Are you burdened with more than $100,000 debt and thinking if it’s possible to get rid of it with a debt management program (DMP)? Of course, it’s possible.

Let me share with you the Hilderbrandt family’s success story of paying off their debt by consolidating all their payments into one under a debt management plan while changing their lifestyle.

Russell and Kathy Hildebrandt, along with their three children, were honored with the Professional Achievement and Counseling Excellence (PACE) 2009 Graduate Client of the Year Award by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling last week for their 5 years’ hard work and sacrifice to pay off their charge accounts and credit cards.

The Hilderbrandt family of New Richmond, Wisc., was in knee deep debt with personal loans and credit cards amounting to a staggering $106,000 in 2004.

How did they pay off their debt without signing up with any of the countless debt settlement companies that advertise on radio, television and the Internet? Well, they found a certified credit counselor by contacting NFCC to assist them with their debt.

Eliminating Unnecessary Spending. They paid off their debt the old fashioned way by drastically changing their lifestyle. They bought clothing at thrift stores, eliminated gifts, and purchased only generic and store brands at the grocery stores.

That’s not all. They also stopped eating out and often ate hash browns, which they got for free.

Getting a Second Job. Russell sacrificed his sleep for a couple of years by taking a second job. At first their debt didn’t seem to decrease much. But as they paid off one balance, they applied the monthly payment to another, until they paid it off.

Four years and four months later the Hildebrandt family’s debt was finally paid off and they even saved enough money to buy a house in New Richmond.

To avoid falling into the hands of a disreputable credit counseling agency, make sure you find a reputable credit counselor that is certified, is affiliated with NFCC, and charges little or nothing for the service.

As a credit card debt woman who has been in a free debt management program since 2008, I am always asked why I opted to sign up a debt management program and didn’t do it myself.

First off, the debt management program I enrolled in my country is FREE; there is neither enrollment fee nor monthly service charge.

As far as I am concerned, there is only ONE credit counseling and debt management agency in my country. It’s different from the US where there are lots of non-profit and for-profit credit counseling agencies.

Since it’s free debt management plan that involves zero service fee, why not?

Next, contacting banks and negotiating a partial settlement or a reduction in the bills is more difficult than you think.

I DID try to call up and write in asking for lower interest rates. Out of six banks, only one bank agreed to reduce the interest rate to 9%. A few banks were between 12% and 15% while the rest declined to lower the 18% per annum interest charge.

When I found out that my credit counselor was able to negotiate with banks to reduce my interest rate from 18% to 6% and 7% for some banks, and most important of all, to waive late payment fess and over limit charges, it didn’t take me long to make up my mind.

I signed up the free debt management program after the certified credit counselor explained in details what a debt management plan was and reminded me a few times that all my card accounts would be included in the program and closed.

Take note: All Your Credit Card Accounts Will Be Closed Once You Are In A Debt Management Plan (DMP). Shutting down all your accounts means that it’s likely to damage your credit score.

Since my maxing out most of my credit cards had already harmed my credit utilization ratio, a key component of credit scores, it’s okay to shut down all card accounts.

If you are in the US, make sure you sign up with a credit counseling agency affiliated with the National Foundation for Credit Counseling or the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies.

An accredited credit counseling and debt management agency typically charges $30 one-time setup fee, and $15 per month while you’re on the debt management plan.

If you don’t want to deal with your creditors directly and you need help with all of your credit cards, opt to go through a debt management program.

Are you tired of paying your credit card debt month after month without seeing much progress? If so, it may be time for you to get debt management program help to achieve total debt elimination.

Once you have established your degree of need for debt help, the next step of your debt management program is to decide whether you will enroll in a debt management plan designed for you by a credit counseling agency or do it yourself debt management to achieve total debt free.

If you have made the decision to go debt free through a DMP offered by a credit counseling and debt management company, make sure you opt for a not-for-profit credit counseling agency that is of a member of the National Foundation of Credit Counseling (NFCC) or the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies (AICCCA).

