More Americans are in need of bad credit help than ever before. With high balances on credit cards, many card holders are watching helplessly as the credit card companies hike interest rates and cut available credit. Making the minimum payment is harder than ever for some families, Plus, the impact of lower limits on credit scores means fewer Americans qualify for credit.

Even if you’re not delinquent with your bills, or facing bankruptcy or foreclosure, you still may want to get some credit help to figure out how to reduce the burden of high balances and high payments. Credit help can come from many sources, including do it yourself.

Since so many people are having trouble, the ads on television have blossomed with offers to help you with your debt burden. Many of these credit companies simply negotiate with your credit card issuer to reduce your balance or lower your monthly payments. Some horror stories are out there too, as some of these companies can be scammers. For example, one debtor had a company tell her she just had to sit and wait for seven months, not making payments, and ten the credit card companies would work with her to reduce balances. This bad advice was after she’d paid them a hefty fee! To follow this type of advice would destroy your credit score even more than it already might be.

There are some legitimate credit repair companies though. Many of these are not for profit companies, and don’t charge you high fees. They work with credit card companies to reduce your monthly payments to make them easier to afford, but generally your balances will remain the same. It’s important to note that some of these nonprofits are funded by the credit card companies! And the fact that you are working with them will appear on your credit report – a fact that some lenders will consider as bad as filing for personal bankruptcy. So, be sure to ask if that’s the case with any company you work with.

Another point is that these companies will focus on your credit card debt, which is unsecured, and would be discharged in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. They are not as focused on working with your secured lenders, your landlord or mortgage company, and so on. They want to see if you have the money to keep paying your credit card bills.

It’s not altogether necessary for you to work with a credit agency though. Many lenders know that many Americans are having financial trouble, and they take the approach that the sooner they get an agreement in place with you, the better, before you decide to stop paying them altogether. Not all companies will work with you though to extend credit help. For some reason, there are banks out there who insist still on playing hard ball and threatening you to keep paying as agreed.

How would you go about doing a credit repair program on your own then? You can do just what the credit counseling agencies will do. First, you should have a budget. You should know how much money is coming in each month or week, and what your necessary living expenses are. Make sure that you are meeting the costs of living first – your food, rent, and utilities – before you start negotiating with your credit card companies. You probably want to work with your secured lenders too, to see if they will renegotiate your loan terms, or give you a couple months off so you can get back on your financial feet. Remember thought that secured lenders can simply repossess your car, or house, or whatever goods are securing your loan.

After you have a good picture of what money you have each month to pay unsecured bills, talk to your lenders. Let them know you can’t make payments based on their new terms, and that you want to work out a plan. If any of them refuse to work with you, then work with the ones who will. Make the others sit and wait for a payment.

Ideally you’ll want to keep your payments current, otherwise your credit score will suffer. So some of the tips here are for those of you who can’t make the minimum payments each month. If you are able to pay your minimum monthly payments, that’s great, but then you want to take steps to start chipping away at your overall debt to be able to have an emergency fund, or retirement fund, or save your money to build wealth, not just keep paying creditors.

Whether you are able to make your minimum payments or not, you should take action to earn some extra income to pay your debts off faster. Once you have all your debts current, you can start finding ways to put more than the minimum payment toward your bills. And if you’re having trouble making monthly payments, then you definitely need to find a way to make some extra cash to pay your bills.

Try selling household items you don’t need any more, using eBay or Craigslist. You might also consider selling items that are really too expensive for your lifestyle – the expensive tee vee, the expensive car, the expensive jewelry. These are items that you have traded your financial security for – and they are not worth losing everything. Selling things to raise cash is quite popular these days, and be sure to put all the extra cash you earn toward your monthly payments.

Another route is to get a second job. This economy is tough, as many people are losing their full time jobs, and part time jobs are competitive. But it’s not going to get better in the short run, so even if you have to deliver pizzas or bag groceries, you should try to earn some extra money each month.

Finding ways to make money on the internet is also an alternative. This method can be inexpensive, but does take time to build an online business. There are many websites that should you how to do this, but don’t spend a lot of money on anything until you have a chance to check it out thoroughly. There are scammers, there are “courses” which charge thousands of dollars – and none of these will help you as much as the more modest sites that really want to teach you how to build an online business. (We recommend The Keyword Academy, which has information about how to make money online with a one month trial for just $1. Worth checking out at that price!)

The bottom line is that if you are going to seek credit help, be sure to educate yourself about all the options available to you. don’t sign up with the first credit counseling agency you come across, or don’t believe what you see on television. You can find great resources on the Web for low or no cost, and can get started on your own, for free.