Deep in debt: Get help

If you are deep in debt, you might feel as though there is no way out. Some alcoholics seek help from support groups and overeaters join Weight Watchers, but you can get anonymous one-on-one help from a credit counselor. There are a variety of debt counseling services available today. Sometimes it's hard to sort through the good and the bad. Some credit counseling agencies have relationships with banks and credit card companies. Your goal is to get out of debt with a smart repayment plan you can afford.

Set an appointment

Set an appointment with a debt counseling service so you can ask questions and learn more. Make sure they are not involved in "front loading", which means they create a repayment plan for you but take their fee out of the first payment you make. Make sure to ask if they are a member of the Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies or AICCCA. If they are not a member, you can assume they don't adhere to the standards of integrity such as non front-loading.

Bring all your documents

Your credit counselor will want to see all of your credit card statements to get an idea of how much debt you have, your interest rates and payment history. Also, bring a record of what you have spent money on for the past month. That will give you both the information you need for setting up a realistic budget. When you write down everything you buy, it also gives you a chance to pause and think about whether what you are buying is really a want or a need. Bring in a copy of your utility bills and your other household expenses and rent or mortgage. It's possible to figure out the average utility bill based on the past year. Some utility companies allow you to pay the average amount every month so you can better budget for your other expenses.

You're in control

While a credit counselor can advice you of how to budget and how to get out of debt, ultimately the choice is yours when it comes to paying off your obligations. You may want to consider declaring bankruptcy if you have more than your annual income in debt. It may be impossible to get out of debt without debt forgiveness. It's not impossible to repair your credit history after declaring bankruptcy. But bankruptcy laws have changed in recent years so don't base your opinion on what you've heard from a friend who declared bankruptcy 8 years ago. Instead, check with an attorney.