### For someone drowning in credit card debt, debt settlement programs seem like a lifeline. Settlement agencies make big promises to “get creditors off your back!” and “pay your debts for pennies on the dollar!” but do these programs deliver as promised?

What is Debt Settlement?

When a lender believes that there is no possibility to recover a delinquent account, they charge it off their books and assign or sell it to a debt collector.

A debt settlement is an offer made to the collector to accept only some percentage of the outstanding balance and consider it resolved.

How do Debt Settlement Agencies Work?

When someone enrolls with a settlement agency, they are instructed to stop paying their creditors and, instead, make payments to the agency which are held in a trust account.

Once the accounts go to collections (and sufficient money is in the trust account), the agency attempts to negotiate a settlement for less than the full balances.

If the negotiation is successful, the agency pays the collector, who in turn notifies the borrower that the account has been settled and no further action will be taken to collect on it.

That sounds great! Why doesn’t everyone do that?

While debt settlement is real, there are 5 important things to consider:

#### 1. Settlements Hurt Your Credit

Lenders almost never accept settlements directly; they are accepted by debt collectors. This means the account must already be delinquent and in collections before the process starts! Allowing accounts to go to collections has a severe, long-term impact on the credit score.

Additionally, if an account is settled, the collector reports it as “Settled for Less Than Full Balance” rather than “Paid in Full” on the credit report. This negative mark can stay on the credit report for up to 7 years.

#### 2. Settlements Aren’t Always Accepted

There is no guarantee of success since a debt collector is under no obligation to offer or accept a debt settlement. They can, and often do, continue collection activity (including lawsuits) after a settlement offer is made.

#### 3. Settlements Cost More Than You Might Think

The average settlement is between 40% and 50% of the balance, and could be as high as 80% depending on the debt and collector. That means that to settle a $10,000 debt, a borrow might need to have $5,000 or more saved before the negotiation begins.

#### 4. Settlement Agencies Don’t Work for Free

Debt settlement agencies also charge fees based on a percentage of the amount settled. Depending on how much debt is settled, the borrower might be on the hook for thousands more dollars.

#### 5. Settlements Might be Taxable

Even after the debt collector and settlement agency are paid, there is still someone with their hand out: Uncle Sam.

Collectors are required to report to the IRS and issue Form 1099-C for any settlement over $600. This means that the borrower will have to claim the settled amount as income for that tax year. If a $10,000 account was settled at 50%, the borrower would have to claim an additional $5,000 in income.

Depending on how much debt is settled, a borrower might find that they have an increased tax liability.

### Dealing with debt can be overwhelming and the right way to go isn’t always obvious. Our Certified Credit Counselors can help you find the debt strategy that works best for you and sets you on the path to financial freedom.

Visit us at [www.christiancreditcounselors.org](http://www.christiancreditcounselors.org/) to learn more and to schedule a free consultation today.

Our debt management program helps people avoid bankruptcy, debt settlement scams, and quick fixes that ruin credit.

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Articles

If you're drowning in credit card debt, debt settlement programs seem like a lifeline.  But do they deliver as promised?

5 Things to Know About Debt Settlement

## As a new year gets underway, many people feel motivated to do things like lose weight, cut back on social media and especially, get out of debt.

Unfortunately, New Year’s “motivation” often wanes quickly, so it’s helpful to have practical ideas for turning a new year’s resolution into genuine progress.

Getting out of debt, especially *consumer debt,* is a great resolution because this obligation puts a drag on your overall finances. Getting those debts paid off will improve your financial situation tremendously and provide a great sense of freedom in your finances.

## To stay motivated, you need a plan to make your resolution “S-M-A-R-T,” an acronym for Specific— Measurable— Attainable— Realistic— and Timely.

__First__, start by finding out where you are. You need to have a concrete understanding of how much you owe, to whom, and what the terms are, including interest rates. You need to know that because it makes more sense financially to attack a credit card debt that’s at 18% than a car loan that’s at 3%. As you catalog your debts, list them in order from the lowest balance to the highest.

