For many of us, it seems like a tunnel with no light at the end. Most of us are aware that we just need to figure out which track to take in order to get out of debt, but which one to jump on?

Like many others, I wanted to be debt free and be able to enjoy life again without the stresses of financial strain. Believe me, there are too many of us on that “debt train” to nowhere. Many times it’s due to the lack of pursuing informative knowledge prior to accepting the gift that credit cards offer of “swipe now, pay later”, and the lack of knowing how to resolve a derailed situation. I too was one of those passengers, but no longer am I a passenger. Remember, debt reduction is possible, it's just a matter of doing research and finding out which debt relief options are for you.

Several years ago I finally found a solution to my debt problem. After months and months of researching different ways to get out of debt quickly and painlessly, I eventually found the track to carry me out of that tunnel.

I had looked into bankruptcy and decided against it because of the long lasting effect on a person’s credit report, and quite honestly, I didn’t want to admit to myself I was at that point. Not to mention, the actual process seemed to be an enormous hassle and a costly one at that. I would have gone through the court system, and the ball wouldn’t have been in my court. This is all while dishing out a whole slew of fees along the way, all too basically give up. I didn’t want to do that!

It sounded nice at first, as the process was being explained to me by a bankruptcy attorney. He really had me under the impression that I could wash my hands "free of debt through bankruptcy" and “start over with a clean slate”.

My head almost spun when he told me how much it would cost. “Free” and “bankruptcy” shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same conversation. It made no sense to me; I mean if I had money like that, I’d be able to pay those bills that I fell behind on in the first place. More on top of that, all of my assets would have to be liquidated and I would actually have to qualify for chapter 7.I found out that most people looking to do a chapter 7 are denied and have to go chapter 13, which is a nice term for a court appointed payment system, in which they sit down with you and tell you exactly how you’re going to distribute all of your income down to the penny; to the point that you’ll be eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches until all of your debt is resolved. You will be financially dead for seven years.

Other options I considered were debt consolidation and credit counseling programs. For some people that may be the way to go, but it wasn’t for me and I’ll tell you why. Sure, I knew they can group all of your bills into one loan and then offer a lower interest rate, but there were some drawbacks that I didn’t really like. First of all, in order to go with a credit counseling program, monthly minimum payments would need to be maintained. That was already a difficult thing to do. I found out that the average consumers’ situation would take five to six years to complete the program. In addition, a person’s credit report will typically show as “being paid by a third party”, which will have an adverse effect on someone’s’ credit score for the duration of the program. With a consolidation loan, some sort of collateral is usually required, and in most cases it’s a home. In essence, I would be borrowing to get out of debt, assuming the risk of possibly losing something I already own, or even my home. I don’t think so! Why turn unsecured debt into secured debt? You’ll have more to lose if things don’t work out.

I'd stumbled upon information about debt negotiation and debt settlement programs. Although I had heard of these programs, I wasn’t familiar with how they really worked. After doing much research, I decided this was the option for me.

Most debt settlement programs are designed to get you out of debt in three to five years. The better programs are structured to get you out of debt in less than three. The shorter term programs really are geared the best towards the consumer’s interest. Focus on that because it will expose the companies that really want to help you versus the companies that just want to sign you up by accepting a lower monthly-savings amount. Remember that with most programs, the monthly payment isn’t a payment at all; it's set-aside money for your negotiator to go to battle with on your behalf.

Many companies will set up a joint bank or trust account in which money is deposited every month by the consumer until enough funds are available for the negotiation of debt. It won’t be touched for any other reason than taking care of debt.

I found that many companies offered different fees and methods of resolving a person’s debt, yet they all had similarities that I liked. Most companies will offer a savings of about sixty-cents on the dollar and they are willing to work with you on how much money should be saved each month for a successful completion of the program. They can be pretty flexible if your payment arrangements need to be adjusted for whatever reason. Also, they will contact your creditors and demand that correspondence is no longer being sent to you. They can even stop many of the annoying and harassing phone calls. The key is to find a program that is legitimately backed by a debt settlement attorney to receive the maximum assistance and protection. Especially, so they’re familiar with the laws governing your specific situation.

There were some other points that were really important to me such as, what a company would guarantee, what a company was willing to do if things weren’t working out, and what they could do for me if one of my creditors ended up filing a lawsuit while I was on the program? Really try and focus on these points when considering a company to go with.

The company I found covered all of these points for me, so I normally recommend them, but would advise anybody to consider looking into many options before making a decision since it is a big one to make. It just makes sense to do that. I actually hired a different debt relief company than the one I work for because it suited my needs better. I only knew that from being part of the industry, however there is plenty of accurate information out there that can steer somebody in the right direction to figure out what's best for their own situation. 

No matter which company or method you choose, there should be a plan in place that clearly outlines how to become debt free, and it should be something relatively comfortable to accomplish. When you find the right company for you, the light will be seen at the end of that tunnel and it’s a great feeling. You just have to pursue it.