American Debt Counseling

I totally second the post about Dave Ramsey. He is completely wary of this type of thing and advises against it. And he gives sound financial advice and is very motivating. I love listening his radio show and getting renewed inspiration to get out of debt and stay that way, no matter what it takes.

These companies charge a lot of money what you can do yourself. They report very badly on your credit. You are better off doing what was suggested early about Dave Ramsey and do it all yourself...for free. Good luck.

I agree with the others but have some help to offer perhaps. The American Airlines Credit Union has a debt counselor. He looks at your credit report and tells you what all are the priorities to work on. I don't know if they encourage loans to help pay off debt but it is free and I KNOW you are not under obligation to make any loans. I don't know if you have to be am employee, family member, or friend, but you can ask them. You can ask other credit unions close to you if they have that service.

You do have to be careful. Decades ago, a small outfit offered to my dad to help collect old debts. He found out that they did and didn't acknowledge to him that anyone had paid. The debt collector kept the money.

I don't anything about American Debt Counseling, however if you need to get out of debt (i.e. are close to are already missing payments), then a legit credit counseling company is a good idea. Consumer Credit Counselors was one of the first and one of the best. I went through it myself many years ago. You will have to close ALL your credit accounts and live on a cash basis, which can be challenging, but worth it in the end. They work deals with the credit card companies to lower your payments, but your accounts will be closed and it will show up on your credit report. Once paid off, they will work with you to re-establish credit. They charge a small monthly administrative fee.

It is true that many credit card companies will work with you to payoff your debt, so you might be able to do that too. Or, find a low balance transfer offer and move your higher rate card balances to it and work to pay it off before the "special offer" expires.

It's great that you are looking at ways to get out of debt. Good luck!

I don't know about this particular company, but debt counceling is usually a very bad idea.

Did you ever hear the saying if it sounds too goo to be true... If you minimum payment was $40 a month, that would mean they would be claiming they could save you over $9,000. Yes, they probably could reduce the apr, but you can probably do the same thing yourself.

Over time this would slightly damage your credit. Initially closing your cards, will dramatically reduce your credit score. But over time as you made timely payments without making any additional charges your credit score would increase.

Your best bet is to stop using your cards, but don't close the accounts. Cut them all up but one, and keep that one hidden in the house for emergencies.

One thing that many people who have credit card debit and want to reduce it, that they don't think about is , or think about too much is a due date. If the due date is the 10th of the month, most people think I don't have to pay it until the 10th so I'll wait until then. They're right that they don't have to pay it until the 10th, but if they can pay it on the 1st, pay it early. Every day that interest is accumulating. I also suggest rather than "saving up" to make that payment, send them a payment weekly or twice a month. Doesn't seem like much, but over time makes a huge difference.

Ten years ago I was $10,000 in credit card debt, I've been credit card debt free for 4 years. I did it all myself.

I've found a lot of great articles on www.msn.com in the money section.

Good luck.

I have to agree that anyone can do what they suggest. Their way of getting a person out of debt is only for those that already have such bad credit that it won't really matter in the end. Even then, why pay them to do what you can do for yourself?

These type of companies will show up on your credit report WORSE than a bankruptcy. Don't do it. Diddo Dave Ramsey. Bought Total Money Makeover recently. Really opened my eyes.

DON'T DO IT!! I don't know anything about this specific company but I do know that anything they can do, YOU can do on your own - and chances are you can do it without hurting your credit. Using any kind of company like this WILL hurt your credit even if you make all your payments on time, etc. Check out daveramsey.com - it's a great program that changed my family's life. We are now debt free with an emergency fund (no credit cards necessary). You have to work hard and change some behaviors but it is so worth it. Even if you don't follow the program search the website and it gives some great tips on working with the credit card companies yourself to lower your credit and work out deals. You don't end up paying someone else a fee to do what you can do for free. Remember if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. Feel free to message me if you have any specific questions, I spent my entire 20s and part of my early 30s in debt and I learned a few things along the way to freedom!

ditto the other posts. it's a scam. go to daveramsey.com for help.