Youre 30, 60 or maybe even 180 days late on your credit card payments.
Creditors are calling, interest is building and your stress is through the roof.
What Is a Credit Card Debt Relief Program?
The term can be interchangeable with debt forgiveness, debt settlement or debt negotiation.
You may have seen their ads in the mail, on TV or in sidebars while searching the internet.
The offer sounds really enticing.
No Interest Til Almost 2027?
Here are four things you should know about credit card debt relief programs before you join one.
The primary goal of debt relief programs is to negotiate lower settlements.
Continuing to not make payments helps them achieve that goal.
Youll even keep receiving calls from creditors.
Did you know?
you might Get Paid Up to $140/Month Just for Sharing Your Honest Opinion
2.
But every case is different, and you cant assume someone elses success will assure your own.
First, someone will asses the fair market value of the assets accumulated through that debt.
Due to depreciation, that value is likely to be less than $20,000.
Lets say its $17,000.
The debt relief program then negotiates $5,000 off your bill.
You now owe $15,000.
In this case, $2,000.
And thats just a simple example.
(Another expense youll have to eat.)
They send those funds directly to your creditors no savings account involved.
Debt Consolidation
Most debt relief programs wont accept clients with less than $10,000 in debt.
Do It Yourself
You dont need a third party to negotiate and settle your debt for you.
In fact, many people do it themselves.
Its not a walk in the park, though.
Do your due diligence and youll avoid being scammed on the path to freedom from debt.
Jen Smith is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.
She and her husband paid off $78,000 of debt in less than two years on two less-than-average salaries.
She gives money-saving and debt-payoff tips on Instagram at @modernfrugality.
(Can you sense my millennial sarcasm there?)
You know which ones were talking about: rent, utilities, cell phone bill, insurance, groceries…
