If you are like most Americans, you are probably being whip-lashed by your own finances - or fearing the onslaught of it. For some of you, it is job loss or a crushing medical crisis that has brought the financial house down. For most of you though, the results of your spending are scattered about your home in the form of electronic gadgets, closets lined with the latest fashions, and a sparkling car - or two or three - in the driveway.

By mid-2001, the average balance on America’s credit cards was almost $8,600, up slightly from the $8,123 average in 2000, according to WebCard.com Inc., a site that tracks the credit card industry. Millions of debtors called credit repair companies, contemplated bankruptcy, or simply watched, frozen in place, as their financial house of cards came tumbling down.

Sure, you can pay some credit repair company monthly to help you fix your problem. It works for some, but others simply chalk up yet another debtor when they fall behind in their payments to the credit repair company.

Ultimately, what you need is help helping yourself, guidance to avoid the credit repair scams, and someone to give you the tools, knowledge, and fortitude to dig your way out of the sticky mess of debt and bad credit.

• Are you falling behind in your payments or late in paying your bills?
• Do you have more than two major credit cards with balances?
• Are you paying only the minimum payment on any of your debts?
• Do you have any outstanding medical bills?
• Are you living paycheck to paycheck with no savings?
• Have you ever attempted to use your credit card and had the card declined?
• Are you dependent on cash advances to pay other credit obligations?
• Do you receive harassing phone calls from creditors?
• Do you have creditors threatening to send your accounts into collections?
• Are you feeling stressed out about your bills?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions,

You can’t fix something if you don’t really understand what it is or how in the world you got so stuck in it.

Credit problems in the United States are spiraling out of control. From the financial excesses of the 1980's to the turbulent 1990's, many otherwise responsible people have experienced the horror of not having enough cash to meet all their monthly obligations. There are credit card bills, utility bills, car payments, house payments, etc. that need to be paid every month. And in choosing how to make all these payments, it is all too common that some payments fall behind and subsequently damage your good credit rating.

And when you add in all the credit problems that result from identity theft, shoddy data entry and reporting errors, computer errors and fraud, the number of people affected by "bad" credit grows tremendously. Some experts in the field guess that more than 25 percent of people have or had a credit problem. And there are probably another 20 percent who are unaware that they have some sort of a credit problem.

Like many financial planning matters, it is very easy to believe that bad credit will not have an impact on your life. This is just not true. Bad credit, even a little bit, can make it difficult to impossible to get a credit card, new car, house, or even certain types of jobs. It can affect your life no matter who you are. Bad credit is not limited to the poor. Many wealthy people like doctors, lawyers, and corporate executives have bad credit. They are affected in numbers just as great as the rest of us more common people.

What is credit? Why do I need it? How do I get it? How do I fix it? These are very important questions. Credit has a major impact on your lifestyle and flexibility of choice. If your credit has gone haywire, it is important to understand what it is before you try to go about fixing it.

The Problem is now clear, but what is our Solution? You CAN build your credit as you gain knowledge! Learn how to defend your rights with Premium Protect.

We offer a Credit Repair Manual specially designed to help you fix your credit problems.