Posted on June 29, 2009 at 10:28 pm i have credit cards that have fallen behind on payment and all in all i owe $23000 on all of them. its very stressful and taxing situation fr me right now, and my work hrs have been cut, so i can hardly make payments, even on my rent. please give me suggestions on how to fix this ASAP~!!!!

Posted on June 29, 2009 at 11:27 pm I'm sorry to hear about your situation Princess Leia. You have a number of options to consolidate your credit cards, which are:1. Debt settlement - cutting a portion of your loan balance, wherein it will be considered as "settled in full."2. Credit counseling - advice on debt management and financial planning; you may be enrolled in a Debt Management Program upon your counselor's discretion3. Obtaining a debt consolidation loanThese have a number of advantages and disadvantages. Feel free to ask about these options so we can discuss these more thoroughly.

Posted on June 29, 2009 at 11:51 pm Have you tried selling some assets, too? Cos that can help you out a lot. Or you can try borrowing against your 401 (k) ....

Posted on June 30, 2009 at 1:54 am Karess is right, you do have a lot of options. Debt settlement, for one, allows you to pay a portion of your total debt amount (at least 40-60% of the original balance), and you can pay this between 12-36 months. This option in fact is the fastest way to get rid of your debt if you currently do not have the funds to pay this off. The remaining portion of the balance will be waived by your creditor. You do need to keep in mind that the waived portion needs to be reported to the IRS as taxable income.

Posted on July 5, 2009 at 10:10 am Settlement may in fact be the best option for you considering your debt amount and the fact that you are already past due on your accounts. Especially since you are having trouble with your rent- having a roof over your head is the top priority so you want to make sure you make those payments first. Ultimately, as Karess mentioned, debt settlement allows the borrower to pay off their creditors for a reduction of what is owed to satisfy the full amount. I want to clarify though Karess- not all settled accounts will be reported as "settled in full" on the borrower's credit report. Some will show as "settled" or "settled for less than the full amount/balance." Either way this is a negative mark to have on your report since you are not paying the debt back in full. But it is a lot better than filing bankruptcy (settlement essentially is a bankruptcy alternative) and of course it is better than having outstanding, past due debts on your credit report for a long period of time. You can fill out a form on DestroyDebt.Com for a free consultation and perhaps to get matched up with a qualified provider if you are in need of professional assistance.

Posted on July 5, 2009 at 11:30 am I really dont know about it if someone is there who is realted to banking thing may tell you better

Posted on July 13, 2009 at 12:42 am but isn't Bankruptcy also a form of Credit Card consolidation as well???

Posted on July 13, 2009 at 1:46 am Pachelbel~You may be referring to Chapter 13 bankruptcy, wherein a consumer who has filed for this particular Chapter is mandated by law to pay for their bills within a three- to five-year period. One facet of Chapter 13 bankruptcy works in such a way that the individual will make a single consolidated payment to the bankruptcy trustee. The latter, in turn, will distribute the payments to all the individual's creditors. One difference between Chapter 13 and conventional credit counseling is that creditors are completely "hands off" of the debtor while s/he is under bankruptcy. This concept is also known as the automatic slay.

Posted on July 13, 2009 at 2:35 am Karess, isn't it called an automatic stay?

Posted on July 13, 2009 at 3:10 am Oh, right. I'm sorry about that. Thanks for pointing out the correction, Cow. Just to add some information on the Chapter 13 discussion--it can also halt foreclosure proceedings and allow you to catch up on your defaulted mortgage payments gradually. Chapter 13 may be a good option especially if you've defaulted on your mortgage payment, but filing for bankruptcy ultimately has its disadvantages--and these are in the long-term, so you may want to think twice, thrice, or more times before actually going to the bankruptcy lawyer.