Credit counseling involves assisting financially distressed individuals with managing their debt through education programs and budgeting tools. Enrollees are often placed into Debt Management Plans managed by credit counseling agencies which distribute payments on the debtor's behalf. Many of these programs are free however there may be fees depending on the services provided.

Debt consolidation programs combine the balances of several loans into one new loan with a new lender at a single interest rate. Qualifying for a consolidation loan can require higher borrower credit scores and oftentimes lenders will ask for loan collateral, such as your home or personal possessions, in exchange for taking on the risk. If no collateral is available a borrower may not qualify or may take on a higher interest rate.

Debt settlement is one of the most popular debt relief strategies available today, and is what we specialize in at Alleviate. In a debt settlement program an enrollee makes monthly deposits into a trust account. As these funds accumulate the debt settlement firm negotiates settlements with your creditors which are often significantly less than the balance owed. Each debt is systematically targeted until the client is debt free.

Bankruptcy is arguably the most drastic of all the debt relief strategies available to consumers. The United States bankruptcy process effectively allows debtors to get a "fresh start" by legally declaring themselves unable to repay outstanding debts and liquidating some assets to satisfy creditors. Chapter 7 and 13 are the most common types of bankruptcy used by individuals, however any form of bankruptcy will have a long lasting derogatory effect on creditworthiness.

Minimum payments is the most conservative option available to modern debtors. When making minimum payments on debt a borrower is maximizing the profits paid to the creditor. A minimum payment strategy is only recommended as temporary measure to get through a tough financial stretch as the total debt is reduced at the slowest possible rate. Debtors who routinely find themselves making minimum payments should seek another debt relief option.