Getting debt relief help these days may be a tough task if you don’t know where to look.  You may have considered debt negotiation but the average cost to be in those programs can range from 15% to 17% of the total amount of debt you have.

You may have also considered consolidating your credit cards and other debts into your home mortgage but in order to do that you first need to have good credit and second the refinance cost alone will be average around $3500.

Finally, you have considered bankruptcy, I don’t even really want to go there, but the cost again can be staggering.  In this article I’m going to cover 3 different options to help you get out of debt without spending much or even in some cases nothing at all.

National Foundation For Credit Counseling

The first option is the National Foundation For Credit Counseling.  The company is a non profit credit counseling business that specializes in working with people one on one to help them pay of their debt.

On top of that they have and extensive education system to help people break and change their financial habits.  They will work with anybody by mail, over the phone, online, and in person.

When getting started with the NFCC they will work with you to put a plan together customized to your specific needs.  On top of that they will work with you to help pay back 100% of what you owe.  Finally, they will work with you to help build your credit back up.  To get started check out the NFCC here.

American Consumer Credit Counseling

The next company that will help with debt relief is The ACCC.  This is a company that does a lot of the same things as the NFCC with a few exceptions.  First off their budget and credit counseling services are free.

Second, their debt management program is extremely inexpensive.  The cost to join is $39 for enrollment; they also have a maintenance fee of $4 per account with a minimum of $5 and a maximum payment of $35 a month.

On top of that, the offer a ton of education material from podcast, budgeting materials, and web seminars.  You could say they are the one stop place for helping you get out of  debt.  To get start check out the ACCC here.

My Debt Relief Options

Finally, if you made it here to my debt relief options you may have noticed how much free debt relief help we have available here.  If you’re looking for free information on how to set up your own debt elimination plan, negotiate with your creditors and collection agencies we have it.

You could say My Debt Relief Options is the totally free option when it comes to getting out of debt because we don’t charge one red cent to get the advice most debt companies will charge for.

Today their are many debt relief programs around and a lot of them are claiming that you can get out of debt in no time and all, and they will knock off  up to 90% of your debt owed by creditors.

In this article I am going to give you the reasons why you don’t want to get involved with companies like this and why some debt relief programs are even considered a scam.

Why You Don’t Want To Join

• They take your money.  Once signed up a debt negotiation company will contact all of your creditors and arrange  a deal to pay back a certain amount back.  They will usually require then that you pay them one check every month to cover all of your bills.  The problem with this is that most companies will neglect to pay some of your bills in order to collect their fees.

• They don’t solve the problem.  On of the biggest problems with these kinds of programs are they have no prevention methods to stop you from falling back into debt.  In fact many companies will keep you in their program up to 48 months or longer to get you to keep paying the fees.

• They report negatively on your credit report.  Debt negotiation companies can have a huge effect on your credit score.  When a creditor deals with a debt relief company a lot of times once the debt is paid off it will read either, paid as agreed, or, pay for delete.  This will have a huge negative effect on your credit score.  In order to have this not count against you is should read, paid in full.

• Watch out for the fees.  Finally, the fees are the worse part of the whole program.  The typical fees inside these programs will run around 15% of your total debt you place with the program.  For example, if you placed $10,000 into this program you could expect to pay around $1500 to the debt relief program.

The Reality Of Debt Relief Programs

The reality is that if you did have an extra $100 or $200 a month you wouldn’t need a program like this.  However it’s usually those that are the most desperate who get stuck in a program like this and fall even more in debt once they find out that have just been ripped off.

If you are looking for real help this website is the best place to start, here we have all kinds of informative how to articles to help you out and get started but if that is not an option you may be able to try The National Foundation For Credit Counseling.

This company is the real deal and is also a non profit organization working with individuals to help them get out of debt once and for all.

This post was recently featured in the Carnival of Personal Finance by The Wisdom Journal.

Today there are hundreds if not thousands of debt relief companies available on the internet.  Just type debt relief into Google you’ll see what I mean.  The question is how do you know which one to pick?

In this article I’m going to give all the advice you will need to pick a company that will help you get out of debt once and for all.

What Are The Fee’s

The first thing you should consider is the fees.  Many debt relief programs won’t show their fees on their website or they’ll make them hard to find.  However, the typical rate most companies charge is right around 15% t0 17% of the total amount of debt owed.  This will a lot of times be part of a monthly fee.

The second fee you might also pay is a onetime fee to have a company negotiate your debt for you.  Beware of high fees and charges.  Just because someone is over charging for a service like this doesn’t mean it is worth what they say it is.

How Will The Debts Show Up On Your Credit Reports

Next, you need to consider how the debt will look on your credit report once it is paid off.  This means a great deal to your credit status if you don’t do this right.

Once the debt is paid you don’t want it show up on your credit report as, “Pay for Delete,” or “Paid as Agreed.”  This will show your creditors that you didn’t pay the full debt.

Instead request that your debt read as, “Paid In Full.”  This will show the creditors that you paid the entire balance as required.  Also if they agree to do this make sure you get it in writing before you pay them one iota.

What Will Your Combined Payment Be

When you sign up with a debt negotiation program they will combine your payments of all the debts that get accepted into the program and merge them all as one big payment that you will pay every month.  The question is what will that payment be?

This will be different from company to company.  The best thing do when you’re shopping around is to talk to several companies and have them give you an estimate.

You will also want to ask them how much of the payment you are paying to them each month will go to them.  While every company does this different a lot of them will put their fee’s up front when you’re in the program that way if you bale out later on and don’t finish the program they will have at least got their money.

The down side is this could put your credit score at a huge risk.  Once the debt negotiation company is control they can pay your debts any way they want and if they want to neglect a couple of your payment they will.  Instead ask them how they will subtract their fees and pay your debts once the program starts.  Knowing this beforehand will eliminate some of the headaches like a bad credit report or worse getting calls from collection agencies.

Which Bills And Debts Will Be Included

Whatever companies you choose you need to realize that not all of your debts will be included.  Debts like mortgages, home equity lines of credit and other secured loans are usually never accepted into the program.

It will also vary from company to company to what debts will be included as well.  Some debt negotiation programs won’t be able to negotiate a deal with your creditors while others will.

How Long Will It Take Me To Complete The Program

Next you need to consider how long it will take you to complete the program.  A good debt negotiation company will have you in and out in 48 months or less.

This will obviously be different from company to company but it wouldn’t be a bad idea once you’ve discussed your financial situation with them that you get an estimate of how long it will take you to go through the program.  Then once you’ve decided on a company make sure you get in writing the length of the program.

What Are Their Accreditation’s And Reputation Like

Finally, what are the debt relief programs accreditations?  They should be registered with the Better Business Bureau and D&B listed (Dun & Bradstreet).  Both of these companies can be a great resource to learn more about a company.

They will have detailed info of any complaints they may have received and will also be able to tell you what kind of credit history they have had as well.

You should also take some time to read reviews around the net of the debt company you are considering.  However the web is a free speech environment so be careful of what you consider as true or false.

Articles that run the company into the ground and give no valid reasoning or details should be ignored.  Instead look for articles that give creditable points and ideas.  Also look for reviews from people that have actually used the product, this will give you the best insight.

It’s Time To Choose

OK, are you ready to choose?  I’ve probably left you with more questions than answer, especially if you new to this.  If you’re still looking for more answers or would like to leave some of your own insights feel free to leave a comment.