1. If you spend more than 50% of your credit limit every month, this indicates to the Credit Bureau that you do NOT have enough cash on hand to meet your monthly expenses. This will identify you as a high credit risk and will actually reduce your credit score by 60 - 70 points overnight (Fair Isaac).

2. If you miss 1 or 2 payments on your credit card debt, the issuing company will skyrocket your interest rate to a whopping 27% - 30%!

3. Out of a random sample of 3 million American consumers (included in Experian's National Score Index), 51% of them have at least 2 credit cards and 14% of them have 10 or more credit cards.

In San Francisco and debt? Get nonprofit debt consolidation services

San Francisco is No Place to be in Debt

Everything in San Francisco is relatively expensive when compared with the rest of the nation. Getting into overwhelming debt can happen easily there, especially when emergencies arise that cannot be covered with regular income or savings. If you are in San Francisco and in debt, you need to look for solutions as quickly as possible, because things will only get worse if you do not. You can get nonprofit debt consolidation services for less than you think.

What is Debt Consolidation?

When you seek debt counseling and consolidation services, you will receive many of the services for free. These will include evaluation of your financial services, the development of a realistic budget, and education and training for future financial management effectiveness. Debt consolidation is the process of negotiating with each of your creditors to lower interest rates, eliminate late fees, and lower the total debt amount. The organization you are using will then set up a manageable payment which you will make each month, a payment that will include the service fee, and the payment will be distributed among your creditors as agreed.

Why Nonprofit?

Truly nonprofit debt counseling and consolidation services are preferable because they generally charge the lowest fees of any debt relief companies. Most nonprofits are members of national organizations and associations which have specific fee guidelines, and, as well, employ certified financial counselors. In the San Francisco area, there are several nonprofits, and they can be found by looking at the National Foundation for Credit Counseling website. Two currently listed are:

Consumer Debt Group (www.consumerdebtgroup.com): In business for over 20 years, this organization provides the full range of free services as well as debt management and pre-bankruptcy counseling on a fee basis.

CCCS of San Francisco (www.ccssf.org): 6 locations in the San Francisco area and a member of the National Foundation for Credit counseling. They have excellent on line or in person counseling services as well as fee-based debt management plans.

Budgeting in San Francisco

The cost of living in San Francisco is high, particularly housing. Knowing that a large amount of your paycheck will go toward housing, you will need to find many other ways to curb your expenses. Fortunately, food is reasonable, and watching sales will help you save in this area. Gas and insurance are high cost items, so you will need to evaluate the use of your vehicle and decide if mass transit may be more beneficial for travel to and from work (parking costs can add up too!).

Tourists on a Budget in San Francisco

San Francisco can be expensive for tourists as well. Visitors to this great city can still find reasonable accommodations, however, if they consider staying in Oakland, perhaps at the Marina Village Inn or the Valley Inn. Reasonably priced attractions include the Monterrey and Carmel Tour, wine country tours, the Farmer's Market, and a visit to Alcatraz.