A debt management program is a consultancy service, provided by debt management companies and helps people who are in debt to manage and repay their debts properly. One needs to be aware of the concepts related to debt management and how a debt management company can help you. Let's go over the ideal way to choose the debt management program that best suits your requirements. Constituents of a Debt Management Program The essential criteria when making a choice is that one must know the constituents of a debt management program. Here's a small list of what usually constitutes a debt management program. Credit Counseling: Debt management and credit counseling is a very primary constituent of debt management programs. It involves a 'face to face' counseling session between the credit counselor and the consumer. This session constitutes a discussion where the credit counselor and the consumer, conclude upon a method or a sequence with the help of which the consumer can easily pay off his debts. The counseling sessions often include the calculation of pro-rata ratios. Debt Settlement: Debt settlement is a type of negotiation that the debt management company initiates with the lenders, on the behalf of the consumer. During debt settlement, the installments and interest of the loan is revised for a speedy repayment. Debt Consolidation: Debt consolidation is a process where the debt management companies provide the consumers with debt consolidation loans, which helps the consumers to pay off all the debts. Credit Repair: Some debt management programs provide consumers with the facility of credit repair. The debt management company analyzes the credit report and initiates credit repair if required, if the credit history or report has some error. How to Choose a Debt Management Program Choosing the best debt management program can be a very difficult task, especially if you are not aware of the constituents and solutions that are offered in a debt management program. The first step, hence is thus getting to know the constituents of the program, some of which are as stated above. However, it would also be recommended that you follow some very systematic steps, while shortlisting and finally choosing the debt management that truly suits you and would help you to get out of debt. Looking for Debt Management Companies In order to choose the best debt management program, you first need to find out some very good debt management companies. You can go about finding these companies by browsing on the Internet, or looking up in your locality or even asking your friends for good options. Choosing a Debt Management Program All the debt management companies always provide many variable debt management programs, hence the second step is to search for the program that suits you. You can easily shortlist the program that you wish to avail by going through all the constituents of the program. To do so, look for the different services that you need to get out of heavy debt. For example, if you need a consolidation loan, then you need to apply for the debt management program that provides a consolidation loan. The second thing that you need to look out for is the service charge of the debt management program. The service charge has to be in proportion to the services that are being provided in the program. Conformation The last step that you need to follow is to get a conformation in writing, stating the provisions of the debt management program. One must also ensure that all the credit-related documents and information are kept confidential by the company and that no extra charge is going to be levied. Finding a Debt Management Program There are many things that you need to consider, while choosing a program and also the company offering the service. Here is a list of important points to keep in mind.

• Certified and qualified credit counselor
• Information about how the program works
• Information that is to be provided by the company
• No excessive upfront fees
• Reasonable monthly payments
• Method for the calculation of pro-rata analysis
• All documents authenticated and in writing

The best way to look for an ideal debt management program, is to examine your current credit report and conclude what debt relief solutions you are going to need.