Are Debt Elimination Tactics Worthwhile?

Posted by Average Joe on January 24th, 2010 at 06:22pm

One question I get asked a lot by people who are drowning in debt is:

Is it worthwhile for me to use one of these “Credit Repair” or “Debt Elimination” services?

Here’s a simple and straightforward answer: No. Not when they try to “fool” the system.

There is a great way to eliminate your debt. And let me preface what I’m about to say with a few explanatory words.

Most of us aren’t complete idiots, despite what our bill paying history may or may not say about us. You probably didn’t sit down one day and say to yourself, “I think I’ll drown myself in bills,” or, “What I’d really like to do is borrow so much money that I’ll never be able to repay it all.”

You probably didn’t decide that you wanted to pay 3 to 10 times for that refrigerator, big-screen TV, laptop computer, or whatever. You thought that you could pay it off during the “same as cash” period.

But then life happened. There was that trip to the emergency room… the pregnancy you weren’t expecting… you got laid off, downsized, rightsized or whatever. Stuff.

And now you’re overwhelmed. The phone is ringing. Creditors are calling. Or maybe you’re staying afloat (for now), but you’re just making a bunch of minimum payments and you’re not actually making any progress.

I have good news for you:

You got caught in a very carefully-laid, scientifically engineered, cleverly marketed trap that was designed to keep you in debt until the day you die.

So… since you can now breathe easy and realize that you’re not a complete idiot — regardless of your current credit score (which in and of itself is part of the scheme designed to encourage you to stay in debt) — let me say that I am aware that you probably already know how to get out of debt.

How To Get Out of Debt

We all know how to do it, right? Here are the obvious ways:

1. Eat lots of rice and beans and send every extra penny in to your creditors.
2. Earn more money (e.g. get another job) and send your paycheck to your creditors.
3. Sell anything of value and send that money to your creditors.
4. Spend less than you make, and send all the leftover money to your creditors.

Okay… I know what you’re thinking. You’ve already thought of all of those. Shoot… you might have even tried some of them.

Well… as Dr. Phil would ask:

How’s that working for you?

For most people it doesn’t work to do the obvious stuff. It’s like losing weight. We all know how to lose weight: eat less, exercise more. Not rocket science. And yet the number on the scale — like the number on our debt — always seems to go up instead of down.

How to Really, Legitimately Eliminate Debt

First of all, don’t fall for any of the schemes that are designed to harass your creditors with correspondence and make false claims about what you owe. Scouring the fine print on all your contracts is an amusement you can save for the day after you finish cleaning out your garage and spacing out the hangers in your closet.

Nobody can actually “fix” your credit score. My question is: why would you want them to anyway? All your credit score is good for is telling the world that you are addicted to borrowing money. (Have you ever noticed that a high credit score only belongs to people who borrow money frequently?)

So… for most of us, the question isn’t what to do, but how to actually do it.

You need a plan that does several things:

1. Gives you the leverage to stop borrowing. If you’re driving your car and you see a collision coming, it won’t help you to stand on your brakes if your other foot is still on the gas pedal. You’ll never get out of debt if you keep borrowing money.
2. Works with your personality (and that of your spouse / significant other) to get you on track and keep you there.
3. Rewards you or provides positive reinforcement as you make progress.
4. Makes the most of your existing income.

Let’s face it: most of us won’t stick to a plan that is excessively painful. If it requires too much effort, doesn’t keep you focused on the prize (being debt free), and doesn’t help you stay motivated, you’re doomed to fail before you start.

My Recommendation

Get a real picture of where you are. Add up all your debt. List your total monthly payments and the total balances on everything.

Use a proven system. There are bunch of them. One great way to tackle this issue that will seriously help you stay motivated is to use software that does the heavy lifting for you (at least as far as calculating how much to send to whom and when).

The Debtwork System Software is a solution that uses a simple “red light / green light” system to:

• Eliminate credit card debt, car loans, home equity loans and even student loans – in just 1-3 years!
• then pay off your 30-year mortgage in another 4-5 years!!
• live 100% on a cash basis, even when financial surprises occur, and never need credit again.
• cut your effective interest rates in half
• reduce your financial stress
• begin your journey of financial continuing education
• lay the foundation for your strong retirement plan

This is exactly the right idea. Check it out and get started today!

I am not the creator of the product(s) mentioned here. I do receive income from advertisers and am compensated when you make a purchase of product(s) I recommend. However, I only choose products to recommend that I believe will be worthwhile, and the compensation I receive enables me to provide this website and the content you see here without charge.

Tags: credit score, creditors, debt elimination, debt elimination software, eliminate credit card debt, money, mortgage payments, stress

Under Consumer Debt