Credit Card Debt Problems

Paying off the card with the lowest balance first

Sometimes called “snowballing,” because the effect accumulates and helps you feel like you’re making a lot of progress in a relatively short amount of time. This is where you make all of your minimum payments but you make additional payments to the card with the lowest balance, helping you remove a creditor from your list of monthly payments as quickly as possible. The best way to continue after paying off the first card is to use the full amount of payments that you were making, but applying it to the card with the next lowest balance. This strategy helps you rapidly decrease the required minimum monthly payments for you to pay.

Seeking non profit credit card counseling to help you combine your minimum payments into one manageable payment

When your debts become extremely difficult to manage, or seem like they may take forever to pay off, you can try out a non profit credit card counseling agency to arrange a debt management plan that will help you by combining all of your credit card debts into one low monthly payment. The plan that a credit card counselor will set you up with will usually prevent you from accruing any additional debt, and will give you a definite time when your debts will be fully repaid. For an example of a non profit credit card counseling agency, check out Credability.org

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Credit Cards Debt Settlement

Paying off the card with the highest interest rate first

Continue paying the minimum monthly payment on all of your cards, but allot additional money to be paid to the card with the highest interest rate each month. This strategy technically saves you more money than paying off the card with the lowest balance first, but will typically take longer to start “feeling” like you’re getting results.

While CredAbility already provides counseling to consumers in all 50 states, this acquisition enables CredAbility to expand its face-to-face counseling offices to a fifth state in the southeast. CredAbility already has 28 offices in Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Mississippi.

“This is exciting news for both organizations.” said Suzanne Boas, president of CredAbility. “We provide many of the same services and share the same values. Combining the Compass/CCCS program with CredAbility will enable us to serve additional clients in the southeast.”

“We are pleased that our CCCS program will join a national nonprofit credit counseling agency that can provide our clients with additional services,” said Thomas Bannister, president of Compass of Carolina. “The addition ofCredAbility’s housing counseling services, its 24/7 convenience and its bilingual staff will benefit many residents of upstate South Carolina.”

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Credit Counseling Organization

There are a few different schools of thought on the best way to handle paying off credit card debt when it’s spread out across multiple cards. You can start with the card with the highest interest rate, or the one with the lowest balance first. Some people prefer to combine all of their debts into one manageable monthly payment by working with a non profit credit card counseling organization.

The reasons for the differing opinions are that credit cards tend to vary quite heavily in their interest rates, and total amount owing. You may have one card where your credit limit is in the thousands, and another where it’s only a few hundred. Some people even have ten or more cards of varying amounts at different interest rates.

When you accrue a large amount of credit card debt across multiple credit cards, it can get quite difficult to pay it off. As the monthly minimum payments continue to increase month after month, the debt becomes less and less manageable.

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Debt Consolidation Counselling

Never make minimum payments

One common credit mistaking is assuming you can get by making minimum payments. The less you pay, the more interest you accrue, which leads to a larger balance. Credit card balances can quickly snowball, wreaking havoc on your financial health. The more money you can pay toward your principle balance, the less you will spend on interest. Focus your efforts on the credit cards with the highest interest rates first and work your way down from there.

Avoid late payments
Even a handful of late payments can cause serious damage to your credit score. Lenders use your credit score to determine what type of risk you pose as a potential borrower. While an occasional 30-day late here and there will not significantly lower your score, a series of late payments or severely delinquent accounts can rapidly drop your score. Once your credit is damaged, it is difficult to repair. A seriously low score can take years to recover. Stay on top of your bills and use credit sparingly to avoid getting in over your head. Avoiding late payments is one of the most important parts of making credit and debt management work to your advantage.

At CredAbility, certified counselors help consumers determine whether they can tackle their financial challenges through budgeting and reduced spending, or if the structure of a debt management plan will be more effective.

The key to reclaiming your financial independence is recognizing the need for help and getting it. At CredAbility, certified counselors will help you evaluate your financial situation and find the solution that best suits you. For more information on Debt Management Plans or to talk with a certified counselor about your options for a debt free life, contact CredAbility at 800.251.2227 or online at www.CredAbility.org.

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Debt Management Agency

Not all debt management agencies – or their plans – are created equal. In2005, Congress enacted sweeping changes to existing Chapter 7 and Chapter 13bankruptcy laws. One of the most significant amendments made pre-bankruptcycredit counseling mandatory. Individuals who wish to file bankruptcy must nowpay for a credit counseling course before they can even file a petition. In thewake of these changes, the credit counseling landscape has become overrun byagencies offering credit counseling courses and debt management advice. Many claimthey can help consumers pay down or eliminate debt. In reality, not everycredit counseling agency has consumers’ best interests in mind. With so manyagencies online, it is difficult to sort through the promises to find the best debt management companies. Knowingwhat to look for will help you choose the bestdebt management solution for your individual needs.

Getting into debt can happen to anybody. It can start with a job loss, a medical crisis, a natural disaster or even life in general. No one is immune.

Through our Debt Management Plans (DMP), you can pay off your credit cards, lower your interest rates, eliminate fees and put an end to collection calls - forever. Sound like a plan? Good, because our Certified Credit Counselors can help you get out of debt in four simple steps.

It's free. It's confidential. And all it takes is a couple of minutes. To get out of debt sooner than you think.


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Debt Management Credit Counseling Corp

Consider the company’s public trackrecord

The Better Business Bureau is a public resource that collects objective,unbiased information on businesses and charities. It also investigates consumercomplaints and awards performance ratings to businesses based on a number offactors, including the type of business, number of years active, licensing andgovernment actions, and how a business handles complaints. CredAbility hasearned an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and handles consumer creditcounseling in all 50 states.    

Our mission is to empower people with knowledge and solutions that provide hope and inspire lasting change. Many who come to us for advice are facing overwhelming credit card debt and other obligations such as student loans, car loans, payday loans and more. We take a holistic approach, taking into account all of your expenses, and making sure the budget planning advice you receive from us is personalized to your individual needs.

CredAbility has provided nonprofit credit counseling services to millions of consumers since 1964. Our counselors are certified by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC,) which means they meet exacting ethical, educational and counseling standards. CredAbility is also a Department of Housing and Urban development-approved counseling provider. 

During a budget planning session, you and your counselor will go over your current income and expenses including credit card debt, medical debt, student loans, car loans and any other that may be owed. Afterwards, you will receive a written summary including a recommended action plan. You are under no obligation to take any of the recommended steps. Your budget planning session is completely confidential. We do not report the information to your creditors or your credit report.

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Debt Management Credit Counselor

Many companies emerging these days are claiming that they have the best professional debt management credit counselor. They are professionals alright, but are they really qualified for the job? Do they have the right kind of skills to handle such personal problems, considering that these problems are highly critical and confidential? Do they have the right education to provide debt management advice to consumers? What does it take to become a debt management credit counselor?

Some firms are very strict when it comes to hiring the right kind of people. This is because they do not want to risk the reputation of their company over a so-so professional as a debt management credit counselor. Credability, for instance, a non-profit consolidation company who has been in the service of helping people with debt problems, makes sure that their debt management credit counselors are certified. Meaning, the debt management credit counselor has the license to perform his or her tasks.

Your counseling session is completely confidential. We do not report the information to your creditors or your credit report.

Free Budget Planning Session, No Obligation

During a counseling session, you and your counselor will go over your current budget, including any money owed such as debt from credit cards, medical bills, student loans, car loans and all others. Afterwards, you will receive a written summary including an action plan to move forward. You are under no obligation to take any of the debt advice or recommended credit management steps.

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