Financial problems aren't always the result of poor money management. Divorce, death of spouse, health problems or a change in household income can lead to financial hardship and this situation is beyond our control. Regardless of the cause, financial worries can impact both our work and our family life.

If you do not handle your debt problem carefully, it can easy lead you to the worst option by filing a bankruptcy. More options are available if you are not at this worst case situation. Thus, don't let yourself trap into this situation where bankruptcy is your only option. If you have done everything you can to get out of debt and still feel that you can't do it alone, consider debt consolidation.

The main objective of a debt consolidation service is to keep you out of bankruptcy by helping you to design a plan for paying off your debts. There are many companies that offer legitimate debt consolidation services but you need to beware of debt consolidation scams that can worsen your situation. A good way to determine whether a debt consolidation company is legitimate is to contact the Better Business Bureau and/or the Federal Trade Commission (1-877-FTC-Help). The debt consolidation packages may vary from one company to another company, so it is imperative that you do your research on these debt consolidation firms and interview them before choosing a company. If you find it hard to choose a debt consolidation firm from so many options, below 3 organizations can be your references to get started:

* Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) : consumercounseling(dot)org
* The National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) : NFCC(dot)org
* American Consumer Credit Counseling, Inc (ACCC) : 1-800-769-3571

These three organizations offer face-to-face counselors to provide education as well as debt consolidation services.

Once you have decided to go for debt consolidation and get the service from your selected company. You will be assigned with a counselor. He will get further understanding on you debt situation before he can design a plan for you. It is important that you need to be honest about your limitations and strengths so that the debt repayment plan is designed based on the actual financial situation and best suit you so that you are comfort with it.

In the process of debt consolidation, all your debts will be compiled and the debt consolidation firm will help you to negotiate with your creditors for a better interest rate. Once the debt consolidation firm gets the best negotiated result, a repayment plan will be set up for you. All your debt payments will be combined into one monthly payment that pays to the debt consolidation company and they will help you to distribute to your creditors. This helps to eliminate late fees and over-time-limit fees, stop harassing phone calls and improve personal credit rating.

In the process of eliminating your debt through debt consolidation, you will most likely have to agree not to apply for any new credit cards. And you will need to really commit to and follow through on a consistent plan of debt repayment in order for you to get rid of you debts in a timely manner.

In Summary

If you are struggling with debt and find it hard to handle it alone, it better to get help from professional and debt consolidation is among the good options to start with. Debt consolidation can keep you out of bankruptcy with a customize design debt payment plan that best suit your financial situation.