4 Easy Steps To Credit Card Debt Relief

Consumers everywhere are looking for credit card debt
relief options, and it's no wonder. Thousands of people owe
tens of thousands to their credit card companies. But is
credit card debt relief really possible? If you know what
you're doing, it is. Here are 4 easy steps to getting out
from under your credit card debt.

1. Assess Your Situation

The first step towards credit card debt relief is
understanding exactly how bad the situation is. This means
taking all of your recent credit card statements and
totaling up all of your outstanding balances.

Most people avoid totaling all of their credit card debt.
This is usually because the end result will come out to a
scary figure. However, if you are serious about credit card
debt relief, you need to know exactly how much debt you are
really in.

2. Reviewing Your Options

Once you know exactly how much debt you are in, you need to
review your options. When it comes to credit card debt
relief, there are a number of services and solutions
available to consumers.

Most consumers turn to one of three solutions for credit
card debt relief including debt consolidation, debt
negotiation and bankruptcy. Which of these solutions is
right for you will depend on many things including exactly
how much debt you are in and what your finances look like.

If you can afford to make a decent monthly payment towards
your debt each month, credit card debt consolidation may be
the answer. If your credit is still in good shape, you can
consolidate your debt yourself with a low-interest credit
card and pay as much as you can towards the balance each
month.

If your credit has suffered some bruises, you probably
won't qualify for low-interest credit cards and you'll need
to seek the help of a non-profit credit card debt relief
service. Many of these services can help you renegotiate
your interest rates. You then pay the agency one monthly
payment and they pay your credit cards directly.

If your credit has been somewhat trashed and you would
rather get your creditors paid off without having to deal
with monthly payments, debt negotiation may be your ideal
choice for credit card debt relief. However, for this to
work, you need to be quite a bit behind in your credit card
payments.

For credit card debt negotiation, you contact your
creditors and tell them that you will pay them a percentage
(usually 25 to 50 percent) of what you owe if they will
consider the payment as payment in full. This means if you
owe a creditor $5,000, you offer $2,500 and ask them to
write off the debt for that amount.

If you can't afford a monthly payment and debt negotiation
isn't an option, then you may want to consider bankruptcy.
No one likes the idea of claiming bankruptcy, but some
consumers really do need to start over again and bankruptcy
may be the only option.

3. Make a Plan

Once you know what type of credit card debt relief you are
interested in, it's time to lay out a plan. In the case of
credit card debt consolidation, you'll need to determine
how you will consolidate your debt and exactly how much you
can pay towards your debt each month.

In the case of debt negotiation, you'll need to determine
exactly how much money you are going to offer your
creditors and which ones you will be contacting first. In
the case of bankruptcy, you'll need to look into obtaining
the services of a lawyer.

4. Put Your Plan in Action

Once you know exactly what steps you need to take, it's
time to put them in action. In the case of bankruptcy and
debt negotiation, this is just a matter of taking the
proper steps and executing them according to your plan.
With debt consolidation, however, a bit of willpower will
be required.

Many people who consolidate their debt are excited to find
out that their minimum monthly payments are often reduced.
This does not mean, however, that you should pay the
minimum monthly payment. The purpose of credit card debt
relief plans is to get out of debt as quickly as possible.
This means paying as much as you possibly can to your
creditors each month.

Credit card debt relief rarely happens without a bit of
sacrifice. whether that's sacrificing your credit with a
bankruptcy history, sacrificing your budget by paying more
towards your debt or sacrificing your savings with paying
large amounts to satisfy your debt in full, the end result
is always worth it.

And of course, once credit card debt relief is achieved,
make sure you don't find yourself in the same situation
again. Manage your debt wisely and let the sacrifices you
make towards credit card debt relief serve as a lesson.

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