Editor’s note (September 2026): In July 2019 Freedom Debt Relief settled a lawsuit brought by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which alleged illegal advance fees and misleading claims, by agreeing to pay $20 million in restitution to consumers and a $5 million civil penalty. Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Back to school time is a good time to review some debt and credit basics and understand how they relate to each other.
Freedom Debt Relief Review 2017
1) Pay Debt or Start Saving – Which Comes First?
As you’ll see by watching and reading some of Freedom Debt Relief reviews, when you’re facing a growing amount of debt each month, it’s hard to even think about setting money aside for savings, let alone actually do it. But if it all possible, you should save and pay down debt at the same time, even it means you have to allocate small amounts to savings and debt payments.
It also depends on your personal circumstances. If you own a home, the mortgage payment is your priority. After all, failure to make those payments results in you losing your home. Further, there are few investments that will return as much risk-free money as paying down the balance on your credit cards will.
2) The Most Important Consideration if You’re Borrowing Money
While you’ll want to consider interest rates, loan terms, and other loan features, the most important factor in taking out a loan is whether or not you can pay the debt back on time. Don’t fall into the trap of low, promotional interest rates that many online comparison sites lure consumers in with. Read the fine print and stay disciplined.
If taking out the loan is not ultimately going to help you eliminate debt, then you should probably not be borrowing the money.
3) Closing Credit Accounts Can Damage your Credit
It might seem counter intuitive, but when you close a credit card account, you become more of a credit risk. This is because when you close an account you have less credit available, meaning your debt-to-credit ratio is higher. Additionally, credit accounts with a long positive history reflect well on your credit card history.
4) Enlist Help When Payments Become Unmanageable
You might be embarrassed, or just plain scared if you can’t make your minimum monthly payment on a credit card. But a reputable debt relief company could help you create a plan to eliminate your debt for less than you owe, much more quickly than making minimum payments. Read Freedom Debt Relief reviews to get an idea of the type of customer satisfaction that a quality debt relief company could provide.
After reading Freedom Debt Relief reviews, check out the American Fair Credit Council to learn more about what reputable debt relief companies do for their customers.
If you’re fortunate enough to be in a position to make your minimum payment or more each month, there are a variety of strategies that could help you. For example, using low-interest cards presents a temporary solution to consolidate credit card debt and reduce costs for a short time.
Also, using the snowball strategy, where you pay off debts in order of smallest to largest, until each balance is paid off. Whichever path you choose, consider reading more about credit relief companies by checking out some Freedom Debt Relief reviews. 🙂
