Basically, what a debt consolidation plan does is to well, consolidate your debts. This is a program where you get all your various credit cards together, you arrange for them to be paid by one central company that takes care of paying them and then you pay that one company. It can be done in several ways:

• New credit card. This is less often done these days, but some credit cards will still let you consolidate debt onto them from other cards. The key here is that you cut up the other cards so you don’t get into trouble again.

• New mortgage. Again, with the problems in the housing markets, this is harder to find as well, but you can refinance and get the money to pay off your bills, even today. Just be sure that you follow the advice above and cut up the cards so you don’t end up back where you were, but with a larger mortgage to boot.

• Debt Consolidation Counselors. These guys will negotiate on your behalf with you credit cards and other creditors and they will arrange a lower payment for you. It doesn’t always work though and you do need to watch out for con men. However, in general, this is a great choice and probably the best choice if you find some with a reputable debt consolidation plan.

However, sometimes advertising comes down to good old patriotism, as with American debt consolidation. I’ve been looking into debt consolidation programs for you, my loyal readers and I’ve done lots of Google searches. Today, I tried American debt consolidation and got 35,600 results. And that’s with the quotation marks (they narrow Google results by showing only the exact phrase instead of an article with those three words anywhere in it). Without the quotation marks, the total jumps to a remarkable 5,030,000. Yes, that’s over 5 million results. So let’s say you’re taken with the idea of using an American debt consolidator. How should you go about choosing one who will do the job for you effectively?

• Talk to friends. This is your first line of defense. Talk to your friends. These days, everyone is having trouble with paying their bills and they need to find debt consolidators, American or otherwise. Odds are, your friends can recommend someone they used or at least tell you whom to stay away from.

• Google, Google, Google! Check the company out. Google their exact name and the word scam. Then try the exact name and the word review. People will generally say what they think of a company and you should get solid results.

• Better Business Bureau. This is just another way to check them out. Contact the BBB and ask if any complaints have been filed against the company. It’s cheap (free actually) and easy and could save you all kinds of heart ache later down the road.

Good luck. I know what you’re going through right now is tough, but I promise you will get through it. It just takes some perseverance.

Stop using your credit cards. Yes, it’s tempting to whip out the plastic and pay for the groceries, but all you’re doing is adding to debt that you need to figure out how to pay for later.

Make a list of monthly expenses. Basically, what you need to do is to keep careful track of what it is that you’re buying. It’s amazing how the little things that you think you “deserve” can make massive holes in your budget. For example, even though that $4 latte at Starbucks sounds like it’s a nice deal, the reality is that they add up very quickly and will get you into trouble. Even the candy bar at work to help you get through the day is an expense that can be cut. Look carefully at everything and allow nothing to be sacred. That said. . .

Don’t make yourself miserable. Yes, you need to follow these tips on debt consolidation in order to get yourself out of debt. But if you cut too far, you’ll make yourself so miserable that you’ll end up like someone on a diet who binges because they just can’t take it anymore. Instead of a candy bar every day, try a candy bar once a week. The latte at Starbucks can be a once a month indulgence instead of a daily one.

You don’t need to use a debt consolidation service in order to get your bills renegotiated. If you call your credit card company and explain that you’re having problems with paying your debt, they will generally listen and try to work with you on getting you a payment plan you can manage.

If you choose to use a service for debt consolidation, make sure they’re legitimate. Ask questions, beware of claims that are too good to be true and check with the Better Business Bureau to see if complaints have been filed against them.

Good luck. I know the economy is tough right now, but if you follow these debt consolidation tips, I do believe that you can get through it.

If you’ve followed the news, you’re probably aware that money is tight these days. The banks don’t want to lend to anyone who has bad credit, but those are precisely the people who need to find a way to refinance their loans. There are some places that will refinance for you, but the terms are sometimes confusing and sometimes seem like they might not be a very good deal. So what should you take into account if you need to refinance with bad credit?

• Ask a lot of questions. Do not be afraid to ask questions from the loan officer you are talking to. Many of these people are fast talkers who are paid to get you to sign the papers as quickly as possible. Therefore, it is your job to hold back and not make any rash decisions. No matter how bad your situation is now, it could get even worse if you sign a bad deal.

• Take the time to think it through. It sounds tempting that you’ll reduce your monthly mortgage payments by $200. But remember that doing it will ultimately cost you thousands of dollars more since you’re creating a new loan with longer terms and paying more fees. This might be a good deal, especially if it means that you can stay in your home. However, you need to ensure that you will be able to afford that new payment and to decide if it’s worth adding thousands of dollars to your expenses.

• Talk to a lawyer. Most people want to believe they can understand the documents themselves. However, you need to speak to a lawyer who understands these things and who works for you to make sure you didn’t miss something. Even though it will add to your expenses, ultimately, you’ll be happier if you do it and your bad credit finance loan will not feel like such a burden if you understand what you’re getting into.

President Obama recently announced that this years’ deficit will be $1.4 trillion. What that means is that in a single year, the United States Government has borrowed $1.4 trillion in order to keep itself going. That’s on top of whatever it collected in the form of assorted taxes on the good people of this country. In spite of that mind boggling spending, people are still drowning in debt, the official unemployment rate stands at 9.8 percent and is expected to continue climbing. The unofficial numbers are even more depressing, since many people are not registered as unemployed anymore since they’ve already exhausted all their benefits. The actual numbers are closer to 20%, a truly frightening figure in today’s economy. Add to that the runaway debt that many Americans have managed to rack up over the years and you’ve got a really horrible situation brewing. A great many people are defaulting on mortgages and credit cards and some are hoping to find relief by looking for services that consolidate credit card bills. The idea sounds good, but watch out! There are unfortunately an awful lot of people trying to prey on those seeking relief and not everyone is out to help you out of debt. Finding out about consolidating credit card bills can be a minefield if you aren’t careful about who you ask for help.

The way it works when you work with a legitimate credit card consolidator is that you provide them with the information on all your various credit cards. They then contact the companies on your behalf and negotiate a deal, sometimes just a lower interest rate and sometimes a reduction in the total you owe. Depending on how much you’re able to pay on the spot, as opposed to how much you need to pay out over time, you can save significant amounts of money with these services. However, a great many of them will simply take your money and run, causing you to rack up ever greater amounts of debt and causing ever greater problems for you as a debtor. So how can you protect yourself from the scammers? Follow these simple rules:

• Look for a company that has been in business for a while. The scammers tend to come and go quickly.
• Ask questions. Lots of them. A legitimate place will happily answer any questions you have. Scammers will try to get you to hand over money quickly.
• If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. One obvious scammer promised to get your debt down to as little as 35 cents on the dollar. I’m sorry to say that this will not happen without bankruptcy and if they make claims like these, they’re probably scammers.