American Debt Guide helps people figure out how serious their debt is, how long it will realistically take to pay off, and which way out fits their situation. Everything is free, and the tools don’t collect what you type into them.
Who runs the site
American Debt Guide is published by MG Web Publishing and run by Mike G., who builds and maintains the tools and writes and reviews the site’s content.
Mike started the site after getting out of debt himself. He was swimming in it, and worked his way out by doing the research and building a plan. American Debt Guide is his way of sharing what he learned.
Mike isn’t a financial advisor, a credit counselor or an attorney, and the site doesn’t claim otherwise. Its job is to explain options clearly and show the math, not to tell you what to do.
What’s here
- The Debt Audit: a five-minute checkup that grades your debt, compares payoff plans and explains which path fits your numbers.
- Calculators for specific questions, built on the same math as the audit.
- Five paths out of debt: paying it off yourself, consolidation, credit counseling, debt settlement and bankruptcy, each with its costs, risks and credit effects.
- Guides to specific situations, with worked examples.
Editorial policy
How pages are researched
Rules, figures and legal points come from primary and official sources: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Reserve, the IRS, the federal courts, the U.S. Trustee Program and the U.S. Code, plus peer-reviewed research. Each page lists its sources at the bottom and marks which statement each one supports. Where a threshold or assumption is our own judgment rather than an official figure, the page says so.
How pages are written
Pages are researched and drafted with the help of AI writing tools. Every claim is then checked against the sources listed on the page, and Mike reviews each page before it’s published.
How the tools work
The Debt Audit and calculators don’t use AI. They run fixed, published formulas in your browser, so the same numbers always give the same result, and every threshold is on How the audit works. Nothing you enter is stored or sent.
Explaining, not advising
The site explains options and their tradeoffs. It doesn’t tell anyone what to do, and every result carries a reminder that it isn’t financial or legal advice. For decisions with legal consequences, like bankruptcy, the pages explain when it’s worth talking to a qualified professional.
Reviews and corrections
Each page is reviewed every month, and sooner when a rule it describes changes. If you spot a mistake, please tell us. Confirmed errors are corrected promptly.
How the site is funded
American Debt Guide doesn’t currently run ads or earn commissions from any lender, company or law firm. If that changes, this page and the disclaimer will say so. No one can pay to change what a page says, where it ranks a company, or which option the Debt Audit points to.
What the site doesn’t do
- It doesn’t sell debt relief services or refer readers to attorneys or companies for a fee.
- It doesn’t ask for your name, contact details or account information to use the tools.
- It doesn’t give individual financial or legal advice.
Contact
Questions, corrections and feedback are welcome through the contact page.