How to Choose Debt Relief Solutions Carefully

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Why We're Still Drowning in Debt

The past several years have been a period in which an unprecedented number of consumers have made a high priority of taking action about their unsecured debt problems. There are many reasons for this phenomenon, however the two that must surely be most prominent among them are the many financial hardships caused by the recession and the large number of consumers with high interest credit card debt. Perhaps even more ominous for consumers is the fact that these two reasons in tandem created an even more difficult problem that continues to threaten the financial well-being of millions even today. This problem is that they are only able to make the minimum monthly payments on their credit card accounts because of the other financial pressures already in place from the recession. When high interest accounts are paired with just the minimum payments on them, repaying the debt can easily take 20 years or even longer. As appalling as this situation is for consumers who are in this horrible mess, they should not be too quick in deciding on a remedy for their particular situation. The reason for this caution is that some of the credit solutions available can have some very regrettable consequences for the consumer when the related process does not run as smoothly as anticipated or hoped for.

Steps Towards Finding a Credit Solution

The first choice for unsecured debt relief is always to try budgeting your way out of the problem. Some situations can be solved by this method and can resolve the problem for the consumer at a minimum cost and with a minimum of negative consequences. If this proves unsuccessful then the choice needs to be made very carefully from among three options offered by debt relief companies.

These options are bankruptcy, debt settlement and credit counseling, and each has a set of characteristics that will suit some debt situations better than the others. It is very important to match the solution to the problem at hand appropriately; otherwise needless risks may ensue that can create a larger problem than the one that existed when relief was first sought. The first option to try on for size is usually credit counseling, as it is the only one of the three that will cause no credit score damage. If it is determined that the consumer can afford the payment required for the debt management plan (DMP) available in credit counseling, then this is likely the wisest choice to make. While the debt relief benefits of bankruptcy and debt settlement can exceed those of credit counseling, these two options will cause some serious damage to the consumer's credit.

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spruceree

I've been in the debt relief industry for over 10 years and have helped many indebted consumers eliminate their debt. My other interests include HDR p... more »

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