Christian Credit Counseling Services – 5 Things You Need To Know Before You Call…
Christian credit counseling services can be a life saver. Especially if you have found yourself in a debt disaster that looks like it is going to steal your future.
You know the signs that it is time to call for credit counseling help, right? But do you know how to maximize the help that your counselor can offer you?
If not, here you go.
There are 5 key pieces of information you need to gather before you talk to your professional consumer credit counselor. All are easy to get and you can even make your appointment and have plenty of time to pull these things together.
1. You need to know your total debt amount. This doesn’t have to be exact, but a close approximation is fine. When your counseling service is contacting your credit card companies they will be able to get the exact amounts.
2. You need to know your interest rates. The closer you are here the better, so grab those bills that you have piling up and go ahead open them up and take a look. If you are anything like me, it isn’t too uncommon to have a couple from each company laying around. Last month’s that I was just getting ready to pay and another one that came too soon for this month.
3. While you have those bills open, make note of your minimum payment. Not necessarily your current minimum payment because it might include late fees and over the limit fees, but what is the payment if you were up to date.
4. You will need to know your other bills, payments and financial obligations that you have. This will be vital in determining your budget and also deciding how much you can afford to pay.
5. And lastly, how much do you make. Take into your total income, but be conservative. There is no use in trying to impress anyone here. If anything you want to go in a little low so that you build a cushion into your budget.
And that’s it.
The 5 pieces of information are enough to help a professional counselor do their thing.
And when they do their thing, you end up debt free. Ahhh… and debt free is good.
Do you have questions?
Drop them in the comments or use the page above. I am glad to hear from you.
Chad
Will Any Christian Debt Relief Program Work For You?
It’s hard for me to know if any Christian debt relief program will work for you… I mean, I don’t know you. But here is a surefire formula for YOU to determine if you will be one of us Christians who finds relief from your credit cards.
Step #1 You have to determine if you bill problems were created by life happening to you (ie. medical, layoff, emergency, ect.) or if you are the source of your financial woes.
If it was life, then that’s easy, skip to step #2.
But if you are the source of your problems, then you have to get you under control. Whether that means counseling or some other money management program, you have to get yourself under control. Otherwise, there is nothing that will help you… sorry.
Okay step #2 Are you willing to work your way out of your money mess? Are you willing to take a second job, learn a new skill that will help you make more money or even find a new job with a higher income? If yes, then you are set. Debt relief is doable.
If not, if you have a lazyness problem. If you are not willing to go the extra mile to get caught up, well, you are probably stuck. Your situation is probably going to get worse and quite honestly, you are wasting your time even dreaming of being debt free.
You should probably get friendly with the collection agencies.
Again, sorry to be harsh, but it really is going to take you working hard to get the solution you want.
I am guessing if you are here, trying to learn, you are willing to put the effort into your future… so good luck and please, let me know how it goes.
Chad
Christian Debt Consolidation Has a Dirty Little Secret and Here It Is…
Christian debt consolidation‘s dirty little secret is that in order to get the relief you are looking for their is one essential step to succeeding. In fact, it really should be in place even before you sign up for any credit counseling or consolidation programs.
So what is it?
A budget!
Eeewwwh. I know. Budgeting is probably the worst part of money management, at least to me. I mean cutting back… no problem. Saving a little for a rainy day… easy. But sitting down to develop a budget that I actual live with… horrible.
And yet, if you want to succeed at consolidating your credit cards or any other obligation that you have… you must take the time to layout a realistic plan to ensure that you are going to be able to keep your new promises.
I mean a consolidation loan is just that, a loan, so if you don’t want to be under even greater stress in six months, you really have to be sure that when all is said and done, you can afford to pay the new consolidated payment that you are agreeing to.
So now you know.
I would suggest that you look for some free counseling and get help setting your budget from a professional counselor. If you pick one of the no obligation services online, you can get their input before you even sign up with them.
Good luck and let me know how budgeting works out for you.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Chad
Christian Debt Consolidation Help is Here… Are You Ready?
Christian debt consolidation help is all over the internet, but how can you know if it is the best option for you?
