your questions. Here are some for starters:

Is counseling agency affiliated with major industry groups? There are two major debt industry groups, The National Foundation for Credit Counseling and Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies. Affiliation with one of these is no guarantee you have a good agency but these groups do have a set of standards which need to be followed, so it is a start. Are there large up front fees? The credit counseling agency will usually charge a small fee to set up your account. They then will charge a fee to administer your plan each month. If a large fee is required to begin your plan, watch out. Some companies have charged large up front fees and then disappeared with clients money. You need to be sure money you are paying is going to your debts and not being syphoned into pocket of your credit counselor. Can you really do that for me? Some credit counseling agencies make unrealistic promises. If statements made seem too good to be true, you need to pin them down. Settling your debts for little money or without harming your credit rating are not realistic. If they insist they can, ask for promises in writing. Chances are they will not be willing to do this if they cannot deliver. If they do put it into writing, at least then you will have something to use for evidence if legal action becomes necessary. Which of my creditors have you worked with in past? You have a list of your creditors. You want to compare it to creditors they have worked with in past. Have they been successful working with your creditors in reducing payments,lowering interest, and eliminating fees? You need to know not all creditors will work with credit counselors. If all, or most, of your creditors have, or will, you should investigate these services further. If not, credit counseling

Any time Is A Good Time To Make Financial Resolutions

The New Year often brings with it a desire to right wrongs in your life. From this desire springs tradition of New Year resolutions. You should take advantage of this to change your financial situation.

There is a good chance by time many of you read this, you will have already made and BROKEN your financial resolutions. Those of you who have not already done so, know they are hard to keep. You can change that. You can make financial resolutions any time of year.

Since you are thinking about this, you must suspect a problem. The first step is defining problem. Define it specifically. "I spend too much money", is not good enough. You spend too much money on what? Why do you spend too much money? It is not often you are speaking of life's necessities here. You need to specifically target your problem areas.

The best way to identify problem areas in your spending, is to pull out your check registers and credit card statements for past twelve months. Write down all checks and charges for items other than necessities. This spending will be your gold to mine.

After making this list, add up total amount of these expenses. This will be a very revealing exercise. For some total will be staggering, especially when done for a twelve month period.