Recommendation for 35,000 in legit credit card debt. What do I do?

I want to add that I would prefer to hear from someone such as myself rather than what appears to be advertisements. Is there another parent out there that made it through such a problem?

I am not a parent, but my own parents had the same issue when I was a teenager. Together they had about $40,000 yearly income and they owed about $35,000 in credit card/ line of credit debt.

They worked with a Debt Consolidation company, and it took several years to get it all taken care, but they ended up being debt free. For a while at least. Managing money is not something either of them have ever done well.

It was hard on the whole family, but I think it was such a great example for my sister and I of taking responsibility. Of course, they were only able to do it because they had no loss in income. If you have lost income due to the financial situation right now, you may not have a choice.

I understand that you don't want to hear from a possible solicitation. Unfortunately the best advice usually comes from he who has the most information.

Although I have a company that does Debt Management, Debt Settlement and Mortgage Modification I am not here to solicit your business, simply provide you with the information in which you are searching.

You have three options. Debt consolidation (sometimes refered to as debt management), Debt Settlement and do nothing and file bankruptcy. Based on your original message, I think its safe to say that you aren't considering bankruptcy. Good for you. It doesn't sound like you are there yet anyhow. BK is the last option.

Let's compare DC (debt consolidation) and DS (Debt Settlement). This is an exerpt from an article I wrote:

"Action: Debt Settlement: A third party agency like Mitigation America will negotiate down the principle of the debt to roughly 40% of the original balance. Additional benefits are, but not limited to, the following:
1. As opposed to a consolidation agency that only negotiates the interest rate, debt settlement companies eliminate the interest and any late fees or penalties.
2. It is the most cost effective service of its competition. Debt calculator. ***
3. Most importantly typical repayment programs under debt settlement range between 1 ??? 3 years. Like consolidation companies this service will negatively impact your credit. However, because you graduate the program much sooner, you are able to rebuild your credit much sooner."

So should you do DS or CS? It really depends on what you can afford and how quickly you can get it cofortably repaid. Going with my gut feeling about your post, I'd say you probably want to go DS. Although it will hurt your credit a little more, you can begin rebuilding your credit much sooner.

Feel free to PM me with any further questions.

*** - External link and text deleted due to its inappropriateness - Jason For availing the calculators suited to your purpose please go through the different debt calculators.

Hello;
I am a mom/wife and know what you are going through. I myself was spiraling out of control financially speaking and decided to work with a debt management (NOT consolidation... to me they are totally different) company. I did my research and went with a non-profit company that saved my life. Basically they had me turn over all of my bills, they negotiated lower interest rates with my credit cards, and got me on a strict budget. They helped me to realize how I got into this, and also helped me to create a true budget. I turn over the majority of my paycheck to them each month and they in turn pay all of my bills, both credit cards and other bills (mortgage, utilities, car payment, etc.). The little bit that I have left over is what I have to buy gas and groceries, or any "spending" money. It was really hard at first being on such a strict budget but the peace of mind that I have knowing that my bills are being paid is worth it and then some. They put me on a 5 year plan to get out of the debt. My credit score has NOT declined, it has improved. I am currently in the middle of year 3 and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. No matter what - you should only use bankruptcy as an absolute last resort, it is your last card to play! Don't give up, if I can do it you can too.... you still have options!

hey! been there! At the time my husband was working 2 full time jobs i was working 1 with 60 plus hours a week and we were barely making it by when i found out i was pregnant. I was so overwhelmed with mixed signals because i was told i couldnt have children and then at the worst possible time in my life i found out i was pregnant. Its a pretty long story but when i should have been happy i was scared to death.

I ended up going through a debt settlement company. You can check out my personal story on my blog if your interested. But long story short, We survived and came out on top. Deb stinks but its only temporary if you take action. YOu will make it through even though you feel like it is never ending.

My advice it depends on what types of bills you have and how far in debt you are. Are they mortages, secured loans like car loans or usecured debt like personal loans and credit cards. There are many outlets you can choose to take but deep down it all depends on your particular situation and what you feel comfortable with.