Well getting into financial trouble is the easy part. It can even be fun, right? It’s the getting out that stinks. So really the main questions you should ask yourself to find out if you are ready to take the next step towards consolidating are these three easy ideas.
First even Christian consolidation doesn’t eliminate your debt. But it does do away with the late fees and the over the limit fees. Unfortunately, you will still have a monthly payment.
So the question is this, Can you afford to make a monthly payments to repay the amount that you owe? Sometime it’s just the overwhelming burden of the harassing fees and phone calls that keeps people from getting ahead. Is that the case for you?
Secondly, If you said yes to the first question, then you have to decide if you are willing to change the habits that led you into your financial mess in the first place. Are you ready to live on a budget, cut out excess spending and commit to living within your means? If not, consolidation will not be able to help you.
Sorry to be so direct, but I went down this road once and it only multiplied my money problems.
Lastly, you have to ask yourself if you are willing to do the work that it take to find a reputable consolidation service. There are companies who are here to help and ones who are there to take your money. If you aren’t willing to sort through the good and bad ones you may be setting yourself up for even more financial trouble.
That’s it.
Are you ready to take the next step on the road to financial health?
Chad
Christian Non Profit Debt Consolidation… How Do You Pick The Best One?
Picking a Christian non profit debt consolidation company can be a daunting task when you are deeply in debt and you are burdened down with the stress of owing more than you can pay.
The good news is that selecting the right consolidation service is not as hard as it seems.
First you must realize that neither “non-profit” nor “Christian” is any indication on the quality of the consolidation program that they can offer. In fact, it’s easy to add misleading terms to your name in order to scam those of us who have gotten in over our heads financially.
Here’s what to look for.
#1 Do your research. Check around online. It is likely that you will find both recommendations and complaints for every company that you come across.
But use your good judgment, are the reviews from people who are just mad because they can’t get a loan to further spend themselves into trouble OR are their legitimate complaints about not being able to contact their representative, mix up in payments or other shady business dealings.
I would say that if more than 2 out of 10 complaints seem justifiably negative, stay away.
#2 Once you have found a couple that seem to match up with the goals you have in mind for getting out of debt, contact them. See who in responsive, who is helpful and who you would most prefer to deal with in the long run.
So that’s the way you can find the best company to consolidate with.
Chad
Christian Credit Counseling – 10 Warning Signs That You Need Professional Help…
Professional christian credit counseling may offer you exactly the education that you need to pull yourself out of the financial tailspin that you find yourself in month after month.
But how do you know when your situation requires a professional consumer counselor to help you with your credit card debt?
Here are 10 warning signs that you may need to get help from the Christian debt counseling services that are available to you.
#1 You are spending too much each month trying to keep up with your bills. In general, if you are spending more than 20% (excluding your housing costs) of your take home pay… it is time to find a credit counselor to get things back into balance.
#2 You are behind more than one month on your mortgage or rent payment.
#3 You can’t even pay the minimum payments each month. This was when I knew I was too deep. That first month that I didn’t have enough money to “move around” from one card to the other.
#4 Your electric, water or other utilities have been shut off.
#5 You and your partner are fighting over money. Normal disagreements happen in all long term relationships, but if the fighting continues month after month, it might be time to get professional help.
#6 A collection agency has turned your case over to the courts.
#7 Your car has been repossessed. When they take your car that doesn’t eliminate your need to pay. Once they sell your car at auction, they come after you from the balance.
#8 You’ve been turned down for credit. If the guys whose job it is to make loans turn you down, there is a problem. You should get help to find relief.
#9 You have bounced checks. This could be a simple to correct problem like learning to balance your account. But it also could be a more serious problem that requires a credit counseling agency.
#10 You start to get those dreaded calls from several creditors. Being behind on one bill is relatively manageable, but the problem grows exponentially the more collectors who are demanding money.
So, if you are under the weight of any of these challenges, one simple and free credit counseling session is all that stands between you and the debt relief you deserve.
As the Bible says, when you don’t know how to do something… get help from those who do (Chad’s paraphrase of Proverbs 19:20 or 11:14).
So what is holding you back from getting the help you need?
Chad