Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp

Cambridge offers no-cost financial management education to individuals in a number of different ways. Cambridge provides outreach programs to members of its local community, including a significant number of non-profit social service agencies. Cambridge also offers financial management seminars and lesson plans to colleges and high schools, both locally and nationally. In addition, Cambridge provides a number of free online resources, including financial calculators, videos, guidebooks, informational articles, and budgeting tools. Finally, and perhaps most important, Cambridge provides comprehensive one-on-one financial assessments and counseling to any individual interested in improving his or her understanding of sound credit and debt management principles.The results of Cambridges financial assessments indicate that 15-20% of participants would be incapable of alleviating their own debt in less than five years without significant creditor concessions. Cambridge believes that, of the remaining 80-85% of individuals who have problems with money management and debt, the majority lack a basic understanding of the fundamentals of personal finance. To address this issue, 29 states have passed legislation requiring high school students to pass a course in personal finance before graduating, but the effects wont be seen for years. In the meantime, educational nonprofits are doing what we can to help consumers understand the basics of credit, debt, and personal money management.In its local community, Cambridge provides free financial literacy education and counseling to veterans receiving services through local shelters and through HUDs VASH program. The agencys staff also presents financial literacy seminar series to inmates and former prisoners through programs delivered through the Connecticut Federal Re-Entry Courts and through the Hampden County Sheriffs Department, and to volunteers working with senior citizens through programs provided by Greater Springfield Senior Services. Cambridges Education Department staff also provides financial literacy and/or student loan education to several colleges, and we co-produce 6-7 major Credit for Life Fairs for area high school students every spring. The staff has been able to move some classes online, conducting free financial literacy and student loan counseling webinars to members of the Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York teachers unions, and to the Public Employees Federation of New York, the states largest public employee union. From 7/1/2024 to 6/30/2025, Cambridges Education Department presented 314 free financial seminars and webinars to 6,726 participants throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York. Cambridge also provided a wide variety of free educational video content on the Internet. During that same period, Cambridges 246 videos were viewed a total of 6,677 times, and our social media content was viewed by an additional 57,954 individuals.

Housing Counseling - In 2010, after a comprehensive application and on-site examination process, Cambridge became a HUD-approved housing counseling agency. Nearly half of Cambridge's counselors now hold one or more NeighborWorks certifications in foreclosure prevention counseling, pre- and post-purchase counseling, rental, and reverse mortgage counseling. The vast majority of these services are provided for free to the public. (Cambridge's reverse mortgage counseling fee of $125 is in keeping with HUD guidelines but can be waived, and participants in Cambridge's eight-hour pre-purchase class pay a nominal fee of $50 for materials.) Cambridge's reverse mortgage counseling program has also been approved by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs. From 7/1/2024 to 6/30/2025, Cambridge provided 45 free one-on-one foreclosure prevention counseling sessions. 430 prospective homebuyers attended Cambridges pre-purchase classes, and 223 participants subsequently received free follow-up housing counseling sessions from the agency. During the time period, Cambridge also conducted 4,012 reverse mortgage counseling sessions, 306 of which were provided free of charge.Bankruptcy Counseling - In the fall of 2011, following an exhaustive round of applications and examinations, Cambridge received approval from the Executive Office for United States Trustees to provide credit counseling and debtor education services to financially troubled consumers who are considering bankruptcy or who are awaiting the discharge of their debt. From 7/1/2024 to 6/30/2025, Cambridge conducted pre-filing credit counseling sessions for 466 individuals and provided pre-discharge debtor education courses to 224 individuals.