Advice on Getting Bills Current

do NOT go to CCCS!! You can negotiate settlements on all of the cards for less than you owe (some as little as 15% of the balance). Once it goes to collection, the bank has already sold the debt, so they have their money, and they don't care a bit about what you do after that. The older the debt, the less you can settle it for.

I had a business "divorce" about the same time my first marriage fell apart and had over $120,000 in unsecured debt between business and personal which was settled for about $42,000 a few years later. I negotiated it all myself with the collection companies and never used a 3rd party.

Save your money up and wait until the debts have aged. Then offer lump sum settlements and the price is drastically reduced. I settled a $65,000 outstanding debt to Bank of America for $15,000.

Let me know if you have questions.
C.

P.S. I'm familiar with Dave Ramsey and he has a good system, but it's for people who have not yet defaulted.

Hi! You could possibly get in touch with your credit card companies and see what they will accept.

I second the suggestion on Dave Ramsey. We're in the middle of doing his Financial Peace University, and his lesson on dealing with credit card companies would really be useful to you. I know there is some overlap with his books, but I haven't read them all, so you could look there, too. If at all possible, I'd recommend ALWAYS paying something, even if its not what they ask for. They'll yell and scream and whine, but they really can't do much beside cut off future charges on the card. If you can, make minimum payments on all but the smallest, and put all you can towards paying that off; once you do, move on to the next largest, etc. Any of Dave Ramsey's books will also have sample letters for you to send to the cc companies, asserting your rights (yes, you do have them) and getting them to lay off a bit until you can pay. GL!

A similar question was just posted. Look at yesterdays posts and read the one about Dave Ramsey. Its where you need to begin. Go buy the books listed and get started. Good Luck!

I would run - not walk - to consumer credit counseling services (CCCS). You can't use the credit cards while you're with them - but they have a better track record at dealing with credit card companies than you will.

S.