Debt consolidation is a process by which a counseling company will negotiate with all of your creditors to obtain the lowest monthly obligation needed to satisfy all of your current accounts. Credit or debt counseling has been around for over forty years and is becoming one of the most popular solutions towards reaching financial freedom and avoiding bankruptcy. Unlike a debt consolidation loan (from a bank), the customer’s debt is consolidated and interest rates are often reduced without the need for a loan. This is done through negotiating with the creditors rather than taking on additional debt. Debt consolidation services or credit counseling is often a “win-win” situation for the consumer and the creditors. By working with the creditors, a counseling service often helps the consumer by having their interest charges reduced and their monthly payments minimized while still having the convenience of paying all their debts in one monthly payment; meanwhile they are helping the creditor by assisting the consumer in setting up an achievable payment schedule. Typically, the bulk of expenses for these types of programs are paid for primarily by the creditors. Debt consolidation has become one of the most popular ways to deal with excessive debt in America today. A typical credit counseling service will help customers reduce their total monthly payments (by as much as 50%) and reduce the time it will take to pay off the total debt. Often this results in both significant short term and long term savings for the customer.