Suggestions Needed For Do-It-Yourself Debt Reduction

At this point i do not see the need for outside help in reducing my debts, so i was wondering if you can give me suggestions how to do debt reduction yourself?

Contacting your creditors is the simplest way to do that. Explain your situation with them. Ask that you be granted to pay for a lesser amount or at least enroll you in a hardship program. Most creditors offer those payment plans to their clients, anyway.

You can also try getting a balance transfer. That works by paying off your bills using a zero-interest or at least a lowered-interest credit card. If you're able to find a way to transfer a balance from, let's say, a 30% interest rate to one with 18%, that would be a sweet deal for you.

Making a list of all your debts helps you gain perspective on your current situation and allows you to see objectively how far you've gone. Grab all your financial documents--statements, checkbooks, credit reports--and make a list of all the bills you need to pay. List down their balances, minimum payments due, and interest rates. Include all the loans that you currently have and are receiving statements from each month. for the meantime it won't be necessary to include any student loans or mortgage loans on your list, as they typically have a lower interest rate than the others. It's a good way to get started and from there you can easily figure out a plan on how to pay each of them off completely.

I've worked with a debt collection agency that offered to settle my debt with my creditor. I had an $8597 debt with a furniture store because I had a major income reduction and the debt collector said the account was about to charge off.  I told them straight up that I needed to settle because I had no more money to pay them. They gave me a 35% settlement, i tried asking for 25% but they just wouldnt budge, I even spoke with the manager, and thank goodness they did budge. So i ended up paying 2150$

The moral of the story? Tell 'em the truth, it wont hurt, and dont let those collectors intimidate you. it's part of their job to do to let you pay.

Thanks for sharing your experience with us, Tony. What I find very interesting about Tony's story is that he was able to negotiate with a debt collector--not a lot of people are very keen on that idea, as some debt collectors can be very aggressive and sadly use scare tactics just to get the customers to pay. Typically, debtors find negotiating with the actual creditor much easier. I guess it depends on who you're talking to, at the end of the day.

Those Baby Blues, aside from requesting for a settlement, what you can also do is request for a reduction in the interest rate, so that you wouldn't have to worry abt paying for so many fees. Also, just like what Wooden Cot said, you can try applying for a balance transfer--by moving your balance to your credit card with a 0% interest rate for 6-12 months would help you pay for a lot less interest. Of course you need to pay that particular credit card on time because that would pose an additional problem for you.

I'm not really sold-out on DIY Debt Relief. You'll be significantly cutting your budget on a LOT of things, as you'll be making a lot of sacrifices on your monthly expenses just to get debts paid off. If you're experiencing hardship, too, it is totally unadvisable--I would understand that you would have to prioritize survival over bills.

HOW ABOUT A DEBT CONSOLIDATION LOAN? DOES THAT COUNT?

A debt consolidation loan in terms of home equity does not count, as it involves working with a mortgage lender. However there are also debt consolidation loans wherein all your balances will be paid using a low interest credit card. If that's what you mean, well, yes, that can work. However, it may do you more harm than good in the long run.

Did you already create a debt reduction plan or bought/downloaded a software to help you track your payments/progress? There are free debt reduction calculators online too if you don't want to buy.