Need Help Getting Out Of Debt?

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By By Herb Weisbaum

Summary

Look for a credit counselor, but be careful.

Story Published: Dec 30, 2003 at 4:31 AM PDT

Story Updated: Aug 31, 2006 at 1:22 AM PDT

Need Help Getting Out Of Debt?
SEATTLE - I don't mean to mean to be a scrooge, but before long those holiday bills will start showing up and that will mean some big financial problems for some families. If you need help, take the time to shop around for a good credit counselor.

"Many credit counseling agencies really don't do counseling anymore, they do debt consolidation plans," points out Travis Plunkett of the Consumer Federation of America (www.consumerfed.org). He says, get hooked up with the wrong credit counselor and you could wind up worse off than when you started. "Our advice is to look for an agency that actually does some counseling; they'll sit down with you, they'll run through your budget, some of them hold classes, they'll try to help you figure out how to spend your money more wisely and how to save more."

One thing you want to be sure to ask about -- fees. You need to find out what they charge to set up the debt management plan and what the ongoing monthly fee is. Plunkett says you shouldn't pay more than $50 for the set up fee and no more than $25 a month. If the agency is vague or reluctant to talk about fees, go someplace else.

By the way, you can check out a credit counselor with the Better Business Bureau (www.thebbb.org).

For More Information:

www.consumerfed.org
www.bbb.org