Debt Consolidation & Debt Relief Information

Credit card debt negotiation and settlement can be very rewarding, when performed successfully. Total debt can be slashed by 60% or more, achieving the same debt relief many Chapter 13 programs achieve, without the stigma of Bankruptcy. However, many debtors fail to complete these programs, especially when attempting their own credit card debt negotiations and settlements.  Failure rates in these cases often top 75%.
The primary reason for failure is quite simple, really. The debtor is still left with a fixed monthly payment that is beyond what he can afford.  You see, when you begin looking for help with debt relief, you may be presented with many options to choose from, from many different sources, all telling you that their solution is the best.  You will hear of debt consolidation, equity loans, credit counseling, debt management plans, and Chapter 13 bankruptcy. All of these programs have one common feature – the requirement for a fixed monthly payment.
When most people hit financial hardship, they hit it in a spectacular fashion. When you are behind, it isn’t enough to reduce your income to your expenses. In order to catch up, you have to reduce your income to well below your expenses, so you can become current on everything and gain a little breathing room. But most of these programs don’t take into account your need to get out of the hole, and will simply calculate how much you could afford if you weren’t already behind on everything. This, of course, is not particularly helpful.  And this is the reason that most people who sign up for any of the above fixed payment programs will fail to keep current; they are starting off already behind.  
For these reasons, the most drastic course of action short of Chapter 7 bankruptcy is also the most successful, when performed by a professional. The course of action that will produce the best results for the vast majority of people is known as credit card debt settlement negotiation. This isn’t an easy program for most people to institute on their own, as it requires hardball negotiations with your creditors, as well as the fortitude to simply stop paying them while saving up a large enough sum to settle with them in cash.  
The process normally takes two or three years, during which time you set aside funds each month into an escrow account. Once funds are in escrow equal to about 40% of your outstanding balances, each creditor receives a distribution, and the debt is legally settled.  However, most creditors simply won’t negotiate or accept such terms from private individuals, and will only negotiate settlement and reduction of your credit card debt from professional debt negotiators.  
Additionally, credit card debt settlement negotiators will typically be able to have all the fines and late fees removed from the outstanding balance. Now this can easily and quickly amount to a sum equal to the actual principle owed, so you can in fact see a total debt relief well in [...]