subject: Erase That High Unsecured Credit Card Debt [print this page] Erase That High Unsecured Credit Card Debt
High credit card debt is like a cancer, it just continues to grow and grow. When the balance gets so high that you can't even afford the minimum payments, then you are in trouble. Regardless of how you go there, something has to be done.
The first steps involve stopping the use of the cards, looking into every possible potential solution including tight budgeting to try to find more money to pay toward the credit cards each month, consolidating debts to reduce the interest and payments, and seeking a debt counseling service. A debt counseling service can not only help you with the above suggestions, but they can also help you to understand all of the options regarding how to eliminate unsecured credit card debt.
"Unsecured" simply means that there is no collateral involved. For example, a home mortgage is a secured debt because there is a physical asset, your home that backs up the loan. If you don't make payments, the bank can foreclose on you and get your home back, sell it, and get most if not all of their loaned money back. Not so with an unsecured debt. If you don't pay, they lose their money.
This why most credit card companies will negotiate in reducing either the interest or even the principle balance on what you owe them if you are no longer to able to pay back the originally agreed amount. Negotiating with the credit card companies to do this is not simple. It requires a plan and persistence. It is sometimes to your advantage to enlist the help of someone else to do this negotiating for you. There are many debt counseling and debt elimination services out there that can help you. A reputable service will sit down and review your situation with you in detail and then help you determine the best course of action to take to get your debt under control or erased. This can be a painful process, but once you have that plan then you can proceed to get your life back.
Most credit card companies will talk to you and offer solutions to your predicament. Often, however, they are most willing to discuss reduced payments or balances after you are late on payments. If this has to occur, don't panic, but be prepared to listen to and make offers to the companies to try to reduce or even eliminate the debt.
