I thought I would kick off the summer by going through my inbox again and answering a few of the questions I've received lately. I'm confident many of you will benefit from this information and advice.

Christina from Tampa, Fla., writes: My husband and I have contacted a bankruptcy lawyer and a debt settlement company about our $90,000 in credit card debt. We both have jobs, we pay all our bills on time and we are never late. We pay the minimum payments, which total just over $1,800. What should we do?

Christina: Your first step should be contacting a credit counselor. You have to go through credit counseling anyway before you can file bankruptcy, and in many cases, it will help you avoid bankruptcy all together. The National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) recently launched a program called "Call to Action," in which they asked the top ten creditors to begin offering easier repayment plans through the Debt Management Plans offered by credit counselors. All ten agreed, says Gail Cunningham, vice president of public relations at NFCC. "The CTA was designed for folks who were in deep financial waters, barely keeping their head up, and offers a 2 percent repayment option or a 1.75 percent repayment plan for true cases of hardship." Through the program, all accounts must liquidate within 60 months. You can connect with an NFCC member agency by calling 800-388-2227.

I generally do not recommend debt settlement, but if that's the right option for you, your credit counselor will tell you. At that point, you can reach out directly to your creditors and arrange for a settlement -- there is absolutely no reason to go through a company.

Jenna from Boston, Mass., asks: I think you have said before that it is not good for your credit score if you cancel a credit card even if you aren't using it. Is this true even if the card has an annual fee attached? And does it hurt your score if you keep a card open without using it?

Jenna: I have said that. I also tend to say that if the card has an annual fee attached, and you're not using it, you're wasting money and you can go ahead and cancel it. But these are different times, and you really need to consider the impact on your score. If that card has a high credit limit, and you've had it in your wallet for a considerable length of time, canceling it could really ding your credit score, and could also end up costing you a lot more than that annual fee in the way of higher interest rates on any money you plan to borrow in the future. If you don't plan to borrow any money in the next year or so, you can cancel the card, but pay your bills on time, keep your debt levels low, and keep in mind that your score will take a hit for a little while.

And no, it doesn't hurt your score to have an open card and not use it, but you run the risk of the lender canceling the card because of inactivity, particularly in this economy. That's why I suggest using cards every once in a while for small purchases that you can pay off right away.

Caitlin in Queens, N.Y., writes: My husband recently closed his business. He has a personally guaranteed SBA loan at 5.7 percent interest. He still owes $140,000 and there are seven years left on the term. He has almost no assets that the bank could liquidate should he default on the loan. Does it make more sense for us to continue to make the monthly payments, or should he file for personal bankruptcy?

Caitlin: I called up the SBA (Small Business Administration) and they said that your husband should contact his lender. "This borrower should talk to his banker about restructuring the loan, with a maturity extension being a possibility to allow the borrower to lower payments and to pay off the loan through future earnings," advises Michael Stamler, a spokesperson for the association. By restructuring, he'll likely accrue more interest, but it will also give him an opportunity to avoid bankruptcy.

If that doesn't work, and he decides to file for bankruptcy -- which should always be a last resort -- the SBA loan will be treated just like any other bank loan, meaning that the lender will stand in line with other creditors when your husband's assets are divided among his unsecured creditors. If your husband gave a personal guarantee based on your home when the loan was made, the lender has a secured claim on your home. That means if he files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, there is a possibility that you could lose your home.

If there is a loss to the government on this loan -- meaning if your husband ends up not paying it back -- he won't be eligible for any future SBA loans. So if he plans to open another business, that's something to think about.