And in terms of paying these companies off early, you absolutely will not hurt your credit, in fact it’s the exact opposite. What they don’t tell you with these counseling services is that banks and credit companies really don’t like them, and it doesn’t show up on your credit report as if you had been making regular payments all this time, what shows up is that you cancelled all of your cards and had to go through a credit counseling service. That’s why after you pay everything off, it will be so important to keep your credit as good as possible, and also to get ahold of a copy of your credit report to see how much damage has been done so you can try to repair your credit score. Banks and credit companies don’t like these types of services because it demonstrates that you are unable to keep a tight control on your finances. You would think it would be the exact opposite, but when my husband and I were buying our first house, I was finishing up with my credit counseling and the bank required a letter from the counseling service stating where I was in the program and as a sort of recommendation letter. It actually could have hindered us buying a house because the bank wondered if I would be a financial risk. Although, after you pay off your debts, strangely enough you will start receiving tons of credit card offers because they figure that given your past you will spend tons of money if given a credit card. Go figure! Good luck to you and hope this helps!
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