The nonprofit agency offers help with several areas of personal finances, including debt management plans for credit card debt.
Updated Dec 4, 2023 · 1 min read Written by Sean Pyles Senior Writer Sean Pyles
Senior Writer | Personal finance, debt
Sean Pyles leads podcasting at NerdWallet as the producer and host of NerdWallet's "Smart Money" podcast. On "Smart Money," Sean talks with Nerds across the NerdWallet Content team to answer listeners' personal finance questions. With a focus on thoughtful and actionable money advice, Sean provides real-world guidance that can help consumers better their financial lives. Beyond answering listeners' money questions on "Smart Money," Sean also interviews guests outside of NerdWallet and produces special segments to explore topics like the racial wealth gap, how to start investing and the history of student loans.
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If you’re looking for money management help over the phone or online, Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp. might be the agency for you.
The Massachusetts-based nonprofit credit counseling agency offers a variety of credit counseling services over the phone in all 50 states.
Cambridge may be a good fit if you:
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Cambridge provides common services available at most nonprofit credit counseling agencies. The difference between one agency and the next generally comes down to cost and accessibility. These services include:
General budgeting and advice: A free service where you and a counselor run through your budget and analyze your overall finances.
Debt management plan: A counselor creates a plan to consolidate your consumer debts and lower the interest rate, setting up one monthly payment to erase the debt over three to five years.
Bankruptcy counseling: Two court-mandated sessions — one before you file and one before your debts are discharged.
Student loans: A counselor outlines your repayment options, offers strategies for repayment and helps design a budget.
Housing counseling : Help for home buyers, homeowners considering a reverse mortgage and people struggling with mortgage or rent payments.
General budgeting and advice
Debt management plan
Startup and monthly fees vary by state. Average startup fee is $40; average monthly fee is $32. Initial and monthly fees are capped at $100 and $75, respectively.
Free overview of student loans and repayment options. More advanced assistance varies based on financial situation, but generally costs $39.95 or less per month with a maximum of $195 in total.
Free to $125, depending on the service.
Most credit counseling agencies offer the same services. How they differ generally comes down to where and how they offer those services. Here's how Cambridge stacks up.
Accreditation: Cambridge is a member of the Financial Counseling Association of America, an outside body that ensures standards of practice among counselors and oversight of the agency. It requires its counselors to maintain certification through the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.
Online support: Clients can access their accounts online, and Cambridge’s website includes a range of financial education resources and tools.
Completion rate: Cambridge reports that 61.3% of clients who enroll in a debt management plan with the company complete the program.
Availability: The agency operates in all 50 states.
If your debt is mostly from credit cards, a debt management plan can help you get a handle on what you owe. You likely won’t be able to use credit cards or open new lines of credit during this time.
Under a DMP, your various debts are rolled into one monthly payment with cut interest rates. In return, you agree to a set payment plan, usually for three to five years. Note that interest rate cuts are standardized across credit counseling agencies, based on your creditors' guidelines and your budget.
Depending on the year, between 21% and 35% of Cambridge clients use DMPs. Here’s a breakdown of how an average DMP at Cambridge compares with a DIY debt payoff:
DIY debt paydown
8% interest rate.
22.7% interest rate.
$532 monthly payment.
($500 goes to debt, $32 to program fee.)
$532 monthly payment.
42 months to pay off.
56 months to pay off.
$2,691 paid in interest, $1,384 paid in fees.*
$11,231 paid in interest.
*Figured at the average $32 monthly fee plus the average $40 startup fee.
Note: In a debt management plan, individual creditors offer the same adjusted APR for all credit counseling agencies. The difference in average APR among credit counseling agencies is a reflection of their clients’ creditors and does not indicate one agency will offer lower adjusted APRs than another.
DMPs aren’t for everyone. Mortgages, car loans, most medical bills and student loans are generally not covered in such a plan.
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Sean Pyles is the executive producer and host of NerdWallet's Smart Money podcast. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, USA Today and elsewhere. See full bio.
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Tommy is a personal finance writer at NerdWallet. He covers savvy spending and ways to plan for a prosperous financial future. See full bio.
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