Household debt is now at a record high level relative to disposable income, according to the Federal Reserve. This latest bit of news explains why there’s “no early end” in sight to bankruptcy filings as consumers recover from their debt incurring binge of the 1990s, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute in Alexandria, Va.

“A high level of indebtedness among households could lead to increased household delinquencies and bankruptcies, which could threaten the health of lenders if loan losses are greater than anticipated,” according to a press release from ABI, reporting on the more than 1.5 million bankruptcies filed in the last 12 months.

Unfortunately, homeowners are right up there with their own Chapter 13 bankruptcies, the section of bankruptcy favorable to homeowners. Fortunately, there are alternatives to filing for bankruptcy or allowing your house to go to foreclosure.

To find out how you stack up with national figures on indebtedness and spending habits, visit the CNNMoney Web site spending calculator by Clicking Here

This week’s column will be dedicated purely to online resources for consumers to make a gut check on their credit (though some don’t need to check, they already know they’re in trouble).

Be forewarned: Many unscrupulous people market bankruptcy as a quick fix for consumers who find themselves over their heads financially, whether they just got slapstick happy with credit cards or got hit with a job loss or illness. However, there are healthy alternatives to filing bankruptcy and here’s where you can go to find help.

First and foremost, you need to know what organizations are safe to approach to help you get out of debt and fix your credit. Therefore, I strongly suggest you start with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Web site www.hud.gov.

The problem with the larger real estate Web sites on the Internet is that they are so voluminous, it would take a couple of paragraphs just to explain to you how to get a certain page. This list of consumer credit counseling offices approved by HUD, is of no exception: http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hccprof14.cfm

Now to get this link to you by describing how to eventually click your way through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Web site would take longer than for you to copy down the above 53-character link. So there it is. (Just a suggestion to HUD staff readers – how about a simple link, like hud.gov/consumercreditlist. It may not be real sexy, but it sure is easier to remember.)

On this list, you’ll find links to all the HUD approved agencies to help you with your credit mess. Unfortunately, the file is a plain ol’ text file, meaning it’s not interactive. Not all the agencies have Web sites and if they do, you need to copy the site onto your clipboard and paste it into the Web browser to get access to it.

A second place to start your search to fix your credit and reduce debt is the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, Inc.’s Debt Advice Web site. To go straight to NFCC’s member locator, click here

This organization was founded in 1951 and is the nation's longest serving national nonprofit network providing premier consumer counseling and education services on budgeting, credit, and debt resolution. There are more than 1,300 community-based agency offices nationwide. These state/local agencies are often known as Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) and can be identified by the NFCC member seal.

NFCC member offices can be reached in communities nation-wide, toll-free at 1-800-388-2227. The NFCC member locator is very user friendly – just plug in your zip code and it looks up offices with all contact information within as many miles as you designate. I found six within a 10 mile radius of my home.

Fannie Mae (one of the largest providers of money for loans in the country) has a searchable list of housing/credit counselors on its site: www.fanniemae.com, click Homepath; then Housing Counselor (in the middle of the text on the page); then search by state.

Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae’s main competitor, has a great home-buying, interactive section called CreditSmart, but no list on credit counseling. The site refers visitors to the NFCC site.

Published: November 22, 2002

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