The current credit crunch has left many people unable to meet their financial obligations and agencies and finance gurus report that an increasing number of people are now seeking help with debt management. Some people approach commercial debt management agencies for help in sorting out their finances but a real problem with this is that the agencies charge a fee on top of your monthly payments. It is possible to get free help and advice with managing your money and getting out of debt.

You only have to do a quick search on the internet and you will find websites that offer free advice and help in managing your debts or you can contact the Citizen’s Advice Bureau who deal with people’s debt every day of the week. There are also options for learning “what you should know about credit card counseling” One thing that all bad debt consolidation  companies and agencies will want you to do is to write out a complete breakdown of your income and outgoings.

Sometimes, just establishing where your money goes can help you to manage your debts. It is only by making a complete list of what you spend your money on that you can decide where you can make cuts. The agency mentioned above will help you to write out a financial statement and very often they will contact your creditors for you to try and get a reduction in the amount of money that you pay them every month. You may want to go for a voluntary agreement, this is an official agreement and you need to think very carefully before you get involved in this method of debt management. It is much better to try and get your monthly repayments either deferred for a period or lowered. You should write to all of your creditors explaining your position, there are websites where you can download free template letters for this purpose. You should keep a copy of everything that you send them and any replies that they send to you.

Some credit card companies can be extremely awkward about cutting interest payments and if you are faced with this problem then you have a number of options, you can pay them the reduced rate anyway as this will show that you are not trying to avoid payment. You can stop payment altogether but continue writing to them asking them to lower the monthly payments. If they threaten you with court action then you can call their bluff and they will make good their threat or you can just take it as a threat.

When cases go to court judges tend to take a dim view of credit card companies who refuse to lower the interest rate for a person who is having financial difficulties. It is possible that a judge will make an order where you pay the lower rate in spite of what the credit card company has to say. However, there is no guarantee that this will happen and you should continue trying to find a way to get out of debt.