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Record Breaking Bankruptcy Numbers Accompany Economic Growth

Is the economy turning around? Well, we’ve heard all the experts say that it’s finally on the right track, but what does that really mean to American consumers struggling with credit card debt and facing a 10% unemployment rate?

Strictly looking at the numbers, it does seem like some things are getting better, while some, like the job market, are continuing to struggle. According to Time, consumer spending went up 6.6% over the summer, and Gross Domestic Product grew 7.2%. These are amazing numbers, taken completely alone. However, American’s lost over 165,000 jobs during that same time and the unemployment rate isn’t improving.

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Read an interesting article today about the greedy, fraudulent companies out there just preying on the middle-class. It was a great article, until it got to the parts about debt settlement companies. Even though it is a topic discussed again and again, it never seems to settle. Once again, there are thousands of fraudulent debt settlement companies out there. We hear about them every single day, and how consumers paid hundreds and thousands of dollars in monthly fees while the debt settlement companies would literally sit on the money and not work to get them out of debt. But, and I say it again, not all debt settlement companies are like that.

ACCORD, the American Coalition of Companies Organized to Reduce Debt, is an organization that, much like USOBA, United States Organizations for Bankruptcy Alternatives, has set extremely strict guidelines in regards to debt settlement company membership. Any company that wishes to enroll and become credited by ACCORD must adhere to certain policies that truly make it impossible for the company to be fraudulent in any way. Continue Reading

Consumer Credit Counseling Services

Consumer counseling services can be a great route to take in your DIY attempts to get out of debt, however, it’s important to read the small print and keep in mind that your credit will not be fixed overnight. In most cases, we would suggest against credit counseling, however.

There are great advantages and disadvantages to credit counseling, and most of the time it’s one of those things that’s really just too good to be true.

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