For many American consumers today, their number one priority is to get out of debt. Consequently, the credit card debt relief industry has grown by leaps and bounds, and an area of personal finance that was once frowned upon is now one of the most widely used. Traditionally, bankruptcy was used to 債務重組 wipe a slate clean and start over with no debt, but the laws changed and it is no longer an option for many people. It is difficult to qualify for and the preservation of an owned home is no longer ensured.
Replacing both bankruptcy or even the well-known practice of debt consolidation loans are debt solutions involving a complete restructuring of outstanding debt. Called debt management and debt settlement, each works toward reducing the total amount of debt owed through negotiations on behalf of the consumer with his or her creditors. For those with heavy debt, a cold, hard look at the facts will tell them that in order to pay off a large balance by making minimum payments even with a moderate interest rate, it could take 10, 20 or even 30 years to get out of debt. Through credit card relief programs and restructuring of debt, it is perfectly possible to pay off he same creditor in as little as two to three years. It all depends on a consumer’s financial situation.
Americans consumers are behind a two trillion dollar eight ball of debt. No one realized the credit card debt trap until the economy took a dive two years ago and found themselves faced with bills they could no longer afford to pay. From every direction, they heard debt relief options. Free debt management, Christian debt counseling, American debt relief, and many other offers of debt help. It can make the head spin, and all these choices are precisely the reason that so many revert back to using consolidation as a means to get out of debt. Unfortunately, just the opposite is true. They are going deeper into deep and are achieving no real debt relief at all.
It is possible all the buzzwords – like credit counseling, debt negotiation, credit card debt solutions, non-profit credit counseling and the list goes on and on – confuses the consumer, and in that confusion, they go to a bank, get a second mortgage on their home, and pay off all their outstanding credit card balances. The theory seems very sound to them until a few years down the line. Because anyone’s circumstances can change over time, they find themselves stuck with a loan, they are back in debt and this time, the very roof over their head is endanger of foreclosure because they can’t make their payments. Once again, they are in debt and this time, perhaps, more seriously than ever before.
The notion of getting a collateral based loan in order to pay off debts that were previously unsecured is an old one, and it is not one of the better options in the debt relief industry today. Not only has the economy changed, but so has the credit card industry. The high interest rates on easy to obtain credit cards has come to plague the average American, and the Wall Street bailout of a couple of years ago proves that the lenders were also in trouble. They received money, and in part it was to aid consumers and give them some credit card relief in the process.
For those who didn’t succumb to consolidation, they were able to find real debt relief in the forms of debt management or debt settlement. These forms of credit card relief have been around for years, but were rarely used. Today, they are the number one method to stay off bankruptcy and to get out of debt with the least amount of stress or even cash needed to get out of debt. They work because creditors are now settling debt for less money that it is worth. Why? Two reasons: they received incentive money from the government and because if they don’t settle, the consumer may qualify for bankruptcy and they’ll receive nothing at all.
Debt settlement and debt management programs have moved into the main stream of debt assistance, and now work under stringent regulations recently passed by the U. S. Government. Debt relief companies cannot promise what they can’t deliver, and they may not assess fees unless the consumer meets success – one creditor at a time. While neither program promises a clean slate, erased debt or an exact percentage of debt reduction, it is known that they are able to help the consumer eliminate a certain portion of their debt problem. This is real debt relief.