It won’t be worth your time or effort to choose a debt management company that charges a large monthly fee for their services as your debt problems may get even worse.

By attending a credit counseling briefing, a certified credit counselor will let you know the debt relief solutions available for your situation.

If it is determined that you need a DMP to help you get out of debt, your credit counsellor will contact your creditors in an attempt to stop harassing telephone calls, lower your interest rates, lower your monthly payments, and perhaps stop late fees and over limit fees.

So a debt management program is created to help reduce your overall monthly debt, help you save on interest fees, and improve your credit rating by paying creditors on time.

Take note, though. Before signing a debt management plan contract, make sure the written agreement detailing all the services discussed and the exact costs you will have to pay.

Whether your aim is to restructure your multiple debts into one affordable monthly payment, pay off all your bills sooner than before, avoid late charges, put an end to harassing phone calls from your creditors, save thousands of dollars in interest, lower your monthly payments substantially or avoid bankruptcy, you can achieve it with a debt management plan.

Are you currently overburdened with innumerable debts that you are thinking of getting help from a debt management plan (DMP) to help you get over the debt burden?

As a credit card debt woman who is now in a free debt management program, let me share with you what a debt management program is.

A debt management program, also known as debt management plan, is a program designed to combine all your existing multiple unsecured debt payments from credit cards, students loans, personal loans, and medical bills into one payment.

So instead of paying multiple payments to various creditors on different due dates, you make a single payment to the credit counseling company you sign up the debt management plan with. The credit counseling and debt management company is then in charge of distributing the debt repayment to all your creditors.

The consolidation of multiple monthly payments into one monthly payment usually results in lowering the total monthly payment previously paid and thus allowing you to continue to pay your debt with lower payments and reduced interest rates and most important of all, restore your credit score.

However before you enroll in a DMP, it’s important that you attend a credit counseling briefing first. To effectively use your time with a credit counselor, make sure you have certain pieces of information in hand before your first meeting.

If it is determined that a recommended budget is enough to help you get out of debt, your credit counselor will NOT enroll you in a debt management plan.

Beware of credit counselor that automatically signs you up with a debt management program! This means your debt management counselor does not have your interest at heart; he tries to make money from you through collecting fees.

A certified credit counselor will help put your debts and finances in order by helping you develop workable budgets and money management skills and pay off debts.

If you are in debt trouble, you have probably heard about getting help from debt relief options like credit counseling, debt consolidation, debt management and debt settlement.

Often times, the term “credit counseling” is used in the same sentence as debt settlement, but actually, it’s a completely different process.

With credit counseling, you will actually work with a credit counselor to pay off your debt in smaller, monthly payments that you can afford.

So, do you really need credit counseling to get you out of debt? You need it if you have been receiving harassing phone calls from bill collectors or if you are unable to make another month’s high interest credit card payments.

Before you attend any credit counseling briefing, it’s important that you choose a good credit counseling agency so that you are not scammed.

Look for a reliable credit counseling agency that is a member of the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies (AICCCA) or the National Foundation of Credit Counseling (NFCC).

Once you have identified the right credit counseling agency, you’ll have to meet with a certified credit counselor, and provide him with all of the details of your debt.

After a thorough review of your debt, credit history, and a detailed analysis of each of your creditor accounts, your credit counselor will let you know if there is a need for you to enroll in a debt management program.

Once it is determined that signing up with a debt management plan is right for you, your debt management program counselor will negotiate with all of your creditors to reduce interest rates, eliminate late payment fees and lower payments before creating an affordable debt repayment plan that you can live with.

It’s true that working with a credit counseling service can do some damage to your credit report. But if you are at the stage where your last resort is filing for bankruptcy, you would definitely consider a debt management plan in order to avoid bankruptcy or a report full of charge-offs.

Are you deep in debt and struggling to pay even the minimum payments? If so, you had better start using DIY debt management tips to help you get out of debt fast or seek help from credit counseling.

A credit counseling agency, either non-profit or for-profit, offers you credit counseling advice including how to use credit lines wisely; establish a workable budget; keep track of your bills; and best manage your money.

