Debt Management

By now, you've probably found out that you can't keep hiding from your past. Admitting that you have a problem is the first step toward making a change. After coming to terms with your debt problems, you should be proactive.

If you choose our debt management plan, we will contact your creditors and have them lower or eliminate your interest rates, reduce your monthly payments, and stop collection calls.

There is a monthly charge for the debt management plan that ranges nationally from $0 to $50, according to income.

Let this debt management tips help rescue you from a haunted past.

* Make a spending plan to document your income and expenses more precisely. Identify those monthly expenses you can eliminate or reduce in order to minimize the accumulation of additional debt and to free up funds to pay down existing debt. Imagine yourself on an emergency budget should you lose your job or suffer a decline in income from such things as fewer overtime hours. What are the bare-minimum expenses you would have to meet and what could you do without?

* Get under control the things that are causing you to go into debt in the first place. Are credit cards the problem? Limit their use or quit utilizing them entirely. Start paying off new charges every month so you don't pile up the principal on which you are paying interest charges. Pay more than the minimum payment.

* Put tax refund, year-end bonuses, or any other extra monthly cash toward your debts. If you do have a tax refund, consider adjusting your withholding in order to free up income sooner. When paying off debts, start with the highest-interest debt first, or the one with the lowest balance so you can feel good about paying off a debt quickly. When it has been accomplished, put the payments you were making on that debt toward the next debt, and so on.

* Consider debt consolidation, but be very cautious. It may make sense to consolidate several high-interest credit cards onto a single lower-rate one, but just be sure you cancel the old cards so you don't rack up new debts on them.