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One of the biggest problems we have at the moment is the fact that our credit card payments are too high. With the level of debt that we have to pay back, our minimum credit card payments total $800 every month, spread over four credit cards ($200 each). If we’re ever going to have any chance to afford our monthly mortgage payment so that we can save our house, we have not choice but to lower our monthly credit card payments.

While we could probably call each individual credit card and beg for forgiveness and for a lower payment – the odds are pretty good that they won’t care.

So yesterday, I did some research on the internet and found several credit management counseling services that claim to be able to help. I’ve heard some are scams – so I’ve done the appropriate research and I’m sharing what I learned here.

According to http://www.consumerjungle.org – people who are overwhelmed by credit card debt and are desperate for help are often susceptible to fraudulent credit counseling services that offer to solve their problems. These services scam people by claiming to be a non-profit and claiming to be able to pay off your debts. Instead, they take thousands of dollars from people who are already hurting financially.

“A legitimate organization will go over all of your debts with you and try to get you on a budget to control your finances. If you’re past the point of needing a budget, a legitimate organization will negotiate with creditors on how much you can pay them, and they’ll create a debt-management plan for you. A legitimate organization will not charge you thousands of dollars up front. Most only charge a monthly fee of $15 to $20 a month.”

The four services I found are the following:

1) http://www.myfinancialgoals.org

2) http://loanforums.biz/

3) http://www.careonecredit.com

4) http://www.cccsnh-vt.org/

American Financial Solutions (http://www.myfinancialgoals.org)

From their website:

“Once your counselor has gathered together as much information as possible about your current situation, they will develop and action plan for you to follow in order to reach your financial goals.  This plan may be a combination of several solutions available to you including referrals from our resources center, payment strategies, or a Debt Management Plan.”

The above organization looks to be a legitimate one that would probably help put together a plan and contact creditors to reduce monthly payments.

Loan Forums (http://loanforums.biz/)

This website and company doesn’t really share a lot of information about itself. The website has somewhat of a “cheap” feel to it – it is professional, but it feels like a website of a “get-rich-quick” sort of scheme. They also have a section that appears to offer services that claim to solve all kinds of financial problems from getting a home equity loan with poor credit to debt counseling. It may be legitimate, but I don’t get a very good feeling from the website.

Care One Credit Counseling (http://www.careonecredit.com)

This website is very professional and they offer several options to debt management that seem to make sense, including a Debt Management Plan that reduces monthly payments if consumers agree not to take on more debt, or a Settlement plan where a portion of the debt is paid back to creditors over time. This company appears very legitimate, although I can’t find what payments they required – if there’s any upfront or not. But it appears to be legitimate.

Consumer Credit Counseling Service (http://www.cccsnh-vt.org/)

There is apparently a CCCS for every state, and the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (http://www.nfcc.org/) recommends CCCS from their website.

The CCCS for New Hampshire and Vermont website is up front about how much they charge right on their website:

“Confidential, low-cost debt repayment plans (fees are on a sliding scale, averaging $25 per month)”

I get a very good feeling reviewing the CCCS website…and so after looking at all of these, I think that we’re going to go with CCCS. 

I’m going to give them a call and see what they can do to help us cut our budget so that we can afford these payments and stop the debt collectors from calling. I’m not sure what to expect – but we really have no choice…if we don’t do this, we’re going to lose the house.

I’ll call today, and will report what I learn on this blog!

 – Reducing Payments

One of the biggest problems we have at the moment is the fact that our credit card payments are too high. With the level of debt that we have to pay back, our minimum credit card payments total $800 every month, spread over four credit cards ($200 each). If we’re ever going to have any chance to afford our monthly mortgage payment so that we can save our house, we have not choice but to lower our monthly credit card payments.

While we could probably call each individual credit card and beg for forgiveness and for a lower payment – the odds are pretty good that they won’t care.

So yesterday, I did some research on the internet and found several credit management counseling services that claim to be able to help. I’ve heard some are scams – so I’ve done the appropriate research and I’m sharing what I learned here.

According to http://www.consumerjungle.org – people who are overwhelmed by credit card debt and are desperate for help are often susceptible to fraudulent credit counseling services that offer to solve their problems. These services scam people by claiming to be a non-profit and claiming to be able to pay off your debts. Instead, they take thousands of dollars from people who are already hurting financially.

“A legitimate organization will go over all of your debts with you and try to get you on a budget to control your finances. If you’re past the point of needing a budget, a legitimate organization will negotiate with creditors on how much you can pay them, and they’ll create a debt-management plan for you. A legitimate organization will not charge you thousands of dollars up front. Most only charge a monthly fee of $15 to $20 a month.”

The four services I found are the following:

1) http://www.myfinancialgoals.org

2) http://loanforums.biz/

3) http://www.careonecredit.com

4) http://www.cccsnh-vt.org/

American Financial Solutions (http://www.myfinancialgoals.org)

From their website:

“Once your counselor has gathered together as much information as possible about your current situation, they will develop and action plan for you to follow in order to reach your financial goals. This plan may be a combination of several solutions available to you including referrals from our resources center, payment strategies, or a Debt Management Plan.”

The above organization looks to be a legitimate one that would probably help put together a plan and contact creditors to reduce monthly payments.

Loan Forums (http://loanforums.biz/)

This website and company doesn’t really share a lot of information about itself. The website has somewhat of a “cheap” feel to it – it is professional, but it feels like a website of a “get-rich-quick” sort of scheme. They also have a section that appears to offer services that claim to solve all kinds of financial problems from getting a home equity loan with poor credit to debt counseling. It may be legitimate, but I don’t get a very good feeling from the website.

Care One Credit Counseling (http://www.careonecredit.com)

This website is very professional and they offer several options to debt management that seem to make sense, including a Debt Management Plan that reduces monthly payments if consumers agree not to take on more debt, or a Settlement plan where a portion of the debt is paid back to creditors over time. This company appears very legitimate, although I can’t find what payments they required – if there’s any upfront or not. But it appears to be legitimate.

Consumer Credit Counseling Service (http://www.cccsnh-vt.org/)

There is apparently a CCCS for every state, and the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (http://www.nfcc.org/) recommends CCCS from their website.

The CCCS for New Hampshire and Vermont website is up front about how much they charge right on their website:

“Confidential, low-cost debt repayment plans (fees are on a sliding scale, averaging $25 per month)”

I get a very good feeling reviewing the CCCS website…and so after looking at all of these, I think that we’re going to go with CCCS.

I’m going to give them a call and see what they can do to help us cut our budget so that we can afford these payments and stop the debt collectors from calling. I’m not sure what to expect – but we really have no choice…if we don’t do this, we’re going to lose the house.

I’ll call today, and will report what I learn on this blog!