There are serious credit counseling agencies that rescue people from the deepest financial holes. There are some of such agencies that just shovel in more dirt. How do you tell them apart?

How to Recognized A Reliable Credit Counseling Agency

__Member Of The Better Business Bureau
A good and serious Credit counseling agency should have a BBB logo and a link to their record on the Better Business Bureau website on on the website of the agency.

__Accreditation
Reputable credit card counseling debt services will be accredited by an independent nonprofit, just as many schools are. One such accreditation body is the National Institute for Financial Counseling Education.

__Fees
The fees charged by a good counseling agency is usually around $30. A few of them also charge a fee upfront, though this fee should be reasonable (around $50 tops). It may be possible to get a hardship waiver of these fees if you truly do not have the $30-50.

__Clear Application
The application must clearly indicate what the fees to be paid are, what the services to be offered, and in what timeframe all of this will be provided.

__Reasonable Promises
Stay away from any organization that proposes to “wipe out” your debt for you, rather than simply helping you to repay the debt. Short of your creditors just deciding to forget about the debt (unlikely), there is no way to eliminate debt–even bankruptcy leaves a huge mark on your credit report for ten years.

True, your car may not go missing from your driveway if you stop paying unsecured debt (i.e., debt that is not “secured” with collateral, like most credit cards, unlike most auto loans). But you are still legally obligated to pay the debt, and the possibility of being taken to court will loom over you. You will likely be unable to get even “bad credit” financing if you still have debts in collections–good luck buying a car or house.

Not Necessarily Signs of a Reliable Agency
XX Nonprofit Status
Nonprofit status is not a government endorsement of a group’s mission but rather essentially a tax designation. There are many of near-fraudulent credit counseling agencies that are registered nonprofits.

XX Respectable Name
Any group can put words like “Alliance,”"National,” “Assistance,” and other trust-inspiring words in their name. But ,remember,a name is just a name. You have to make sure to check any organization against the list above to make sure they’re reliable. Also search for the group’s name on a search engine. Don’t just look for a lack of negative reports–that might just mean the group changed names recently. Instead, look for positive reviews from real people, and preferably mention on reputable third-party websites, such as news sites.

Ready to find a credit counseling agency then just use the checklist above, and you’ll have no trouble separating the saints from the scams.

Remember when you were young and so happy when you got that first credit card in the mail? Getting a Credit card is kind of a right of passage in today’s society, and heaps of folks can recollect the feeling of power and exhilaration they got when they managed to score that first tiny piece of plastic. In truth, having a credit card truly is nearly a prerequisite if you are going to build a good credit report and have the buying power you want when it comes time for major purchases such as a vehicle or house.

Unfortunately, that joy that came with that first card is probably long past by now; in fact, you probably throw away many card offers that come, unsolicited, to your mailbox each month. In addition, you may be one of the millions of people who dread paying all that interest and all those charges each month and would like nothing less than to figure out a way to eliminate credit card debt – or at least reduce it quite a bit.

There are several options you can choose from when deciding the way to eliminate card debt. You can do it yourself, hire professionals to help, or wipe out the debt totally through bankruptcy.

Obviously, the least costly way is to do it yourself. Here’s a plan that works for a lot of folks ; it worked for me when I got sick of paying for my car and wished to be rid of that car payment. This is what I did:

I sat down and took a good hard look at my income and my outgo. Then, I made a plan. For each unsecured debt ( visa cards and a signature loan, in my case) I had, I commenced paying only the minimum due each month. Then, I took all the cash I could find and applied it to my car payment. I paid everything, kept terribly small to spend, and sent the rest to the bank. Every once in a while, I did not even spend the entire amount I kept aside, and when that occurred, I sent in an additional payment that month. It took me about a year, but by doing that, I cut off over 2 years of vehicle payments.

After seeing my success, I made up my mind to do a similar thing with my credit cards and signature loan. I then took all the cash I had been paying for the vehicle payment (that was now gone), and started applying it to one credit card. I chose the one with the smallest balance as it made me feel good to see the balance go down seriously. It probably makes more sense to start with the one with the highest interest rate, but I found I required the encouragement. In four months, that card was zeroed out, and I started on the next one. I kept going until all the cards were paid off, except one, on which I kept a small balance. This strategy needs diligence, but the rewards are incredible.
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For further information on ways to help your debt situation visit this site on ways to Reduce Credit Card Debt

Or visit these other great resources at Reduce Credit Card Debt and Reduce Credit Card Debt

Getting cash can be hard when credit markets dry up. In today’s financial market, fewer lenders are willing to offer financing to individuals and small businesses. The amount of credit that people have is being diminished as many credit card companies have been decreased the limits that they are offering to their members. If you need cash, one option that you may not be aware of is the signature loan.

Signature loans are unsecured debt obligations that lenders make available. However, since these types of loans are not secured by any collateral, they tend to be more expensive than traditional loans that are collateralized. If you are one of the many people who has a poor credit score, this is especially true for you. Lenders have become extremely selective as to who they are willing to loan money to. People with very poor FICO scores will find it very hard to get a loan. And if they are able to obtain financing, they will likely have to pay a significant interest for this privilege.

If you need a loan, there are several key points that you need to consider.

Lenders always want to know your credit score. Your credit score, also known as your FICO score, is a key determinant of your borrowing requests. The higher your FICO score, the better your chances are of obtaining a loan, and a reasonable interest rate.

Since signature loans are not backed by anything, the lenders want to know who the borrower is. Probably the best place to look for a signature loan is at the bank that you currently have an account with. Along with your FICO score information, these lenders will have a good understanding as to your cash flow situation and your ability to repay your debts.

Since there are no collateral securing signature loans, these loans are considered high-risk debt obligations. Loans that are deemed to be high-risk loans tend to be more expensive. These expenses are usually loan initiation fees and above average interest rates. The interest rates on signature loans can be exorbitant. Sometimes, the interest rate on these types of loans exceeds that which you would pay on your credit card.

Don’t forget to consider the fees and interest that you will have to pay when you borrow money. When making your borrowing decisions, especially for loans with bad credit, weigh these expenses carefully. Make certain that the overall expense is worth your while. If you are unable to repay your loan, you will further adversely impact your credit rating.

If you are able to be able to procure a signature loan, the likelihood is that the repayment period for the loan will be very short Sometimes, these loans are for people just trying to make ends meet until their next payday. As such, these loans may be for a month. Typically, as with interest rate, the better one’s FICO score, the longer the loan repayment period will be.

Potential lenders want to have a high probability that the borrower will have the cash on hand to repay the loan. So, along with one’s FICO score, lenders also have other metrics that they use when considering whether or not to make a loan. They will consider a potential how much debt a borrower currently has as compared with their income level. Lenders like to see this ratio of debt to income below 35%. The lower the ratio is, the more likely a lender will be to loan money to a potential borrower. A simple rule of thumb is that your outstanding debt should be no more than one third of your annual income.

If you are in need of cash, signature loans may be your best option. However, as with anything, be careful about whom you deal with. Contactreputable lenders. Check with friends or colleagues for recommendations.

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