Benefits of Credit Counseling

Credit counseling provides many benefits to consumers, and can help just about anyone make a plan for achieving their financial goals and managing their credit and debt. Here’s a more in-depth look at some of our Budget and Credit Counseling service’s strongest benefits.

Action Plan and Budget

After the counseling session, your counselor will provide you with an action plan that’s catered to your financial situation. It will include:

  • Your short- and long-term goals
  • Options and recommendations for achieving these goals
  • Implications for your current housing arrangements (if applicable)

If applicable, it will also detail how a debt management program could help you, including how interest rates and minimum payments might change under the program and an estimate of when you would become debt free.

In addition to your action plan, your counselor will provide a detailed copy of your budget and an overview of your net worth. This will include:

  • Your monthly income and total expenses
  • Your monthly cash flow
  • Assets (like retirement accounts, home equity, etc.)
  • Liabilities (like credit card debt, outstanding loans, estimated tax payments, etc.)

These figures are important and will provide detailed insight into your financial situation and reveal problem areas that you may need to address.

Free Credit Report Review

Your credit counseling session will give you the opportunity to see exactly where your credit stands and to work with a professional to sort out any concerns or questions you may have. Your credit report contains critical financial information that will help us gain a better understanding of your individual needs. We won’t pull your credit report without your authorization, but we highly recommend that you allow us to do so, as it enables us to fully understand your financial situation. And because we conduct a “soft” or “educational” pull of your credit, doing so will not adversely affect your score.

Your credit report will tell us:

  • Who you owe
  • How much you owe
  • The age of your accounts
  • If there are any negative marks against you

With this information in hand, your counselor will be able to make better recommendations for you. In addition, if you are concerned about errors on your report, your counselor can also explain how to dispute them with the credit bureaus.

These benefits make credit counseling a unique and robust service that can help you create a solid plan for your future. Click below to read more or get started.

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Ready to Make a Plan?

Review your budget goals and start paying down debt.

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Ready to Make a Plan?

Review your budget goals and start paying down debt.

Start Now