Getting out of debt on your own isn’t hard.  If you don’t know what you’re doing, it may lead to more problems.  What if I told you that there are places that you can go in order to get free debt counseling?  These are places that won’t charge you a dime and there as a non-profit wanting to help you?  Unlike the places that are in it for the money, there are people out there that want to give you advice and help you out with your problems.

Let’s take a glance at the places you can go in order to get free debt counseling so that you don’t have to add even more money on top of the pile you already have.

Start with websites – One of the best debt help websites on the web is DebtConsolidationCare.com.  On this website, you can get advice from members, help and just about anything you can ask for.  You could potentially spend hours on this site alone getting the answers you want to your questions.  Give it a look and I promise you it’ll be worth your time.

Speak with a financial advisor- When you think of a financial advisor, you probably think of someone that helps people make money with retirement but many financial advisors will help you with your debt problems as well.  They will not only recommend you steps on how you can get out of debt, they will also show you how you can maximize your retirement savings.

Check with your local library – No matter where you live, there’s going to be a library in town.  Check and see if they have any type of debt programs they know of or seminars they are holding in the near future.  You’ll be surprised at how many free sources the library has.  Even if they don’t have the seminars, they can point you in the direction of books that can help you learn as well.

Watch the media – Sometimes if you check your local paper or watch the local news, you’ll see announcements for seminars tthat will be held by a company for free consultations and advice.  If it has anything to do with debt, try it out, you won’t have anything to lose!  Sure, sometimes they may offer you  a package at the end for a price but usually what you can get for free is worth it.

These are some of the main ways you can get debt help for free.  Other ways you can use as well are by asking family and friends to see if they have been debt before and what they did to get out of it.  You’ll be amazed at what kind of information people like that can tell you.  Getting out of debt takes a while but if you put your heart into it, you truly can get out of it!

Debt is easy to get into but getting out of it is the hard part.  Let’s look at this way.  When you’re looking to gain weight, it’s not hard.  You can eat the unhealthy stuff and not have a worry in the world but when it comes down to losing that unwanted weight, you’ll have to discipline yourself and hit the gym just about every day.

I put together a very simple list of three ways you can attack your debt.  They’re not hard at all.  Guess what it will take from your end?  Discipline and action.  Yes, if you have both of these great traits, then I will tell you right now that you can be out debt in no time flat.

Do it yourself – Doing anything by yourself is always hard, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing.  With all the books and websites out there today, it’s so easy to find what you’re looking for.  A great tip that you can use is simply using Google as your guide.  Any question that you may have, just simply type it in and I guarantee you that someone else in the world has had the same problem as you!

Get free help – Places like your church or local organizations will help you with your debt for free.  There are many places to find free events like this such as your newspaper, your local TV channel news program or even online.  If you can find a counseling session in your area that is available for free, I highly recommend that you take advantage of it.  These experts can get you on the right path to financial freedom.

Get professional help – The best help you can usually get is the help you have to pay for.  Make sure you always check with the BBB before you start working with a consolidation company.  You may find that they have had a shady past working with people just to steal their money.  Sometimes companies love to take money from those who are truly in need of help.  If you do take the professional route, I highly recommend you look into getting it.

When you looking to get out of debt, these are a few ways you get out it.  These are the routes that you’ll most likely have to take to wipe your debt clean.  If you’re unfamiliar with any of the ways mentioned above, make sure you do a little research on it so you can better understand it.

If you know you’re going to declare bankruptcy, there’s probably not much I can say to make you change your mind but there are a few things I can point out to you that will make your more aware of what you’re actually doing.  Before we start with the tips, you have to remember that bankruptcy isn’t a get of debt free card.  It’s going to hurt you for the next seven years and no, bankruptcy doesn’t clear everything!  Let’s get started.

The laws are hard- If you haven’t even filed yet, do you know if you’re going to be eligible?  If can’t file, what is your back up plan?  Make sure you have a back up plan because if you go into the courts thinking everyone gets approved, you’re way off.

Do you know what you’re getting into? As I already mentioned, you’re not just going to walk out of the courts as a new man or woman.  You’re going to have a ding on your credit report for years to come.  What does this mean?  Kiss the good interest rates goodbye and kiss the annual-fee free credit cards away as well.  You’re most likely going to pay for all of these now.

Know what you’re getting out of – Bankruptcy doesn’t clear everything.  In fact, there are some things you’ll have to pay back regardless.  Depending on your state laws, etc, you’re going to probably always owe things like your student loans, child support and other debts regardless of your situations.