__Second__, and this too is very specific: Stop adding to your debt. As the old saying goes, it’s hard to get out of a hole if you keep digging deeper. You may want to stop using credit cards and instead move to a debit card or cash for your spending. That will help you avoid further debt.

__Third__ is an idea from financial writer Matt Bell. He says, “Tell someone what you’re doing.” In other words, ask someone to hold you accountable to your plan to get out of debt. It’s remarkable how much it helps to have an accountability partner when it comes to following through on what you’ve committed to doing.

__Fourth__, create a specific plan for paying down your debt. There are different ways to approach this. Perhaps the easiest method is to commit a specific amount to debt reduction each month. Let’s say it’s $500, and you have five credit cards. Pay at least the minimum balance due on four of your cards, but pay as much as possible on the card with the lowest balance.

For example, if your minimum payments total $300, pay that, but then pay the remaining $200 toward the lowest-balance card. When you focus your payments this way, you’ll be able to pay off that lowest-balance card soon.

Then, when it’s paid off, you’ll keep paying $500 a month on your debt, but now focus your attention on the new lowest-balance card. After a while, when that one is paid off, you keep paying $500 a month and put most of the money toward the new low-balance card.

This approach of fixing your overall payment at the same amount each month and attacking the lowest-balance card will create a steady sense of progress that you’ll find encouraging.

## Note how this approach is S-M-A-R-T. It’s Specific— Measurable— Attainable— Realistic— and Timely. It’s not vague at all. It’s clear and purposeful.

After you get all your credit cards paid off, you can then start attacking other debts that may be at much lower interest rates, such as car and school loans. If you were paying $500 a month against your credit cards, that $500 is now freed up to accelerate payments on your other debts.

This process of creating a systematic plan for paying down debt has worked for many, many people and it can work for you. If you need practical help on managing debt reduction, the __[FaithFi app](https://www.faithfi.com/manage)__ is a great resource for this purpose.

You can also __[listen](https://www.faithfi.com/search?q=Concrete%20Steps%20Toward%20Getting%20Out%20of%20Debt&videos=true&articles=true&podcasts=true&posts=true&groups=true&events=true&support=true)__ to the related podcast on this topic.

FaithFi

Getting out of debt is a great resolution because this obligation puts a drag on your overall finances.

Concrete Steps Toward Getting Out of Debt

## Well, it’s that time of year to put up the Christmas decorations and engage in the annual tug of war between you, your credit card and the retailers as you do your shopping for gifts. And guess what? The average shopper racks up more than $500 in credit card debt Christmas shopping and doesn’t pay it off until the following October!

So, what should we do to stay out of debt this Christmas?

No, it isn’t finding the best sale. It’s having a Christmas spending plan that you stick to and making some creative decisions. And it’s even more important to remember what Christmas is really all about… celebrating the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

When you use a spending plan for Christmas, you tend to think more carefully about your spending and avoid impulsive purchases. So, here are some suggestions on having a debt-free Christmas that is also a wonderful time and memory for your family.

Be a student of each member of your family and buy or make inexpensive gifts that are valuable to the recipient because it reflects their personal interests and needs.

If finances are tight this year and you have an extended family, consider name-swapping so each person buys a gift for only one or two people.

Create a culture of the family enjoying the fellowship with one another and focusing on Christ and not tons of presents.

Consider as a family giving to those who are needy. We did this when our children were young and discovered it replaced greed and the desire to get more and more with memories we still talk about fondly.

Make Christmas about Christ by having a birthday cake for Him, caroling with friends, and reading the Christmas story.

The world has taken Christ out of Christmas – let’s put Him back in it front and center.

*[Image](https://compass1.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Compass-Blog-Cover-10.png) used with permission.*

Equipping people worldwide to faithfully apply God’s financial principles so they may know Christ more intimately.

Compass Financial

Money Topics

It's the annual tug of war between you, your credit card and the retailers as you do your shopping for gifts.

Tips for Having a Debt-Free Christmas

## In a quest to take advantage of enticing sign-up bonuses, many people find themselves holding numerous credit cards. If that includes you, should you close some?

