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.

Getting help from credit counseling service doesn’t mean that you must participate in a debt management program. You do not need a debt management plan if a credit counselor determines that you just need a little advice on budgeting and money management.

But if your unsecured debts including student loans, payday loans and credit card debts are out of control, then you need a qualified debt management program counselor to take time to go through your debt and income levels, discuss debt relief options for getting out of debt, and explain the pros and cons of a debt management program to you.

Beware of credit counseling agency that enrolls you in a debt management program automatically without providing assistance with budgeting and money management!

Once it is determined that a debt management plan is the right debt relief plan for your financial situation, the credit counselor will start negotiating and creating a payment schedule with each of your unsecured creditors in an attempt to lower the total amount of money owed, reduce your interest rates, and have all late fees and over-limit charges removed.

Make sure the monthly payment that the debt management counselor works out for you is an amount that you can afford; a debt management repayment which is higher than what you can afford each month is not going to help you make any progress.

Well, answer a few questions here:

1. Have you been paying off your balance in three months when it used to take one month?

2. Do you always not know the amount you owe until your bills arrive?

3. Have you been maxing out your credit cards regularly?

4. Have you been paying bills with card cash advances?

5. Have you been paying off one credit card bill with another credit card?

If you answer Yes for most of the questions and you have only been able to pay just the minimum amount for your credit cards every month, this may indicate that you are in deep debt trouble and in need of a credit counseling session with a debt management counselor to educate you on how to budget and keep your debt under control.

If after going through a very thorough review of all your bills, income and expenses and the credit counselor finds that you can’t earn quite enough to make ends meet, he will suggest you to enroll in a debt management program.

Once it is determined that you need a debt management plan to help you pay down your outstanding debt, the certified credit counselor will start negotiating with your creditors to reduce the interest rates and waive the late payment fees and over-limit charges.

By combining your multiple credit card payments into one smaller and more affordable monthly payment, you don’t have to worry the possibility of going into further debt or into bankruptcy.

And when you have completed your payments that take approximately between 36 to 60 months, they’ll help you reestablish your credit.

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!

You may think that those who are jobless and can’t pay the bills are the ones who are keeping the phone lines ringing at credit counseling agencies across the nation. Well, not really. People who are still working but are caught in a debt spiral and unable to pay next month’s bills are also calling for help.

If you are on the verge of bankruptcy and you badly need to avoid filing for bankruptcy, make an appointment with a certified counselor from a reputable credit counseling company and let him help you review your financial situation.

A good credit counselor will take time to review your unsecured debt, such as credit cards, medical bills and personal loans, and secured debt, such as mortgages and car loans, as well as household expenses and personal income to find the best debt relief option that works best for you to pay off your debt.

Make sure you avoid debt management counselor who promises to enroll you in a debt management plan in less than 20 minutes! Remember, the less time spent with you, the less a credit counselor works in your best interest.

Most of the time, you don’t need a bankruptcy. There are debt relief programs such as debt consolidation, debt management programs or debt settlement plans to get you out of debt without declaring bankruptcy.

A debt management program, be it non-profit or for-profit, is designed to help you restructure your multiple payments into one smaller monthly payment that you can afford after your credit counselor negotiates with your creditors and establishes a debt repayment program.

The smaller monthly payment allows you to make the payments and not go into further debt or into bankruptcy.

You can be debt free with a debt management program without the terrible blemish of a bankruptcy on your record.

Note: I am a credit card debt woman who has been in a free debt management program since October 2008 and have felt the benefits of debt management program, so it’s easy for me to share with you about DMP more than debt consolidation and debt settlement plans.

I used to be like you too – I was drowning in heaps of secured and unsecured debts; my monthly income was always not enough to pay the minimum payments; the mail box was filled with warning notices and legal letters from credit card companies and there were many times that I just wanted to run to another country to start a new life.

However, you can get out of this terrible debt situation by signing up a free debt management program.

Debt management programs, both non-profit and for profit, are programs designed to help those who can no longer make payments on their cards, and are used as a last step toward bankruptcy.

When you enroll into a free debt management program, a credit counselor will speak to creditors on behalf of you to make negotiations about your outstanding debts, interest rates, and late payment fees or over-limit fees.

A good debt management counselor who is in charge of negotiating with your creditors to reduce your monthly payments to match your ability to pay can help you reduce your monthly repayments to your creditors up to 75%.

The credit counseling agency that takes one monthly sum from you will be in charge of redistributing the funds to all your creditors.

Once you are in the debt management program, your creditors will not contact you to demand you to pay your debts.

Debt management plan tends to have less impact on your credit score, as compared to bankruptcy, but requires that you have sufficient income to cover your living expenses, plus the plan payment.

