"I was getting offers from credit cards, so I was taking them," said Kevin Crusoe of Livonia. "Ultimately, I wound up accumulating a lot of my debt from credit cards just because I wasn't making enough to live, and so I supplemented my income with credit cards."

Kevin needed money fast. At least twice a week, he received new credit card offers in the mail. After Kevin's wife fell ill, and he was laid off from his job, the bills just kept piling up. Before he knew it, he was $20,000 in the red.

"I couldn't justify claiming bankruptcy. $20,000 technically is not that much debt. If I was gonna claim bankruptcy, I was like, 'it's gotta be $100,000 or some astronomical amount of money."

Because of his significant debt load, Kevin's credit score dropped more than 100 points. He knew it was time to get credit help. He decide to seek out credit counseling to figure out how to manage his debt. Kevin says once he received the credit packet, there was one line that he saw that had intrigued him

"To get out of debt, you either spend less than you make, or you make more than you spend - that's all there is to it," said Kevin. "Reading that first little sentence in that book was like, 'well okay, all of sudden we're not going to McDonald's, we're shopping store brands, we're not buying name brand,' little things like that."

Kevin also wanted to improve his credit score, because he was thinking about purchasing a new home.

"Having good credit will allow you to get better interest rates on bigger ticket items," said credit counselor Linda Howlind. "If you're trying to get a mortgage or buying a car and you have a good credit history, you have a better chance of getting a loan and lower rate of interest."

It also affects your eligiblity for credit cards. There are several factors that go into deciding what your credit score is.

"The most two important (factors) are that you keep your payment history good, that you that you make your payments on time every 30 days, or what the agreed upon time frame is, and you make sure you don't max those cards out," said Howlind.

After learning his lessons in managing his debt, Kevin is now a proud homeowner. He said he never wants to see another credit card again.

If you are looking for ways to increase your credit score, or maybe you feel that your debt has become unmanageable, you can contact the Credit Counseling Service in Rochester at 585-546-3440.