Perhaps you want to avoid the annual fees some of your cards charge, or it’s just too much work to keep up with all the cards, or maybe it feels like a risk to have access to so much credit. Whatever your reason for closing an account, it pays to be intentional about which cards to close and how.

### Could it hurt my credit score?

You may have heard that it’s best to avoid closing a card you’ve held for a long time. “Credit history” is one of the five main factors determining your credit score, so you may be concerned about shortening your history. That’s a valid concern, but probably not to the degree that you assume.

According to Experian, one of the three credit reporting agencies (TransUnion and Equifax are the other two), a long track record of managing credit cards is an important factor in building a strong credit score — especially if that experience is marked by consistency in paying your bills on time.

Credit-scoring models use several “credit age” metrics when tabulating your score, including how long you’ve had your oldest account and the average age of *all* your accounts. However, the two companies that issue credit scores treat closed accounts differently.

FICO (originally Fair Issac Corporation), the originator of credit scores and the company whose scores most lenders use, will continue to access the history of any closed accounts for up to 10 years. So, closing an account shouldn’t impact the history portion of your FICO credit score anytime soon.

VantageScore, a company created by the three credit bureaus, apparently uses a different approach. According to Experian, the VantageScore calculation “might not include some closed accounts in its credit age calculations, depending on your credit profile and the type of account that was closed. As a result, closing the account could lower your average age of all accounts, and may hurt your VantageScore credit scores.” (“*Might* *not* include some closed accounts”? No wonder credit-score tabulation methodologies continue to seem like a mysterious “black box”!)

![](https://dcktxkaneetr8.cloudfront.net/2022/10/fico-score-elements-v1.png)

Another factor to consider here is your “credit utilization” (or “amounts owed,” as shown in the graphic below). This refers to how much available credit you are using at a given point.

The utilization calculation doesn’t take into account whether you pay your balance in full each month (although you should do that!). For this factor, the bureaus simply look at your credit file at some point each month to see how much you have charged on each individual card and on all cards combined. Using less than 30% of your available credit is best for keeping your credit score strong. Even better if you use less than 10%. Closing an account means lowering your total available credit, thus increasing the percentage of utilization.

To keep all of this in context, keep two factors in mind. First, FICO says length of credit history accounts for just 15% of a credit-score calculation. The most important factor is paying your bills on time (“payment history”), which makes up 35% of your score. And second, your credit score is ever-changing. So, even if your score slips slightly after closing an account, it probably won’t stay that way for long. As long as you keep paying your bills on time and keep your credit utilization per card and across all cards to less than 30% of available credit, you should be fine.

### They won’t let you go easily

When you call to close an account, be prepared for a plea to stay! And, in fact, sometimes it can pay to stay with a card a bit longer. That was my experience recently.

I rarely pay attention to credit card pitches, but on a flight earlier this year the flight attendants promoted a card with an unusually high mileage bonus for the airline we use most often. I already have a card that’s co-branded with the airline, but this one was from a different issuer. (Although the flight attendants said a decision needed to be made in-flight, I learned I could take a brochure with me and decide later.)

Soon enough, I opened the new account with the intention of closing my similar account. I called the issuer of the older card, explained I wanted to cancel before the annual fee was due, and was presented with a pitch to stay. They said if I charged another $1,000, I would get 7,500 bonus miles and still could cancel in time to avoid paying the fee. So that’s what I did.

I suppose they hope people will take the offer and never get around to canceling. I took the offer, wrote down exactly when I needed to cancel, and called back after making sure the additional miles had been credited to the account.

This time, they made another offer: a card with no annual fee. But that wasn’t enough of a benefit to keep me as a customer, so I went through with the cancellation.

### Other things to consider

Before closing a card, you’ll have to pay off any remaining balance. Also, it’s wise to use up any available reward points tied to the card. One other thing: Don’t forget to update any bills that are currently auto-paid via the card you’re closing.

*[Image](https://dcktxkaneetr8.cloudfront.net/2022/10/l1-too-much-plastic-HD.jpg) used with permission.*

*[Image](https://dcktxkaneetr8.cloudfront.net/2022/10/fico-score-elements-v1.png) used with permssion. *

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Personal Finance

Many people find themselves holding numerous credit cards. If that includes you, should you close some?

