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Many Americans—about half—carry credit card debt from month to month, and about 53 percent of them have been in debt for more than a year, according to a survey by Bankrate.com. Households with credit card debt owe an average of $10,562, according to personal finance website NerdWallet.

Not paying off balances racks up even more debt. The Federal Reserve reports that average interest rates on unpaid credit card balances is nearly 23 percent, which means those making minimum payments each month on a $10,000 balance won’t pay it off for 27 years, and the final amount paid would be $24,423.

Carrying a balance on a retailer-affiliated credit card can cost even more: Some store cards now charge 30 to 35 percent interest; making the minimum payment each month would never pay off the balance.

Erasing debt might seem unsurmountable. But it can be done with hard work, discipline, and guidance from a certified credit counselor.

On a recent episode of Consumers’ Checkbook’s Consumerpedia podcast, we spoke to two people who used nonprofit credit counseling programs to get out of debt. Here are their stories:

Success Story #1: Jonathan Unverzagt

Unverzagt, a Lutheran pastor in Cataract, Wisc., and his wife, Hope, had accumulated about $43,000 in unsecured debt when they realized something had to change.

“When you’re in debt, it’s all-consuming,” he said. “Every night I would dream about my rich uncle dying and bailing me out. My big problem was, I didn’t have a rich uncle.”

Unverzagt said his out-of-control desire to buy things was responsible for most of the family’s debt. “I thought my wants were my needs to the tune of 40-some thousand dollars,” he said.

The couple had three credit cards and they made only the minimum payments each month: One charged 28.98 percent interest and two others levied more than 30 percent.

Jonathan realized he could not change his spending habits without help, so he and Hope worked with Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS), a nonprofit credit counseling agency.

“I learned some really interesting things about compound interest,” Unverzagt said. “When you pay off the minimum on your credit card, you’re actually going backward. My debt was increasing because of the interest rates.”

Their counselor got the credit card companies to lower their sky-high interest rates to around 10 percent. The couple would make one payment to CCCS each month, which the agency would use to pay off the debt in the most optimal way.

As part of the deal, the Unverzagts agreed not to use those three cards anymore (and not to apply for any new ones) until their debt was completely paid off. That took them about five years.

The Unverzagts have been debt-free for 10 years now. Jonathan said he is “living a completely different life. Debt is very deceptive. It’s fun at first, but in the long term, it really messes with your peace. It was a tremendous burden.”

Success Story #2: Johnika Nixon

A certified career coach and yoga instructor who lives in Maryland, Nixon had eight credit cards and didn’t hesitate to use them to furnish her new house.

“We definitely got the mortgage down,” she said. “But when it came to daily living and then putting my son into daycare, we were running at a very thin margin of financial resources to live.”

Nixon had unpaid credit card balances totaling $70,000 and was barely making the minimum payments. “[I was] very ashamed about it,” she said. So, she contacted her bank for help. They recommended Money Management International (MMI), a nonprofit credit counseling agency.

A credit counselor helped get the interest rates on those cards lowered to nine percent, which dramatically reduced Nixon’s monthly payments. Even then, Nixon was in “complete denial” and did not believe the program would work. But she stuck it out because it was cheaper to pay $1,500 a month to MMI than to make the minimum payments on her cards.

For two years, Nixon ignored the details of her monthly statements from MMI. When she did check, she found that the balances on some of her cards had already been paid off.

“I was ecstatic because I never imagined these cards being paid down on my own,” she said.

Nixon started following her progress on MMI’s website. “And it just became so inspiring,” she said. “We did it. We’re getting there. It’s almost there. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”

After 49 months, she had paid off all her debt. Because MMI had negotiated lower interest rates on her card, Nixon saved an estimated $120,000 in interest charges.

Nixon is no longer ashamed, and she’s been sharing her success story widely, evening appearing on a local TV station.

What Nonprofit Credit Counselors Do

A trained credit counselor at a nonprofit counseling agency can help you pay down debt even if it seems insurmountable. They can also teach you the skills needed for a successful financial future. Regardless of the amount of debt owed, if the situation is not addressed, it’s only going to get worse.

“It’s always helpful to get some outside perspective,” said Bruce McClary, senior vice president at the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC).

A nonprofit credit counselor will review your entire financial situation and give you a range of options, from things you can do on your own to a debt management plan.

“There’s no one-size-fits-all answer that applies to everybody’s finances,” said Lara Ceccarelli, an NFFC-certified credit counselor with American Financial Solutions, a nonprofit agency in the Seattle area. “We start by getting an overview of their concerns, their debt load, their budget, the types of accounts they have, and that way we can come up with a solution that’s tailored to their particular set of concerns and their pain points, as well as their long-term financial goals.”

