How to start self-settlement process

For sure. If you can collect 15-20K within 6 months, you'll be able to knock out about 70-80% of your debt is my guess; possibly more depending on which creditors you have. My advice is not to wait until you have the entire 15-20K, knock your cards out one at a time as you accumulate each month and haggle, haggle, haggle. Remember it's a negotiation/bartering process, not a gentle walk in the park.

Hi there;
Yes I believe you are a great candidate for debt settlement! You can absolutely do it yourself simply by educating yourself on the process, and by learning as much as possible about the creditors that you are dealing with. A good rule of thumb is if you can save 50% of your total credit card debt within 12 months (18 max) then the likeliness of your creditors suing you is very slim. Not to say that it cannot happen, but it is unlikely.

Last September/October I stopped paying all of my creditors. I was over $90K in credit card debt. I originally paid a company to basically educate me on the process of debt settlement. I paid WAY too much....over $3000.!!! I now realize that I could have done everything myself but at the time I felt I really needed to have someone to hold my hand. A stumbled upon a post here about zip debt (if you google it you will find their website) which was only $399 for basically the exact same thing that I paid $3000 for. Oh well hindsight is 20/20, right? Anyway maybe zip debt can help you...it is worth checking out.

So here I am now it is March and all of my accounts that I stopped paying on are at the 150 days past due mark...getting ready for charge off. I have settled so far with American Express for 55%, and just recently BofA for 17%. (I am so thrilled about the BofA!!!) Next in line will be Chase, but I may have to let that one charge off and go to a collection agency because I just won't have enough funds. I also have 2 Discover accounts, but I accepted a hardship program for both of those at around 90 days past due. (The Discover hardship payments are a fraction of what my minimum payment used to be when I was on time, and I have heard that they are VERY aggressive, so I wanted to buy some time with them to avoid a lawsuit.) Now that I have settled my biggest account (BofA) I expect to be debt free by the end of this year. (I better go knock on wood or something! :) )

It has been a stressful 5 months, I will tell you that. But I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. My family and I do not eat out, and do not buy any "extras" any more. I have contacted all of my other normal monthly bills to save money anywhere I can. Groceries-only the necessities. Cable is gone. Cell phones - only a basic plan for emergencies. We are talking severe budget cuts. I am on a mission. I am going to do this.

If I could offer you some words of advice, I would suggest this:

1. Read as much as possible about debt settlement. Read about your creditors. Read other people's stories...you will pick up bits and pieces of advice from most of them.

2. Stay in contact with your creditors!!!! Avoiding the phone will only frustrate them, and then they will start calling you more, and at work. Be consistent as to what you tell them and of course do NOT tell them that you are hoping to settle with them in the near future. That is a sure fire way to send your account to the path of litigation! They all record and type whatever you say to them so it is on record to refer back to.

3. If possible stagger the NON payments of your accounts...just a tiny bit. This may help you when you have to start juggling the settlements. For example, maybe stop paying one account in March, then stop paying another in April, then a couple more stop paying in May. You don't want to spread them out too much...maybe just a couple or 3 months.....enough to give you a tiny bit of breathing room for when you have to start paying out on the agreed settlements.

4. Write out a chart of all of your creditors, when you stopped paying each one and when each one will go to "charge off". This will help you to plan and keep an eye on what stage each account is at every week.

5. By all means SAVE SAVE SAVE every penny you can for settlement! NONE of the suggestions above mean anything if you do not do this. Creditors don't care about what you "will" be able to pay to them. When they start talking settlement you need to be ready.

It is scary, no doubt about it. But to me, being in the sinking ship that I was in was definitely scarier. Now I have a plan, and I am not looking back!!!
Good luck to you!

thanks!

but by your comments I need about 30k to settle my 60k debt. i dont think i could get that in less than 24 months

i have two big BoA card debts amounting to 30k and 10k, but i also have home equity debt with them at 75k. I wonder if that makes any difference one way or the other.

BofA will probably combine the 30K and 10K. If you wait until it is close to the 150 past due mark, my guess is you could get a 20% settlement ($8,000) or close to it. Do NOT stop paying on the home equity (I'm sure you know this) as it is secured.
With a BofA settlement of $8,000, based on your original post that gives you $12K to settle the rest within 6 months. What could you save in another 6-10 months after that?
Also, who are your other creditors?