How to Get Credit Counseling or Financial Assistance

Financial struggles may come in different forms, but they can all lead to stress. Nonprofit credit counseling agencies have certified counselors who can help explain your options, develop a personalized plan and even negotiate with your creditors. Additionally, other financial assistance programs can help you decrease your overall expenses or make your bills more manageable. Here are resources to consider if you find yourself in a financial tough spot.

General Credit Counseling

Credit counseling agencies offer a variety of free and low-cost services to consumers, such as:

Credit or debt counseling: After completing an initial review of your goals and finances, the counselor may work with you to create a budget and explain different debt management options and programs.
Debt management plan: If you're overwhelmed with unsecured debt, such as credit card debt, a debt management plan (DMP) may be a good option. With a DMP, you may have to close your credit cards, but a counselor will negotiate with your creditors to get lower interest rates, waive fees and bring past-due accounts current. You'll then make one monthly payment to the credit counselor, who distributes the money to your creditors with the goal of paying off the balances within three to five years.
Credit report review: If you have questions about your credit reports or scores, a credit counselor may be able to explain what's in your credit report, look for inaccuracies and give you suggestions for improving your credit.
Required educational courses: Some agencies are approved to offer courses that you may need to complete if you want to file for bankruptcy, purchase a home through a government program or get a reverse mortgage.

Reputable credit counseling agencies are generally nonprofits and typically belong to a certification organization such as the National Foundation for Credit Counseling or Financial Counseling Association of America. You can find local and national credit counseling organizations through these resources or by researching the U.S. Department of Justice's list of approved credit counseling agencies. You may be able to work with a certified counselor online, over the phone or in person.

General Financial Assistance Programs

Financial assistance can come in many forms, from direct payments or subsidized housing to free food and household goods. Many programs are specific to certain states, counties or cities, and eligibility can vary widely. With this in mind, here are several resources hubs you can use as starting points to find different types of assistance:

211: The 211 Network offers free and confidential guidance to help people find and sign up for assistance programs. You can call or text 211 to get started, or look online to see what types of assistance are offered in your area.
Benefits.gov: This government website has a benefit finder tool you can use to see if you qualify for state or federal assistance programs.
Feeding America: This directory can help you locate food banks and pantries that are part of the Feeding America network.
Free legal aid: There are nonprofit legal clinics in many areas that may have consumer rights, employment and housing attorneys on staff who can answer your questions or represent you in court.
Rent relief: Housing costs generally make up the majority of a household's monthly bills, and you may have fewer options if you're a renter. But help may be available.
USA.gov: This government website provides information about a wide variety of government services.

Student Loan Counseling and Financial Assistance Programs

Student loans can be different from other types of debt, particularly if you have federal student loans. You may be eligible for different repayment plans, forgiveness and cancellation programs. Even private student loan lenders may offer hardship programs that allow you to temporarily stop making payments.

StudentAid.gov is the main resource for federal student loan borrowers. If you have private student loans, you can reach out to your loan servicer and ask about assistance programs.

Additionally, nonprofit credit counselors may offer student loan counseling services, which could be a good option if you're looking for personalized advice. There are also consultants and attorneys who specialize in student loans. While you may need to pay for their services, it could be a worthwhile investment if you have a complex situation or have legal questions.

Medical Bill Counseling and Financial Assistance Programs

If you're looking for help with medical care, the government resources listed above may be a good place to start. Those tools can help you determine if you may be eligible for subsidized or free health care coverage through state or federal programs.

When you already have medical debts, or if you need help with ongoing treatments or medication, other options may be available. You might consider taking one or more of the following actions:

Ask your health care provider for discounts. Some may give you a discount if you can pay in full or make a down payment. Or, you may be able to get a low- or no-interest payment plan.
Hire a medical billing advocate. Advocates can review your bills and negotiate on your behalf. Look through the Alliance of Claims Assistance Professionals and AdvoConnection directories to find several options, and ask the billing advocates about their experience with similar cases and their fees. Advocates may charge hourly, monthly, by the project or based on how much they save you.
Look for financial assistance with bills, treatments or medications. Nonprofit organizations that focus on helping patients with similar diagnoses and needs may be able to help. Some of the many examples include: CancerCare, Cancer Financial Assistance Coalition, Children's Diabetes Foundation, CR3 Diabetes Association, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, National Organization for Rare Disorders and Patient Access Foundation.
Seek out patient assistance programs (PAPs). These are run by pharmaceutical companies and may be an option if you're having trouble affording medication or medical supplies. RxAssist and Medicare.gov have PAP search tools you can use to search for applicable programs.

Military Financial Counseling and Assistance Programs

Military members and veterans can look for counseling services that specifically address their needs and assistance programs that they're eligible for based on their service.

Military OneSource and the U.S. The Department of Veterans Affairs are good starting points for finding resources. For example, you can call Military OneSource at 800-342-9647 or start a live chat through the website to get connected to counselors who can provide free personal finance, tax or legal services.

