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A Debt Management Plan – To Do List

A debt management plan is a program that helps you pay off your unsecured debts through a structured repayment plan.  Here’s what happens in a debt management program.

1. With a debt management plan, you agree on a payment plan with your consumer credit counseling agency after a thorough review of your budget and finances. This plan involves making one monthly payment to the agency.
2. The credit counseling agency not only distributes your monthly payments to your creditors but also negotiates with them to potentially lower your interest rates and monthly payments. This can help you save money and pay off your debts faster.
3. By creating a structured repayment plan, a debt management plan provides you with a clear path to pay off credit card debt. While these plans typically take between three to five years to complete, they make it easier for you to manage your debt and avoid missed payments.
4. Through careful monitoring of your budget and timely payments, a debt management plan can help you become debt-free while also improving your credit score. By avoiding missed payments and reducing your debt-to-income ratio, you can demonstrate responsible financial behavior that positively impacts your credit score.

What Do I Need to Do in a Debt Management Program?

Enrolling in a debt management program is just the first step. It’s important to stay involved and informed about your accounts to ensure that the consumer credit counseling agency is meeting its obligations to pay your bills on your behalf.

While a credit counseling organizations such as ACCC can provide valuable assistance with debt management or debt consolidation, it’s important to take responsibility for monitoring your program to ensure its accuracy and effectiveness.

Being proactive during your financial recovery process is crucial. There are a few key things to keep in mind when enrolled in a debt management program:

1. Make timely and regular payments to the credit counseling agency.

Making timely and regular payments to the credit counseling agency is critical to the success of your debt management plan. These payments will be used to pay off your debts over time. If you miss payments, it could lead to additional fees and penalties from your creditors. In addition, late payments can negatively impact your credit score. This can make it harder for you to obtain credit in the future. By making payments on time and in full, you’ll be able to make steady progress towards becoming debt-free.

2. Inform the agency of any changes to your contact information.

If the agency doesn’t have your correct contact information, you may miss important notifications or updates about your account, which could lead to missed payments or other issues. By keeping your contact information up to date, you can help ensure that your debt management plan stays on track and that you’re able to achieve your financial goals.

3. Check your monthly statements for accuracy and report any discrepancies to the agency right away.

It’s important to review your monthly statements carefully and ensure that they reflect the payments made to your creditors by the credit counseling agency. By doing so, you can verify that your payments are being applied correctly and that you’re making progress towards paying off your debts.

4. If you are unable to make a payment as scheduled, contact the agency immediately to explore your options.

If you find yourself unable to make a payment as scheduled in your debt management plan, it’s crucial to contact your consumer credit counseling agency right away. Ignoring the issue could lead to missed payments and/or additional fees from your creditors. This will in turn hinder the progress you’ve made towards becoming debt-free. However, if you reach out to the agency immediately, they may be able to work with you to explore your options and find a solution that works for your financial situation.

5. Contact the ACCC immediately if you discover that they have not made payments to your creditors as agreed.

It’s important to monitor your accounts and check your monthly statements to ensure that your credit counseling agency is making the agreed-upon payments to your creditors. If you discover that payments are missing or not being made on time, it’s important to contact the agency immediately. Your credit counseling agency should have a process in place to investigate and resolve any issues with missed payments or incorrect payments, and by reporting the issue promptly, you can help ensure the success of your debt management plan  and achieve your financial goals.

More>> 7 Best Ways to Consolidate Debt Without Hurting Your Credit 

Debt Management Program with ACCC

American Consumer Credit Counseling (ACCC) is a nonprofit credit counseling agency established in 1991. Since then, they have provided tens of thousands of people help with getting out of debt. ACCC’s debt management program shows you how to get out of debt more quickly, usually within five years, and how to stay debt free in the future. The certified credit counselors at ACCC will work with you to make a plan to reduce credit card debt. Our success stories in debt management will give you more than enough confidence to begin your debt pay off journey.

Get Out of Debt with ACCC – Where Should You Start?

The steps to get out of debt are fairly simple when you work with ACCC.

1. Our debt management counselors will first perform an evaluation of your finances including all your debts, income, and expenses.
2. Then we’ll work with you to set a budget that you can live with. We will make sure that it will help you in getting out of debt more quickly, usually within five years.
3. Next, we’ll work to consolidate debts. You’ll make one monthly payment to ACCC, and we’ll make payments to creditors on your behalf. We’ll also work with your creditors to possibly reduce interest rates and the time it takes to pay off your debts and to reduce or eliminate late fees and over-the-limit charges.
4. Finally, we’ll provide you with financial tools and education that can help you manage your money more effectively and avoid getting into debt in the future.

Get Out of Debt with ACCC – What Will You Get?

1. Affordable solutions – as a non-profit organization, we’re dedicated to providing help with debts for people just like you and we offer debt solutions that are among the most affordable in the industry.
2. Superior customer service – our counselors truly care about serving people like you who need help getting out of debt. The free initial consultation includes budget preparation and analysis of your finances.
3. Confidentiality – we hold all information you share with us in the strictest of confidence.
4. Convenience – we handle everything for you including making payments to and contacting your creditors.
5. Free educational materials are available on our website and through email newsletters – There are also resources for budgeting, home buying, credit reports, and much more.

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