ST. LOUIS - If holiday purchases left you in debt and seeking more solid financial footing in the new year, help can be just a call away.

“We work with people by providing financial counseling, and then we administer debt management programs,” Thomas Nitzsche, a financial educator at Money Management International, said. MMI is a nonprofit that works with consumers and their creditors to find a pathway out of debt.

“Our average client has about $30,000 in unsecured debt across six or seven accounts. We're able to get the interest rates lowered by negotiating, working with their creditors, and then put them on one monthly payment that we will distribute to all their creditors," Nitzsche said.

A new WalletHub survey shows 46% of Americans said they’re still carrying debt from Christmas 2023. 15% said they don’t have a plan to avoid holiday debt. MMI Data shows a 37% year-over-year increase in the number of Missourians seeking debt help.

“A lot of the clients we work with haven't ever talked about their debt before. They might even be keeping it from, you know, a family member or spouse or what have you," Nitzsche said. "And it's just really relieving when they're able to sort of take that burden off and just sort of admit, 'Hey, I need some help with this and create a plan to get out of debt.'"

“I can honestly say there were so many times where there was no light at the end of the tunnel,” north St. Louis County resident Ilia Macklin said.

Macklin turned to MMI with $22,000 worth of debt that piled up renovating her home.

“They answered all my questions. They were very patient, and the payments were doable. I never missed a payment. And, as a matter of fact, I was able to pay off the debt early," she said.

Macklin says the experience set her on a positive financial trajectory.

“The lessons that I learned in what I could do, and I'm looking back on, not only was I able to buy it out the house, but I was also able to keep my house. I was able to pay out because I learned what I could do," she said.