Find your way out of debt with credit and debt counseling
When you’re feeling weighed down by all the debt in your life, credit and debt counseling may be the answer.
Most Americans today carry a significant amount of debt – the average household carries $8,000 in credit card debt alone. As your debt grows, it can be more difficult to make a dent in your balances, and emergencies and unexpected expenses only make matters worse.
If you feel your situation is out of control and you’re unable to see a way out, credit and debt counseling services can provide you with strategies, tools, and support. Credit counselors with nonprofit agencies offer free sessions where they evaluate your situation and you can learn about your options to make a plan to get out of debt.
When you’re ready to take advantage of the benefits of credit and debt counseling, American Consumer Credit Counseling (ACCC) can help. As a nonprofit agency, we offer free counseling and low-cost services to provide you with the knowledge, tools, and options you need to take back control of your finances.
The benefits of nonprofit credit/debt counseling
When you’re considering credit or debt counseling, it’s wise to choose a non-profit credit counselor over a for-profit debt relief agency. Non-profit counselors are certified financial professionals who are devoted to helping consumers like you to understand their financial situation and their options for dealing with it. Non-profit credit/debt counseling is usually offered free of charge or at very low cost. Credit counseling companies will often provide free educational materials and financial tools that can help you improve your knowledge of money management.
In contrast, for-profit debt relief agencies earn their revenue through the fees they charge you, which can be substantial. For-profit companies engage in debt settlement and debt consolidation strategies that may not be in your best interest. In fact, these approaches sometimes leave consumers with even more debt as well as legal trouble and a ruined credit rating.
Before you choose a credit/debt counseling agency, be sure to take advantage of a free credit counseling session with a non-profit credit counselor. That way you’ll have all the information in your hands before you make your decision.
Credit and debt counseling from ACCC
At ACCC, we been providing financial education and debt management solutions to consumers since 1991. We offer credit counseling, debt management, budget counseling, and other services to help individuals and families solve their financial issues and make a plan to live debt-free.
We offer free credit and debt counseling services that let you take advantage of the expertise of certified credit counselors. Our counselors are professionally trained to help with a wide range of financial issues. As your first meeting, we’ll help you get a clear picture of your situation and identify the causes of your financial trouble. Your counselor will share the pros and cons of different approaches and present you with personalized options based on your financial goals. Ultimately, we’ll help you create a budget and choose an approach for paying down your debt that works best for you.
At ACCC, we also offer access to many educational materials and financial tools that can help to make you a more informed consumer. You’ll learn about the kind of financial habits that can help you avoid debt in the future. And you’ll pick up strategies for everything from budgeting for household finances to saving for retirement.
How debt management plans work
For many consumers, a debt management plan is the most effective path out of debt. Debt management plans are designed to simplify your finances, consolidate your debt payments and commit to a budget you can live with as you pay down your debt.
With a debt management plan, you’ll make one payment each month to ACCC rather than paying your creditors individually. We’ll be responsible for using that money to pay each of your creditors on time. We’ll also work with them to seek possible reductions in the interest rates on your credit cards and loans, and to eliminate things like finance charges, over-limit fees, and late fees. We can also work with your creditors to change the terms of your debt, giving you more time to pay it off and lowering your monthly payment amounts.
When you get debt management help with ACCC, your financial life will be much simpler – you’ll have just one payment to make each month on your debts. And you’ll know that anytime you have questions, you can turn to our team at ACCC for help and support.
Why choose credit counseling with ACCC?
Thousands of individuals and families across the country have made their way out of debt with help from ACCC. When you choose ACCC for nonprofit debt management and credit card counseling services, we promise to provide you with:
- Assistance based on 30 years of experience
- Expert advice from certified and professionally trained credit counselors
- Free credit counseling sessions to evaluate your situation, consider options, make a budget, and prepare a plan to get out of debt
- Low-cost debt management program fees – we are proud that our fees are among the lowest in the industry. We can also waive or reduce fees for financial hardship.
- Free educational materials and financial tools
- Bilingual services in English and Spanish
- Counseling offered in person or over the telephone
- Superior customer service from a team that cares about you and will work with you until your problems are solved
- A proven track record – we are accredited with the Better Business Bureau with an A+ rating, and we are member of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC).
FAQs: What is credit/debt counseling?
What is credit/debt counseling?
Credit/debt counseling is a service provided by certified financial professionals for consumers who need help managing their debt or credit issues. Credit and debt counselors can provide guidance and education about managing and repairing credit, dealing with debt and handling a variety of other financial issues. Reputable non-profit agencies will typically offer credit counseling services free of charge, along with low-cost debt management plans that can help consumers pay down debt over time.
What are the advantages of debt counseling?
Credit counselors are experts at understanding your financial situation and helping you develop a plan to manage it. Credit/debt counseling may also include access to free educational materials that can help you learn more about money management and about ways to develop healthy financial habits.
