Related Services - The following companies and services offer a wide variety of financial programs to assist you with handling your debts. Consolidate your bills with a debt consolidation loan or use a debt management or credit counseling service for help with your credit card bills and other payments.

• Personal Loan Company - Looking for a small loan? Start at the personal loans directory, where you can shop and apply with different lenders and related services online.
• Debt Settlement Negotiation - High credit card balances making your monthly payments impossible to meet? The negotiation of your outstanding bills with your creditors may be a good debt solution for you. Educate yourself on your options and compare available programs.
• Debt Management Consolidation - Do you feel that your credit card bills are stacking up with nowhere for you to turn? Your problem is not unique. Signing up with debt management firm may be the right solution to your debt problems. Review different firms offering these services to determine if this is the correct option for you.

Attention ARM Borrowers: Contact Your Lender Before Higher Payments Put Your Home at Risk

Before contacting your lender, consider getting help but beware of scams: The regulators also said that borrowers who are delinquent on their mortgage loans should consider getting help from a housing counselor. These are public and private organizations that offer advice and assistance on everything from buying and financing a home to dealing with debt problems, including avoiding foreclosure if the borrower misses loan payments. Some counselors assist consumers by working with lenders on their behalf, but it's always important for the borrower to be actively involved in this process.

The FDIC and fellow regulators suggest these resources for finding a reputable housing counselor:

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) maintains a list of approved housing counselors who give advice free or at low cost. To locate a HUD-approved counselor in your area, call 1-800-569-4287 or go to http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hcs.cfm.
• NeighborWorks America, a national nonprofit organization created by Congress, and HOPE for Homeowners, a service of the nonprofit Homeownership Preservation Foundation, have established a toll-free hotline at 1-888-995-HOPE (4673). Callers can receive immediate free advice and support from nonprofit, HUD-certified organizations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Callers who need additional assistance will be referred to reputable local counselors. For more information, start at www.995hope.org.

The FDIC and other government agencies also want consumers to be aware of credit-repair scams that target homeowners having serious problems making their mortgage payments. In one example, phony companies claiming to be housing counselors promise to help negotiate a new loan or perform other services for a hefty fee that is collected up-front. The companies actually do nothing at all or perform services consumers can do for themselves at little or no cost. Turning to a HUD-approved counselor for assistance is one way to avoid these types of fraud.

For more help or information if you're facing problems paying your mortgage: See the HUD Website "How to Avoid Foreclosure" at www.hud.gov/foreclosure/index.cfm. Also read FDIC Consumer News online at http://www.fdic.gov/consumernews for a variety of tips on money management, including how to shop for a mortgage (in the Summer 2005 edition and other issues).

FDIC Consumer News is published by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

FDIC Consumer News is produced quarterly by the FDIC Office of Public Affairs in cooperation with other Divisions and Offices. It is intended to present information in a nontechnical way and is not intended to be a legal interpretation of FDIC or other government regulations and policies. Mention of a product, service or company does not constitute an endorsement.

Find current and past issues of FDIC Consumer News at http://www.fdic.gov/consumernews. Refer to this same index to locate the issues that are specially formatted for being reprinted in any quantity.

To receive an e-mail notice about each new issue of FDIC Consumer News posted on the FDIC Web site, with links to stories, follow instructions posted at www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.

Last updated on 5/08/2007

Make the correct decisions when shopping for banking, debt consolidation and related financial services. Educate yourself!

The Debt Consolidation Loan Directory has a growing library of free informative / educational financial resources for consumers shopping for many types of services related to the management of your money, such as consolidating credit card debts, fraud alerts and car insurance. There is no better way to make decisions regarding the management of your personal finances than to read and understand how they work. Please feel free to visit our consumer resource library for more information.

• Cell Phone Banking - New cell phones are constantly evolving and becoming more sophisticated. This includes adding the capability of handling online banking through your phone. This FDIC article discusses some of the possibilities and precautions you should take when using your phone for banking purposes.
• How to Protect Yourself with FDIC Insurance - Read up on what qualifications are necessary and how to determine if your deposits are covered by FDIC insurance.
• Direct Deposit Safer than Checks? - The US Treasury Department reports that a majority of surveyed consumers mistakenly believe that paper checks are safer than direct deposit.
• Consider the Fees! - Learn what to look for and examine the details of each banking account offer for possible fees, such as: inactivity, minimum balance and ATM withdrawal fees.

The Debt Consolidation Loan Directory is a service of Infinamic, Inc. All information is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. Infinamic, Inc. is not responsible for the content and services, that may be provided to you, by following the links from this web site. Use this service at your own discretion.