Meet Don, a typical indebted American, troubled by a sopping financial situation. Don here is drenched to the bone, drowning in an overwhelming financial sea. He's been treading water for far too long, exhausted from battling with endless crashing payment waves and constant water, splashing, hitting his face, getting in his mouth. Choking, being unable to pay on time and struggling to even stay afloat are his daily turn of events - he's practically bobbing up and down like a stranded buoy. And Don's not the only one bobbing helplessly and contending out there. Don is merely one of the soaked, stranded majority - thousands upon thousands of other bobbing buoys (or, credit indebted individuals) are lost out in this very real, yet uncharted financial sea. Turbulent times are undoubtedly ahead and Don, as well as the rest of the buoy-bobbing-bunch, are all in need of rescuing.

Buoyant Assistance & Boarding A Dry Credit Counseling Ship

Sailing the very seas so many are struggling in, credit counseling fleets are in an abundance and seeking to pick up as many "wet with debt" people as possible. What they provide is some guaranteed buoyancy, ameliorative assistance and a saving, extended hand from their dry and accommodating ship. And, despite how many buoys are out there, it's not impossible to get on board, get dry and get help with your deep, sopping credit situation. All of these buoy-like individuals, floating aimlessly about, can easily be lifted up and out of such an unrelenting monetary ocean - it's merely a matter of waving them over, calling for help, simply marking yourself for rescue.

When To Flag The Credit Counseling Fleet Your Way

Many individuals troubled with staying afloat will wave down these fleets, yet many of them don't need credit counseling to save them; some individuals out there just need financial assistance. How to know if you are indeed a buoy-specific individual merited to flag down a passing ship is quite easy.

If you're able to pay your bills and stay timely in satisfying all accounts, the last thing you need is credit counseling. The same is applicable for individuals just looking for a lower rate - this can be done by means of negotiation via you and your credit card companies, not through the aid of a credit counseling company.
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The circumstances qualifying you for rescue by credit counseling fleets include many scenarios. Above all, you'll obviously have to be in the thick of these debt-infested waters, wading up to your chin and about to sink for good. There are specific cases calling for you to take action, to shoot your flair signaling your location. Flag down the first passing ship if you are 1. unable to make minimum payments on your credit cards, 2. consistently paying late toward one or a few of your bills, 3. being insistently pestered by collection agencies and creditors, and 4. your efforts to hash out a workable repayment plan with creditors have stalled or completely failed.

Drying On Board & Getting A Feel For Your Credit Counseling Ship

First, congratulations. You've made it out of the sea of financial despair and on a deck of a credit counseling ship. You're getting dry, but while doing so, it's important for you to become familiar with exactly what will happen, particularly knowing how you'll be financially assisted and the actions taken to do so.

Once on board, the credit counseling crew will contact your creditors and lenders to converse with them. The intent here is to speak with them in a bettering fashion, namely to negotiate for lower, more manageable payments to stretch over time. Once negotiations are finalized the credit counseling crew will coordinate payment structuring, specifically outlining how and just how much you will pay (or, more so, transfer) to them each month over a certain span of years.

Helping Dons and other buoy-like persons through the above process of credit counseling is a gradual, yet guaranteed wringing out of debt, aiming to rid persons of debt for good. This though, takes years, ideally between 2 to 4 to complete. If a credit counseling motion is projected to take longer - taking 5 years or better- in your scenario, then boarding a credit counseling ship might not be best idea for you. Instead, waiting for the dreaded bankruptcy fleet to drift by might be your last chance of rescuing.