Debt is hard to ignore. When you're staring down a ballooning credit card balance and fending off insistent phone calls from angry creditors, it can be an all-consuming enemy. You can't simply wish, smile or shrug it away.

What would you give to be free of the worry that comes with long-term debt?

When you enroll in our proven debt consolidation program, you may have to give less than you think. Nothing's free, of course, and our program does take some time and commitment to complete. We can't promise that you can enroll with us today and be debt free tomorrow.

However, we can promise to do everything in our power to significantly reduce your existing burden of unsecured debts. We work tirelessly on behalf of every client who qualifies for our program, and the results that we've achieved speak for themselves.

We'll talk more about what we do - and what we've done to become a leader in our industry - in a moment. First, let's take a closer look at the nature of debt and some common options for fighting it.

Rising Prices, Falling Wages

These days, American consumers are struggling just to keep pace with rising prices for basic staples. No matter what the news tells you, regular folks are beset by falling wages, shrinking 401(k)s and an apparent lack of economic opportunity.

For many consumers, debt - from credit card bills and hospital financing to personal credit lines and business loans - offers an apparent escape from day-to-day financial pressures.

Not all forms of credit are actively bad, and many folks are able to use debt as a responsible means of augmenting their purchasing power. When you're dealing with a million competing priorities, however, it can be tough to keep your finances straight. If your expenses are rising faster than your income, you can only keep up this dance for so long.

Recognizing that you need to do something about your debts is an important first step on your road back to solvency. Whether your credit problems have become a pressing emergency or you're merely looking to shore up your finances before its too late, you have several plausible options at your disposal.

Thinking About Squeaking By on the Minimum Payment Plan? Think Again.

When it comes to paying off credit card debt, many consumers take the path of least resistance: the so-called "minimum payment plan." By law, credit card issuers are required to set a minimum monthly payment amount for each cardholder. These payments are calculated on the basis of the cardholder's total balance, interest rate and certain other factors.

Minimum monthly payments can be shockingly low. If you're carrying a balance of $10,000 on a single credit card, your monthly payment could be just $200 per month. Depending on your income, that could be perfectly manageable for you and your family.

Of course, credit card companies want something in return for your trouble, and they get it in the form of sky-high interest rates.

Worse, these figures only apply to folks who stop using their credit cards. If you keep making charges, you'll find yourself even deeper in the hole.

Happily, consumer protection laws now require credit card issuers to disclose the precise length of time that the "minimum payment plan" takes to work for each customer. When you get your next credit card bill, look for the box that says something like "If you make only the minimum payment on this balance, you will pay a total of 'X' dollars and take 'Y' years to pay off your balance."

Those 'X' and 'Y' values might just shock you.

Looking for a Debt Consolidation Loan? Look Harder.

Debt consolidation loans are a well-known, well-advertised option for consumers who struggle with debt. These credit facilities exist for the express purpose of paying off outstanding unsecured debts and do their job quite well. When you take out a debt consolidation loan, your lender immediately pays off your existing creditors and starts billing you for the balance.

A debt consolidation loan works like any other unsecured debt. As long as you make your payments in full and on time, you'll eventually pay off the loan. For consumers with good credit and sizable debts, this may be an attractive option.

There's a catch. While debt consolidation lenders are happy to lend to low-risk consumers at market rates, they're loath to work with people who have poor or mediocre credit. In fact, most banks won't offer a debt consolidation loan with bad credit.

This isn't good news for the millions of American consumers who struggle with mounting debts and less-than-perfect credit scores. Since carrying long-term debts increases your chances of missing a payment, running up excessive balances or damaging your credit in either ways, debt consolidation lenders don't have a very big pool of potential applicants at their disposal. Unless you've been fortunate enough to maintain a stellar credit score during your debt struggles, you might have to look elsewhere for help.

Mulling Bankruptcy? Mull the Consequences.

Declaring bankruptcy is advisable only as a last resort. While Chapter 13 bankruptcy can dramatically reduce your unsecured debt load, it can have plenty of undesirable consequences. Meanwhile, declaring Chapter 7 bankruptcy may mean saying goodbye to most of the assets that you've accumulated over the course of your life.

We have plenty of literature about the bankruptcy process on this site, so we won't go into all the details here.

It's important to remember, however, that bankruptcy is a very public matter. Once you begin the process, it'll be a long time before you can hide the fact that it happened.

Declaring bankruptcy results in an immediate hit to your credit score. As you work through the process, you run the risk of losing important assets like your car, home, family heirlooms and more.

Over time, bankruptcy might come back to bite you in unexpected ways. If your employer requires you to carry a security clearance, there's a chance that it could be rescinded. If you're applying for a mortgage or rental property, your brush with insolvency could disqualify you from consideration. Depending on your area of expertise, you might even find it difficult to find or keep a job.

National Debt Relief: Debt Consolidation with a Difference

We offer a positive alternative to these debt reduction options: debt settlement.

Unlike credit card companies that offer the "minimum payment plan," we're not interested in bleeding you for every last penny. Unlike debt consolidation lenders, we don't only deal with folks who have great credit. Compared to bankruptcy, our program has a manageable effect on your credit score and won't cause long-lasting secondary problems.

Our debt settlement plans are available to anyone who qualifies. When you come on-board, you'll be connected with an experienced team of debt reduction professionals who negotiate directly with each of your creditors.

