If your debts are too high for you to pay in full, credit counseling may not work for you and you may have started looking into debt consolidation companies that have promised to reduced the amount of debt you owe while avoiding bankruptcy. Beware of these programs. Debt consolidation companies will not help your credit, and they will not stop creditors from initiating lawsuits against you. They can also be quite expensive. You may not realize it, but the payment plan created by these companies only provides you with a savings account at their company headquarters and a payment plan that pays their high attorney fees upfront and only after that is paid in full does it accumulate funds for settlement.