Brad Stroh of Freedom Debt Relief in San Mateo, California, cautions:

"During the holiday season, people throw caution to the wind and have less personal guilt about spending because it's not on themselves. Our recommendation is to set a limit for a maximum amount you're going to spend without regard to who you're buying for, and for what purpose. Then make a list for the people you need to shop for and stay within the budget."

Santa Cruz Sentinel (December 15, 2004)

Liz Pulliam is a well-known consumer finance columnist. In her recent column, Four Credit Scoring Myths , she states:

" The current FICO formula ignores any reference to credit counseling that may be in your file. That's been true for the last three years, after researchers at Fair, Isaac, the company that created the FICO scoring system, noticed that people getting credit counseling didn't default on their debts any more often than anyone else." (emphasis added)

It's good to know that Fair Isaac, the credit-scoring company, treats credit counseling as a constructive approach to debt problems.

For full article, see MSN Money (11/30/04 ):

Click here to go to Freedom Debt Relief's website