Monday, March 16, 2009

Debt Relief Choices

Many families are living week to week. They have no savings or other investments to fall back on, should they fall on financial hardship. It really is quite frightening, to say the least.

As frightening as it is, there are debt relief options available to those who check themselves bogged down by mounting debt. The good news is bankruptcy is not the only answer. There are other alternatives, which are better suited to rectify the situation.

Yes, there are situations in which filing for bankruptcy is probably the best solution for individuals who check themselves, saddled with a great deal of debt. There is nothing shameful about filing. Sometimes it just cannot be avoided.

On the other hand, it is much harder to rebuild credit after bankruptcy. Depending on the type of bankruptcy filed, it remains part of a credit report for 7-10 years. Although it is possible, to acquire some types of credit after a time, it is rather difficult.

Debt settlement is a second option to consider, as a smart alternative to bankruptcy. Debt settlement occurs when a creditor agrees to accept less than 100% of total debts owed. Sometimes this discount could be quite substantial, up to 50% or more.

Creditors are willing to go this route because it enables them to recoup, at least, a portion of the debt. This is something that might not be possible, its individual filed for bankruptcy, instead.

Debt consolidation is just that. Consolidating one's entire debt and allowing one payment per month, as opposed to several. It is best to have some type of plan in place when making the decision to consolidate debt. This option works best for those who could resist the urge to incur further debt. Debt consolidation, in most cases would offer relief short term as the debts paid off are frequently redeveloped causing double the debt.

Regardless of the debt relief method utilized, individuals could opt to do it themselves or seek counsel. Although doing it themselves would save money in the fees, the end result of money saved would be worth the assistance of an expert debt arbitrator

1 comment:

  1. The most common debt relief options are: debt consolidation, debt management, and debt settlement.
    Debt settlement helps you in reducing your debt amount, I was able to settle my credit card debt to a lower level with the help of Freedom Debt Relief, their debt reduction program helped me in negotiating with my creditors.

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