- Examine the different types of free financial help Bills.com offers.
- Review different do-it-yourself ways to improve your finances.
- Use Debt Coach to compare the best way to get out of debt.
Where can I get free financial help? At Bills.com!
If you are in debt and need financial help, Bills.com is here to assist you. Whether you have credit card debt, tax debt, mortgage debt, student loan debt, or medical bills, Bills.com offers you free financial help. We have tools, tips, articles, and a place for you to ask questions specific to your individual situation.
Mild debt problems, when things are just getting out of control, require different solutions than serious debt problems. You may be making all your required payments each month, but feeling that you can't continue to do so. Your problems may be more severe, where you are behind on your payments and receiving aggressive collections calls, letters, or facing a lawsuit from your creditors. Regardless of where you are on this spectrum, Bills.com's free financial help for consumers in debt helps you find the right solution for your specific problem.
Budget Guide
An important first step to solving any debt problem is to create a budget.
Developing a Budget: A budget will help you see where your money is going, set appropriate spending targets, and establish a plan of action. A well-managed budget will help you reduce your current debts and avoid deeper financial trouble.
Making and following a budget helps you understand how you spend your money. It forces you to breakdown your expenses by specific categories (e.g., housing, food, transportation, etc.) and helps you set appropriate targets for your cash flows. A budget also helps you identify areas where you can reduce spending, so you can trim your debt and use your money most effectively.
The Bills.com budget guide is a great place for you to get started working on your budget.
Debt Coach
Debt Coach is another form of free financial help that Bills.com offers to consumers with unsecured debt. Debt Coach helps you see what you owe, learn about the five main debt payoff solutions, and find the best way out of debt based on your own unique preferences and situation. Debt Coach assesses complex factors and historical debt payment data and gives you a recommendation that factors in the importance that you assign to: the size of your monthly payment, your total cost to become debt free, and the impact on your credit.
Do it Yourself
You can resolve some of your debt problems on your own, if you have the right tools, information, and financial help. Bills.com's Debt Do it Yourself page has copies of letters you can use, including ones to send creditors to get them to cease collection calls, to get a creditor to validate a debt, and for you to dispute a debt. You can also get a free debt consultation with one of Bills.com's pre-screened debt resolution partners.
Bills.com also offers you financial help when you are not looking to resolve a debt problem. We can help you when you are:
- Shopping for a mortgage- You can get a free, no-hassle mortgage quote from one of the pre-screened lenders in the Bills.com lending network.
- Deciding whether to apply for a mortgage- Use our mortgage calcualtor to see if you can save money or accomplish another financial goal by refinancing.
- Shopping for financial services- If you are considering applying for a mortgage, working with a debt relief company, or hiring a tax relief firm, you can read reviews about different mortgage lenders, debt help companies, or tax relief firms that were written by other Bills.com readers.
- Looking for a credit card- Bills.com can help you find the right credit card for your needs.
Questions, Answers
Sometimes, the best financial help is found by asking a question specific to your situation or by reading the answers to questions from other people who face the same issue you do. There is a place for you to ask a question on almost every Bills.com page, or you can leave a comment that will help other readers.
If your question is one that is not directly related to one of our articles or tools, you can send in an "Ask Bill" question.
Bills.com also offers you free financial help from one of our Money Coach feature. Money Coach is a free, personalized service. Call and speak with a Money Coach who will advise you how to make better use of your monthly income, cash flow, and assets.
Information
Bills.com's articles cover topics news events in the mortgage, debt, and credit world. Keep coming back to our site. We're here to help you. At Bills.com, we help people save money every day.
Dealing with debt
Mortgages, credit cards, student loans, personal loans, and auto loans are common types of debts. According to the NY Federal Reserve total household debt as of Q4 2023 was $17.503 trillion. Housing debt totaled $12.612 trillion and non-housing debt was $4.891 trillion.
According to data gathered by Urban.org from a sample of credit reports, about 26% of people in the US have some kind of debt in collections. The median debt in collections is $1,739. Student loans and auto loans are common types of debt. Of people holding student debt, approximately 10% had student loans in collections. The national Auto/Retail debt delinquency rate was 4%.
Collection and delinquency rates vary by state. For example, in Connecticut, 17% have student loan debt. Of those holding student loan debt, 6% are in default. Auto/retail loan delinquency rate is 2%.
To maintain an excellent credit score it is vital to make timely payments. However, there are many circumstances that lead to late payments or debt in collections. The good news is that there are a lot of ways to deal with debt including debt consolidation and debt relief solutions.
