When I graduated from college, like most students, I had not only accrued student loan debts, but also the dreaded credit card debt. Credit card companies were like vultures on my college campus and even though technically I was an adult my ignorance of money management led me to years of repayment. Like most people I believed after graduation a decent job awaited me and I would honor all my bills in a timely manner. But life happened and I had to take whatever job I could get to survive. When you live on minimum wage and paycheck-to-paycheck every little bit helps, so finding a method of repayment became an obsession.

On average credit card debt is what hurts consumers the most, especially low-income families. In general our society tends to live outside our means. The ease of using plastic infiltrates our brains every time we turn on the television and watch the commercials produced by these companies. Think about the commercial showing how easy it is to use our cards in comparison to writing checks or using cash. And every day households are bombarded with solicitation in the mail for these cards. Do we really want to become a cashless society? This marketing only reinforces the high credit card debts consumers' carry. The average household holds $8400 in debt according to a 2002 study and approximately 24% of purchases were made using these types of cards. These card purchases cost the consumer 112% more than using cash and it would take many years to repay the card company.

Credit counselors point out that entering into a Debt Management Program may not help your credit score because some creditors may still report you as delinquent. But the counselors do help consumers during the DMP process by contacting the creditors, setting up payments, and even lowering fees once a repayment history has been established. Suzanne Boas, President of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Atlanta, points out some valid tips on choosing an adequate counseling service:
1. How much does it cost to start?
2. Does it include services with a face-to-face, telephone & online credit counselors with budget planning and educational programs?
3. Are they certified and/or accredited for your safety?

Boas states that a reputable firm will not ask for large up front fees. Any start up fees costing more than $35 leaves room for questioning. Honestly, I got lucky when I chose mine seven years ago after watching an infomercial. I knew I had to do something before it was too late and checked the advertised website. The service lived up to their 3 year guarantee, provide a monthly newsletter packed with credit rebuilding information and are accredited. This was a better alternative to filing bankruptcy, which also stays on your credit report for 7-10 years, because future creditors do take into consideration your responsibility to repay your debt. Recently, I had a creditor tell me this and after feeling disappointed in myself for so long any pat on the back is encouraging.

http://www.creditcounselingbiz .com/credit_counseling_statist ics.htm
http://www.cnn.com/US/9712/16/ household.debt/
http://www.cccsatl.org/credit- counselor-choose.asp

Learn more about this author, Tarra Davis.
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