Freedom Debt Management - Finding Financial Freedom

Consumer debt can hit you all at once or creep up on you over time. Either way, it can take over your life and trying to sort it out can be overwhelming. Freedom Debt Management is a reputable non-profit credit counseling company that can help you put your debt in perspective and put together a plan to become debt free.

If you have found yourself buried in consumer debt, you may be wondering how it happened so quickly.  As with all for-profit businesses, credit card companies are out to make money.  They make money in a few ways but there are two primary ways that most impact consumers: interest and late fees. Because the credit card companies wants to make as much of a profit as possible, they often set low minimum payments, which if made, will force you to make payments over a longer period of time, resulting in you paying larger amounts of interest.  For example, if you make the minimum payments on a $3,000 balance with an 18% interest rate, it will take you 222 months to pay it off – that is almost 19 years!  And, it will cost you over $3,600 in interest – more than the original balance.  This can make a relatively small credit card amount seem nearly insurmountable.

Late fees also add up quickly and tack onto your balance.  In 1996, the Supreme Court ruled that banks could charge as much as they want in fees.  The average late fee is currently around $30.  Because these late fees are a primary source of income, banks are far less likely to forgive late payments or waive these fees.  If you are finding yourself hit with late fees on a regular basis, and you are finding even your minimum payments to be overwhelming, it may be time to seek out a credit counseling company, like Freedom Debt Management. 

Freedom Debt Management, Inc may be the Answer

Freedom Debt Management offers several services to help you manage your debt.  In addition to a free online money management course, they also offer credit counseling, budget counseling, credit report analysis, and debt consolidation.  All of their credit counselors are trained professionals and the company has obtained the highest rating from the Better Business Bureau.

Gaining financial freedom often requires a major change in behavior; however, getting out from under old debt is also necessary to move ahead. One of the options offered by Freedom Debt Management is debt consolidation through a debt management plan (DMP).  (See Debt Consolidation Quote.) You and your credit counselor sit down together and look over all of your debt, including credit cards, student loans, medical bills and other unsecured loans (DMPs generally do not include mortgages or car loans) and come up with a set amount per month that you can reasonably afford. The credit counselor then communicates with your debtors to negotiate lower interest rates or waive fees. You deposit the agreed upon total amount into an account each month, and then the credit counselor uses this money to make payments on your loans.

Your Preparation and Commitment

Entering into a debt management plan requires some preparation and commitment. Before your consultation with the credit counselor, contact all of your creditors and get accurate information on balance owed, current minimum payment, current interest rate, and any fees that have accumulated. Other important information to have is your income, amounts of other mandatory monthly payments, and estimates of any other regular expenditures. Bringing this information with you to your consultation will help your counselor develop a plan that is manageable and feasible. Finally, be honest with your counselor. Although finding yourself in debt can be embarrassing, keeping information from your credit counselor may just lead to a plan that doesn’t work for you. Also See Chistian Debt relief programs.

Making timely payments on your DMP is crucial to reducing your debt. Any late payments could result in you being discharged from the program and losing the benefits of being on the DMP, such as lower interest rates or waived fees. In addition, even creditors that had previously waived late fees or forgiven late payments may be either unwilling or unable to do so once you have enrolled in a DMP. It is also important to carefully review each monthly statement to ensure that your creditors are being paid properly, and to notify your credit counselor immediately if you realize that someone has not been paid.

Freedom debt management inc and other similar companies, provided they are reputable, have the power to help you manage your debt and find financial freedom. With their expertise and your commitment and effort, getting out of consumer debt is possible.