Source: Michelle Singletary, Washington Post ( Free Registration )

As some bring in the new year with cheer, others just see another year of cowering under what appears to be insurmountable debt. And when you cower, you can become desperate and lose whatever common sense your mama or daddy may have passed on to you. Otherwise, I can't explain why someone would pay a company nearly $900 or more for the mere promise of helping reduce his or her debt. One desperate reader from Rochester, N.Y., e-mailed me asking for help in persuading her husband not to pay a Florida debt settlement company an upfront $895 fee. The company promised to help cut the $21,000 they owed in credit card debt. The wife said they began relying on credit cards after her husband found himself out of work after 24 years on the job. "My husband was recently contacted on the phone by a company alleging it was a 'debt reduction' organization," she wrote. "They are willing to guarantee a $3,000 reduction or our money back. They have power-of-attorney forms to be notarized. My husband wants to get moving on it. Is this a good idea?"

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