During a credit counseling session, a certified credit counselor will first gather as much information about your income, expenses and debts as possible. Once he has sufficient information from you, he will evaluate the information, discuss your situation with you and offer the most appropriate debt management advice for your situation to help you rectify your financial problems.

If it is determined that participating in an educational class is not sufficient to help you get back on the track to financial security, you will then be recommended to enroll in a debt repayment plan.

Debt management plan is also known as debt repayment plan.

When choosing a credit counseling agency, it’s important that you spend enough time researching and picking the most reputable agency.

Most important of all, look for a credit counseling and debt management agency that has satisfied clients, offers personalized service from certified counselors, educates you how to make appropriate financial choices and provides you with the tools you need to achieve financial security.

Remember, the best credit counseling service agency needs not have a big advertising campaign. Don’t be tempted to think that just because it has a big advertising campaign, it is the best.

A reputable and reliable credit counseling and debt management company normally relies on past clients for referrals rather than soliciting business through constant television ads, infomercials and telemarketing or spam e-mails.

It’s too late for me to be debt free fast with credit counseling or DIY debt management, but it’s not too late for you, right? Don’t wait until you need to enroll in a debt management program, debt settlement plan or declare bankruptcy.

You are lucky if your debt hasn’t landed you on the need of enrolling in a debt management program.

I had to resort to joining a free debt management program after failing to see much decrease in my credit card debt. Month after month I threw in chunks of my hard-earned money into making the minimum payments, yet the total credit card debt didn’t seem to drop much.

Was it because I kept adding new credit card debt to my outstanding balance? Noop. It’s because of late payment fees, over-limit charges, cash advance fees, retail interest charges, and miscellaneous fee charges that kept being added into my total debt.

Scary, right? To avoid letting these horrendous fees imposed by banks and credit card companies drags you into a deep debt hole, you need debt management tips to help you get out of debt fast.

1. Credit Counseling. Seek help from a certified credit counselor who can help you navigate through your debt dilemma.

You can either opt for a non-profit credit counseling agency or a for-profit credit counseling company when it comes to credit counseling. The difference is that the former provides free counseling and charges a nominal monthly fee if you decide to enroll in a debt relief program while the latter charges quite exorbitant fees.

2. Debt Consolidation Loan. You should only consider a debt consolidation loan if you are not able to replace your high interest credit cards with one, low interest rate credit card. This is because you may have to pay for an application fee for a debt consolidation loan, whereas with a credit card you would not.

3. Home Refinancing. Refinancing your mortgage allows you to save hundreds of dollars per month on mortgage payments. With lower mortgage payments, the money saved could be used to pay off your credit card debt.

4. Home Equity Loan. Alternately to home refinancing, you may have enough equity in your home to cash out and pay off your debt. Most importantly, credit card debt is not tax deductible, but a home equity loan is. This means you can reduce your debt as well as reduce your tax obligation by cashing out.

See, you have some viable solutions to help you get out of debt fast without resorting to any debt management program, debt settlement plan or bankruptcy that damages your credit score.

Should you consider debt consolidation or debt management program in this economic slowdown where you are faced with threats of job loss, falling portfolio values, and rising costs of consumer goods?

According to financial experts, you probably do not need any debt consolidation or debt management if you are able to make your current payments and have reasonable interest rates.

However, if you are suffering from so much unmanageable debt that you are unable to make ends meet and make even the minimum payments, then there is a need for you to really consider if a debt consolidation loan or a debt management program is right for you.

What’s the difference between a debt consolidation loan and a debt management plan?

Debt Consolidation. Debt consolidation is a process where all your multiple debts and loans like credit cards, car loans and other high-interest debts are lumped into a loan with one monthly payment with lower interest rate. With reduced monthly payment and interest rate, you can pay off your credit card debt faster.

The catch is such loan requires that you own a house, so that the loan can be taken against equity in the home. There are risks involved with putting your house up for collateral on a debt consolidation loan.

