While ringing in a new year can often entail the promise of an improved economic situation, the unfortunate reality for many is that after the last glass of champagne is swallowed, overdue bills from the previous year will remain, with all the persistence of un unwanted houseguest.

Millions of Americans go deeper and deeper into financial arrears each year, according to debt consolidations organizations. Often they believe that their situation is hopeless, and that they are destined to forever drown in a sea of red ink. Not so, says Mary Hunt, who publishes a newsletter with helpful financial tips for persons who are in need of a lifeboat of economic security.

Hunt operates a website, www.debtproofliving.com which informs people with serious financial problems how they can overcome their economic irresponsibility. A former real estate agent, Hunt brings credibility to her venture by virtue of her own former history of economic instability.

“I had a dark financial past,” the engaging Hunt said last week from Paramount, where her business is based. “At one time in my life, I went crazy with credit cards, so I know about being in debt.”

That is an understatement. At one time, Hunt owed more than $100,000 in unsecured debt over 20 years ago. “My husband and I decided that we were going to bite the bullet and pull ourselves out of the financial hole that we were in,” she related. Before Hunt made the decision to become more economically stable, her situation was quite desperate.

“We came close to losing everything,” she admitted.

Often the accumulation of red ink accelerates around the holidays, when many find it much easier to charge gifts, holiday meals, trips and other expenses associated with Thanksgiving and Christmas. In order to avoid falling into the same trap that Hunt was once in, she recommends learning how to manage your money. “It’s something that you have to treat very specifically, like raising a child,” the entrepreneur stated. Her website details information on how those who are suffering from the crushing weight of owing thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars can alleviate themselves of this burden.

Organizations that cater to business and commercial interests also take part in assisting people who are mired in debt. “We try to provide financial counseling to individuals and businesses who are in need of those services,” Chris Olivares, who is the president of the Compton Latino Chamber of Commerce, said last week. “This is something that the former chamber didn’t do as much, but things are different here now, and we consider this to be one of our primary functions as a chamber.”

Olivares says that the Latino Chamber generally works with businesses, but will also counsel individuals and provides referrals to organizations that specialize in debt reduction and consolidation.

Consumer Debt in the Billions
“There is over $800 billion of consumer debt in the United States,” Hunt reported, a staggering figure.

Hunt, who says that it took nearly 10 years to escape her nearly disastrous economic situation, says that her website has various links that help navigate the user to the information that best serves them. “Think of it as a two-story house,” she explained.

“ One the first level, we have information that is free and open to the public, and the second level is for readers who subscribe to the website and to the newsletter.” Subscribers also have access to discussion groups, calculators and other items of interest.

Hunt states that in order to avoid financial pratfalls, it is critical to change the way that many Americas view money. “Most people think that it’s alright to live beyond their means,” she noted. “We need to learn the value of living within our means and of living on 80% of our income.”

The consumer credit card industry plays a large role in a person’s dire financial straits, Hunt believes. “Look at it like a competition,” she elucidated. “On one side is the consumer credit card industry and the retail industry, and they’re working together to get you to use that credit card with offers of easy terms and ( large) credit limits,” the entrepreneur explained. “They know all the plays, they understand the fine print and they know how to play the game.”

But that doesn’t mean that all is lost. “We as consumers can educate ourselves, we can learn the plays and learn to play the game too,” Hunt asserts. “And I see my role as a coach who can teach you to learn how to play the game.”

In addition to the website, Hunt writes a daily column that offers money saving tips. She encourages her readers to “give up the notion of instant gratification” and to “know that they are not alone” in the struggle to right their financial ship.

It took a near tragedy for Mary Hunt to learn that she had a talent for writing and giving financial advice via her website, which she has done since 1997. “I like to think that I offer help and hope,” she said at the end of the interview.

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