A trained counselor can help with medical debt, student loans, and problems paying the rent. There are also programs designed for service members, veterans, and their families.

Credit card counselors don’t provide refinancing or consolidation loans. They secure structured repayment plans where the client makes one payment to the counseling agency every month. The agency then pays the creditors.

An NFCC-member counseling agency should be able to negotiate lower interest rates on your debt. They have pre-negotiated agreements with the major creditors to make certain concessions for people who enroll in their debt management program. These include lower interest rates—typically under 10 percent, sometimes less than five percent—reduced monthly payments, stopping late or over-limit fees, and ending collection activities.

The initial counseling session is typically free. There is a monthly fee for the debt management plan, based on the amount of debt involved and the client’s ability to pay. That fee averages about $30 to $40 a month, and is never more than $75 a month. The fee can be waived in some hardship cases.

Those who sign up for debt management programs should see their credit scores go up because they’re no longer making late payments and are reducing their outstanding debt.

You don’t need to be struggling with debt to consult with a nonprofit credit counselor. They can help you take a realistic look at your financial situation and long-term goals. A U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-approved counselor can help you make smarter decisions when buying a home. Other counselors specialize in student loan debt or helping small business owners.

Beware of Bad Actors

For-profit debt settlement companies charge steep fees for their often-worthless services. They promise quick fixes for people struggling with credit card debt, claiming to have special connections with creditors that “guarantee” success. They don’t.

“Anything a debt relief company says they can do for you, you can do for yourself—for free,” cautions the Federal Trade Commission. “You have just as much clout with your bank or credit union as these companies.”

Using a debt settlement service could leave you deeper in debt than when you started. That’s because these companies typically advise their clients to stop making all payments to their creditors and pay them (the settlement company) every month. But instead of paying your creditors, debt settlement companies hold on to that money until your accounts are several months past due. Doing this, they claim, will encourage creditors to negotiate with them.

That’s nonsense. In fact, many creditors will not deal with debt settlement companies.

“This destroys your credit,” Ceccarelli cautioned. “Once your accounts start falling behind, your credit is going to start tumbling very, very quickly. It takes much more time to build credit than it takes to destroy it.”

Stop paying, and you can expect calls and letters from debt collectors, which will add to your stress. You’ll also incur late fees and penalty interest rates. Even worse, you could be sued.

“If your accounts are falling behind, a creditor can take you to court and attempt to garnish your paychecks or come after your assets,” Ceccarelli noted.

Warning flag: If the company wants any money upfront, you’re dealing with fraudsters. It is illegal for companies that sell debt relief services on the phone to charge a fee of any kind before they settle or lower your debt.

“Some take the money and run, others will string you along, collecting payments and making promises while you fall farther behind on the delinquent accounts, the AARP Fraud Watch Network warns in a blog post on debt relief scams.

People who’ve paid upfront, sometimes thousands of dollars, complain that they can’t get refunds when their debt problems aren’t resolved.

Consumer advocates advise not to do business with any debt settlement company that:

• Charges any fees upfront no matter what they’re called, before it settles your debts.
• Represents that it can settle all your debt for a promised percentage reduction.
• Guarantees it can make your credit card debt go away or that it can be paid off for pennies on the dollar.
• Tells you to stop communicating with your creditors.
• Says it can stop all debt collection calls and lawsuits.
• Touts a “new government program” to bail out personal credit card debt.
   

What About Bankruptcy?

Bankruptcy may seem like a quick fix, but financial advisers warn that it doesn’t solve the problems that caused the financial hardship.

“With restrictions on repeat filing, and some of the limitations on the types of debt that are included in bankruptcy, turning to bankruptcy can be just as risky as hiring a debt settlement company,” NFCC’s McClary said. “You may end up making your situation worse by falling back into the same problems that led to the decision to file bankruptcy in the first place.”

Getting Help

The National Foundation for Credit Counseling can help you find a non-profit credit counseling agency in your area. Visit them online at NFCC.org, or call 800-388-2227.

Don’t just search online for “debt relief,” or “debt help,” or “debt counseling.” Chances are the first ad that pops up in the search results will be from a for-profit debt settlement company. Go directly to the NFCC website to find legitimate help.

Need help dealing with debt collectors? Click here for info on your rights.

Contributing editor Herb Weisbaum (“The ConsumerMan”) is an Emmy award-winning broadcaster and one of America's top consumer experts. He has been protecting consumers for more than 40 years, having covered the consumer beat for CBS News, The Today Show, and NBCNews.com. You can also find him on Facebook, Twitter, and at ConsumerMan.com.