If unfortunately something unexpected happens to your income and you find that you can’t make the proposed loan payment, you could lose your house.

This is one of the major reasons why I opted for a debt management program rather than debt consolidation.

Debt Management Program. During a free consultation, a certified credit counselor will only recommend a debt management program after going over your income and expenses and finding that credit counseling is not enough to bring your financial back to a manageable level.

If it is determined that a DMP is right for your, the credit counselor will negotiate with all your unsecured creditors to obtain the lowest monthly obligation that satisfies all your current accounts.

Being put in a debt management program means that you make only ONE payment with reduced interest rate to One credit counseling agency on One due date; you no longer have to be stressed by paying multiple credit card payments to various banks on different due dates.

Most important of all, all late payment fees and over-limit charges are waived once you are in a debt repayment plan. No more harassing phone calls from banks, warning notices from creditors and annoying visits by third party collection agencies.

No matter which debt relief program you choose, be it a debt consolidation loan or a debt management program, your ultimate goal is to pay off all your debt and bring your finances and credit score back to the right track.

Okay, you’ve got debts piling up and you do not know what to do. Let me, a credit card debt woman who is now in a free debt management program, assure you that there are debt relief options such as debt management programs and debt settlement plans you can choose from to get out of debt without filing bankruptcy.

No one really wants to choose any of the debt relief options but things tend to have a habit of happening when you are least prepared.

It’s wise to get familiar with them and you do have the debt relief options without the need for bankruptcy if things get bad.

First let’s look at debt management. A debt management program is designed to take all your bills and restructure them into one low monthly payment.

You pay one monthly payment until it’s paid off. The debt repayment program prepared by a certified credit counselor usually lasts around between two to five years, depending on the size of your debts.

One drawback to this is you cannot apply for any new credit cards or get loans of any kind.

Next up is debt settlement. Debt settlement, also called debt negotiation, is a debt relief program where your creditors agree to reduce your debts in exchange for one lump sum; it’s a process of negotiation with your unsecured creditors to convince them to give up their demands for the full repayment of your debts and instead to accept a lesser amount.

There is one major difference between the debt management and debt settlement though. Debt management usually ends with your debts being paid and your credit is reestablished while debt settlement isn’t so forgiving and usually leaves your credit in shreds. Recovering from this may take a while.

Consumers who use debt settlement are those who are experiencing legitimate financial hardships, cannot afford to repay their debts through debt management plans offered by consumer credit counseling agencies and who also want to avoid filing bankruptcy.

If neither the debt management program nor the debt settlement plan is what you want, then you had better keep all your bills paid down ahead of time through self debt management.

A debt management program, be it free or paid, is a debt relief option for you and your family when you feel that you have more creditors than you can handle and you are unable to make another month’s minimum payments for your credit card debt, student loans, and other personal and unsecured debt.

As the name explains, a debt management program can help you to organize your debt into more affordable payments, with the benefit of facing just one interest rate instead of 3 or 4 or more.

Sure, paying one debt is better than paying several, but you must be careful of the conditions and interest rates that a debt management program apply.

There are several, or better said, plenty, of non-profit and for-profit credit counseling and debt management program organizations and firms that can aid you and guide you into the right direction when it comes to choosing a DMP that suits you.

Beware of debt management program agencies that are only concerned on profiting from your debt without considering what is best for you and your family economics.

Run away too if a debt management counselor rushes you into signing up a debt management plan without taking time to provide you with an income and expense assessment to determine what kind or amount of payment you can make per month, or whether a debt management program is right for you.

A reliable certified credit counselor should complete a full financial assessment and go over all your debt relief options before determining if a debt repayment plan is right for you.

He should also give you a full breakdown going over any fee you’d be charged and what you would be saving by using a debt management plan.

As in any financial product it is imperative that you are fully informed of all benefits, fees, interest rates and every other aspect of such product, however banal it may seem.

Debt management program is a financial tool designed to make your debt, and life, easier to handle. However, you should protect yourself and your family by doing research first and asking every question in the book. Don’t forget your magnifying glasses. Always attack that fine print!