Getting Into Credit Debt Counseling
If one were to look for a rationale as to why you might need urgent credit debt counseling, you can ask married couples why at some point, they had considered and even attended marriage counseling. They will tell you that like marriage, credit has its checks and balances, and that sometimes the balance becomes so lopsided that it becomes necessary for some kind of intervention like counseling. Under the new bankruptcy reform laws, people who would like to file for bankruptcy are required to undergo credit debt counseling by a government approved organization. But like the point of marriage counseling, an intervention should be about saving or salvaging your finances and not bring you to the point of bankruptcy. Filing for bankruptcy should be your final resort. Credit debt counseling should be the kind of intervention that would not only help you restructure your finances, but give you back the sense of financial balance that you have lost along the way. Some people think (a whole lot based on current statistics) that filing for Chapter 7 is like finding a panacea that cures their bad debt problems when in truth, it just clears the symptoms, but not the disease. Unless you are in a truly desperate and terrible financial situation would you ever consider bankruptcy, but even then, some people do not know their true financial standing and are confused as to what to do to know where they stand.
Credit debt counseling can offer you that opportunity to know where you stand financially as well as give you all possible options on how to go from there. If you are somehow hesitant to dial the number of the nearest credit counseling organization in your area, ask yourself this question; how would you really know that you do need credit debt counseling? Do you feel that you are not disciplined with your finances? Are you the type who cannot work with budgets and that even with the help of one, still make financial errors? Do you feel that your credit debt is out of hand? Do you think that at this point, you strongly feel that expert advice and help is necessary? Do you strongly feel that filing for bankruptcy is one option that you would consider last? If you have said yes to at least two of any of these questions, you are the perfect candidate for credit debt counseling. Aside from the usual questions about your finances and strategies to keep your undisciplined spending in check, the greatest service that credit debt counseling can probably offer is to work with you a feasible and realistic repayment scheme in which you can aside an agreed upon amount from your income as payment for all your credit card debt. This of course will be agreed upon as well by your creditors. You can actually do this yourself, but the advantage of having someone do it for you is that if you are undisciplined to begin with, doing it yourself might not give it a successful outcome. Remember that at this point, agreeing to this is almost like a contract. Depending on the terms that the credit debt counseling organization has set as well as the amount you own, you can pay a minimum of $100 a month spread out over 48 months or so. Keep in mind that a credit debt counseling organization offers its services for a fee. Even when you file for bankruptcy, the credit debt counseling organization that you are required to see will have to charge you fees per sessions as well. |