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Debt settlement is the quickest way to become free of the tire spinning credit treadmill

by Steve Bis

If you are riddled with credit card debt, don't throw the towel in and lose hope because there is a way to become debt free. But in order for you to clear your unsecured debts once and for all you have to be in it for the whole game. No quick fix debt management plans can totally free you from the the hell of credit card debt. Some quick fix attempts at credit card debt reduction are designed as damage-control measures which try to get around the situation without eliminating it.

They can also become every increasingly complicated every time you try to quick fix a problem with another problem. Of all the plans for getting rid of debt, debt reduction is the most successful at saving money and helping debtors become debt free.

Of course, if you are far to deep in debt and bankruptcy is seeming like a reality, the last ditch effort to pay back your debts is through a proactive technique of debt reduction called credit card debt settlement. With this approach, a debt settlement establishment attempts at a agreement with your collectors to settle your debt at an amount far less than what you owe.

During the process, you are supposed to save enough funds for a bulk settlement payment. If the agreement is approved, you will receive a letter in the mail from the debt collector that the debt has been settled or paid. The collector will also at the same time notify the credit bureaus that the same debts you owed have been satisfactorily fulfilled. Settlement is particularly attractive for creditors during times of very hard financial circumstances for the person in debt, when he is near edge of filing bankruptcy; in which situation the debt collector is faced with the possibility of losing more money by getting only a fractional portion of the actual balance that was owed.

Debt settlements are only eligible for debts that are unsecured such as those concerning credit cards and medical debts. Also, remember that this is an emergency measure. So you should brace yourself for the immediate consequences. Including negative credit score, an increase in collection activity the potential chance of being taken to court, tax obligations, and that all-too-familiar necessity of coming to a terms with your creditors.

If your situation is not as bad as the one mentioned above, then you can get out of debt easily enough. All you need is persistence, patience, and a desire to give a shot to the most recent of debt relief plans: debt-snowballing or debt repayment. This practical avenue of relieving debt is especially geared towards revolving credit accounts such as those involved in credit cards.

In order to make your debt a thing of the past, first make a list of all your dues in ascending order from the smallest balance to the largest (notice that the order is not based on the APR, but on the amount owed). If some dues come close in the amount owed, move the one with the higher interest to a elevated spot on the list. Then force yourself to pay the minimum payment on all debts.

If surplus funds are remaining, add this to the dues on the tiniest debt, and keep focusing on completing your dues on the smallest debt until it ispaid in full. As soon as the smallest debt is removed from the list, repeat the same process for the next ranked spot, this time adding the previous minimum payment for the cleared debt onto the funds allocated for the next.

Keep doing this process and you will be surprised at the speed at which you can free yourself from debt.

Steve Martin is a debt analyst with the US Consumer Advocate, which practices credit card debt relief.

Published December 6th, 2007

Filed in Business, Management

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