Negotiate a Debt Settlement

What is the best way to get out of debt without going through counseling services or negotiations services?

Public Comments

1. There are only two things you can do (and the services will tell you the same thing)...spend less or earn more. That's it.
2. by paying your bills
3. I am sure a lot of people want to know the answer for this question. Share with us once you find out the answer!
4. Get yourself on a strict budget. Cut up all your credit cards. Pay cash; if you can't afford to pay cash, don't buy something.
5. First ascertain if your debt is 'manageable.' For example, if you have $50,000 in credit card debt and are only able to make the minimum monthly payment, you won't ever get out of debt and might want to consider bankruptcy - which is handled through an attorney and doesn't necessarily require counseling or negotiations services. If your debt is manageable, the quickest way to get out of debt is to cut up all but one of your credit cards and only use that one in REAL emergencies. Make more than the minimum payment on your balance - as much over the minimum as your budget will allow. You will eventually get your debt paid down so long as you are not incurring ADDITIONAL debt in the interim. Do without. Drive a reliable older car instead of the latest model. When you get your debt paid down, perhaps a good reward for yourself will be buying a new car, but for now, if you have serious debt issues, you can't afford it. If you smoke, put serious effort into stopping. Cigarettes are not only harmful, they're expensive! Don't go out to dinner - especially fast food. Take a close look at what you spend on groceries and see if there is anywhere you can cut back. About 15 yrs ago my husband put us in serious debt. We cinched in as tight as we could. For the first couple of years, a major night out was running to the video store to rent a movie and then stopping for a 99-cent burger at a local burger house. We didn't even pop 'microwave' popcorn for our movie night but used the old-fashioned kind you pop in a skillet! Within two years, we had our debt substantially reduced. Within four, we had our A+ credit rating back. We are a lot more cautious than we were previously, however. We still elect to put no more on the credit card than we can pay off at the end of the month. Major expenses like car repairs may take us longer, but even then, we break it out into manageable payments and get these big ticket items paid off as quickly as possible. Our friends thought it was nuts that we didn't own a cell phone and had only one line in the house. Our children felt deprived because they didn't each have a television in their rooms or a stereo. We survived, however, and spent more family time together as a consequence. All these years later, we would still be considered frugal by most standards. I drive a 5yr old car and my husband drives a 12yr old car. Both have been excellently maintained and it's surprising how good a car will still look 12yrs later if you simply TAKE CARE OF IT rather than view it as a disposable commodity. Getting out of debt requires sacrifice. STAYING out of debt once you reach that objective requires commitment. You can do it. You've just got to convince yourself it is worth the effort.
6. cancel all of your cards and start making more than the minimum monthly payments...if you really look at it, the minimum payment does nothing to reduce the amount you owe, a majority of it is the interest that gets added each month. set a budget and pay your bills, and if you don't need it, then don't buy it.
7. Shred those credit cards, sit down with a notepad and a pen, and make a complete list of your absolute necessities. Make a promise to yourself to cut out completely all those impulse purchases. Then tighten your belt, pull in your horns, and realise fully (probably for the first time) that you have absolutely failed to recognise the difference between your "I needs" and your "I wants" You will definitely be surprised how much "stuff" you have acquired that you could have lived without. We just have to face it, all that fancy advertising on television, in magazines, in the stores, on bill boards, is designed to sucker people into buying on impulse and/or make us believe that their particular item is a MUST HAVE. They often even hire people with psychology degrees to tell them how to present a product in a way that is most likely to "hook us". We think we are making the decision to buy something all by ourselves. LOLOL. What a joke. The "experts on Stupid" have earned their credentials. They know how to play the average shopper like a fiddle. If I went ahead and got on credit every one of the "Oooooh I want one of those" Items I see day after day, I'd be up to my eyeballs in debt too. Instead, I live very comfortably with all of my "I needs" satisfied, money in the bank, and once in a little while, I can even treat myself to an "I want", and pay cash for it. I do NOT want to "keep up with the Jones's" because the chances are that for all the fancy showy stuff those Jones's have, they're in debt, while I have MY money salted away making me more. I will be sitting pretty and they'll still be paying off a ton of debt.
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