Nonprofit organizations offer credit-counseling programs
Susan Tompor/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review via Detroit Free Press
13 June 2011

Susan Bailey saw some signs that she and her husband, Jerry, had some money troubles -- like once when she discovered that a credit card account had been closed when she tried to pay at a register.

She joked that her husband must have cut her off.

She knew things were far more worrisome after Jerry applied for a loan for home repairs at a credit union. He came home and told her that he was not only denied the loan but the loan officer said he should consider bankruptcy.

After that scare, the Jackson couple buckled down, closed more credit cards and worked with a credit counselor through GreenPath Debt Solutions for about five years to eventually get rid of their credit card debt. Even so, Susan, 59, didn't realize until it was all paid off that they once owed more than $90,000 on 17 credit cards.

"I never knew the extent of the debt -- ever," she said.

How does one build up that kind of credit card debt? And even more key, how does one get out?

Dawn and David Van Dyke built up $48,610 in credit card debt decorating a new house and buying gas and groceries.

"Maybe one month, we paid Visa, and the next month, we paid Discover," said Dawn Van Dyke, 39, who lives in Buchanan, a short drive from the Michigan-Indiana border.

"I don't know what we were thinking; there was really no way to get caught up."

Sometimes, the only way out is bankruptcy or foreclosure.

Sometimes, other options sound even scarier.

Every credit card statement has a toll-free number for credit counselors. But the National Federation for Credit Counseling estimates that only about 150,000 people have called, even though the number has been on 500 million statements since February 2010.

For some, it might be worth making a call. Successful consumers say they've experienced quite a relief after dedicating typically three to five years to paying off their debts.

"I am not afraid to pick up the telephone now. I am not afraid to go to the mailbox," said Jerry Bailey, 61, who once had 17 credit cards but eventually paid off more than $92,000 in credit card debt.

GreenPath Debt Solutions, a Farmington Hills, Mich.-based nonprofit financial organization, named Bailey and his wife, Susan, and the Van Dykes as 2011 Clients of the Year.

How did they get out of debt? Jerry and Susan Bailey, who live in Jackson, paid $665 every week for about 5.5 years. Jerry Bailey, who is an associate pastor at Grace Church in Jackson, felt the couple had a moral obligation to avoid bankruptcy.

"We had to really do without during that period of time. It was a very humbling experience," he said. Bailey took on extra work doing weddings and funerals.

How did they get into trouble? Denial, paying for wedding receptions for two daughters with credit cards, buying gifts for a blended family of six children and seven grandchildren, losing income when Susan Bailey did not get as much work as a visiting nurse.

Another factor: Jerry Bailey was a widower before he met Susan, who was divorced. His children had received Social Security survivors' benefits after their mother died. Once they became adults, those benefits stopped.

"After awhile, you get dependent on those (credit) cards," Jerry Bailey said.

Debt management doesn't cut your debts -- that's a debt-settlement deal.

But debt settlement is tricky, and some bad outfits cost consumers thousands of dollars upfront and ruin their credit. Some consumers are even sued by creditors.

A credit counselor works with creditors to stop collection calls, lower interest rates, and waive late and over-the-limit fees on credit cards.

Monthly payments on a debt-management plan are typically about the same as paying on your own. Counselors help consumers create a budget. The idea is to save money over the long run.

The minimum payment could be lower in some cases, too. A debt-management program minimum payment is typically 2.1 percent to 2.5 percent of the money owed, according to GreenPath. But it can be as low as 1.75 percent in some cases.

Even so, consumers must realize that just like with a diet, many people cannot stick to it.

GreenPath said nearly 50 percent of its clients on debt-management programs pay off their debts in full.

"The problem is: Are you going to be able to make that minimum payment over the next five years?" asked Steve Rhode, who runs a website called GetOutofDebt.org.

Trying to dig out?

• Credit card issuers now must display a toll-free number on their statements directing consumers to nonprofit credit-counseling agencies for help managing their finances.

• Or contact the National Foundation for Credit Counseling at http://www.nfcc.org or at 800-388-2227.

• GreenPath Debt Solutions, a nonprofit financial counseling organization, is one option found through the National Foundation site. GreenPath has 57 full-time branches in a variety of states, as well as telephone and Internet services. GreenPath assists consumers on credit card debt, housing debt and bankruptcy concerns. See http://www.greenpath.com or call 800-550-1961.

• Credit-counseling services and debt-management programs do not involve forgiving debt. Instead, such programs have agreements with creditors to lower your interest payments -- and save you money by cutting interest costs over time.

• Under a credit-counseling program, you often must pay large amounts of money each month to retire your debt.

• A counseling group also charges a fee. At GreenPath, the fee typically ranges from $5 to $50 a month.

• Your payments may not be much lower than your normal credit card payments if you work with a credit-counseling program. So do not expect your payments to go down. But remember, you're paying off your entire debt in three to five years.

• Major financial traumas -- such as a job loss or death -- can throw you off a credit-counseling plan.

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