These companies present themselves as businesses that will help you.
The fact is, these companies are helping themselves, more than they help you.

Debt reduction / relief companies

Check cashing companies

These companies help you pay off your credit cards for less than you owe.

They do this by having you send your card payments to them, instead of to your credit cards. They bank these payments, minus some processing fees, and start negotiating with the card companies for a smaller cash payoff. This process take months. In the mean time, the credit card companies are not receiving any payments from you, or from the debt relief company. Your credit rating is taking black hits every month and you are being labeled a bad risk. Once you get so far behind in your payments that the credit card companies decide that something is better than nothing; they will settle for the amount that these companies have banked for you. Your credit card debt is then settled and paid off.

The problem is that your credit report now shows that you don't make payments; which is worse than partial, late or skipped payments. Your name is mud in the financial world and you won't be able to borrow a dime. If you can, it won't be for less than 30%.

Our The Automatic Budgeting System (TABS) includes complete instructions on how to do easy, automatic budgeting, so you can IMPROVE your credit rating, while paying your debts on time.

Our Money 101 shows you what you'll need to get ahead in the future, some savings and investing snags to look out for, and even a possible Roth IRA gotcha.

Our Money 102 shows you how to pay your debts off early and how to save on the loans you have without hurting your credit.

Check cashing companies will cash your paycheck, or any other check.

They do this, but charge a fee for the service.

Any bank will also do this ... for FREE !
All you have to do, is have a savings account. It takes just $35 to open a savings account ... and the $35 is still yours. The banks service ends up being totally FREE. If the check is from a different bank, they will want to hold most, usually not all, of the money for a few days while they verify that the check is good. But in a couple days you can go back and withdraw every penny that the check was written for.

The Automatic Budgeting System (TABS) shows you how to set up your finances, so that you don't have urgent needs for cash from your paycheck.