Fewer People Seeking Help with Debt?

Even as more Americans are piling on debt, fewer are seeking counseling or other kinds of relief to try and get their finances back in order. Poverty has increased. Unemployment stubbornly hovers around 9%. Meanwhile, consumers accumulated $18.4 billion more in credit card debt in the second quarter than they did in the first quarter, according to a new study from CardHub.com. That is up 66% from the same quarter in 2010 and up 368% from two years ago.

“People need help more than ever, but they are not coming to us,” says Gail Cunningham, spokeswoman for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. “I think some are just tired of trying and have given up.”

Consider:

• The number of people who went to a credit counselor declined 20% last year from 2009, and the downturn has continued so far this year, the NFCC says.

• Fewer consumers are signing up for a debt repayment plan at the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies. In the first half of the year the number dropped by 38% compared with 2010, the AICCCA says.

• The number of people resorting to bankruptcy protection to escape onerous debt loads is down. The firs nine months of 2011, consumer bankruptcy filings were 10% lower than the same period last year, the American Bankruptcy Institute says.

So why aren’t more people getting help?

Bankruptcy also offers you the chance for a new beginning. You are no longer required to pay the discharged debts. Call an attorney at The Sader Law Firm for a free explanation of your debt relief options. Contact Neil Sader today at 816-281-6349 for an in-depth review of your financial situation.