Thoughts of a looming depression are causing widespread panic for the average citizen, here in the U.S. and globally. While the President conducts secret meetings and aids big businesses (even those that have committed high end fraud), the risk of hundreds of thousands of jobs are on the line. The normal citizens have been (so far) left out of the equation but left to pay for the years of greedy Wall Street capitalization and the like.

i. Simply keep plugging: Continue paying what you can when you can until everything is paid off. (Pay back 291 of the principal plus interest. When all costs are considered, it usually works out to be about the same as your current minimum payments. (162 average)

iv. Bankruptcy: This should be considered a complete last option due to the harsh credit impacts, expensive fees, lawyer costs, possible exclusion to future employment, high interest rates for future credit, risk of foreclosure and probability of dismissal. In our experience many people can find other options to avoid bankruptcy.

v. Debt Settlement: Debt settlement is for individuals and families who are or will be falling behind in unsecured payments. It benefits people considering bankruptcy, people that can only make the minimum payments on their credit card debt and/or medical bills and people that can't qualify for a loan to avoid falling behind. People experiencing financial hardships such as divorce, hospitalization, loss of family, etc. would ideally be in legitimate scenarios to qualify. Debt settlement is the fastest way to get out of debt and has the least impact on one's credit rating. This program is designed to minimize the amount paid and substantially decrease the time line of becoming debt free. The object is not to increase a person's credit score, although after all accounts are settled it is relatively easy to have a great score afterwards, usually within 6-10 months.

Only a qualified professional should give you advice after conducting a financial analysis as to which program will be best suited for you. If you are considering any of these options make sure you are dealing with companies that have a good rating with the B.B.B. and have a reputation of getting the job done.