Posted on July 20, 2009 at 6:21 am I've read that enrollment in credit counseling and debt settlement programs would hurt my credit. So how am I going to eliminate my debts without their help?

Posted on July 20, 2009 at 6:28 am It usually depends on your financial condition and your types of debt. But the first step toward elimination of your debt is to take to heart the management of your spending. You have to make a budget. Allot money for the basic necessities each month, and then decide how much you are going to apply toward your debt. Just those two items.

Posted on July 20, 2009 at 6:32 am If your debt is huge that reducing it drastically is just not possible simply by keeping a tight budget and sending the leftover money to creditors, you might want to consider selling some of your possessions, or getting an extra job. Render over time, or if you have cooking or baking skills, put it to use. If you have a car that still has a pretty good resale price, sell it, and replace it with a cheap, used, functional one.

Posted on July 20, 2009 at 6:39 am You know hurting your credit is really not that fatal. You can always repair it. Isn't it more important to eliminate your debt first? If your debts are mostly unsecured, those are really negotiable, as opposed to if they are mostly unsecured, although still maybe negotiable, they are just tougher to eliminate.But if you really want to eliminate your debt without the help of the financial experts, then it's your call, I'm just saying that there are advantages to using the services of a debt settlement company, for example, if your unsecured debts already amount to $10,000 or so, and if your past due on your payments.If you are uncomfortable disclosing your financial issues on the thread, feel free to fill out one of the forms here, and discuss this issue further with a debt consultant. Don't worry, it's free.The best of luck to you i sigh.

Posted on July 20, 2009 at 7:38 am If you are trying to eliminate debt without hurting credit, it is something you will most likely have to tackle on your own since most consolidation programs have some sort of negative credit impact in one way or another. Binomial is right- it may not be the worst thing in the world to take a ding to your credit to get out of debt. First I would suggest using a credit card or loan calculator to figure out how long it is going to take you to pay off your debts if you continue on the path that you are on. You may very well discover that your situation isn't that bad. On the other hand, you may find out that because of your interest rates (if they are high) it may take you 30 years or so to get out of debt. And at that point, you will certainly be paying back two, perhaps three times what you owe now in interest alone. If that is the case, I would say that your credit score may have to take a backseat to get out from under your debt.

Posted on August 11, 2009 at 11:16 am Yeah I agree how to eliminate debt without hurting your credit is really tough if you are looking into for example credit counseling, debt settlement or bankruptcy. Credit counseling is viewed in a similar light to Chapter 13 bankruptcy and debt settlement has a negative impact on the person's payment history since the accounts must be past due to settle. And we all know that bankruptcy is one of the worst marks that could appear on your credit.  

Posted on August 11, 2009 at 3:43 pm This is question that I struggle with daily.   The most important thing to organize yourself and see where you actually stand.  There are a lot of spreadsheets to use to figure out how long it can take you to get out yourself.  It takes some time and tweaking, but once you've come up with a budget and plan, stick to it as much as possible.  When working your plan, there is going to be a lot of sacrafice.  But in the end, it will be worth it.

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Posted on September 8, 2009 at 4:43 pm