By Jeff Mullin

Senior Writer

Getting out of debt is simple in theory, but difficult in practice.

“People have to learn a new discipline,” said Jennifer Delcamp, vice president of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Central Oklahoma. “They don’t have to learn to live within their means, they have to learn to live below their means.”

People struggling with mounting debt have a number of options for help in northwest Oklahoma. Here is a rundown of three local agencies.

Consumer Credit Counseling

CCCS is “a non-profit agency committed to helping people help themselves become financially strong individuals and families through counseling, debt management and education,” according to the organization’s Web site.

CCCS has 12 local offices, including one in Enid.

When someone contacts CCCS, said Delcamp, a counselor reviews the client’s income and living expenses.

“We help them review where all their money is going and what they are spending,” she said. “We help clients track what they spend, track their expenses and help identify areas where they can cut back.”

CCCS counselors help clients develop a budget and teach them how to learn to live on that budget. The clients’ debt is reviewed and a repayment plan is de-veloped. CCCS counselors act as advocates for their clients in dealings with creditors.

“We may be able to get their interest and payments lowered,” said Delcamp. “We may be able to get late fees stopped.”

Under the debt management program developed by CCCS, Delcamp said, clients could get out of debt in five years or less depending on their level of debt. But that, she emphasized, is up to the client.

“They may get great advice and not put it into use,” she said. “We give them tools to change their lives, but after that it is up to the client.”

All counseling services provided by CCCS are free.

Focus Institute

Focus, established in the early 1990s by Clark Staiger, provides paid counseling services for individuals, as well as employees of agencies or companies enrolled in the group’s Employee Assistance Program.

Through its financial services and debt management program, Focus handles every aspect of its clients’ financial lives.

“We do more than just debt,” said Kenneth E. Davis Jr., financial analyst with Focus Institute.

“We don’t really call it debt counseling, either, we call it financial coaching,” said Deborah Skarky, Financial Freedom Plan administrator for Focus. “I think this program really helps people to learn to discipline themselves, because we don’t just deal with their debt, we deal with their overall finances.”

Focus clients initially fill out a financial overview sheet listing income and expenses, both monthly (like rent and utilities) or yearly (like real estate tax and car tags). Debts are listed on a separate sheet.

“That’s where we start to find out what their bottom line is,” said Davis, “how far they are in the hole. That gives us a starting point.”

From there, Focus counselors try to negotiate with creditors for lower interest rates or longer payment periods. Sometimes, however, that’s not enough.

“When you take off your debt and you still can’t cover the bottom line,” said Davis, “you’re going to have to get another job or something.”

Clients are coached in reducing their expenses, as well as their debt.

“You get people in here who are over-extended, and they’re paying $150 in a cable TV bill, when you can get it for 30 bucks,” said Davis. “People have got to discipline themselves.”

“You have to make sacrifices,” said Kandi Brown, Financial Freedom Plan administrator.

The sacrifices, however, are often short-term.

“Once you get a handle on it, then you can go back to a little bit more of the way you were living before,” said Davis, “but control it a little bit better.”

Focus clients turn their paychecks over to counselors, who then pay the bills every month.

“The bills come here and we pay them,” said Davis. “They don’t even have to worry about them.”

Focus also offers a wide range of personal counseling services, which help supplement their financial counseling.

“Most of the time when people come in and they’re stressed out about finances,” said Skarky, “you find out they are stressed out in their marriage or they are stressing with their kids. We have the capability here to refer them right over to one of our counselors for counseling. We look at the whole situation with people’s families, not just their finances.”

Vance Family Support Flight

Family Support offers assistance in every aspect of life, including financial counseling.

Services are available for active-duty personnel in any branch of the armed forces and military retirees, plus their families and survivors.

Angel Dominguez, community readiness consultant specializing in personal financial management for Vance Family Support, begins by helping his clients develop a workable budget.

“We talk a little bit about their budget and what they want to do for their financial future,” said Dominguez. “That leads to a review of their credit report.”

The next step is to develop a road map for financial success, he said, including setting up an investment plan.

“I help them with mutual funds, how to set up CDs, how to look at the stock market,” said Dominguez. “I help them with online bill paying. You name it, anything in the financial arena, I help them set up or we can work it together.”

The military offers the Thrift Savings Plan, the largest 401k program in the U.S.

“We try to get as many of our younger folks enrolled in the Thrift Savings Plan,” said Dominguez. “It just sets them up for financial success in the future.”

Credit reports help Domin-guez decide how best to help his client either deal with debt or set themselves up for a stronger financial future.

“Once we review the credit report, I have a financial footprint of where I need to go with my client,” he said. “Once that financial footprint’s established, we just start setting up goals for them so they can achieve them.”

Dominguez also teaches fi-nancial management classes for all new student pilots at Vance, as well as all first-term airmen.

“I don’t think there’s a person on this base, junior airman or junior officer, that I don’t touch,” said Dominguez.

In addition, he helps those who are leaving the Air Force prepare their finances for a shift to civilian life.