Too Much Plastic: How to Close a Credit Card Account

The Bible says a lot about borrowing, and nothing good. Rob West shares some wisdom from Ron Blue who says debt isn’t the real problem. It’s only a symptom of problems like greed, impatience and lack of faith.

The Faith & Finance Minute is a great way to be reminded of God's financial principles with actionable items you can easily apply to your daily life.

Faith & Finance Minute

The Bible says a lot about borrowing, and nothing good. Rob West shares some wisdom from Ron Blue who says debt isn’t the real problem. It’s only a symptom of problems like greed, impatience and lack of faith.

Stay Out of Debt

As a new year gets underway, many people feel motivated to do things like lose weight, cut back on social media, and, yes, get out of debt. Unfortunately, New Year’s “motivation” often wanes quickly. So today, we want to give you practical ideas for turning a new year’s resolution into genuine progress — at least in the “getting out of debt” area.
<ul><li>Well, as you may know, every so often on our Monday program, we like to revisit the five basic things you can do with money. Here they are: You can earn it, live on it, give it away, owe it to someone or the government, or you can grow it for the future by saving and investing. Earn, live, give, owe, and grow.</li><li>Today, we’ll focus on the fourth of those: owe.</li><li>Again, many people, at the first of the year, resolve to get out of debt, or at least make progress on reducing their debt. But motivation often wanes quickly.</li><li>To stay motivated, you need to have a plan. You may remember that a few days ago we mentioned the idea of making your resolutions “SMART.” S-M-A-R-T. That stands for Specific— Measurable— Attainable— Realistic— and Timely.</li><li>So let’s start with this specific thing related to debt …<ul><li>1. FIND OUT WHERE YOU ARE. By that we mean you need to have a concrete understanding of how much you, to whom, and what the terms are, including interest rates. You need to know that because, for example, it’ll make much more sense financially to attack a credit card debt that’s at 18 percent than a car loan that’s at 3%. As you catalog your debts, we suggest you list them in order from the lowest balance to the highest.</li><li>2. STOP ADDING TO YOUR DEBT. As the old saying goes, it’s hard to get out of a hole if you keep digging deeper. You may want to stop using credit cards and instead move to a debit card or cash for your spending. That’ll help you avoid further debt.</li><li>3. TELL SOMEONE WHAT YOU’RE DOING. (Credit to financial writer Matt Bell for this one). In other words, ask someone to hold you accountable to your plan to get out of debt. It’s remarkable how much it helps to have an accountability partner when it comes to following through on what you’ve committed to doing.</li><li>4. CREATE A SPECIFIC PLAN FOR PAYING DOWN YOUR DEBT. Now, there are different ways to approach this. Perhaps the easiest method is to commit a specific amount to debt reduction each month. Let’s say it’s $500, and you have five credit cards. Pay at least the minimum balance due on four of your cards, but pay as much as possible on the card with the lowest balance.</li></ul></li><li>To continue the example, let’s say your minimum payments total $300. So you pay that, but then pay the remaining $200 toward the lowest-balance card. When you focus your payments this way, you’ll be able to pay off that lowest-balance card soon.</li><li>Then, when it’s paid off, you’ll keep paying $500 a month on your debt, but now focus your attention on the new lowest-balance card. After a while, when that one is paid off, you keep paying $500 a month and put most of the money toward the new low-balance card.</li><li>This approach of fixing your overall payment at the same amount each month and attacking the lowest-balance card will create a steady sense of progress that you’ll find encouraging.</li><li>And note how this approach is S-M-A-R-T. It’s Specific— Measurable— Attainable— Realistic— and Timely. It’s not vague at all. It is clear and purposeful.</li><li>THE NEXT STEP</li><li>After you get all your credit cards paid for, you can then start attacking other debts that may be at much lower interest rates, such as car loans and school loans. If you were paying $500 a month against your credit cards, that $500 is now freed up to accelerate payments on your other debts.</li><li>This process of creating a systematic plan for paying down debt has worked for many, many people. Again, first, you need to get a clear picture of where you are, then commit to not taking on more debt, and finally, create a clear, easy-to-implement plan that you stick with — not just in the early weeks of January but throughout the months ahead.</li><li>And if you have an accountability partner, you’re much more likely to succeed.</li><li>If you’d like to connect with a financial coach who can discuss your situation and help you implement a plan, we can help with that. Just go to <a href="https://apisource.moneywise.org/connect/">FaithFi.com/connect</a>.</li></ul>On this program, Rob also answers listener questions: 
<ul><li>Should you take Social Security retirement benefits early or take survivor benefits after the death of a spouse?</li><li>How do you know if you need a fiduciary adviser?</li><li>When is it a good idea to buy long-term care insurance? </li></ul>Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000 or email them to <a href="mailto:questions@moneywise.org">Questions@MoneyWise.org</a>. Also, visit our website at <a href="http://moneywise.org/">MoneyWise.org</a> where you can connect with a MoneyWise Coach, join the MoneyWise Community, and even download the free MoneyWise app.

