Learn before you decide
Plain-language guides on your rights, your options, and the numbers behind each one. No sign-up required to read anything here.
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Settlement vs. consolidation: a side-by-side comparison
What each program does to your balances, your credit score, and your timeline — plus the situations where the honest answer is none of them.
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Your rights
What debt collectors are not allowed to do
The federal rules on calls, threats, and workplace contact — and the letter that makes them stop.
5 min read
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Medical debt
Always read the itemized bill first
Billing errors are common. How to request an itemized statement and what to look for line by line.
7 min read
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Getting started
How much debt is too much?
The ratios lenders use, and the simpler question worth asking: is the balance still shrinking?
6 min read
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Credit
What actually happens to your score
Missed payments, settled accounts, and utilization — how each one moves the number, and for how long.
9 min read
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Budgeting
A budget that survives a bad month
Fixed costs, variable costs, and the buffer most budgets forget to include.
6 min read
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Your rights
You've been served — what to do this week
Deadlines matter more than anything else. What to do in the first seven days, and who to call.
8 min read
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Medical debt
Hospital charity care, explained
Most nonprofit hospitals must offer financial assistance. How to ask, and what income limits apply.
7 min read
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Getting started
Is forgiven debt taxable income?
What a 1099-C is, when it arrives, and the insolvency exception worth asking your tax pro about.
5 min read
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Credit
Rebuilding after a program ends
Secured cards, utilization targets, and the timeline for a score to recover — without paying anyone.
6 min read
Free help, not ours
Government and nonprofit resources
These are free and independent of us. If one of them solves your problem, you don't need a program.
CFPB — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Free complaint filing against creditors and collectors, plus plain-language guides on your rights. consumerfinance.gov
NFCC-affiliated credit counseling
Nonprofit agencies offering free or low-cost budget counseling and debt management plans. nfcc.org
HUD-approved housing counselors
Free help if you're behind on a mortgage or facing foreclosure. Never pay for this service.
Federal Student Aid
Income-driven repayment, deferment, and forgiveness for federal loans — all free. studentaid.gov
AnnualCreditReport.com
The only federally authorized source for your free credit reports from all three bureaus.
Your state attorney general
Licensing checks for any debt relief company, including us, plus state-specific consumer protections.
Educational content only — not legal, tax, or financial advice. Verify every external link and organization name before publishing.