As a conclusion, debt management program enables you to easily reduce your debts and make single monthly payment to one credit counseling agency on one date.

A debt management program is an alternative debt relief option to help you pay off the debt without needing to declare bankruptcy.

When you first visit a credit counselor, check if he is a certified credit counselor. You want a debt management counselor who provides you a thorough credit counseling service including reviewing your financial situation by looking at your income, credit card debt and expenses, and offering you customized advice on managing your money sensibly.

You do not want a credit counselor who rushes you into signing up a debt management program without giving you a thorough credit counseling service or letting you ask all the questions you need in order to understand how a free debt management program will help you.

A credit counselor who doesn’t have your best interests in mind or isn’t sensitive to your financial circumstances and feelings is not cut out to be your credit card debt counselor.

A good debt management counselor will only suggest a debt management plan to you if the credit counseling service does not work for you or your budget shows that you can continue to pay your living expenses, but need some help paying your debts.

If you want to stay out of debt, your credit card accounts need to be closed. A good credit management counselor will make sure you close them and set you up on a budget, so you don’t need new credit cards.

If you are agreeable that a free debt management program is the best solution for your situation, the debt management counselor will negotiate with your creditors on your behalf to obtain lower payments, have your interest rates reduced and your late and over-limit fees waived.

A good credit counselor should keep you up to date on your progress by sending you a monthly statement saying how much you paid, where it went and how much more you owe.

If you find yourself in the situation where you need a free debt management program, be sure you choose a good certified counselor that has your best interests in mind.

A debt management program is also called a debt management plan. It’s an organized program in which a certified credit counselor looks at your debt and income levels, discusses options for getting out of debt with you and negotiates with your creditors so that they accept lower payments, and reduce or eliminate your interest rates.

A debt management program can be free or come with a monthly fee, depending upon the terms of the debt management company.

Before committing to any debt management program, make sure you seek a reliable and helpful credit counselor to help you determine if a debt management program is right for you by discussing the advantages and disadvantages of a debt management plan with you.

Once it is determined that a debt management program is the right plan of action for your financial situation, the debt management counselor will develop a payment schedule with each of your unsecured creditors, in an attempt to lower the total amount of money owed, reduce your interest rates, and have over the limit and late fees removed from your accounts.

The credit management agency is in charge of collecting the payments and disbursing to your creditors on your behalf.

Most creditors will bring your accounts current, stop late and over limit fees, stop collection calls and stop or reduce interest charges once they get regular payments from the credit card debt management agency.

A debt management program is all you need to save you from the traumas and build a secured financial future by avoiding bankruptcy. Bankruptcy should only be considered a last resort as the consequences are long term affecting not only your credit but your ability to obtain things such as insurance, a job, and your home.

It freaked me out when I saw the message. I quickly took out my DMP agreement and checked the payment date. It stated that I must make my repayment before the 30th every month.

I banked in my March repayment on the 26th, so it’s definitely before the 30th.

Well, to be safe, I made a call to the debt management program agency the next morning. The credit counselor tried to check it for me, but to no avail. The system was slow and she wasn’t able to check it for me.

Now I have to call the debt management counselor again on Monday.

I am freaked out because if I am ever late in making payment to AKPK, my free debt management program will become null and void.

This means banks and credit card companies have the right to claw back all waivers granted under the accounts and reinstate interest charges, penalty fees or overdue charges to the original terms and conditions of the entire outstanding debt.

The scariest part is that credit card banks can resume legal proceeding against me for recovery of the entire outstanding credit card debt due, together with interests, late payment charges, legal fees and all other costs.

The success stories are so touching that you feel that they might be fake stories. They might be made up to lure you, a distressed debtor or borrower, into a debt management program scam.

Trust me. I have been there. I totally understand how a distressed debtor feels when it comes to searching for a debt free relief service.

As a credit card debt woman who is now under the AKPK debt management programme, I think my true story will convince you to get debt relief help from AKPK to restructure your credit card debt. I mean your unmanageable credit card debt.

From making multiple credit card payments every month to making one small payment to AKPK on one date, I am now living more happily and having some extra cash in hand to be saved as savings or emergency fund.

I am now paying down my credit card debt without stress.

My credit counselor managed to negotiate a good interest rate for me, that is 7% per annum. All banks stopped their finance charges and late payment fees after I signed the debt management programme offer letter.

Although it looks like I may need to take more than 5 years to settle all my credit card debt, I can at least heave a relief for some time. According to my credit counselor, I can pay off one card anytime in future when I have extra money in hand.

Let’s say after one year I have $500 in hand and one of my credit cards has a remaining balance of $495, I can make a full settlement for that credit card. Let me call it credit card A.

What I need to do is to inform my debt management counselor. He will then redistribute the amount which is supposed to be distributed to card A bank to other credit card companies.