Many of us a knockings from creditors and think it’s high time we knocked down the debts. We are accountable to the creditor who gave us credit believing that we will pay the debt on time. Due to some conditions we find ourselves behind the bill. And wake when the creditor or some collection agency reports us. We could have written the creditor about reduction of debt or an extension of payment period, well before. It’s not good to remain like a nice guy, and not responding to your creditor. It may happen your creditor will hand you over to the collection agencies (the hounds). At the extreme conditions you creditor may break some laws to track you down. Besides, you might be written off by banks and other financial institutions. The same thing will happen if you declare yourself bankrupt. So, before the opportunity slips away from your hand and affects your life seriously. Put a stop. Research ways to pay off all the dues. You will find many ways. On the finance front there are debt settlement, debt consolidation agencies who will guide you how to procure loan for that purpose. There is always a way to pay back by debt settlement. Often some find themselves up to neck depth in the debt that they don’t have a clear picture of the debt amount, number of creditors and different interest rates. Your first job in debt settlement is to work on the debt status. Make clear report. Benefits of Debt Settlement: • Stop creditor harassment • Alleviate stress from debt • Reduces your payments up to 60% • Take control finances • Reduces interest and penalties • Makes you debt free within 2 to 3 years • Improves credit rating • Makes the payment mode more convenient • Stops Bankruptcy You might not be in a condition to pay off all at once. Even you might be so worse off that it is impossible to pay the monthly dues. Don’t worry! You can still avail loans from govt. agencies and/or financial institution (as per debt settlement/consolidation expert’s suggestion) to pay off the debt. Consider the following points. • Credit Cards: Request you card issuers to give you transfer balances from other cards. Ask for fixed rates and transfer fee waiver. • Home Equity Loans: You can borrow anything up to 90% on your home without any other mortgage, at very low interest rates. The bad part of it is that you might lose your home if you don’t repay. • Refinance Current Mortgage: Refinance your current mortgage if you can get equity. Then cash out to pay off the unsecured debts. Its benefits are that you will get low interest tax deductible finance. • Debt Consolidation Loans: There are many banks that provide debt consolidation loans which will help you bundle your debt into one. • Retirement Loans: You can borrow from your pension plan which is usually 50% of the balance. These loans are generally of low interest but you have to repay immediately if you leave the job or face penalties. Having gone through the above procedures, create a rapid and simple payment plan. You should always pay of the extra amount on the highest debt first. Your payment should be up line to down line.

The author Amy Cook is an expert in debt reduction solutions. He offers witty financial articles regularly to various ezines.