Debt Angel - Christian Debt Management

Christian Debt Management - Do It Yourself?

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed (Proverbs 16:3).

Ideas for Christian Debt Management Self-Help

Is Christian debt management something you can accomplish on your own? It's certainly worth a try to talk to your creditors directly to see if you can re-negotiate your interest rate or payment plan. But beware of the results.

You should know exactly what you're looking for when attempting to negotiate a debt. There are two things you might consider, the first being a settlement plan, where you agree to pay only a portion of your debt. For this to happen, you usually have to be suffering real hardship. When you are negotiating for yourself, you may be able to get lower rates, and have a structured payment plan set up. This is somewhat similar to credit counseling, and some creditors are open to this. But you'll need to stick to your payment plan, or there can be harsh consequences.

However, there are some creditors who will only deal with professional debt management firms, and will basically feed you some written script explaining why they will not negotiate with you. Unfortunately it's almost impossible for a non-professional like you to work with them.

One way you can help yourself is to get a copy of your credit report. Credit bureaus are usually listed in the Yellow pages of your telephone book under "credit reporting agencies." When you receive it, you can dispute errors by following the instructions on the report. There is no charge to dispute mistakes or outdated items. Three large national credit bureaus supply most credit reports: Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union. You may want to contact each of them for a copy of your report. (If you're interested in Christian debt management, and would like a free credit report, visit AnnualCreditReport.com.)

Beware of Credit Repair

If you have fallen behind in debt payments, your credit report has probably taken a few hits. Although there are legitimate credit repair clinics, there are also scam artists you will need to scrupulously avoid. They promise, for a fee, to make bad things "disappear" from your credit report so you can get a mortgage for a house, a car loan, insurance, or even a job. The only thing that will disappear is your money. No one can legally remove accurate and timely negative information from a credit report.

Christian debt management: "Everything a credit repair clinic can do for you legally, you can do for yourself."Be careful of brazen statements like this. Christian debt relief specialists are, after all, accredited with negotiating skills that you may not be aware of. After all, they spend their careers working out deals with creditors. Keep this in mind.

Fraud and Christian Debt Management

Even if you have a great credit report, you should regularly check your report for errors. This is a major line of defense against Identity Theft. You wouldn't want to be about to make a major purchase, only to discover that someone has been messing with your credit. If you think you are the victim of fraud or Identity Theft, you can file a complaint with the FTC (Federal Trade Commission). Their site is www.ftc.gov, and their phone is 1-866-653-4261.

If you're not very concerned with Identity Theft, good principles of Christian debt management still include checking your credit report for errors! Several studies have shown that credit bureau data is full of errors. A study published in October 2004 by the National Association of State Public Interest Research Groups showed that 4 in 5 credit reports contain some error! A debt management program can help. Many people before you have found themselves debt free after completing a program such as the ones that you can learn more about like debt consolidation.