Faith & Finance is a daily radio ministry hosted by Rob West. The program offers a practical, biblical and good-natured approach to managing your time, talents and resources.

Faith & Finance with Rob West

As a new year gets underway, a lot feel motivated to do things like lose weight, cut back on social media, and get out of debt. Then, New Year’s motivation wanes. Rob gives you practical ideas for using a new year’s resolution for getting out of debt.

Concrete Steps Toward Getting Out of Debt (FOUNDATION #17 Owe)

As a new year gets underway, many people feel motivated to do things like lose weight, cut back on social media, and, yes, get out of debt. Unfortunately, New Year’s “motivation” often wanes quickly. So today, we want to give you practical ideas for turning a new year’s resolution into genuine progress — at least in the “getting out of debt” area.
<ul><li>Well, as you may know, every so often on our Monday program, we like to revisit the five basic things you can do with money. Here they are: You can earn it, live on it, give it away, owe it to someone or the government, or you can grow it for the future by saving and investing. Earn, live, give, owe, and grow.</li><li>Today, we’ll focus on the fourth of those: owe.</li><li>Again, many people, at the first of the year, resolve to get out of debt, or at least make progress on reducing their debt. But motivation often wanes quickly. </li><li>To stay motivated, you need to have a plan. You may remember that a few days ago we mentioned the idea of making your resolutions “SMART.” S-M-A-R-T. That stands for Specific— Measurable— Attainable— Realistic— and Timely.</li><li>So let’s start with this specific thing related to debt …<ul><li>1. FIND OUT WHERE YOU ARE. By that we mean you need to have a concrete understanding of how much you, to whom, and what the terms are, including interest rates. You need to know that because, for example, it’ll make much more sense financially to attack a credit card debt that’s at 18 percent than a car loan that’s at 3%. As you catalog your debts, we suggest you list them in order from the lowest balance to the highest. </li><li>2. STOP ADDING TO YOUR DEBT. As the old saying goes, it’s hard to get out of a hole if you keep digging deeper. You may want to stop using credit cards and instead move to a debit card or cash for your spending. That’ll help you avoid further debt.</li><li>3. TELL SOMEONE WHAT YOU’RE DOING. (Credit to financial writer Matt Bell for this one). In other words, ask someone to hold you accountable to your plan to get out of debt. It’s remarkable how much it helps to have an accountability partner when it comes to following through on what you’ve committed to doing.</li><li>4. CREATE A SPECIFIC PLAN FOR PAYING DOWN YOUR DEBT. Now, there are different ways to approach this. Perhaps the easiest method is to commit a specific amount to debt reduction each month. Let’s say it’s $500, and you have five credit cards. Pay at least the minimum balance due on four of your cards, but pay as much as possible on the card with the lowest balance.</li></ul></li><li>To continue the example, let’s say your minimum payments total $300. So you pay that, but then pay the remaining $200 toward the lowest-balance card. When you focus your payments this way, you’ll be able to pay off that lowest-balance card soon.</li><li>Then, when it’s paid off, you’ll keep paying $500 a month on your debt, but now focus your attention on the new lowest-balance card. After a while, when that one is paid off, you keep paying $500 a month and put most of the money toward the new low-balance card.</li><li>This approach of fixing your overall payment at the same amount each month and attacking the lowest-balance card will create a steady sense of progress that you’ll find encouraging.</li><li>And note how this approach is S-M-A-R-T. It’s Specific— Measurable— Attainable— Realistic— and Timely. It’s not vague at all. It is clear and purposeful.</li><li>THE NEXT STEP</li><li>After you get all your credit cards paid for, you can then start attacking other debts that may be at much lower interest rates, such as car loans and school loans. If you were paying $500 a month against your credit cards, that $500 is now freed up to accelerate payments on your other debts.</li><li>This process of creating a systematic plan for paying down debt has worked for many, many people. Again, first, you need to get a clear picture of where you are, then commit to not taking on more debt, and finally, create a clear, easy-to-implement plan that you stick with — not just in the early weeks of January but throughout the months ahead. </li><li>And if you have an accountability partner, you’re much more likely to succeed.</li><li>If you’d like to connect with a financial coach who can discuss your situation and help you implement a plan, we can help with that. Just go to <a href="https://apisource.moneywise.org/connect/">FaithFi.com/connect</a>. </li></ul>On this program, Rob also answers listener questions: 
<ul><li>Should you take Social Security retirement benefits early or take survivor benefits after the death of a spouse? </li><li>How do you know if you need a fiduciary adviser? </li><li>When is it a good idea to buy long-term care insurance? </li></ul>Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000 or email them to <a href="mailto:questions@moneywise.org">Questions@MoneyWise.org</a>. Also, visit our website at <a href="http://moneywise.org/">MoneyWise.org</a> where you can connect with a MoneyWise Coach, join the MoneyWise Community, and even download the free MoneyWise app.