You can also connect with others to learn more. The Military Family Advisory Network has programs focused on finances, wellness and building community. There's also a subset of the personal finance blogging space that focuses specifically on military members. The Military Wallet, The Military Guide, Military Life Planning and Her Money Moves are four well-known military finance blogs.

Learn About Your Credit and Additional Resources from Experian

Experian's blog can also be a great tool if you want to learn more about building credit, managing credit and finances, and how your credit can impact your life. The blog is frequently updated with new information to address consumers' latest questions and issues, such as the COVID-19 education hub. You can also create an account and get free credit monitoring from Experian, which comes with real-time alerts, credit score tracking and access to your Experian credit report.

How Good Is Your Credit Score?

300 credit score 301 credit score 302 credit score 303 credit score 304 credit score 305 credit score 306 credit score 307 credit score 308 credit score 309 credit score 310 credit score 311 credit score 312 credit score 313 credit score 314 credit score 315 credit score 316 credit score 317 credit score 318 credit score 319 credit score 320 credit score 321 credit score 322 credit score 323 credit score 324 credit score 325 credit score 326 credit score 327 credit score 328 credit score 329 credit score 330 credit score 331 credit score 332 credit score 333 credit score 334 credit score 335 credit score 336 credit score 337 credit score 338 credit score 339 credit score 340 credit score 341 credit score 342 credit score 343 credit score 344 credit score 345 credit score 346 credit score 347 credit score 348 credit score 349 credit score 350 credit score 351 credit score 352 credit score 353 credit score 354 credit score 355 credit score 356 credit score 357 credit score 358 credit score 359 credit score 360 credit score 361 credit score 362 credit score 363 credit score 364 credit score 365 credit score 366 credit score 367 credit score 368 credit score 369 credit score 370 credit score 371 credit score 372 credit score 373 credit score 374 credit score 375 credit score 376 credit score 377 credit score 378 credit score 379 credit score 380 credit score 381 credit score 382 credit score 383 credit score 384 credit score 385 credit score 386 credit score 387 credit score 388 credit score 389 credit score 390 credit score 391 credit score 392 credit score 393 credit score 394 credit score 395 credit score 396 credit score 397 credit score 398 credit score 399 credit score 400 credit score 401 credit score 402 credit score 403 credit score 404 credit score 405 credit score 406 credit score 407 credit score 408 credit score 409 credit score 410 credit score 411 credit score 412 credit score 413 credit score 414 credit score 415 credit score 416 credit score 417 credit score 418 credit score 419 credit score 420 credit score 421 credit score 422 credit score 423 credit score 424 credit score 425 credit score 426 credit score 427 credit score 428 credit score 429 credit score 430 credit score 431 credit score 432 credit score 433 credit score 434 credit score 435 credit score 436 credit score 437 credit score 438 credit score 439 credit score 440 credit score 441 credit score 442 credit score 443 credit score 444 credit score 445 credit score 446 credit score 447 credit score 448 credit score 449 credit score 450 credit score 451 credit score 452 credit score 453 credit score 454 credit score 455 credit score 456 credit score 457 credit score 458 credit score 459 credit score 460 credit score 461 credit score 462 credit score 463 credit score 464 credit score 465 credit score 466 credit score 467 credit score 468 credit score 469 credit score 470 credit score 471 credit score 472 credit score 473 credit score 474 credit score 475 credit score 476 credit score 477 credit score 478 credit score 479 credit score 480 credit score 481 credit score 482 credit score 483 credit score 484 credit score 485 credit score 486 credit score 487 credit score 488 credit score 489 credit score 490 credit score 491 credit score 492 credit score 493 credit score 494 credit score 495 credit score 496 credit score 497 credit score 498 credit score 499 credit score 500 credit score 501 credit score 502 credit score 503 credit score 504 credit score 505 credit score 506 credit score 507 credit score 508 credit score 509 credit score 510 credit score 511 credit score 512 credit score 513 credit score 514 credit score 515 credit score 516 credit score 517 credit score 518 credit score 519 credit score 520 credit score 521 credit score 522 credit score 523 credit score 524 credit score 525 credit score 526 credit score 527 credit score 528 credit score 529 credit score 530 credit score 531 credit score 532 credit score 533 credit score 534 credit score 535 credit score 536 credit score 537 credit score 538 credit score 539 credit score 540 credit score 541 credit score 542 credit score 543 credit score 544 credit score 545 credit score 546 credit score 547 credit score 548 credit score 549 credit score 550 credit score 551 credit score 552 credit score 553 credit score 554 credit score 555 credit score 556 credit score 557 credit score 558 credit score 559 credit score 560 credit score 561 credit score 562 credit score 563 credit score 564 credit score 565 credit score 566 credit score 567 credit score 568 credit score 569 credit score 570 credit score 571 credit score 572 credit score 573 credit score 574 credit score 575 credit score 576 credit score 577 credit score 578 credit score 579 credit score

