1. Your credit report. Visit annualcreditreport.com and request your free credit report from each one of the major credit reporting agencies; Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.
2. Analyze your auto insurance coverage to make sure you are getting the best deal and that you are adequately covered.
3. Check your savings and investment accounts. Make sure you are taking full advantage of employer matched savings programs and check the diversity of your investment portfolio. If you need help with investments, talk to a certified financial advisor.
4. Determine your net worth. Make a list of the value of all of your assets and the amount of your liabilities. Then subtract your liabilities from the assets. If the number is negative, you owe more than the value of your assets. If part of your debt is unsecured look for ways to reduce it or eliminate it as soon as possible. Every dollar that goes to repaying interest on unsecured debts, like credit cards, is a dollar you cannot use for securing your financial future, buying a home or meeting your personal financial goals. Certified Credit Counselors can help you determine your net worth and develop plans for managing your debt. Visit the Association for Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies at www.aiccca.org to find a counselor.
5. Once you know the worth of your belongings and investments, determine the level of home or renters insurance you may need.
6. Finally, evaluate your need for life insurance.  MSN Money has a great calculator you can use to determine how much life insurance would be necessary if something happened to you.

The above is just a bare bones list of items you should evaluate on, at minimum, an annual basis. By reviewing these critical areas you will have the information you need to create a plan for your financial success!

The concessions seek to provide debt relief for consumers without sufficient income to be successful on a traditional DMP. Without these special concessions, many consumers may be forced into bankruptcy. Those creditors supporting the Call to Action include American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase Card Services, Citi, Discover Financial Services, GE Money, HSBC Card Services, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo Card Services.

For more than 40 years, credit counseling agencies have been able to help consumers avoid bankruptcy and repay their debts through DMPs. Credit counselors work with a consumer’s creditors to arrange a DMP, which provides payment concessions, including waiving late and over the limit fees and a reduction in overall interest rates.

As the economy has tightened, fewer consumers have maintained enough income to be eligible for or to maintain a traditional DMP, often leaving bankruptcy as the only option.

The new concessions offer two new tiers of eligibility designed to make DMPs more accessible to a greater number of consumers. Additionally, under the new concessions, consumers are encouraged by their creditors and the credit counseling agencies to create savings accounts for financial emergencies.

“These concessions will make an important contribution to our ability to help more consumers weather the current economic uncertainty, and emerge on a stronger financial footing,” said Henry (Hank) Keaton, president and CEO of American Financial Solutions, and Vice President of AICCCA.

“We applaud the creditors who have taken this very constructive step in partnership with the credit counseling industry to help consumers in difficult circumstances,” he added.

Additional information about credit counseling and debt management plans is available on the American Financial Solutions’ web site.