Re: Credit Management
There are two kinds of credit counseling services.
If you use one, make sure it's Consumer Credit Counseling. They are the real deal. They are non-profit and they work to help you. They negotiate with your creditors to lower your debts and they also help you budget and manage your money.
The other kind are not good. They mess with your credit score deliberately to force the creditors to take what they can get. They also take a huge cut of your payments. Beware!
The new bankruptcy laws (which are way more strict as of October 2005) will force you to use credit counseling anyway, so if you're considering bankruptcy you may as well start with credit counseling before you decide.
Don't feel bad about paying off only part of the debt. Your creditors wouldn't agree to it if it were as bad as you feel it is.
And ColdCaller is right about trying to negotiate directly with the creditors. You'd be surprised how willing they are to cut you a deal. (If you're really interested in protecting/ improving your credit score, make sure that they report the debt as "in good standing," "closed in good standing," or "paid in full" rather than "settled."
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