580 credit score 581 credit score 582 credit score 583 credit score 584 credit score 585 credit score 586 credit score 587 credit score 588 credit score 589 credit score 590 credit score 591 credit score 592 credit score 593 credit score 594 credit score 595 credit score 596 credit score 597 credit score 598 credit score 599 credit score 600 credit score 601 credit score 602 credit score 603 credit score 604 credit score 605 credit score 606 credit score 607 credit score 608 credit score 609 credit score 610 credit score 611 credit score 612 credit score 613 credit score 614 credit score 615 credit score 616 credit score 617 credit score 618 credit score 619 credit score 620 credit score 621 credit score 622 credit score 623 credit score 624 credit score 625 credit score 626 credit score 627 credit score 628 credit score 629 credit score 630 credit score 631 credit score 632 credit score 633 credit score 634 credit score 635 credit score 636 credit score 637 credit score 638 credit score 639 credit score 640 credit score 641 credit score 642 credit score 643 credit score 644 credit score 645 credit score 646 credit score 647 credit score 648 credit score 649 credit score 650 credit score 651 credit score 652 credit score 653 credit score 654 credit score 655 credit score 656 credit score 657 credit score 658 credit score 659 credit score 660 credit score 661 credit score 662 credit score 663 credit score 664 credit score 665 credit score 666 credit score 667 credit score 668 credit score 669 credit score

670 credit score 671 credit score 672 credit score 673 credit score 674 credit score 675 credit score 676 credit score 677 credit score 678 credit score 679 credit score 680 credit score 681 credit score 682 credit score 683 credit score 684 credit score 685 credit score 686 credit score 687 credit score 688 credit score 689 credit score 690 credit score 691 credit score 692 credit score 693 credit score 694 credit score 695 credit score 696 credit score 697 credit score 698 credit score 699 credit score 700 credit score 701 credit score 702 credit score 703 credit score 704 credit score 705 credit score 706 credit score 707 credit score 708 credit score 709 credit score 710 credit score 711 credit score 712 credit score 713 credit score 714 credit score 715 credit score 716 credit score 717 credit score 718 credit score 719 credit score 720 credit score 721 credit score 722 credit score 723 credit score 724 credit score 725 credit score 726 credit score 727 credit score 728 credit score 729 credit score 730 credit score 731 credit score 732 credit score 733 credit score 734 credit score 735 credit score 736 credit score 737 credit score 738 credit score 739 credit score

740 credit score 741 credit score 742 credit score 743 credit score 744 credit score 745 credit score 746 credit score 747 credit score 748 credit score 749 credit score 750 credit score 751 credit score 752 credit score 753 credit score 754 credit score 755 credit score 756 credit score 757 credit score 758 credit score 759 credit score 760 credit score 761 credit score 762 credit score 763 credit score 764 credit score 765 credit score 766 credit score 767 credit score 768 credit score 769 credit score 770 credit score 771 credit score 772 credit score 773 credit score 774 credit score 775 credit score 776 credit score 777 credit score 778 credit score 779 credit score 780 credit score 781 credit score 782 credit score 783 credit score 784 credit score 785 credit score 786 credit score 787 credit score 788 credit score 789 credit score 790 credit score 791 credit score 792 credit score 793 credit score 794 credit score 795 credit score 796 credit score 797 credit score 798 credit score 799 credit score

Resources

Credit Score

Credit Report

Fraud & Identity Theft

Improve Credit

Personal Finance

Calculators

How to Get Credit Counseling or Financial Assistance

In this article:

General Credit Counseling

General Financial Assistance Programs

Student Loan Counseling and Financial Assistance Programs

Medical Bill Counseling and Financial Assistance Programs

Military Financial Counseling and Assistance Programs

Learn About Your Credit and Additional Resources from Experian

Instantly raise your FICO^® Score for free

How Good Is Your Credit Score?

Resources

Latest Research

Latest Reviews

Instantly raise your FICO^® Score^☉ for free^ø

Credit support

Credit advice

Most popular

Credit reports

Credit scores

Improving credit

Establishing credit

Identity Theft support

Identity Theft Advice

Most popular

Identity theft and fraud

Cybersecurity

Privacy

Money advice

Most popular

Digital checking account

Save money on bills

Credit Card advice

Most popular

Balance transfer

Cash back

For bad credit

For fair credit

For students

APR

Rewards

New to credit

Loan advice

Most popular

Debt consolidation

Personal

Auto Insurance advice

Most popular

In this article:

General Credit Counseling

General Financial Assistance Programs

Student Loan Counseling and Financial Assistance Programs

Medical Bill Counseling and Financial Assistance Programs

Military Financial Counseling and Assistance Programs

Learn About Your Credit and Additional Resources from Experian

Instantly raise your FICO® Score for free

How Good Is Your Credit Score?

Resources

Latest Research

Latest Reviews

Instantly raise your FICO^® Score for free