Let’s face it. All the good, even great, advice for getting out of debt is worthless without the money for doing so. In this article we shall explore two ways for finding money to pay of debt.

There are basically two ways of finding money to pay off debt. One is using the money you already have or make. The other is making extra money. Which of the two is easier or better? More on Finding Money to Pay Off Debt Without Suffering for It

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Not all debts are bad debts. You need a reliable car to get you to work and other places. This is good debt. You need a roof over your head, and a place to call your own: a mortgage is a good debt. You need to go to school to get a good and satisfying (hopefully) career or job: Student loan is good debt.

But even good debt can turn into bad. If you have to stretch your budget to purchase that sleek sports car just because you want it, that is bad debt. If you purchase a big nice home that you can hardly afford, that is bad debt. Buying homes like that is part of what caused the mortgage crisis which in turn caused a world recession; but that is another story.

But what truly is bad debt is credit card debt. However, even this depends on how you use it. There is nothing wrong in having a credit card, or several of them. What is wrong is your attitude toward credit cards and how you use them. More on Eliminating Credit Card Debt: The Snowball Effect that Can Eliminate Your Debts, Fast

Eliminating credit card debt remains a top priority of many people. This should not prove surprising since it is credit card debt that has a tendency to get many people in trouble.

What adds to such a stressful situation is the fact that there are often no easily solutions for getting out of debt in an expedited manner. Yes, there will be those gurus that mention steps and processes for dealing with such a scenario.

In some instances, they will offer helpful and valuable advice. However, it is also true that they can sometimes provide advice that is a bit too simplistic to be effective. More on Debt Relief and Eliminating Credit Card Debt Quickly and Easily

Many people reeling from the weight of excess credit card debt ask themselves, “Can I negotiate credit card debt reduction?” While the answer can be summed up in one word, yes, it is not simple.

For one, debt settlement is not the same as debt reduction. Don’t believe everything you hear in commercials and late night infomercials. You just can’t cut your debts by fifty or whatever percentage points that easily. Yes, it can be done but often with other serious consequences. More on Can I Negotiate Credit Card Debt Reduction?

Feel like you are drowning in debt? It’s time to do something about it.

First, rest assured that you are not alone. There are many, many people who are deep in debt.

Second, more than likely you can pay off your bills and change your spending habits to fit your income. There is example after example of families who were deep in debt and were able to not only pay it off but who ended up in better financial shape than before.

For instance, there was one family who found themselves in such debt (over $100,000) that they had to move in with the wife’s sister. She let them live in her basement.
More on Drowning in Debt? Get Out Now

There are multiple ways to reduce your total (and monthly) debt load, some less painful than others.

The obvious one, of course, is to simply pay down your debts. That can be difficult, and for some it may seem hopeless. But there is one method that has been employed by many with great success: the snowball method (so named by Dave Ramsey).

More on Debt Handling and Debt Reduction – The Snowball Method

There are certain things that we need in our lives. I am not talking about the things we want, but the things we need. We need a home, enough food to feed ourselves and our families. Heat in the winter and electricity so we may run our furnaces or see what we are doing at night. A vehicle so we may get to and from work to pay for our necessities. Everyone’s list is different, but I’m sure we all agree on one thing, we all have basic needs that we cannot live without.

In this age of free credit for all, it is easy to get in over your head and a financial setback like an illness or loss of a job can really get you in deep financial trouble. Finances can get so bad that you can’t afford to pay mortgage payments and get behind. Credit cards are easy to over extend our finances on. They are so convenient we often forget about the high interest rates that come along with our credit card payments.

More on When Should I Consult Debt Consolidation Services Non Profit Companies?

Credit card debt doesn’t shy away from anyone who doesn’t want to shy away from it. It treats everyone equally irrespective of whether the person is a seasoned professional or just a college student. So college student credit card debt isn’t uncommon either.

Since the credit limit on college student credit cards is usually much lower, the college student credit card debt cannot rise to the levels it does for other credit cards.

However, college student credit card debt is an even bigger menace because a lot of students are already in debt due to the loan they have taken for their education. If they pass out of college with college student credit card debt, they will have to pay back not just the loan they taken for studies but also their college student credit card debt.

More on College Student Credit Card Debt

Television commercials have made us believe that there is a shortcut out of debt. But while there are many types of credit card debt elimination plans, some are good, some bad, and some are downright ugly.

Many people have fallen victim of debt elimination scams. Some debt management companies have been known to take peoples’ money and then left them hanging. Even some nonprofit debt consolidation companies have been shut down after getting caught in dishonest activities.

More on Credit Card Debt Elimination Plans

Donna, a single mother, owed several companies including her bank a total of $12,890 in credit card debt. Though she was able to pay the minimum balances, it was a big strain on her budget. She decided to do something about it.

Determined to become debt free “whatever it takes”, Donna contacted a debt consolidation company whose commercial she had seen on TV. After an initial fee of $95, the “debt counselor” advised Donna to stop making payments directly to her creditors.

It was arranged for her to send one payment to the debt consolidation company, who in turn would disburse the funds to her creditors. The new arrangement sounded great, and her interest rates were much lower. She would be debt-free in three years. Or so she thought.

A few weeks went by without incident. Then the calls started coming at all hours of the day. Apparently she was not paying her debts. Something was not right.

When she called the consolidation company she got a rude awakening. The company, among dozens of others, had been shut down for fraudulent business practices. Her payments were never disbursed, her accounts were closed, and now she had delinquency notations on her credit report. She had incurred late fees plus over-limit fees for some of her credit cards.

Debt relief scams are becoming increasingly common as more and more people seek ways to get out of debt. Self-education is your best protection, plus of course a dollop of commonsense. Here are a few things to look out for:

1. Grandiose promises. If they promise to help wipe out your debts, or to cut them in half (or other big fraction), that’s a red flag for you. Beware of companies that promise to wipe out your debt today or erase your debts and save you thousands of dollars. No debt settlement or consolidation service can get negative information off your credit report(s). If they promise this, be suspicious.

2. Hefty up-front and other fees. Up-front fees, if any, should not exceed $75. In fact, most reputable services do not charge up-front fees. Likewise, monthly fees should also not exceed $50 per month.

3. Non-profit status. Avoid for-profit companies. This is a little tricky, as some non-profits are shams. Check if the company is accredited by the Council On Accreditation (COA) at http://coanet.org. There are reputable non-profits that are not accredited, but there are none that are.

4. If the agency’s employees work on commission, run. How do you find out? Ask. It’s a straight yes or no answer question and vagueness should raise your suspicion. Of course, be aware that they could also lie.

5. If they promise free services, run. There is no such thing as free lunch even in debt relief.

6. If you feel like you’re being pressured (or scared) into signing up immediately, hang up the phone.

7. A good counselor is bound to ask you lots of questions and delve deeply into your financial life. Expect this, and embrace this. It is for your own good. If he/she appears keen to “get it over with” something is not right.

8. The counselor must explain to you in clear terms how your funds will be used and what to expect. Vagueness is something to watch out for here.

9. Check the Better Business Bureau (BBB) at http://bbb.org for complaints against the company. No company can please everyone, so some complaints will be probably be there even for reputable companies (whiners will always be there). What to look for is the number and consistency of complaints.