Debt Settlements are very different from Debt Consolidations.

Typically, you can do Debt Consolidation *BEFORE* you get into too much trouble with your creditors. It is a way of reducing your multiple monthly payments into a single lower payment. The objective is to get your monthly budget more manageable. Debt consolidation only works though if you do not incur any new or additional debt after you complete the consolidation.

Debt Settlements are agreements (typicall entered into at some point after the debtor has defaulted on payment) with a creditor or the collection agency representing a creditor where the creditor agrees to accept an amount lower than the stated debt. While this seems like a good deal for the debtor, it has and can have many drawbacks.
Often the creditor and or collection agency have tacked on a significant sum to the original debt, so much so that even the discounted amount may be more than you originally owed at default. While it is legal for the creditor and/or collection agency to add interest, fees, and penalties, some of these additions can be quite high (in some cases they may even exceed the legal maximums). Further, if the agreement is to begin a payment schedule, the interest, fees and penalties may continue to accrue (often making it impossible for the debtor to ever pay off the debt). Don’t forget that the dollar amount of the “discount” must be reported as taxable income by the debtor.
If entering into a debt settlement agreement , be sure to have everything in writing and be more than sure you understand everything you are agreeing to.
While many debt collection agencies are honest and sincere in helping you resolve your debt problem, some are not and can make things much worse.
Be careful out there.

There’s a lot of information about debt consolidation on this website. There are a number of ways to do this and it depends on your level of debt and your circumstances as to which would be best for you.

Do your own research, get some quotes and choose what seems ‘right’ for you.

Good luck!

Debt settlement companies work with you to declare bankruptcy. That part is not in the commercial, you don’t find it out until you are already “working” with them.

My advice is to go see your banker. Not the teller, a bank officer.

Debt consolidation means you intend to pay your bills. Your credit suffers a little bit, but eventually you pay everybody.

Debt settlement means you don’t intend to pay your bills. You stop paying them and when they are about to sue you, you ask (or the debt settlement people ask), will you take 50% and consider this to be payment in full? The other 50% is cancelled (it’s income to you).

The debt settlers tell you so pay them instead of the people you owe and they keep a lot of the money you send them as their ‘fee.’

CCCs is preferred.

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.

I dont know of any. Try and settle your debt directly with your creditors.

hahahahahahahahahaha good luck

I, personally, think that debt settlement or a debt consolidation loan is not a great idea. If you have an income, this plan will work for you. Just follow the steps.
Please do not consolidate or use a debt reduction company . 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.

i personaly work for the credit card collections department of a large UK based bank, and am faced with people in financial trouble everyday. rather than constantly harrass our customers we are trained to recomend debt management companies to card holders who are in financial trouble. consolidation loans like you would see on the televisoin, basically loan you the ammount you would need to pay off all your card debts, and then you pay them back over a period of time, many people find this easier because its only one bill to pay every month, rather than 1-10 credit card bills each going out on different days, however the interest on these cards is usualy higher than the cards interest, and as such costs more in the long run, they attract people by offering low monthly re-payments, however this just allows them to drag out the loan even longer, earning them even more money. as a collections specialist i never recomend consolidation loans

now for debt management compaines, these companies are a little different, they will usualy produce a financial assesment for yourself (the card holder) also known as an income and expenditure report. they will then decide how much you can pay to each creditor each month, they send the details to all your creditors and then if your offer is accepted you usualy get the interest and charges frozen on your credit card, and are allowed to pay back a lower ammount than usual for a fixed period of time.
one thing i will say is read your contract through very closely, as some debt management companies (such as gregory pennington ) actually wait 3 months before paying any of your creditors, even though you will be paying them money every month to sent to the creditors (and to pay for thier service) this pushes you further into arrears, and has caused some people to be issued default notices, the company do this to both earn interest on the money in thier holding accounts, but also to pro;long the ammount of time you will need thier services. in my job i only ever recomend FREE debt management compaines such as payplan, the CCCS (consumer credit counceling service) and your local CAB (citizens advice bureau) all of these comapines provide equal or better service than those you would pay for. hope this helps you out.