Credit Counseling & Advice in Times of Strife

Can you get out of your credit doldrums? A sluggish economy, major education debt, house under water and mounting instalment debt may all say no and there may seem to be no way out. Don't wait till debt gets you permanently down? Plan a great escape.

Investigate credit counselling to see how you can get back on track and live a life with finances you can manage. A good credit counselling service can help you create a workable budget and negotiate with your creditors so that you end up with a solution that you can manage.

Credit Counseling

Individuals experiencing financial difficulty come from many different backgrounds. A good credit counselling service will analyze your situation to find the best possible solution for you. Professionally trained counselors will help you:

* Asses your current financial situation

* Provide you with a detailed report of your income, expenses and assets

* Provide you with social service referrals, educational materials and a Debt Management Plan

Debt Management Program

A debt management program with trained and independently counselors will:

* Asses your financial situation

* Help you to create a budget to help manage your finances and debt

* Work with creditors to obtain a reduction in finance charges, fees and/or monthly payments to make it possible for you to reduce instalment debt.

You can often simplify your monthly unsecured debt obligations. These include: credit cards, merchant cards, unsecured personal loans, collection agencies and credit lines. When you are enrolled into a debt management program your payment can be consolidated.

Some but not all debts can be discharged through bankruptcy. Secured debts like mortgages and student loans are not covered by bankruptcy. ACCC is a Department of Justice approved program that provides the required pre-filing bankruptcy counseling that will enable you and your legal representative to make informed decisions. ACCC is also a Department of Justice approved program providing a post-bankruptcy debtor education course required in order to have your bankruptcy discharged.

Student Debt Consolidation

If you have received student Loans from the Federal Government, you are likely to be eligible for student loan consolidation. This will give you a substantial amount of time to repay your loans and with Income Based Repayment (IBR), you are only required to pay 15% of your discretionary income if your annual income is in a certain range. When you are unemployed or your income is very low you may not need to make any monthly payment at all.