This guide is one of a series of four such guides that are directed toward those people who provide financial counseling to consumers who have problems with overindebtedness. Recognizing that many who serve as financial counselors have little training in the field (for example, clergymen or social workers), the guides are not offered as complete courses in financial counseling, but as practical prototype manuals focusing on the most important areas for counseling: basic techniques, rehabilitative financial planning, and an overview of common problems with credit and debt. By using examples of client-counselor exchanges, as well as detailed exercises for the counselor, the guides help the counselor increase his/her effectiveness with the client. This particular guide examines various types of problems that people have with credit and debt, discusses underlying causes of the problems, and offers some general suggestions for solving them. (Author/FC)