Credit Card Debt Relief Program – Know Your Options

For those who have a larger amount of debt, finding relief from those monthly payments is often a priority. The problem is that a good credit card debt relief program can be hard to find. The credit card companies are calling, the collection agency has threatened to sue, and your biggest wish at the moment is to find a debt relief program that actually works.

There are many reasons that debt can become a problem. Illness in the family, sudden (unexpected) financial obligations, a spouse losing their job, or even just poor money management may have got you to this point. It really doesn’t matter what got you here, what you need to know right now though, is that there are options that can help.

In fact, with the right credit card debt relief program, you can be back on your feet in a short amount of time. Let’s take a moment to discuss your options, and help get you on the road to debt relief.

Credit Card Debt Relief Program Options

When it comes to relieving credit card debt quickly, there are really three options available to you (actually four, but ignoring the problem is a bad idea so we won’t cover that).  The options are as follows:

1. Declare Bankruptcy
2. Get a Consolidation Loan
3. Talk to a Credit Counselor and take Part in a Debt Settlement Program.

Each option has its downside, so let’s talk about each one individually for a moment.

As a solution to debt relief, bankruptcy is usually the worst option. Bankruptcy does work to get rid of your debt, but it will also follow you for the rest of your life. It’s not just your credit rating that is affected for 5-8 years, as most people think. It’s also obtaining any type of credit whatsoever. Even a bank account application asks “Have you ever declared bankruptcy?”, and it’s a question that you’re legally obligate to answer. For this reason, bankruptcy should only be considered if the next two options aren’t suitable.

Next on the list we have consolidation. With this type of solution you take out one large loan, with a smaller payment than the others combined, to cover all of your debts. This type of solution may seem like a viable option but there is one major problem.

Consolidation loans can last for 6 or 7 years. Suddenly instead of relieving the problem, you’ve only made it a little less hard on your pocket book for now. Maybe you can meet the new payment monthly, but you’ll be forced to do so for years to come. Consolidation loans are really only a good option if you have a smaller amount of debt to contend with (say under $10,000) and you can pay the loan off in a reasonable amount of time.

Finally we have the last option which is debt settlement, also known as credit counseling, as a credit card debt relief program this is usually the best option. With this type of solution a debt negotiator works with all of your unsecured debts (not just the credit card companies) and negotiates a lower balance on the amount owing.

The upside to this type of program is that it is usually over quickly.  With the reduced balances, a debt settlement program can usually be finished in 2 – 3 years. That’s half the time the consolidation loan would have taken, and it doesn’t affect your credit rating like a bankruptcy would. The downside to debt settlement is that you have to have over $10,000 in unsecured debt to qualify for the program.

If you are currently burdened by a large amount of debt, there are options. You can get help finding a credit card debt relief program on our home page: Top 3 Debt Relief Companies Reviewed