Compare 2 Ways to settle debt and choose the best for you

If your unpaid bills are piling up, you need to do debt settlement with your creditors. If you're delinquent for several months your creditors may sue or you have to declare yourself bankrupt. In both the cases your credit score will be low and this will be reflected in your credit report. As a result, you won't be eligible for any further loan in the future.

What is debt settlement

It is a program where you have to negotiate with your creditors to settle for a payment which will be affordable to you.  After negotiation, the total debt amount may get reduced up to 50% and your monthly payment amount will also become low with lower interest rate. You can do negotiation with your creditors yourself or take help of professionals.

Professional debt relief program

If your total bill amount is huge and you don't have the confidence to negotiate with your creditors yourself, you can take professional help. There are many debt relief programs like debt consolidation, debt settlement, debt management, etc. You can choose any one that suits you the best. A consolidator will negotiate with your creditors on your behalf to consolidate your multiple debts into a single loan. You have to make a single monthly payment with a lower interest rate.

Advantages of professional settlement programs

Some of the advantages in taking a professional help to settle your debts are:

• You will have to make a reduced monthly payment with lower interest rate.
• You will not get any harassment calls from your creditors anymore.
• You will not have to declare yourself bankrupt.
• You will be tension free as all your negotiation will be handled by the consolidators.
• The experienced consolidators will be able to negotiate better with the creditors.

You also have to keep in mind that all the services offered by the settlement companies will not be for free. You have to pay a certain amount of money towards their service charge.

Handling debt yourself

If your debt amount is not very large, you can yourself do negotiation with your creditors. In this way you will be able to save the money which the settlement company charges for their service. You can directly talk to creditors that you cannot afford to make current amount of monthly payments. You can negotiate with them to reduce your total debt amount, lower your interest rate or waive off fees for late payments.

Advantages of do-it-yourself debt settlement

Some of the advantages of settling your debts by yourself are:

• You don't have to pay extra fees to the settlement companies.
• You can make a lower monthly payment with lower interest rate.
• There will be no chance of getting victimized by scam settlement companies.
• You can waive off the extra fees for late payments.

It may also happen that you will not be able to settle for a lower amount that a professional company could have done.

Keeping in mind about the upsides and downsides of both the ways to settle your debts, you have to choose the way you think would be best suitable for you.