Ways To Eliminate My Credit Card Debt

Times are tough, you know that already. You may be drowning in debt with no real way of getting out of it. You could benefit from quick debt relief. You can get the best returns on your money when you eliminate your debt. There are several ways to go about doing this. Take a moment to read the rest of this article and get some tips to help you see the light at the end of the debt tunnel.

If you keep struggling to pay the minimums, you can keep paying your debts for 20 years or more. By that time you will have paid two to three times what you originally borrowed. That’s like paying $3,000 for a $1,000 television set. If this does not sound appealing to you then you should find a better way to pay off your bills.

Eliminate Your Credit Card Debt

Of the two ways to actually get your credit card balances reduced, bankruptcy and debt settlement are the most effective. With bankruptcy you may not qualify for Chapter 7 which is full liquidation. You may have to file Chapter 13 which comes with a 5 year repayment plan. You get to pay back most of what you owed when you filed. And you get the bonus of ruining your credit for 7 to 10 years or more.

Debt settlement is a step before you file bankruptcy. You will still have your credit rating dinged but it will not be a matter of public record. Your credit score is not public record so only you and the credit card company will know what you agreed to.

With debt negotiation, you offer a payment for less than the full balance and the creditor agrees to settle your account. What kind of bank would give you a 50% discount on what you owe? It is right to be skeptical. The banks have not promoted any kind of settlement program in the news. Of course they would not do this. The credit card companies do not want you to know that you can erase your credit card debt without filing bankruptcy.

But you can either get over your skepticism or you can stay in debt. The choice is yours. Settle your debts on your own and you can save 40 to 60% on your balances and be debt free in 12 to 18 months instead of staying in debt for the next 20 years.

How To Pay Off Credit Card Debt Quickly

If you are on a fixed income you may be considering that bankruptcy is your only way out of debt. There is a way to eliminate your credit card debt without having to resort to bankruptcy. In this short article, get the information you need to know before you make a 7 to 10 year financial mistake. You don’t want to have to ruin your credit for 10 years or more and still be in debt.

This is not about consolidating your debts or using credit counseling. You do not eliminate your debt with credit counseling, you pay back the whole balance. They only spread out your payments over time and reduce your interest rates and maybe your payment amounts. So these methods are thrown out. Even though they are touted as some of the best debt cures you can find.

But look at who is promoting these methods. The banks and credit card companies helped start the credit counseling business. So they have a big interest in steering you to credit counseling.

This leaves debt settlement as the best way to wipe out your debts without using bankruptcy. Using debt negotiation you reach an agreement to pay about half of what you owe for the whole balance. In many cases if you are 3 to 6 months behind on your payments, they will be willing to settle with you.

With debt settlement, you can wipe out half your credit card debt in 18 months or less. You could possibly get a 30% settlement on a $100,000 balance and save $70,000 for example. Your mileage may vary. But with so many people struggling to keep up with all their bills, the credit card companies are seeing more and more of this everyday. People are drowning in debt and unable to keep up with their payments let alone get the balances reduced.

The creditors lose money when they have to write off or charge off what you owe so they would rather get 50% of the balance instead of recording the full 100% as a loss. They still have shareholders to please.

Best of all you can do it yourself. You can settle all your credit card debts on your own and save an extra 15% off your debt. So read a book, or buy a home study course on how to do it yourself debt elimination. This is the best way I’ve read about that can help you eliminate credit card debt without bankruptcy.

Debt Management Programs

There are a thousand and one commercials out there on debt management. You cannot watch television without seeing an ad for debt management or debt settlement services! This reflects how important debt management actually is.

The reason is because there are so many people who are burdened with more debt than they can handle. Their mailboxes are full of second, third, and final notices. Their phones are ringing off the wall with calls from bill collectors.

People can start struggling with debt for many reasons. This could be because of a layoff from work, medical bill, or an accident. These things happen.

Sometimes people find themselves in deep debt because of their careless spending and oftentimes find themselves drowning in their sea of debt because of their inability to plan and budget. There was a time when debt management companies were more like social services than for-profit businesses. These debt management companies were nonprofit, and they were known as consumer credit counseling services (CCCS) affiliated with the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC).  But you could also go with debt settlement as well.

As more and more Americans became deeply embroiled in debt, companies began to spring up that are generally classified as debt management companies or debt settlement companies. These businesses do charge fees and their object is to make a profit.

Debt management agreements with debt management companies really are not for everybody who has a debt problem. The best way to assess for yourself whether a debt management company can help you is to add up all of your payments, and if you unsecured minimum payment obligation exceeds 20% of your take-home pay, then you might need their services.

Remember that only unsecured debt is covered by debt management companies. Unsecured debt is generally credit card debt. Your mortgage payment and your car payments are not unsecured debt.