Concrete Steps Toward Getting Out of Debt - Foundation Series

As a new year gets underway, many people feel motivated to do things like lose weight, cut back on social media, and, yes, get out of debt. Unfortunately, New Year’s “motivation” often wanes quickly. Just ahead, practical ideas for turning a new year’s resolution into genuine progress — at least in the “getting out of debt” area. This is Faith and Finance Live - biblical wisdom for your financial journey. <ul><li>Every so often on the Monday program, we revisit the five basic things you can do with money. They are: earn it, live on it, give it away, owe it to someone or the government, or you can grow it for the future by saving and investing. Earn, live, give, owe, and grow.</li><li>On this episode, we focus on the fourth of those: owe.</li><li>A lot of people, at the first of the year, resolve to get out of debt, or at least make progress on reducing their debt. That’s a good resolution because debt, especially things like credit cards put a drag on your overall finances. Getting those debts paid off will improve your financial situation tremendously and provide a great sense of freedom in your finances.</li><li>Motivation, however, often wanes quickly. As we get a few weeks into the year, many resolutions fall by the wayside. To stay motivated, you need to have a plan. You may remember that a few days ago I mentioned the idea of making your resolutions “SMART.” S-M-A-R-T. That stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely.</li><li>First - Find out where you are - you need to have a concrete understanding of how much you owe, to whom, and what the terms are, including interest rates. You need to know that because it’ll make much more sense financially to attack a credit card debt that’s at 18% than a car loan that’s at 3%. So that’s the first thing. Find where you are. As you catalog your debts, list them in order from the lowest balance to the highest. </li><li>Second - this too is very specific: STOP ADDING TO YOUR DEBT. As the old saying goes, it’s hard to get out of a hole if you keep digging deeper. You may want to stop using credit cards and instead move to a debit card or cash for your spending. That’ll help you avoid further debt.</li><li>Third - an idea from financial writer Matt Bell. He says, “Tell someone what you’re doing.” In other words, ask someone to hold you accountable to your plan to get out of debt. It’s remarkable how much it helps to have an accountability partner when it comes to following through on what you’ve committed to doing.</li><li>Fourth - create a specific plan for paying down your debt. There are different ways to approach this. Perhaps the easiest method is to commit a specific amount to debt reduction each month. Let’s say it’s $500, and you have five credit cards. Pay at least the minimum balance due on four of your cards, but pay as much as possible on the card with the lowest balance. To continue the example, let’s say your minimum payments total $300. You pay that, but then pay the remaining $200 toward the lowest-balance card. When you focus your payments this way, you’ll be able to pay off that lowest-balance card soon.</li><li>Then, when it’s paid off, you’ll keep paying $500 a month on your debt, but now focus your attention on the NEW lowest-balance card. After a while, when that one is paid off, you keep paying $500 a month and put most of the money toward the new low-balance card. This approach of fixing your overall payment at the same amount each month and attacking the lowest-balance card will create a steady sense of progress that you’ll find encouraging. Note how this approach is S-M-A-R-T. It’s Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. It’s not vague at all. It is clear and purposeful.