Credit counselors help consumers manage -- and ultimately lower -- their debt.  They promise to negotiate with creditors, create payment plans, and lower the interest rates of those in debt.  A credit counselor's ultimate goal is to help you eliminate your debt. 
 
If you are in debt, a credit counselor will do 3 basic things for you:

1. Credit counselors help you consolidate several monthly payments from different accounts into one monthly payment.  The single payment is usually much less than the sum of the payments you were previously making.
 
2. Credit counselors get your creditors to reduce the interest rates on your credit accounts.  For example, a credit card with an interest rate of 30% may be reduced to as low as 5%. Or they may be able to eliminate interest payments altogether.  This will help you pay off debts faster.
 
3. Credit counselors help you bring delinquent accounts current.  They re-age the account by getting the company to list the account as current after you make several payments on time.

Everyone who uses credit knows what a FICO score is, but have you heard of a FAKO score? 
 
FAKO scores are very similar to FICO stores in that they evaluate the creditworthiness of a person.  But the term FACO (or FAKO) is used to indicate that the scoring system is not a Fair Isaac Corp (FICO) score, but rather a non-Fair Isaac Corp score. 

In short, FAKO is a nickname that means fake FICO.  Unfortunately, thanks to creative marketing, when people receive a credit score, they often don't realize that the score they're looking at in a credit report is actually a FACO score, rather than a FICO score.

Here's what to look for, and how to tell if the credit score you receive is a legit FICO score, or a fake FACO score.

Once you're in debt, it's difficult to get out of debt -- especially while protecting your credit score at the same time.

I happen to believe that it's worth it to let your credit score suffer a bit in order to dig yourself from under the weight of oppressive debt. It's best to worry about your credit score later. 

Here's why...

I have to admit it.  The company did an excellent job getting the URL into my head. 

I don’t know if it was the commercial of the guys in the car with “legs sticking the vinyl and his posse getting laughed at", or the guy in the restaurant “selling fish to tourists in
T-shirts", but they certainly got the message across. 

However, I started hearing reports that FreeCreditReport.com is not as free as the commercials say.  So I decided to investigate the claims for myself. 

Yesterday I saw a segment on NBC's Today Show which reminded me of my college days when I contemplated debt consolidation... or credit counseling... or even bankruptcy. 

This was Ivan's question for money expert Jean Chatzky:

I am a 21-year-old college student with a lot of debt. I owe $15,000 and the credit card companies don't stop harassing me because I can't even pay the minimums. My income barely covers those minimum payments. I attempted to consolidate my credit but backed out last minute due to all the articles I read. Someone told me my best bet was to file for bankruptcy. Any advice?"
 

Hearing Ivan's situation made me flash back to my own college days when I, too, was in debt up to my ears.

Jean Chatzky's recommendation for Ivan was basically to try credit counseling. Here's why, plus what to look for when you're trying to find a reputable credit counseling company...

If you're like me, then you know that it's a good idea to request a copy of your credit report every year. Sometimes I do, sometimes I forget. Let this be a reminder to all... (I ordered mine today.)

A 2004 study by U.S. PIRG (Federation of State Public Interest Research Groups) found 25% of reports contained serious errors. If something's wrong, it's up to you to contact the bureau and clear it up.
Source: Good Housekeeping, July 2007

But did you know that it's actually possible to request three separate credit reports each and every year?

Wondering what the quickest & easiest way to do this is?

Here's what you need to know...