subject: Debt Relief: What To Do [print this page] Debt Relief: What To Do Debt Relief: What To Do
Debt relief can best be accomplished by two main things: Lowering your monthly payments into something that you can easily afford, and consolidating all of your debt onto one credit card. Consolidation is important because it can be very hard to keep track of several different cards, not to mention they all have different fees and charges, and rules and regulations that go with each penalty that you need to keep track of. With so many cards, it could also be hard to remember which have been paid on time and which still haven't been paid at all! You could even lose one of the bills and not ever realize it with so many cards to keep track of! Also, if you consolidate, chances are, you will be able to get a lower interest rate as well.
Debt settlement is where your lower monthly payments come into play. It would be wise to go through a debt relief program to do the negotiations of waiving or reducing fees and charges, possibly changing terms of the loan, and negotiating lower interest rates if you really are in need of lowering your payments to make them affordable. Be sure to do your homework to avoid the debt relief scams that take your money but do not do anything. There are some debt settlement companies that will only charge according to how well they are able to relieve your debt (pay when you settle program). Find companies that have guarantees such as that and you will be well on your way to relieving your debt.
Not only can debt relief programs negotiate terms and interest rates on your behalf, but they also research your credit report to find anything questionable since mistakes happen all the time with the credit card company. They may also think of ways to reduce your monthly payment that you may not have ever thought of. Since they are trained with experience to know all the rules, and what they can and cannot do, many times they have a few tricks up their sleeve. Therefore, they can easily save you far more money than what you could save yourself, even after paying for their services!
