Frequently Asked Questions

There are different kinds of debt consolidation, but all involve consolidating multiple debts into one.

A debt consolidation loan can help you pay off your higher interest debts, leaving you with one (sometimes) lower payment.

Another kind of debt consolidation, a debt relief program, also involves consolidating to a single lower payment. With debt relief, the company will contact your creditors and work to make agreements with them, reducing your balances and locking in affordable payment terms. This process is often called debt resolution or debt settlement.

A credit card balance transfer is yet another kind of debt consolidation. This process allows you to move your higher interest debts to a low interest credit card (usually with a 0% introductory rate), so you can work to pay off your debt quickly before that optimal rate expires. You typically need a certain credit score to qualify for lower interest rates.

A debt relief program works by consolidating your eligible debts and negotiating with your creditors to reduce what you owe. The process generally follows a few steps: you enroll your eligible unsecured debts, then begin making a single monthly deposit into a Dedicated Account that you control. As funds build in that account, the company works with your creditors to resolve your debts for less than the full balance. As each debt is resolved, it's paid from your Dedicated Account. Most programs are designed to resolve your enrolled debts over a set timeline, typically 24 to 48 months. Fees apply only when you’ve accepted the terms of a Resolution Offer from a creditor, and you’ve made at least one payment toward the offer.

Bankruptcy is a legal process that can discharge debt or restructure debt but often involves court oversight, attorney fees, and potential asset liquidation depending on the type of bankruptcy. It typically remains on credit reports for 7–10 years, making it a "last resort" for many.

On the other hand, joining a debt relief program means a company like Beyond Finance consolidates a consumer's eligible debts, works to lower monthly payments, negotiates with creditors to reduce balances, and provides a clear debt-free timeline estimate.

Debt consolidation can be a good idea for someone who is struggling to keep up with high interest debt. It can also make things significantly simpler with a single — and often lower — payment.

Whether debt relief is worth it depends on your situation. For people struggling with high-interest unsecured debt who can't realistically pay it off on their own, a debt relief program can lower monthly payments, reduce total balances, and provide a clear path to becoming debt-free — typically significantly faster and for far less than making minimum payments. The tradeoffs to weigh: debt relief can temporarily affect your credit, fees apply, and it works for only unsecured debts like credit cards rather than secured debts like mortgages or auto loans. It's generally most worthwhile for people whose debt has become genuinely unmanageable, and less necessary for those who can pay their balances off comfortably on their own.

Debt relief program fees are typically calculated as a percentage of the debt you enroll, generally ranging from 15% to 25%, which vary by state. Reputable debt relief companies charge fees on a success basis (meaning you only pay once the company has negotiated and secured an offer that you approve and payments have started toward that offer), and there are no upfront fees to enroll. A legitimate provider will explain all fees clearly before you enroll. 

A Dedicated Account is a special-purpose, FDIC-insured account you open and control when you enroll in a debt relief program. Instead of paying multiple creditors directly, you make a single monthly deposit into this account. As funds accumulate, they're used to leverage new offers and pay creditors as your debts are resolved. You own the account and the money in it. Using a Dedicated Account is a standard, regulated part of how legitimate debt relief programs operate.

If you're making payments but your balances barely move, you're likely caught in the minimum-payment trap: when most of each payment goes toward interest, the principal — the amount you actually owe — shrinks very slowly, which can stretch repayment over decades and cost you far more than you originally borrowed. It's not that you're doing something wrong; it's how high-interest revolving debt is structured. Recognizing this is often the moment people realize they need a different approach than simply paying the minimum. If your debt has become genuinely unmanageable, a free consultation with Beyond Finance can help you understand your options.

Beyond Finance can help with unsecured debt: credit card debt, personal loan debt, medical debt, and some private student loans. We're not able to assist with federal student loans, tax debt, or secured debt like mortgages or auto loans.

Yes. Launched in 2022 as the first native mobile application in the debt relief industry, the Beyond Finance app provides a secure, modern platform for client care on iOS and Android. Enrolled clients use it to track their program progress in real time, review and approve creditor Resolution Offers, securely upload required documents, access educational resources, and connect with support via 24/7 live chat. The app is available at no additional cost to clients actively enrolled in a Beyond Finance program.

Beyond Finance can evaluate you for a variety of solutions including debt consolidation loans and debt relief programs — and our financial wellness offering includes the Financial Wellness RESET™ Framework, a proprietary clinically-informed model developed by Dr. Erika Rasure, PhD, CFT™.

• When you get matched for a debt consolidation loan option, the lender will fund enough for you to pay off your higher interest debts, and sometimes offer the option for lower payments.
• When you enroll in a debt relief program, Beyond Finance consolidates and lowers your payments, and works with your creditors to lower your balances and secure more affordable repayment terms, which can help limit the impact of interest compared to making minimum payments. A typical debt relief program lasts 24–48 months.
• With the Financial Wellness RESET Curriculum, you can work through a free, five-module self-paced program developed by Dr. Erika Rasure, PhD, CFT — Chief Financial Wellness Advisor at Beyond Finance. Built on the proprietary Financial Wellness RESET Framework, the curriculum is designed to help you explore the behavioral and emotional patterns that determine whether financial strategies like budgeting and saving last, guiding you through five pillars of financial wellness: Recenter, Examine, Simplify, Empower, and Transform. The curriculum is an educational resource intended for informational purposes only and it's available to everyone at no cost.

The Financial Wellness RESET™ Framework is a proprietary, clinically-informed model for real financial wellness transformation, developed by Dr. Erika Rasure, PhD, CFT™. It's built on a simple idea: lasting financial change is about more than the math — it also depends on the behavioral and emotional patterns underneath how we manage money, which is why information and willpower alone often aren't enough. At its core are five pillars of the transformational process: Recenter, Examine, Simplify, Empower, and Transform.

From that framework, Dr. Rasure developed two free resources:

• The Curriculum turns the model into a structured, self-paced experience — five modules that guide you through the behavioral and emotional work that makes saving, budgeting, and paying down debt actually stick.
• The Assessment is a way to measure your financial wellness, and your progress over time (specifically before and after you go through the curriculum) — a self-guided questionnaire that shows where you stand across the five pillars and gives you a personalized result to focus on first.

Our Beyond Finance Guarantee reflects our commitment to put your interests first. We work only for you, not your creditors, and we don't earn fees until we've successfully negotiated a Resolution Offer that you've approved and made a payment towards. We stand behind our results with a graduation review to confirm what you paid — creditor payments plus program fees combined — was less than you owed, give you full transparency into your progress at every step, and back it all with dedicated, U.S.-based support whenever you need it. Learn more about our Beyond Finance Guarantee.