Do you really need to do this?  Experts say that you should only consider bankruptcy if you have debts that would be next to impossible to pay off in the next five years.  Have you tried anything to pay these debts off?  or are you just looking to take the easy street?  Have you tried working part-time, selling your house?  There’s so much you can do to make more money and don’t use the excuse that you’re too busy or the economy is bad.  There are ALWAYS jobs.

Get advice – If you haven’t done so already, try and talk with some professionals to see what they think about the situation.  Do they want you to go for it or do they have some solutions?  You’ll be surprised sometimes on how many other routes you can take in order to get out of the debt mess.

Bankruptcy should be your last resort, period.  Try and find any alternative to try and get out of it.  Remember, if you do take the bankruptcy route, have a back up plan.  That way if things do fail, you won’t have your head down.  Debt also won’t go away just by sitting there.  Get up, work and take action.  Nothing comes easy in life!

Whether you’re in the bankruptcy boat or you’re just curious on why people declare bankruptcy, there are a million reasons why people do but should you do it?  There are plenty of downfalls and upsides to declaring bankruptcy but you really have to look into why people declare bankruptcy in the first place.

Large amount of credit card debt – One of the main reasons people declare bankruptcy is simply because of their high credit card debts.  If you have a large bill that will be close to impossible to pay off, you may have no choice but to declare.  Many of the main reasons people have high debts are from out of control spending, medical bills, and divorces.

Medical bills – We all know that medical bills are expensive and if you’re one of the millions that don’t carry health insurance, you can find yourself in the debt boat very quick.  Heck, one surgery can cost you $100,000.  That’s not a pretty penny.  Like the credit card debt, if you know you won’t be able to pay it off in the next 10-20 years, you’ll be screwed over and will have no choice but to declare bankruptcy.

Divorce- Some divorces go very bad.  Some people will find that their spouse racked up thousands of unwanted dollars on their credit card.  Like I mentioned above, when you have unwanted credit card expenses and attorney fees, these numbers can sky rocket.

Declaring bankruptcy should be your last resort because it’s not going to be an easy process like it was in the early to late 1900s.  The process is very strict in today’s world and they will go through everything you own, have to owe, etc before they even consider it.  My general rule of thumb is that if you owe about four times to five times what you make a year and you have no intentions on making more money, you’ll have to go down this route.

What you should know –

Don’t feel that you have to declare.  It may sound hard but you can simply pay the minimums, go back to college, get a new or part-time job and attack that debt.  Transfer balances to a 0% interest card.  Look at everything possible before you take the easy way out.  YOU owe those people the money.  Don’t just think it’s a free ticket out of debt because it’s not.

Finance charges can be a pain in the butt and your charges are through the roof, I’m going to show you some ways on how you can get those rates cut down to next to nothing by the end of the week.  All you will have to do is attack your debt, do as you’re told and you’ll slowly see those finance charges go down the drain.

Call the credit card companies – The first thing you’ll want to do is pull out every credit card that you’re using or one that you have a balance on.  You’ll want to call up each company and ask if you can get your rate lowered.  I’d say that 50% of the time it will work but not all the time.  If they won’t budge, tell them that you’re going to go to another credit card company.  You’ll find that this may scare them and then they will be more than willing to work with you.

Don’t be a bum- This one is easy.  Instead of staring at your $50,000 debt bill, why don’t you go out and get another job and start spending frugally?  Instead of buying that Starbucks, go out and make your own coffee.  I don’t think I need to go any further.  Attacking your debt isn’t hard and it’s not going to happen overnight.  Get more money and pay that debt off!

Be a good credit card person – When I say this I mean pay your bills off in full all the time, pay them off in time and you’ll slowly see your credit score rise.  What will this mean for you when your score rises?  It means you’ll get a lower rate in the future for a mortgage, car, etc.  A lower score can save you thousands of dollars annually.   I don’t care what anyone says, your credit score is very important to your lifestyle.

Try transferring a balance – If you’ve found in the first step that you can’t get a lower rate by asking, try looking for credit cards that will give you a lower rate if you transfer to them.  There are tons of credit cards out there that are willing to give you 0% for 12 months, etc just for transferring.

Try third party sites – Websites like Prosper.com will allow you to have other lenders bid on your loan.  This way, if you want to avoid major banks, you can try sites like this.  Most of the time, you’ll find that you’ll be able to get a lower rate by using one of these sites.  A site like Prosper.com is safe and secure.

These are a few ways on how you can slash your finance charges in nearly half.  Some of the tips are going to work but some may not work out depending on your credit score.  Usually, the better score you have, the more likely it’ll work for you.