If you think you’re in trouble with debt
If you feel you’re having a problem with debt, consider the story I read the other day about a couple that had run up $120,000 in debt. And no, she and her husband didn’t do anything extravagant. There were no trips to the tropics, no luxurious automobiles, no big, flat screen TVs. They had gotten deeply in debt the boring way, one charge at a time. When they wanted something that cost $200 they just bought it without thinking about the consequences.
A happy ending
There was a happy ending to this story. The couple that are now in their early 60s have been able to pay down the $120,000 in credit card debt but it did take them five years. How do they do it? They went to a credit-counseling agency for help. One of the things their counselor suggested was that they develop a budget. They said it took them three tries to get it right. While budgeting helped, they both were forced to take second jobs in order to get debt relief. They also learned they could get by with fewer than 100 cable channels and by spending less on their clothing and entertainment.
What is debt relief
Debt relief is exactly what you imagine – it’s experiencing relief from your debts. And there are a number of ways to accomplish this. Credit counseling is certainly one of them. This is what the couple described above chose to get help with their debts and their budgeting. A credit counselor will review all of your assets and debts and help you create a payment plan. He or she will work with your credit card providers to get yohttp://www.topconsumerreviews.com/debt-consolidation-programs/?mkwid=0jUGUQPy|pcrid|3141778274&pmt=e&mm_campaign=87d3de3eeb601207b5f5fe4d9315f9f8&keyword=debt%20consolidation%20loans&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&pkw=debt+consolidation+loansur interest
rates reduced and for them to approve your plan. Assuming that they all do sign off on your plan, you then send a check a month to the credit-counseling agency, which then pays your creditors. In most cases, credit counseling can help you achieve debt relief in about five years – just like the couple described in this article.
Get a loan
A second way to achieve debt relief is by getting a debt consolidation loan. This is fairly self-explanatory. You get a loan big enough to pay off your credit card debts simultaneously. If you have a lot of debt – like $10,000 or more – you would probably have to get what’s called a secured loan, which would probably take you anywhere from 7 to 10 years to pay back.
Debt settlement
Third, you could get debt relief using a strategy called debt settlement. The way this works is that you have to stop making any payments at all on your credit cards for probably six months. Next, you contact all your credit card companies and offer to settle your debt for maybe fifty cents on the dollar. If you’re good at “selling” and a good negotiator, you could probably pull this off. Of course, you will have to have the cash in hand to settle the debt. For example, if you were able to negotiate a $5,000 debt down to $2,500, you would have to have the $2,500 ready to wire to the credit card company or send it to them in the form of a cashier’s check.
An easier alternative
If the idea of trying to negotiate with a credit card company makes you feel a little queasy, there’s an easier alternative. You can hire a debt settlement firm such as National Debt Relief to do the negotiating for you. Our debt counselors have saved our clients thousands of dollars and helped them become debt free in 24 to 48 months. Call our toll-free number today to learn what we might be able to do for you.
