It has become increasingly easy to get yourself into a huge amount of debt quickly. As a result, people trying to eradicate debt they have incurred frequently turn to credit card debt management services. Often, people feel that there is no other option and that they need to find some way to rid themselves of debt. It is important to understand just what credit card debt management services really do for you before you make a decision.
Credit card debt is a snowball effect where you get more credit and you use it but then you are racking up huge minimum payments and huge balances owed and because you can't afford to pay your bills you keep taking on more credit. At some point you are going to have to stop yourself and dedicate a large chunk of time to getting your act together and credit card debt management services are not the thing you need to do it.
You should stay away from credit card debt management services because, even though they can get you a low monthly payment by negotiating with your creditors, they will also charge you each month for their assistance. That means that all the money you would have saved is getting greatly reduced on a monthly basis because of the agency's fee.
Also it may be that the credit card company was willing to do a different deal that would not have so adversely affected your credit rating but would have allowed you to be able to pay your debt. Going to credit card debt management services is a sure way to ruin your relationship with credit companies and ruin your credit rating.
When you are stuck in debt, your main concern is rarely your credit rating. However, ignoring this important factor could cause you regret after the whole process is over and you are left with a financial situation that could have been much better.
What Should I Do?
Begin healing your credit by stopping the use of all credit cards. You can make this definite by calling credit card companies to freeze your account and cutting up the cards themselves. If you need to, get a second job to make up for the lack of credit you will have. These are the exact same things that credit card debt management services would be doing for you, but you can do it by yourself on your own terms.
The next step is calling your creditors to negotiate your debt and a payment plant. This is the same process that debt management services follow, but you will have your own best interests in mind, not those of some company's.
