Debt Settlement, Debt Management, Debt Consolidation-What's the Diff?

Debt Consolidation is gathering all of your debts, getting a loan to pay them off and making one monthly payment to the loan company. The problem is most people have theior Credit Card balances at zero and they go off to the races and charge them up again, also these loans are at high interest rates if your credit score is not great.

Management is where you pay a "Credit Counseling " company one check and they disperse the funds to your Credit Card Companies. They will negotiate your interest rates but if you are having a hard time making monthly minimums now, there is little relief. Many companies are non-profit but receive funding from the credit card industry so who are they representing? This takes from 3-8 years to complete and the failure rate is high.
Debt Settlement is where you have a savings account set up for monthly deposits. When this account has enough money in it a third party negotiates with one of your accounts to settle for a percentage of what you owe 30%-75%). This is repeated until all of your accounts are settled. Since you aren't paying your monthly minimums, there is a chance of legal action, however at the end of each settlement you receive a letter from the creditor saying you have a $0 balance. While you are in this it will affect your credit but once you have completed the program (36 mo or less) you are debt free and have a much better cash flow. Making monthly minimums can take up to 50 years to pay off your cards this way.