DEBT: “Something, typically money, that is owed or due. It is an obligation that requires the debtor to pay money or other agreed-upon value to another party, the creditor.” That four letter word brings up feelings of anxiety, distress, sadness and even suicidal thoughts in some cases. It gives people nightmares in some cases. According to an article on daversamsey.com 80% of Americans are caught up in the chains of debt. Think about that percentage! For every 10 people you may walk past on any given day, its likely 8 of them are tied into debt. But with debt, there is relief.

Some can afford to have that debt, but there are plenty who are suffering as a result of it. A single mother with four children works two jobs to provide a roof over her growing children’s heads while also nourishing them, buying school items, sending them to after school care all while managing the bills and paying back credit card debt and the mortgage. This is a sad but not uncommon scenario.

Relief Options are Available

Of course we can relate many different stories and situations people who are trapped in debt and the financial burdens they bear. But we want to discuss options for relief. Many people feel that the only forms of relief are by means of filing for bankruptcy, or foreclosure. Or some ignore the bills when the mail comes. But there are a few options available that may provide a simmer of hope and that have worked for millions of Americans. Let’s review one of them…that being settlement options.

Settlement

There are organizations such as National Debt Relief which help people struggling with debt they cannot afford to pay which provide settlement options. This company offers a free consolidation quote without upfront fees and provides a time frame for when you’ll be debt free. If not this company, you’ll definitely want to search for debt settlement companies with a BBB rating of A+ like this one. The concept of settlement may seem frustrating to creditors, but it is a LEGAL agreement to forgive the remaining debt you may owe to them.

Settlement Process

Here’s a personal experience on how beneficial this can be. I had debt exceeding $11,000.00 on multiple credit cards. It seemed like every time I made the minimum payment on one card, the statement period would come. Interest would eat 75% of the money I paid on the bill, which in most cases, caused my balance to look parallel to the original balance. The payments along with my rent left me with nothing available to spend for the next couple of weeks. So I had to use the credit cards again to make it through for food and gas. A constant revolving story which is what that kind of debt is…revolving debt. In this situation, I couldn’t qualify for a consolidation loan due to the high balances on my credit cards.

That’s where settlement helped! The settlement option used was to put the funds into an FDIC insured account which creditors were able to view. I was able to make one affordable monthly payment into the account. As the account balance grew, a creditor would make a settlement offer to accept a portion of the total amount. If accepted, the creditor would be paid the agreed amount and the remaining debt would be forgiven. The item would no longer show up on your credit report as anything other than a paid item.

Results?

The outcome of debt is relief now. It is also a better credit report. Less items on it that show a bad history of missing payments. Credit score increases as a result of showing that you've paid off debt which may be in collections. And you'll wind up saving more funds due to settling this debt at only a portion of what you owe. Not a bad idea right? Why not give settlement a try. Next we will discuss a second of three options for reducing/paying off debt.

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