Every once in a while someone asks me: "Is it better to settle your own debts or hire a professional debt settlement company?"

The answer is easy - it depends. If you are willing to put in the time and effort to learn how to do it, then you can certainly learn how to do it yourself. If not, then hire a professional company. It's a lot like changing the oil in your car. If you don't mind getting dirty and have the right tools, you can do it on your own and save yourself some money. If you have no interest in getting dirty, or don't have the time, then bring it to your mechanic or quick oil change center.

If you want professional help, here are the debt settlement companies we recommend.

If you want to settle your own debts, you have 2 choices. First, you can either learn as you go or search online for the right information. Second, you can learn from a debt settlement pro. Charles Phelan, owner of ZipDebt.com, offers you professional training on how to settle your own debts. The program is called Do-It-Yourself Debt Negotiation Training & Coaching Program.

It's not free information (although you can sign up for a free report on the website), but it's a lot cheaper than hiring a debt settlement company. And you'll get personal coaching to go along with the training. So in the end you will save yourself lots of time, money, and headaches. And if you ever have any questions, Charles is always very quick to respond.

If this sounds like the type of help you are looking for, here's a more detailed review of ZipDdebt.com

Do you have a tough question about debt or credit, and can't find the answer?

Then you should try asking your question on a personal finance or legal forum to get more information. I get questions about specific credit problems & debt issues all the time. I offer general help whenever I can. But for those questions I can't answer, I direct people to some of the top forums to get the help they need.

Not everyone responding to questions on these forums is an expert. But if you stick to the good ones, you'll at least get someone with some knowledge about the issue you are having. At worst, you'll get someone who went through the problem on their own. At best, you'll find a financial professional. Either way, it's a quick, easy, and free way to get advice about credit & debt problems.

Setting up a forum is easy, so there are lots out there. But most have only a few posts, so those won't give you the help you need. Others are simply a bunch of ads.

So you need to find the good ones, and avoid the bad ones.

You will need to sign up for a free account, which is well worth it to get free advice. It's a good idea to create a username that does not contain your real name. Any type of nickname or creative name will do. Then you'll need to confirm your account by checking your email.

Once you are done, it's a good idea to search the forum for your particular question or issue, to see if it has already been answered. If not, then go ahead and post it. Sometimes you might get an answer within a few minutes. Other times you might need to wait a day or two. Keep in mind that most people on the fourms, even the moderators, are volunteers. So be patient.

Then, poke around and see if you can answer anyone else's questions. The real value of these forums is the community, and the more involved you are, the more you will enjoy it. And you might help out someone in a tough situation similar to yours.

Here are a few of the good ones in each category. If you've used any others that are helpful, post them in the comments:

Credit & debt:

TheFinanceForums.com
CreditBoards.com
CreditInfoCenter.com

Personal finance:

FatWallet.com
SavingAdvice.com

Legal & bankruptcy:

ExpertLaw.com
FreeAdvice.com
BKForum.com

When I first heard that the US government was going to update their rules for debt relief companies, I thought "here we go again". After all, it seems like every time they get involved with the financial industry, something goes wrong (bank bailout, new credit card rules - you get the picture).

So it's safe to say I am not a big fan of government involvement.

Even the title of the new rule is a bit misleading, or at least misguided: Telemarketing Sales Rule. Come on, who uses the term "telemarketing" any more? And what about the Internet and its role with these new rules? It just sounds so outdated.

I know, I get it. It's an update of a previous rule. And there are legal issues involved, so these rules can't sound too informal.

When you look at the content of the rules, it actually makes pretty good sense for us consumers. Too many debt relief companies (especially those offering debt settlement) charged their fees upfront, before doing any work for their customers. And too many failed to tell the complete truth, by not letting consumers know how their service really works, how it negatively affects credit, etc. And WAY too many people dropped out before getting out of debt (probably because of these upfront payments and lack of knowledge).

In the last few years dozens of new debt relief companies popped up all over the place. Just watch TV or a few hours, and you'll see at least a couple of ads for credit card debt services. So the time was right for something to be done.

Overall, I do think that these new debt relief rules WILL help consumers quite a bit.

Of course, its too bad that it came to this. But these companies lived "the high life" for way too long, collecting money and misleading people over and over again. They had their chance. The only question I have left is:

Who will be watching these companies to make sure they are following the rules? Or will there only be consequences when someone complains?

If all goes well, hopefully the end result will be that the "junk" companies will go under, and the good ones will survive. Most of the good ones probably won't have much trouble complying with these new rules. Because what makes them good is the fact that they actually perform a valuable service, and get a good reputation because of it.

But if you need professional help with debt, you still have a responsibility to do your own research. Even with these rules, some companies will be good, honest companies. And others won't. So what should you do when searching for a quality debt relief company?

• Ask lots of questions. About how their debt reduction process works...About how your account will be handled...About their fees...About their customer service...About anything else you want to know. If they don't want to answer your questions, or give you vague answers, move on to another company.
• Get everything in writing. Before you sign anything or send in any money. And make sure to read it carefully. There's no excuse later on for any problems because you didn't take the time to read the contract.
• Check out the company's rating. Go to Google.com and type in the company's name. Visit the Better Business Bureau's website. Ask for references. The more information you have about the company, the better.

It stink being in debt. But it stinks MUCH worse if you get ripped off while trying to fix the problem. So while these new rules will help reduce your chances of getting burnt by an unethical company, don't just rely on them. Do your own research, too.

So, what do you think about these new debt relief rules? Let us know in the comments below.