$70,000 in DEBT - help!

Hi

First think, $70,000 is a huge amount of debt. In a debt consolidation program, you will have to pay the principal amount at least. Most of the fees and the interest rates can be lowered down, thus the total amount will become lesser. You will be offered different payment plans to pay the debt. The entire process will take longer if you pick the payment plan your present financial situation allows. The consolidation program will stay in your file as long as you are in the program. Your credit will be restored once all the debts are paid off.

Now, if you decide for a settlement program, you won't have to pay this total. It can be negotiated by 40% to 60% depending upon the status of your file. The settlement program doesn't work in the same way like consolidation. Your accounts will remain in defaults for few months before the settlement company sends proposals to your creditors and explain that you are in no situation to pay off the debts at this stage. So, a settlement will resolve the matter. Settlement will be in your credit file for seven years. The consequences are not completely negative because you are in not a good financial situation at present and the credit report will show that the accounts are cleared.

The crux of the matter is that if you can afford to make the consolidation payments and prefer to continue the plan for longer period, go for it. On the other side, if you want even lower payments and want huge reduction in the total amount, debt settlement is a better choice. Your credit will show that all your debts are paid off, so there is nothing to worry there. If you think about the program been used to pay this, consider your present financial situation and how much you can afford in the future.

Hello, can a moderator please delete this posting? I didn't realize my real name would show up, and I wanted to keep it confidential - I was posting this for a non-english speaking relative, but still.

Hi,

Please log in to the forums and go to your edit profile section at the right. You will be able to change your username there.

In your post as a guest, the name is changed.

Regards
Mike

with that amount of debt, I can tell you that as long as you have a lump sum amount to put down for a debt settlement program, it's not going to work at all. mainly because creditors won't wait 3 to 5 years to get their money...trust me, i know. i was in your same situation this time last year trying to figure it all out. being with a settlement company actually made things much worse for me. It put creditors on HIGH alert that I was having serious problems would have been better not to answer them at all or get anyone involved. i had someone take me to the arbitration board because they had not heard from me personally and knew I was with a settlement company which was the reason why they took me to the arb board. BE VERY careful what you do or who you get involved with. I had to declare bankruptcy because of it.