Is credit or debt counseling a good idea?

That largely depends on what kind of credit counseling agency you use, whether they create a manageable budget and repayment plan for you, whether you have enough disposable income to support a repayment plan, and whether or not you actually follow through. In some instances, and with the wrong credit counseling agency, you can wind up in worse trouble than you are now, or simply end up delaying the inevitable. To make a decision on whether to use credit/debt counseling agencies, it’s important to understand how they work.