If you are in debt, and who isn't, you may find that at some point in time you would benefit from the services of one of the many credit counseling agencies that abound in every city and state. The fact of the matter is that we are a nation of debtors for the most part and many of us find that we are slaves to interest rates. The beauty of working with a legitimate credit counseling service is that they will contact your creditors on your behalf and negotiate a lower interest rate for your debts. It is important to keep in mind that while many may charge a nominal fee for their services; most of them earn the bulk of their money in fees (much like commissions) earned from the creditors they are working with. In other words, the creditors are
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Over time paying a lower interest rate can save a huge chunk of change. Some credit counseling companies will even work things out so that you write one check to them each and every month and they handle the payments to your creditors. This works very well for many people who have trouble remembering to mail 5 or ten payments each month or prefer writing one check for easier record keeping. This also helps to insure that your payments are made on time each month. Creating a history of on time payments over time will go a long way towards drastically improving your credit score. There are some drawbacks for this type of service. First of all, the accounts that you register will most likely be closed so you can no longer charge these items. You are also not allowed to open new charge accounts while you are using this service. Credit counseling is a valuable service, particularly in today's economy but there is a price to pay for saving your credit. You must be committed to the credit counseling program and willing to do what is necessary in order to eliminate your debt, while establishing responsible spending habits. Establishing good habits of responsible spending while in credit counseling can help you keep your debt manageable for the rest of your …show more content…
So which one is right for you? Well, that is more of a subjective question. Why should you get your credit score monitored? Well, that is a much easier question to answer. One day, this author stepped into a mall store with his girlfriend, preparing to do some shopping together. He pulled up to the counter, very suave, and pulled out his credit card. The retail associate was happy to swipe all the items to a top-dollar customer, as he rang up the total. Not too pricey. Yet, the next words that came out of the employee's mouth would shock him into realization: "I'm sorry sir, your card has been denied." In a society that glorifies wealth and the importance of the dollar, it is hard to learn that one has no power to do anything. The author of this piece quickly went home to discover his balance was full up to 40$ worth of free credit. Now, had he been more intelligent and signed up for a credit monitoring service, perhaps that embarrassing crash into reality wouldn't have been necessary at all, would it? Credit monitoring is so essential to the average card user, yet most don't even know it. In fact, 10 million Americans (about 1 in 300) had their identities stolen. Those with credit monitoring had their prices of debt dropped significantly (some even insure up to 1 million dollars in damages). Constant daily email updates can keep one alert on any changes to
Over time paying a lower interest rate can save a huge chunk of change. Some credit counseling companies will even work things out so that you write one check to them each and every month and they handle the payments to your creditors. This works very well for many people who have trouble remembering to mail 5 or ten payments each month or prefer writing one check for easier record keeping. This also helps to insure that your payments are made on time each month. Creating a history of on time payments over time will go a long way towards drastically improving your credit score. There are some drawbacks for this type of service. First of all, the accounts that you register will most likely be closed so you can no longer charge these items. You are also not allowed to open new charge accounts while you are using this service. Credit counseling is a valuable service, particularly in today's economy but there is a price to pay for saving your credit. You must be committed to the credit counseling program and willing to do what is necessary in order to eliminate your debt, while establishing responsible spending habits. Establishing good habits of responsible spending while in credit counseling can help you keep your debt manageable for the rest of your …show more content…
So which one is right for you? Well, that is more of a subjective question. Why should you get your credit score monitored? Well, that is a much easier question to answer. One day, this author stepped into a mall store with his girlfriend, preparing to do some shopping together. He pulled up to the counter, very suave, and pulled out his credit card. The retail associate was happy to swipe all the items to a top-dollar customer, as he rang up the total. Not too pricey. Yet, the next words that came out of the employee's mouth would shock him into realization: "I'm sorry sir, your card has been denied." In a society that glorifies wealth and the importance of the dollar, it is hard to learn that one has no power to do anything. The author of this piece quickly went home to discover his balance was full up to 40$ worth of free credit. Now, had he been more intelligent and signed up for a credit monitoring service, perhaps that embarrassing crash into reality wouldn't have been necessary at all, would it? Credit monitoring is so essential to the average card user, yet most don't even know it. In fact, 10 million Americans (about 1 in 300) had their identities stolen. Those with credit monitoring had their prices of debt dropped significantly (some even insure up to 1 million dollars in damages). Constant daily email updates can keep one alert on any changes to