We live in the age of consumerism. Fifty years ago, we didn’t need more than one television in the house, a microwave, a Wii for the kids and all the gadgets we “need” today – cellphones, e-book readers, laptops, netbooks, two different kinds of computers and mp3 players. Thanks to the fact that banks actually encourage people to spend and spend money they don’t have yet, most usually end up working to death just to pay off the interests on their credit cards. Financial advisors now recommend people to undergo credit counseling even if they are not in overwhelming debt yet. It will help them make sound financial decisions and let them know their options if ever they find themselves in a bad financial situation.

If faced with overwhelming unsecured debt – credit card debt is usually the main culprit here – you can either go for debt settlement or credit card consolidation. In debt settlement, you can talk with the credit card company and explain your financial situation. They can in turn slash a huge portion of your debt, minus interest rates and annual fees that you can settle in four to five years. Credit card consolidation on the other hand lets you consolidate all debt so you can pay one monthly payment for all them. Credit card consolidation can be an extremely useful tool when faced with overwhelming credit debt. Consolidation involves rolling several individual credit accounts into one manageable account that usually has lower interest than the previous ones.

I still suggest employers or even the government offer free consumer credit counseling service for their employees/citizens. Because dealing with debt is not something that most people are experts in, sometimes it is necessary to seek some expert advice debt problems.