Whenever I mention what I do for a living at any type of social gathering, I am bombarded with questions. For the past two years, I have been working as a Certified Credit counselor. In my experience, I have noticed many people are too afraid or embarrassed to seek help. They are often afraid that I am going to judge them, or even yell at them for getting into debt.
The truth is a bad financial situation can happen to anyone including a Certified Credit Counselor. Also, something that may shock people even more; yes I too, have a fair amount of debt. I wasn’t born a credit counselor, but at least I know how to take control of the situation now that I am one. I also look forward to sharing that knowledge so I can help others.
Recently, I found myself in a situation that warranted credit counseling. My husband got laid off from his job in San Diego, and he was out of work for almost a year. We made the difficult decision to move in with family in Florida. Luckily, my husband quickly found a good job. I was not so lucky. My husband and I had traded places, and now I was jobless.
I thought with my qualifications it would be no problem getting a job, but no one responded to my resume. I even had my resume professionally written and still had no luck. It was September and my unemployment was going to run in the beginning of October. I was very depressed and homesick. Fortunately, just when I was about to give up, I decided to get aggressive in my job search. I picked up the phone and started making calls. Just when I was about to lose hope, I landed a job at a non-profit credit counseling agency, credit card management services. (A side note, is that when it comes to job searching, you have to be assertive, if you ever find yourself in a similar situation.)
Some people aren’t so lucky. It is hard to find a job in this economy, and what do you do if you have a drastic reduction in income, or perhaps no income at all? Going through my own struggles helped me realize how valuable debt management programs offered through non-profit credit counseling agencies are. I knew without finding a new job, I would be in serious trouble.
Fortunately, I am able to credit counsel myself, (which sounds a little silly) but most people don’t have that option. It is imperative to speak to a qualified professional to get guidance, and advice on what your best option is. When I was unemployed, I knew if nothing else I could have used the emotional support.
Financial difficulties are the biggest source of stress for many people. As a credit counselor, it is my job to walk you through it, and my goal to get you back on the road to financial security. Debt management plans (DMP’s) can help you get back on track and help you eliminate your debts much faster than you could on your own in most cases. DMP’s are an excellent option to help you reduce your interest, and possibly reduce your monthly payments. They can even help your credit because on a DMP, most creditors will re-age your accounts and stop adding late/over the limit fees. (Re-age means bring current). In certain situations, they can also stop you from getting a judgment placed against you. Counselors can also provide you with guidance on what actions are the most appropriate depending on your situation.
As a counselor, I did see many clients that filed a bankruptcy prematurely. If those people had talked to a counselor sooner, they might have been able to salvage their credit by going on a debt management plan. When in financial distress it is very important to find out what your best viable option is, and a good credit counselor will be able to offer guidance and support in deciding what suits your situation.
Jennifer Lane is a certified credit counselor and is taking questions I can answer in upcoming articles. Please feel free to e-mail your questions to me at jlane@debthelper.com. 