GreenPath Financial Wellness

• Debt Solutions Offered
• Solutions Cost
• Nonprofit Credit Counseling
• Services All 50 States
• Memberships and Accreditations
• Financial Tools and Resources
• GreenPath University

Debt Solutions Offered

GreenPath Financial Wellness offers several kinds of support to clients:

• Debt counseling
• Debt management
• Student loan counseling
• Bankruptcy counseling
• Credit report review
• Mortgage counseling
• Reverse mortgage counseling
• Support for avoiding foreclosure

While people interested in debt settlement will have to consider other options, GreenPath Financial Wellness offers a nice range of counseling services. It's especially nice that GreenPath offers counseling services for specific kinds of debt, like housing and student loan debt.

With such a good range of support services offered, many people dealing with debt's financial stress will be able to find good debt solutions and counseling with GreenPath Financial Wellness.

Solutions Cost

Unlike debt settlement companies that charge a certain percentage of a client's total enrolled debt, debt management companies charge a one-time enrollment fee and a monthly fee.

GreenPath charges an average of $36 per month for account maintenance and financial services, a lower monthly cost for a debt management program than what other companies in the industry charge. GreenPath also charges a one-time fee of $0 to $50 for new customers signing on, which is fairly standard for debt relief companies that offer debt management plan assistance.

Customers will also have access to a dedicated financial counselor. When debt reduction companies provide dedicated financial experts for each customer, reviews generally tend to be higher.

Nonprofit Credit Counseling

Though being a nonprofit company is no guarantee of good business practices, it does place companies under certain expectations that must be met. Nonprofits tend to offer lower prices because of the fact that money cannot be left over at the end of the year, hence the designation "nonprofit."

GreenPath also reports yearly on its outputs and the impact it is making in the lives of its clients. We appreciate seeing this transparency. As is typical with nonprofits, GreenPath Financial is very thorough with its reporting to ensure that its services are trusted and legitimate in the eyes of customers and partners across the country.

Services All 50 States

There are few companies in the debt consolidation industry that offer their financial services to all 50 states by phone and through the internet. GreenPath offers these options and also has over 60 local branches across the country. Meeting in person to discuss finances is an appealing option that you might consider if you live near one of the company's branches.

Often, debt relief companies do not make their location information public or readily accessible, so we especially like how GreenPath Financial Wellness is transparent with this information and has broad availability.

Customers with credit card debt, student loan debt, and other types of unsecured debt can access GreenPath's services as long as they are residents of the United States.

Memberships and Accreditations

The memberships and accreditation of GreenPath Financial show that the organization is an active member of the debt consolidation community. The company is a part of the following organizations:

• Council on Accreditation (COA) — Accredited
• National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) — Member
• Homeownership Preservation Foundation — Partner

Membership or accreditation with such organizations shows that Greenpath is willing to maintain industry standards and best practices. In an industry like debt relief, it is especially important for organizations to pursue accreditations, since money is involved and customers are putting themselves at risk of being scammed if they choose to let someone else manage their finances.

Financial Tools and Resources

Consumers working with GreenPath have access to different tools and resources to help them improve their financial situation and financial education. Some of the resources available to consumers include GreenPath University, which offers financial calculators, videos, webinars, and eLearning.

Another resource available to consumers is the "Write on the Money" blog, which provides expert tips and insight on different financial obstacles.

Lastly, Greenpath employs NFCC certified financial counselors. Working directly with a Greenpath counselor is a great option if you need one-on-one assistance getting your finances in order or your debt under control.

GreenPath University

Customers seeking help with credit debt, credit card debt, student loan debt, etc. are usually not as adept at navigating the various debt management solutions available. Some debt management or debt counseling companies may take advantage of this lack of expertise. To combat this, GreenPath Financial Wellness offers customers enrollment in its GreenPath University. Customers have the opportunity to learn about debt management/debt counseling services themselves through interactive tools like e-learning, budget tips, financial calculators, GreenPath financial games, and free financial webinars.

• Limited Physical Locations
• Additional Fees
• Impact to Credit Score

Limited Physical Locations

GreenPath locations are placed rather sporadically throughout the U.S. The nonprofit only has about 60 branch offices in about 20 states, including Florida, Texas, and Illinois. Most states only have one physical Greenpath location, and a lot of states don't have any.

Consumers outside of these 16 states will not have access to GreenPath's in-person financial counseling. However, online financial services are available nationwide.

You can still get help resolving your unsecured debt (credit card debt, student loan debt, credit debt, medical debt, etc.) by working with Greenpath Financial Wellness either over the phone or online through your portal.

Customers who are not tech-savvy or prefer the option of in-person debt management services would benefit greatly if there were more branches available in more states.

Additional Fees

GreenPath financial services require consumers to get a credit report, which is not free. All of the services that consumers need to achieve their financial goals have fees with the exception of one free financial counseling session. Choosing GreenPath may not be the best option for consumers deep in debt wanting to reduce their total monthly expenses.

Impact to Credit Score

A debt management plan is likely going to hurt your credit score when you are first starting out. This is because you may end up closing a credit line or missing payments as you build up a reserve to pay off your debts. However, a main factor that credit companies consider in determining your credit score is your payment history. Thus, as you start to make payments into your debt management plan, and GreenPath uses those payments to pay your creditors, your credit score should start to improve again with time.