How do you know which debt settlement & negotiation company to choose?
Best Ways to Settle Credit Card Debt FAST:
1. Hire The Best Debt Settlement Company
2. Do It Yourself Debt Negotiation Elimination
I know it's time to hire a debt settlement company, since I don't think I'll be able to get out of my current situation by myself. (roughly $130,000 in debt… and counting). Are there any good debt settlement companies you would recommend?
Hey Janice,
Sorry to hear that you are in such a tough place.
The first thing you need to do is make sure you choose a debt settlement company that is TASC accredited. TASC stands for, The Association of Settlement Companies, requiring businesses to follow fair and specific practices and standards.
It's also important to remember that all debt settlement and/or debt negotiation companies fees are slightly differently. Make sure that you fully understand how their fee process is set-up and you know what you are paying for. If a debt settlement company is unable to negotiation your debt they shouldn't charge you a settlement fee.
When I got into financial trouble I enlisted the help of DMB Financial. They were very fair and worked with me to settle my debt. Overall I was very happy with their services. I was able to decrease the amount of debt I owed and pay it off in far less time than if I was trying to do it on my own. They discussed all their costs upfront, what to expect and helped me avoid filing for bankruptcy. I think the biggest relief is answering the phone without having to worry about it being an angry debt collector.
I've provided DMB's link below so that you can access additional resources from their website. They are a really good company and really do help their customers get out of debt… and stay out of debt.
June 24th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
The only ones who are not frauds and scams are listed on and members of http://www.nfcc.org.
The rest will take your money - what ever you have left - and leave you dangling.
References :
June 24th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
Hey Janice,
Sorry to hear that you are in such a tough place.
The first thing you need to do is make sure you choose a debt settlement company that is TASC accredited. TASC stands for, The Association of Settlement Companies, requiring businesses to follow fair and specific practices and standards.
It's also important to remember that all debt settlement and/or debt negotiation companies fees are slightly differently. Make sure that you fully understand how their fee process is set-up and you know what you are paying for. If a debt settlement company is unable to negotiation your debt they shouldn't charge you a settlement fee.
When I got into financial trouble I enlisted the help of DMB Financial. They were very fair and worked with me to settle my debt. Overall I was very happy with their services. I was able to decrease the amount of debt I owed and pay it off in far less time than if I was trying to do it on my own. They discussed all their costs upfront, what to expect and helped me avoid filing for bankruptcy. I think the biggest relief is answering the phone without having to worry about it being an angry debt collector.
I've provided DMB's link below so that you can access additional resources from their website. They are a really good company and really do help their customers get out of debt… and stay out of debt.
References :
http://www.dmbfinance.com/
June 24th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
Go for a non-profit like Consumer Credit Counselling. Many of the commercial ones are basically scams, will take your money and not help you at all.
With $130K debt, depending on how much income you have, it's possible that bankruptcy will be your only real option. A legit place like CCC will tell you so if that seems to be all you can do. If you can't pay off what you owe in 5 years, that's probably what they'll tell you. They can often get interest and penalties stopped or greatly reduced going forward, and maybe even get some of the already assessed penalties abated, but they aren't going to get $130K down to $50K - RUN from anyone who says they can and will, they're just trying to scam you.
References :
June 24th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
Please do not consolidate or do debt settlement. It is not free, they will lower your payments by increasing the length of time until you are debt free, and you will take a hit on your credit score. Or they negotiate your debt down after telling you not to pay for awhile adding another hit to your credit score. Student loans are the only debt that can garnish your wages for non payment without taking you to court first. Just list them out on a piece of paper or a spreadsheet and follow the plan. If you work the plan, the plan will work for you.
A. Have a garage sale and sell anything that you no longer need or want.
B.Get a temporary part time job, if you have one, get another.
Here is a plan that can help you. If you work the plan, the plan will work for you:
1. Make a budget. Make the budget a week before you get paid. A budget is not a punishment! It is a tool which will free you from ever having to worry about money again. Put everything in your budget. Especially those annual, biannual, or quarterly bills like car registration, insurance, etc. Give every dollar you are going to bring home the name of where it is going. Add an "emergency fund" category to your budget for 25 dollars and save up until you have 1000-1250 dollars. Your emergency fund will help keep you from getting into new debt because of an emergency. If you can, set up a direct transfer to a savings account for your emergency fund. That way it moves automatically and you don't even have to worry about it. You must cut your spending and live on less than you make.
2.First get current on all of you debts and make no more late payments. Stop using your credit cards immediately. Do not take on any more debt. Credit cards are like quicksand only the death is much slower. Make a list of all of your debts in order of highest interest rate to lowest interest. Use cash only for your spending from now on.
3.Pay the minimum due on all of your debts and then put your extra money towards paying off the highest interest one first. After you get that one paid off, you put the money you were paying on debt #1 (the minimum payment and the extra payment) towards debt #2. That will pay debt #2 off faster. When that is paid off, you put all three payments towards card #3 and that one will be paid off pretty quickly. As an example:
To start :
Debt #1 (highest interest): minimum payment+ extra payment
Debt #2 (middle interest): minimum payment
Debt #3(lowest interest): minimum payment
Debt #1: paid off
Debt #2: minimum payment from Debt #1+ Minimum payment from Debt #2 +extra payment
Debt #3: minimum payment
Debt #1: paid off
Debt #2: paid off
Debt #3:Minimum payment from card #1+ minimum payment from Debt #2+ minimum payment from Debt #3+ extra payment.
That way, you will get them all paid off, on time, and pay the least interest. It will also help towards rebuilding your credit since you will no longer have any late payments. This works no matter how many different debts you may have.
4. After you get all of your debts paid off, add to your emergency fund until you have 6-12 months of income saved up. Put that emergency fund money into a liquid money market fund or into a Bank of America no-risk CD so that if you need the money you can take it out without penalty.
5a. When you have your emergency fund in place, add a category for "fun" to your budget. Save for a holiday, a vacation, a big screen, or dinners out, whatever goal you want. Remember to enjoy your life.
5b. When you have your emergency fund in place, start saving for your retirement. Join the 401(k) plan at work and contribute the maximum. Your employer probably matches at least part of your contribution so why give up free money? Open a Roth IRA and contribute the maximum on a monthly basis. If you start saving for your retirement now, you will probably retire a millionaire.
5c. When you have your emergency fund in place, start saving for your next car. Only buy cars, or other things that depreciate, with cash. Save up for a nicer car. That way you get the interest instead of paying the interest.
You can do it and it isn't as hard as you think. Just follow the plan.
References :