Let's say your debt $18,000 in charge card debts. That probably doesn't feel totally good. So how would it feel if you could reduce this to, say, $9,000? Wouldn't that cause you to feel better? Obviously, it wouldn't feel just like should you could eliminate 100% of this debt however the best way you could do this really is by your bankruptcy filing, which would leave an enormous stain on your credit report.
The unvarnished truth
The truth is that you will get your debt reduced by probably 50% or more. All you need to do is utilize a strategy called debt settlement. It's not easy and it'll have a negative effect on your credit rating but it is the only way your can get from credit debt lacking filing for a chapter 7 bankruptcy.
How it works
Debt settlement is dependant on the truth that your credit card companies will settle your debts for under you owe only under certain situations.
First, you'll have to stop making any payments on your cards not less than 6 months. Which means you don't even make your minimum monthly obligations. As you might guess, the credit card companies won't be happy with you. You'll likely start receiving ** phone calls after a couple of month. However, you have to sit tight and just keep telling whoever calls that you don't have the cash and don't know when or perhaps for a moment have it.
Meanwhile
In the meantime, start ac**ulating money til you have approximately 1 / 2 of what you owe. Quite simply, if you owe $18,000, you will need to come up with $9,000 because this is what you will need when it comes time to stay those debts.
Start calling
After you have 50% of what your debt and it is been at least six months since you made any payments, you can start calling your charge card providers and offering to settle your debts. You will have to inform you how much money you have (the 50% of the items your debt) and that is it.
Your bargaining chips
You will need to be prepared for some tough bargaining. Your card providers have more leverage than you do and it's definitely not within their best interest to chop your debts by 50%. However, you have two bargaining chips. First, you have to make it clear that they either settle or you'll seek bankruptcy relief in which case they'll get nothing. Second, you can promise to pay the amount you agree to settle for - either via a cashiers check or by wiring the cash. This can be a powerful incentive since most of these companies understand it's better to get half a loaf than nothing.
Credit Card Debt
The ultimate truth
While credit card debt reduction is real, the ultimate the fact is that very few people can do it successfully. It requires a great deal of intestinal fortitude to ride out those 6 months when you are not making any payments on your credit cards. Additionally you need to be a great salesperson and an excellent negotiator to pull this off. But if you do hold the requisite skills, you are able to reduce your credit debt, get it repaid and obtain on with a life that's free of debt.