Even after recovering from a mountain of credit card debt, many people are still afraid they might very well find themselves in the same situation again. If this is your concern, read on to learn more about the different ways to educate yourself and stay debt-free.

Avoiding Debt with Credit Management

You can avoid falling into debt again with consumer credit counseling from a site like http://www.creditguard.org/credit-counseling. You don’t have to be embarrassed that you don’t know how to manage your finances because this is a problem that many Americans have. Many U.S. citizens are struggling with debt, and this is the area that credit management was designed to address.

What Can You Learn in Credit Counseling?

After you sign up with consumer credit counseling, you will learn how to set up a budget so that you are paying all of your monthly bills on time. Developing a good payment history is important for increasing your credit scores, and it will improve your standing in the eyes of future creditors.

With the help of your counselor, you will be able to set goals and learn how you can achieve them. For example, if you would like to set up an emergency fund and contribute to it every month, your counselor will help you determine what your unnecessary expenses are so that you can exchange them for a savings account.

Other Advantages of Counseling

Working with a counselor means that you will learn why it is important to obtain your three major credit reports every year. You will be taught how to ensure that everything is correct on these reports. If not, your counselor will teach you what you can do to fix the errors so that your credit score will increase.

The alternative to obtaining counseling is to continue as you have in the past, but this could mean that you fall back into debt once again. So consider the alternative instead. Now that you have found out how to get out of credit card debt, stay that way with credit management.

Take advantage of debt consolidation programs today to help get yourself out of debt and achieve financial stability. Consolidating your debt consists of finding a debt consolidation program that matches your needs and consulting with a credit counselor. It is a straightforward process that makes a lot of sense when you’re having trouble with debts. Credit counseling professionals will help you through the process every step of the way.

How Credit Counselors Work

Credit counselors can give advice that will last a lifetime. First, they help you set up a budget that makes sense for your income. Whether you have a steady full-time job, work part-time shifts or get disability, unemployment or other government payments, a counselor can help determine how much you can afford. Living within your means is the first step toward financial stability. You don’t want to apply for any more credit cards and get into more debt.  These debt consolidation programs and their credit counselors will help you manage your money and how you use your credit card.

After Receiving Counseling

Once you’ve received your counseling, you will begin the debt consolidation programs from a company like CreditGuard of America. This consists of taking all of your debts and putting them together. Debt consolidation programs work with you and negotiate with creditors to lower your interest rates and reduce your monthly payments so you can afford to service all your debt. You pay the consolidation service one monthly fee, and they pay all of your creditors. This way you don’t have to remember all of your debt payments. Just pay one, and all the rest will be taken care of.

Keep in mind that debt consolidation programs do not offer giving you another loan. The consolidation provider receives access to all of your debts and pays them off on a monthly basis. This improves your credit score because it shows that you are making timely payments to all of your debts. All you have to do is pay the single monthly fee to the debt consolidation programs or credit counseling provider, and they will do the rest. This could finally put an end to inconvenient calls from debt collectors.

Take back your life as you get a better understanding of how to spend your credit with the help from debt consolidation programs.  Don’t waste another minute wallowing in unnecessary debt.  Today is the first day of the rest of your life.  Take advantage of every opportunity in the future by getting out of debt today.

Debt comes in many forms. Sometimes, good people find themselves overwhelmed with both their monthly household bills and their credit card debt. They try to shift money between bills every month, but eventually, everything falls behind. Credit and debt counseling helps people reduce and eliminate their debt and teaches them how to manage their finances, so they can avoid being overwhelmed in the future.

Debt Consolidation

A debt consolidation service helps the client consolidate all their unsecured debts into one convenient monthly payment. The debt consolidator will negotiate with creditors to reduce interest rates and payments and, when possible, waive late fees. Then, the client sends the monthly payment to the debt consolidator who distributes the payment to all their creditors. Working through a debt consolidation program can save debtors thousands of dollars, and debt can be paid off in a matter of a few years.

Credit Counseling

Getting out of debt is the first step; learning how to manage your credit is the second. Credit Guard credit counseling services provide clients with financial management advice related to money management, credit management and other money matters to help them with their future budgeting. Without credit counseling, some debtors quickly find themselves with the same overwhelming debt they just cleared up.

Services

Credit and debt counseling services include:

• A free, no-obligation consultation
• Professional proposal to creditors with reduced payments and interest arrangements
• One monthly payment
• Experienced credit counseling
• Emotional and financial relief

Peace of Mind

The best part about credit and debt counseling is the peace of mind. When payment arrangements are in place, creditors will call the debt consolidator instead of the debtor. Clients will experience reduced stress at having to make only one payment to one company, instead of trying to keep track of multiple payments to different addresses. Knowing that the debt will be paid off in less time than it would be if only the minimum monthly payment was made contributes to that peace of mind.

