It's
a
painful
position
--
mounting
credit
card
debt
with
increasing
interest
rates
and
no
real
vision
of
how
to
crawl
out
from
underneath
all
that
financing.
According
to
the
Consumer
Credit
Counseling
Service
of
Santa
Clara
and
Ventura
County,
California,
(CCCS)
what
got
most
people
in
financial
troubles
are:
overspending
(25
percent),
reduced
income
or
unemployment
(31
percent),
medical
reasons
(11
percent),
divorce
or
separation
(8
percent).
The
non-profit
agency
helps
people
alleviate
their
financial
burdens
and
provides
financial
education
and
counseling
on
preparing
to
buy
a
home.
Last
year
7,043
households
were
counseled
and
received
financial
education
which,
included
developing
a
budget,
a
debt
payout
plan,
analysis
of
assets
and
liabilities,
and
an
action
plan
to
solve
their
financial
concerns.
An
additional
1,604
households
received
pre-discharge
education
and
another
1,014
received
reverse
mortgage
counseling.
Those
figures
are
from
just
one
non-profit
of
the
many
agencies
throughout
the
country
that
aim
to
help
consumers
with
their
finances.
It's
no
wonder
many
wannabe
homeowners
are
finding
themselves
locked
out
of
the
housing
market.
But
there
is
hope.
"We
help
anybody
who
has
a
debt
with
as
little
as
$3,000
up
to
$100,000.
We've
seen
it
all,"
says
Sonie
May,
Counseling
and
Education
Manager,
of
CCCS.
May
says
the
average
consumer
that
the
agency
sees
has
approximately
$30,000
of
debt.
She
says
what
tends
to
happen
is
the
credit
card
companies
rapidly
increase
consumers'
interest
rates
when
they
miss
a
payment
and
that
causes
the
downward
financial
spiral
of
paying
out
more
money
and
not
being
able
to
save
to
buy
a
home.
"It's
hard
to
get
out
of
that
cycle
because
the
minimum
payments
are
so
high;
it's
hard
to
get
out
of
that
hole
that
they're
in,"
says
May.
The
most
important
advice
if
you
are
considering
purchasing
a
home
is
to
find
out
exactly
how
much
money
you
bring
in,
how
much
money
is
spent
each
month,
and
how
much
money
you
can
pay
out
for
a
monthly
mortgage.
The
CCCS
helps
you
understand
and
assess
your
financial
position
and
what
can
be
done
if
you
have
credit
card
debt.
"We
have
relationships
with
most
of
the
creditors,"
says
May.
When
clients
come
in,
"we
develop
a
repayment
plan
to
get
the
consumer
debt-free
within
a
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five-year
period
with
low
interest
rates
and
low
payments."
May
says
most
of
the
interest
rates
negotiated
for
clients
are
between
seven
and
18
percent,
but
she
says
some
are
as
low
as
zero
percent.
"From
30
percent
that's
a
big,
big
difference
--
we
save
them
thousands
of
dollars
not
only
on a
monthly
basis
but
also
over
the
long
run
we
will
save
them
thousands
of
dollars
of
interest
that
they
would
have
paid
if
they
hadn't
come
to
see
us,"
says
May.
The
CCCS
collects
the
payment
from
the
client
and
then
disburses
it
to
each
of
the
creditors.
A
monthly
fee
is
charged
by
CCCS
for
participation
in
the
payment
program.
Of
course,
while
working
with
the
CCCS,
clients
are
strongly
urged
to
not
use
credit
cards
or
incur
any
more
debt.
Once
the
program
is
completed,
clients
are
free
to
borrow
again
including
taking
out
a
mortgage.
"We
have
heard
success
stories
from
many
of
our
clients
who
were
able
to
purchase
homes
after
they
have
completed
the
program,"
says
May.
The
CCCS
can
help
with
planning
to
purchase
a
home.
The
agency
has
its
clients
evaluate
and
analyze
what
their
future
expenses
will
be
once
they
own
the
home.
They
remind
clients
that
homeownership
expenses
include
more
than
just
the
mortgage,
property
taxes,
and
homeowner's
insurance.
The
agency
promotes
savings
for
the
unexpected
expenses:
needing
a
new
roof
or
the
loss
of a
job.
Always
be
sure
that
when
you
calculate
your
expenses,
you
set
a
portion
aside
to
pay
yourself
in
addition
to
paying
for
your
new
home
and
other
necessities.
The
other
very
important
advice
the
CCCS
gives
is
to
completely
understand
the
type
of
mortgage
you
are
getting.
May
says
it's
important
for
homebuyers
to
know
if
the
monthly
mortgage
payment
will
increase.
"If
it's
a
variable
rate
loan,
when
will
the
interest
rate
go
up
--
after
six
months
or a
year?
--
and
would
they
be
ready
if
that
mortgage
payment
were
to
increase,"
says
May.
Too
often,
as
we're
seeing
now,
in
the
housing
industry,
consumers
either
weren't
informed
or
didn't
consider
the
result
of
an
increase
in
their
mortgages'
interest
rate
and
thus
are
forced
to
financially
buckle
down
or,
in
worst
case
scenarios,
foreclose.
Another
CCCS
company
in
the
San
Francisco
area
says
help
is
available
for
homeowners
who
are
facing
foreclosure.
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