Obtaining credit counseling is a good idea if you happen to be in a situation that makes it difficult to pay your bills. Whether it is an inflated mortgage or thousands of dollars in credit card debt, there are people who can help you get your debt under control and set up a payment plan.
Credit counseling, while a good investment, can be expensive. Isn’t this ironic, since you have to spend more money to help you get out of debt? One thing that you might not know, though, is that many credit unions offer free credit counseling to their members. Generally, this counseling isn’t reported to the credit bureaus, either, so you don’t have to worry about your privacy or the counseling affecting anything you might do with your credit in the future.
If you are a member of a credit union, look into their services, before you consider any other type of credit counseling or debt management programs. It could save you a lot of money in both the short term and the long term.
I also want to take the opportunity to mention that I am a big fan of credit unions. I’ve belonged to credit unions almost since I first started working a full-time job. They offer the same services as do banks, but because they are non-profit organizations formed for the benefit of their members and not profit businesses as are banks, credit unions offer their services with lower fees and interest rates.
Credit unions accept members who qualify. In general, you can become a member if your credit union is associated with your place of work or other organization. You can visit www.ncua.gov to see a list of credit unions that are available in your area. Then call those credit unions that interest you to see if you qualify for a membership.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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