We deal with these credit card companies, hospitals, banks and other creditors so that you don't have to. During the entire process, you'll be protected from harassing phone calls, insistent emails, in-person visits and other high-pressure tactics that creditors and collections agencies use to force payment.

The ultimate goal of these negotiations is a single, lump-sum payment that eliminates all included debts once and for all. Unlike other forms of managed debt reduction, most of our debt settlement cases can be settled in 24 to 48 months.

To help you save up for your eventual payoff, we offer an FDIC-insured trust account into which you may make monthly deposits. While no case is typical, we've consistently reduced our customers' total debt loads by as much as 50 percent.

What Does Our Program Cover?

Our debt settlement program covers the vast majority of unsecured debts and some secured debts as well. Many of our clients carry significant credit card balances, and we're particularly adept at negotiating with major credit card issuers and banks. We're also able to settle:

If you qualify, we may be able to lower your monthly credit card payments by a significant margin all the while getting you out of debt in approximately 24-48 months. We work hard to reduce your debt as quickly as possible.

Over time, the debt reductions that we're able to secure could enable you to begin building up a store of savings or adding to your existing retirement account. For many past clients, our program was a turning point: Before enrolling, they lived paycheck to paycheck and could still barely afford to make ends meet. After successfully completing our debt settlement plan, they finally had the means to prepare and save for the future. It's the least we can do to help.

What does National Debt Relief Cost?

Of course, one of the most common questions you will have is what is National Debt Relief's fee? You want to know how much you have to pay for a company to negotiate your debts for you and get a creditor to forgive a significant portion of your debt.

First of all, National Debt Relief does not charge any upfront fees. There are no fees to get started. Then, NDR does not receive any fees unless your debt is settled. You read that correctly, we do not receive any payment unless we can successfully settle with your creditors and get your debt reduced.

Having said that, the fees for our services vary by state and the amount of your debt. The fee varies between 18-25% of your enrolled debt. Compared to the $1000s in interest you will pay on your credit cards while you struggle to pay them off, you can see that this fee is quite reasonable. Especially when you take into account the fact that you can become debt free in 24-48 months with our debt consolidation program.

National Debt Relief Awards, Recognition and Accreditation

At National Debt Relief, we think our results speak for themselves. Of course, we're not shy about accepting recognition when it's due. Here are just a few of the awards we've received from trusted authorities in the field.

• Top Ten Reviews' 2016 Excellence Award
• Top Ten Reviews' 2016 Gold Award for Best Overall Debt Relief Company
• Top Consumer Reviews' Five-Star Rating for 2016
• Top Consumer Reviews' Best Overall Debt Relief Company
• 'A+' Rating from the Better Business Bureau
• U.S. Chamber of Commerce Member
• International Association of Professional Debt Arbitrators Platinum Member
• American Fair Credit Council Accredited Member

We're also proud of what we can accomplish for individual consumers. Just look at what we were able to do for this young lady:

No debt problems are too big for our debt settlement experts. We were able to help this customer escape from a seemingly endless spiral of debt and regret:

Proven Results

You don't have to take our awards, accreditations or clients' words at face value. We're immensely proud of our results as well. Take a look at some debt settlement letters. Check out these "Proven Results" for a look at what we've been able to accomplish for consumers just like you. Here's a small sampling of our achievements:

Remember, no case is typical. Many factors will influence the size of your final settlement.

That said, your success is our success. Since we don't charge monthly maintenance or setup fees, we only make money when we successfully reduce our clients' total debt loads.

Without a proven track record of success, we simply wouldn't be in business. In fact, National Debt Relief only enrolls clients who have a strong chance of benefiting from our debt settlement program. We predicate our reputation on our ability to help consumers move past their debts and begin rebuilding their financial lives - not on our ability to enroll as many clients as possible or charge unnecessary fees.

Qualification Standards

If we don't accept every single potential client who passes through our doors, what exactly do we look for?

For starters, we agree to work with clients who have at least $7,500 in qualifying debts. Remember, the vast majority of unsecured debts, including credit card bills, qualify for debt settlement. Most secured debts, including auto loans and mortgages, don't qualify.

If you have less than $7,500 in qualifying debts or are facing a debt load that's largely made up of secured debts, we'll happily refer you to an organization that can help.

While we generally can't settle student loans, there may be exceptions. If you're dealing with significant student loan debts, we invite you to call us for a one-on-one evaluation with a debt settlement expert.

Our clients come from all walks of life and face all manner of debt-related situations, but many face similar challenges.

If you've already fallen behind on your monthly payments or can no longer afford your minimum payments, we want to talk to you. If can't see any way to improve your financial situation without taking a drastic step like declaring bankruptcy, we may be able to help. What's more, we have years of experience with clients who face exacerbating circumstances like divorce, death in the family, unemployment, long-term medical issues and other problems.

No matter what's going on in your financial life, National Debt Relief is here to help. We're not interested in giving you the hard sell or steering you into a program that you don't want or need.

Please take some time to look through our site and learn more about what we do, where we've been and where we're going. You'll hear from many satisfied customers and learn more than you ever thought possible about credit card debt, personal finance and the debt consolidation process itself.

If our proven debt relief program seems like a good fit, give us a call at 800-300-9550 during extended business hours or fill out the free, no-obligation debt relief quote form on this page. Our seasoned debt relief specialists look forward to speaking with you.