</li><li>After you get all your credit cards paid for, you can then start attacking other debts that may be at much lower interest rates, such as car loans and school loans. If you were paying $500 a month against your credit cards, that $500 is now freed up to accelerate payments on your other debts.</li><li>This process of creating a systematic plan for paying down debt has worked for many people. Again, first you need to get a clear picture of where you are, then commit to not taking on more debt, and finally, create a clear, easy-to-implement plan that you stick with — not just in the early weeks of January but throughout the months ahead. And if you have an accountability partner, you’re much more likely to succeed.</li><li>If you’d like to connect with a financial coach who can discuss your situation and help you implement a plan, we can help with that. Just go to the Faith and Finance website and FaithFi.com and scroll down to where it says “Connect With a Coach.” </li><li>On-Air Mention:</li><li>Specifically on the topic of debt, you may be someone who’s worried and struggling with credit card debt, but don’t know where to start. Our trusted underwriter, Christian Credit Counselors, offers a debt management program that can get you out of credit card debt 80% faster while honoring your debt in full. Their faith-based mission will also consider your values and goals as a Christian, too.</li></ul>Next, Rob answers these questions at 800-525-7000 or via email at askrob@FaithFi.com:<ul><li>If you have a CD that will be maturing soon with a sizable balance and your financial advisor has recommended a Guaranteed Annuity offering around 4%, is this advisable?</li><li>How should you tithe on a rental property?</li><li>If your 39 year old son has a traditional 401(k) and wants to move some funds from traditional 401(k) over to Roth 401(k), should he change his 10% contribution from all pretax to 5% pretax and 5% Roth 401(k) instead?</li><li>If you have an authorized user on a credit card who is a friend from church that didn't have a credit score who continues to charge things on your card, what should you do?</li><li>What is the best way to reduce your tax liability if you're already contributing to a Roth 401(k)?</li><li>If your 16 year old wants to buy your old car and he has the cash to do so, should you consider co-signing on a loan just to build his credit?</li></ul>&lt;&lt;&lt; Faith and Finance Market Update with Bob Doll &gt;&gt;<ul><li>With the new year, what is the news of the day and how are thinking about investing?</li><li>Are earnings estimates are too high right now?</li><li>You indicated in your predictions that International stocks could outperform US stocks? Is that correct and is it surprising?</li><li>What about the change in leadership of the House? How might that affect particular sectors particularly energy?</li><li>What is the key indicator you're watching to signal inflation is coming down?</li></ul>Be sure to check out the rest of FaithFi.com to access our books and our many free helpful resources. You can also find us on Facebook Faith and Finance (Live) and join the conversation. Thanks for your prayerful and financial support that helps keep Faith and Finance (Live) on the air. And if you'd like to help, just click the Give tab at the top of the page.

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See how God provides in a miraculous way for a widow in debt and how he can provide for you too.

Videos

Watch how God provides in a miraculous way for a widow in debt and how he can provide for you too.

A Debt Story - Five-Minute Finances

With a spiritual framework on God's ownership, Ron Blue gives his perspective on making this financial decision.

The Ron Blue Institute seeks to be a thought leader with great influence committed to changing the way Christians think, act, and communicate about financial stewardship, empowering the church, and changing the world.

Ron Blue Institute

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