Your Guide To Credit Counseling

Debt is a major problem for many people, and if you don’t get a handle on your personal debt, it will only get worse. Credit counseling is a professional service that can help you get out of debt so that you can live without this burden on your shoulders.

There are many misconceptions about what credit counseling is, so the experts at York Credit Services have put together this guide to clear them up.

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What Credit Counselling Is

Credit counseling, which may also be called financial counseling or debt counseling, is a process that involves credit professionals reviewing your finances and putting together a debt management plan that will help you climb out of debt as quickly as possible.

These experts work to improve your overall financial literacy and give you tools to keep you out of debt in the future.

When you visit a credit counselor, they will answer any questions you have about the available debt reduction strategies, help you identify the best debt reduction strategy for you, give you options on how to eliminate your current debt, assist you with dealing with collections calls, and teach you how

Of course, the actual services you receive will vary from agency to agency, but in general, this is the type of help you’ll get from a credit counselor.

What Credit Counselling Isn’t

Knowing what credit counselors don’t do is as important as knowing what services they provide. In general, credit counselors do not help you repair your credit, immediately eliminate debt, or negotiate settlements with your creditors.

Credit counselors often work for a comprehensive agency that does perform many of these services, so you can usually get assistance with other facets of financial management at the same time, but they will be from different departments.

A credit counselor will assist you with eliminating your debt, but it won’t happen immediately. You and your counselor will work out a debt management plan that will be executed over time, usually lasting between 36 to 60 months.

It will take time to fully emerge from a debt management plan debt free, but your counselor will get you on the path to financial stability as soon as you walk in the door.

Is Credit Counselling Free?

In most cases, you will pay a fee to access credit counseling services. That fee varies from agency to agency and really depends on if you’re using a not-for-profit or for-profit service.

Certainly, your credit counselor’s goal is to help you get out of debt, and while a service fee may not seem congruent with that goal, you will pay a lot less for this service than you will in interest fees and late charges on your debt over time.

Always make sure that you understand a credit counselor’s fees up front before you take advantage of their services. This will help you make the right choice as to which agency you want to work with to get you back on stable financial ground.