Who Qualifies?

Anyone with debt problems who wants to eliminate their debt and learn how to avoid debt problems in the future can receive credit counseling services. Credit and debt counseling primarily helps people with unsecured debt, such as credit card debt, collection accounts, medical bills and certain student loans. However, credit counselors are also able to help people manage secured debt like mortgages and auto loans. There is no maximum income level requirement to receive credit counseling services since the payments being made reflect what the client can pay.

If you are looking for help managing your overwhelming debt or want to avoid having financial issues in the future, contact a credit and debt counseling service. They can help you reduce or eliminate your debt and provide you with the tools to avoid overwhelming debt in the future.

According to recent statistics, mounting debt levels are painting a worrisome picture for a comfortable senior retirement. Over the past two decades, the median debt of the average 70-year old has increased by over 100 percent. Increasingly, over a quarter of 70-year olds still have mortgage debt. This figure represents an increase of more than 110 percent in the past 20 years. Also, taking out a reverse mortgage is on the increase for those who have paid off their mortgages in order to meet today’s living expenses and bills.

There are a number of factors increasing debt levels of senior citizens. Executive branch leaders and federal lawmakers have initiated laws to slow the growth of social security benefits and Medicare due to the financial cliff. These enactments lessen the purchasing power of seniors and cause them to be more dependent on credit. Some cannot even afford the co-payments of Medicare and use their credit for medical expenses. Many senior citizens also use their retirement accounts to pay for mounting credit bills. Others have to rely on either their children or grandchildren to make ends meet. Unless many seniors and baby boomers act now, their retirement years will reflect a lower standard of living.

Credit and Debt Counseling Agencies

Often, getting out of debt can be an uphill battle without the help of a professional like Credit Guard. If you’re a senior and struggling with your financial obligations, non-profit credit and debt counseling agencies can help you with debt relief. Don’t worry about the costs of these services; most charge very low fees or no fees at all. With assistance with these types of agencies, you’ll get a certified financial counselor who will evaluate your financial circumstances and help you craft a household budget to help you pay the bills on time and to reduce your debt. These agencies also offer debt-fighting tools, such as workshops on money management and classes on credit management.

If necessary, your financial counselor may suggest enrolling in a debt consolidation plan. With a debt consolidation plan, your unsecured debts like medical bills can be consolidated into one lump sum. This way, you’ll only have one monthly to make. Your financial counselor will also work with your creditors to eliminate any late fees and get lower interest rates. You make one monthly payment to the agency, and your payment is divided amongst your creditors. Over time, you’ll be able to pay off your debts and have more money for a comfortable retirement.

Contrary to popular belief, it is entirely possible to reduce all of the credit card debt you owe to nothing. Before we continue, it is important to note that this type of debt is the most common among citizens and people often spend their entire lives trying to pay them back. One of the main reasons why credit card debt is accumulating in the first place is because of outstanding APR-rates.

For example, some cards have interest rates that can exceed 30%. Fortunately, there are ways to get back on your feet and pay off the debt that you already have. Let’s take a look at some solid advice that you can begin to implement right way in order to completely eliminate credit card debt from your life.

Make More than Your Minimum Payments

The reason we listed this tip first is because paying more than your minimum payment is the quickest way to pay off a credit card. By only making the lowest monthly payment that you can, you’ll only succeed at wasting a lot of time as well as end up paying far more than you should. For example, if your minimum monthly payment for your credit card id $40 then you should pay $75 or $100 every month. This will quickly cut down the amount of credit card debt that you have.

Acquire Low Interest Credit Cards

In order to avoid credit card debt from becoming a problem in the first place, you should try to acquire credit cards with low interest rates. That way, even if you miss a payment, you can easily catch up the following months. It is often those individuals with high interest credit cards that end up accumulating the most amount of credit card debt.

Why does it Work?

One of the main reasons why these techniques work so well is because paying a minimum balance is mathematically the worst way to go about paying off your credit card debt. By paying off just a little bit more, you can quickly cut down on the amount of money that you owe and regain your foothold on your financial situation. As for the second tip, acquire low interest cards will make your payments far easier to work with.

Conclusion

As you can see, credit card debt is something that you can eliminate from your life. However, do realize that it takes persistence, patience, and the willingness to follow the advice given in this article.