Many people have found themselves in credit card trouble and need help getting out.
Some have either just been careless with their credit cards and other through no fault of their own because of job loss or illness have found themselves unable to make the monthly payments.
Deciding when you need credit card debt counseling is important because the bills and the collection agencies are not going to go away.
One of the first signs that you are going to need counseling for your credit card debt is if you are using credit cards to pay the payments on other credit cards.
This is often known as "robbing Peter to pay Paul.
" This means that there is no actual cash available to make the payment so you use one card to make the payment on another hoping to satisfy the credit card company for another month buying you some time to hopefully be in a better financial situation next month.
Another sign that you need credit card debt counseling is if you can barely make all of your minimum payments and you are starting to have to pay them late.
Once you begin to make late payments you are in trouble.
The minimum payment that you send will not cover the late fees that the credit card companies are going to charge your account so you will actually make a payment and owe more than you did before you made the payment.
If either of these scenarios sounds like your situation it is time to get some help.
Credit card debt counseling will start by contacting your lenders and setting them up on a payment schedule you can handle.
This type of help will stop the late fees and usually lower the interest rate you are paying.
They will also help to teach you how you got into this trouble and hopefully show you ways to avoid getting back into the financial difficulty you currently find yourself facing.
Once you start to receive credit card debt counseling you will get some much needed breathing room and the harassing phone calls will end giving you your peace of mind back.