creditdebthelp's Journal

Debt Relief Solutions from Credit Cards
You need to be aware that there may be some actions you can take by yourself without involving a debt relief company to get out of debt. To be sure, some debt problems are so severe that nothing short of bankruptcy will suffice. However you do need to know that some patience, discipline and persistence applied along with some relatively straightforward methods can be enough to handle a significant number of these problems. Lack of a specific, consistent strategy is fairly common among consumers with a debt problem. Their patterns of bill payment reflect that they may just be trying to keep their problem at arms length, being void of any identifiable strategy at all. Some are operating on blind faith and just hoping that in the end their efforts will amount to enough. Rather than floundering along like this and not really knowing what kind of progress you're actually making, I would encourage you to decide to take a new and better approach to your problem. It will utilize a systematic approach to the specific details of your debt, which in the end will permit paying the credit card debt off at the lowest cost and in the shortest time that the payments you have available will allow for.

To begin using the new approach, start by collecting the most recent account statements that you have. You'll need to identify the acount number, the name of the creditor, the phone number,the interest rate, the balance and the due date and then compile a listing using a computer or a separate sheet of paper. Using your new listing as a reference, call the customer service number for each account starting with the accounts with the highest interest rates. Tell them that you want to do the right thing and pay them, but that you are struggling with your bills. Ask them if they can give you some assistance by lowering the interest rate they are charging you. You may be surprised by the help they may be willing to give you, and you'll already be ahead of where you started. Keep track of the interest rate reductions they offer you. Then make a new updated list of your accounts, putting them in the order of the interest rates you now have. From now on, you will just be making the minimum monthly payment on all your accounts except for the one with the highest interest rate. You'll be making the largest payment you can afford on that account. Note any account changes that take place from month to month and make sure that your payments will always arrive by the due dates. You can stay motivated until you're completely paid off by watching your total debt balance decrease month by month.