Bills Logo

Advice and tips on debt settlement options

Get rid of your debt faster with debt relief

Choose your debt amount

$25,000
$1,000$100,000

Or speak to a debt consultant  844-731-0836

Mark Cappel
UpdatedSep 19, 2024

How do I find step by step info on credit card debt settlement?

How do I find step by step info on credit card debt settlement, do it your self?

Debt settlement involves many facets — including personal financial discipline and budgeting (to save for the settlements), negotiations and leverage with the creditors, dealing with the potential for collection calls and maybe even fighting off a lawsuit. Generally, we suggest getting in touch with a great company to handle the situation for you... but if you want to go it alone it is a very tough fight but it can be done. We would recommend reading our Debt Settlement Advice article with free tips.

If you would like to get help from a pre-approved debt settlement company, please contact a counselor — Bills.com has several online at: Debt Help

Generally, I would make sure that any firm you choose is a member of the Better Business Bureau and get a sense for the quality of the organization (www.bbb.org )

If you want to go it alone, the first goal will be to budget. Start out with the attached Personal Finance and Budget Guide (which I have attached for you for free). It has some excellent tips on how to manage your money and get out of debt and into a virtuous cycle of wealth.

Once you start saving up money, you will need to explore the settlement portion. Debt settlement, also called debt negotiation, is a form of online debt consolidation that cuts your total debt, sometimes over 50%, with lower monthly payments. Debt settlement programs typically run for around three years. It is important to keep in mind, however, that during the life of your debt settlement program, you are NOT paying your creditors. This means that a debt settlement solution of online debt consolidation will negatively impact your credit rating. Your credit rating will not be good, at a minimum, for the term of your debt settlement program. However, debt settlement is usually the fastest and cheapest way to debt freedom, with a low monthly payment, while avoiding Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. The trade-off here is a negative credit rating versus saving money.

Also, most credit card companies will not settle with debtors until the account is around six months delinquent. This means that you must stop paying your creditors each month in order for the settlement company to obtain a settlement. No credit card company will allow a cardholder to keep an account open after not paying for six months. Nor will a card company allow a user to continue using an account after agreeing to accept a settlement amount to pay off the account's balance. So be sure to close your accounts.

Be aware that an account showing as "settled as agreed" will likely have a negative impact on your credit score. However, you must keep in mind that a "settled as agreed" account will negatively influence your credit score less than an unpaid account with an outstanding balance. Therefore, if you do not have enough cash to pay off your delinquent accounts in full, it will still benefit you to settle with your creditors.

We hope that this helped you to Find, Learn, and Save!

Best,

Bill

www.bills.com

Get rid of your debt faster with debt relief

Get rid of your debt faster with debt relief

Take the first step towards a debt-free life with personalized debt reduction strategies.

Choose your debt amount

$25,000
$1,000$100,000

Or speak to a debt consultant  844-731-0836

Dealing with debt

Mortgages, credit cards, student loans, personal loans, and auto loans are common types of debts. According to the NY Federal Reserve total household debt as of Q1 2024 was $17.69 trillion. Housing debt totaled $12.82 trillion and non-housing debt was $4.88 trillion.

According to data gathered by Urban.org from a sample of credit reports, about 26% of people in the US have some kind of debt in collections. The median debt in collections is $1,739. Student loans and auto loans are common types of debt. Of people holding student debt, approximately 8% had student loans in collections. The national Auto/Retail debt delinquency rate was 4%.

Each state has its rate of delinquency and share of debts in collections. For example, in Oklahoma credit card delinquency rate was 4%, and the median credit card debt was $458.

While many households can comfortably pay off their debt, it is clear that many people are struggling with debt. Make sure that you analyze your situation and find the best debt payoff solutions to match your situation.

SHOW SOURCE
arrow-down