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If you're in stress managing your credit cards, medical bills, payday loans and other debts, a debt relief program can help you out of this situation. There are several debt relief options such as debt consolidation, settlement, debt management, self repayment plan and bankruptcy. You can find the best out of these options by going through no-obligation free debt counseling.

5 debt relief options - How to use them to your benefit

Watch out for the 5 emergency debt relief options listed below and find out how best you can use them to your benefit.

1. Debt consolidation program: If you are looking to lower rates and monthly payments on your debts, you can enroll for debt consolidation program with any of the debt relief USA companies. The companies negotiate on your behalf to provide you with the following benefits:
   
   
   • Reduced interest rates
   • Low monthly payment
   • Reduced or waived off late fees
   • Single monthly payment
   • No harassing calls from creditors/CAs
   
   
   There are 2 purposes of a consolidation program:
   
   
   • Credit card consolidation: If you cannot manage your credit cards effectively, you should go for credit card consolidation. Using this credit card debt relief program, you can consolidate multiple credit card bills into a single payment each month. A debt relief USA company can work with your creditors and help you consolidate credit cards.
     
   • Bill consolidation: If you've fallen behind on medical bills, utility payments and others, bill consolidation can help you overcome the debt burden. Credit cards, store cards and personal loans can also be included in this program.
2. Debt settlement: This is an emergency debt relief program in which you negotiate and reduce your debt amount by 40-60%. Debt settlement is one way of getting credit card debt relief especially if you have too many cards and cannot pay even the minimum monthly installment on each.
   
   The benefits of settlement are:
   
   
   • Single monthly payment
   • No/reduced late payment fees and over-limit charges
   • Avoid lawsuits, wage garnishment etc
   • Creditor and collection calls stop
   • No need to file bankruptcy
3. Debt management: It is a program where a credit counseling agency analyzes your financial situation and negotiates with your creditors. The purpose is to help you pay off your dues comfortably. Instead of paying your creditors, you send in your monthly payment to the credit counselor. The counselor distributes the payment amongst all your creditors.
   
   With debt management, you get the following benefits:
   
   
   • Reduced interest rates
   • Low monthly payment
   • Waived off late fees and extra charges
   • Avoid creditor/collection calls
4. Self repayment plan: This is where you take the initiative to manage your dues without taking professional debt help. What you do here is, list down your debts, prioritize them and then prepare a budget so that you can pay off bills and manage your daily expenses efficiently.
   
   In a Self repayment plan, you get the following benefits:
   
   
   • Pay off dues on your own
   • No need to pay a third party
   • Learn to budget & manage your finances
5. Bankruptcy: If you cannot settle debts with your creditors, filing bankruptcy may be your only way out of the problem. However, bankruptcy should be your last resort as it ruins your credit history and makes it difficult to qualify for loans and credit. So, its better if you can avoid bankruptcy and try out other options for debt relief.

Debt relief is possible even if you are in excess debt. But you shouldn't just wait to see things changing for you. Take the initiative and talk to your creditors. Speak about how much you can afford to pay them. If required, take professional help for consolidating or settling your debts. You can get your finances back on track once you reduce your debt burden and plan how to use your money.

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