• There are many options for free financial counseling.Young business man and woman at office image by dimis from Fotolia.com
  
  There are many counseling resources to help you work through a wide range of financial issues, including debt, understanding bankruptcy, or preparing to purchase your first home. Nonprofit counseling agencies represent your best option, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Their services are often free, which cannot always be said for for-profit agencies, many of which specialize in debt settlement for fees that can be expensive.
  
  

Credit Counseling

• Nonprofit credit counseling agencies are widely used by people troubled by financial problems. Nonprofit agencies such as Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) are supported partially by grants and contributions, and there services are often free or provided at low cost. The CCCS agencies are located nationwide in virtually every community. Check your telephone directory for listings. Also find other nonprofit credit counseling agencies by seeking referrals from community organizations. The United Way, Salvation Army, Red Cross, National Urban League and similar organizations in your community can steer you to nonprofit credit help. The nonprofit credit counselors can help you with financial problems large and small, including debt management plans that will allow you to make one affordable monthly payment covering all your bills. The counseling agency will manage the money and make payments to your creditors until you graduate from the program in about four years. Unlike for-profit debt settlement counselors, the nonprofit credit counselors urge you to pay all of your debts, and work cooperatively with you and your creditors to make it happen on terms that you can afford. The nonprofits also offer financial literacy classes, tips on budgeting and tutorials on managing credit cards.
  
  

Foreclosure Prevention

• Foreclosure prevention counseling is available in communities nationwide and by telephone. The nonprofit agency Hope Now offers a free hotline for homeowners at risk for foreclosure. The hotline is staffed by housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and their services are free. HUD also has an interactive voice system allowing you to find a housing counselor in your area for free in-person visits.
  
  

Debt Settlement

• For-profit debt settlement firms advertise heavily on radio and television, arguing that they can settle your credit card debt for far less than half the full amount owed. Their tactics represent an extreme form of financial counseling and the FTC and many states attorney generals advise people to beware of their promises. The firms charge a large, nonrefundable up-front fee of about 10-15 percent of your total debt. After that there are monthly "maintenance" charges, and you are asked to stop paying your bills and instead place the money in an escrow account controlled by the debt settlement firm. As the money accumulates, the debt settlement company uses it to make settlement offers to your creditors, one after another. The downside is that the process can take years, and some creditors will sue you rather than deal with the debt settlement firm.