JM wrote to me through the GetOutOfDebt.org site and asked the following question. If you have a credit or debt question you’d like to ask just use the online form. I’m happy to help you totally for free.
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“Dear Steve,
We have about 95% of unsecured debt that has been charged off and or sold. I am currently not working so I am not concerned as much with my debt. I will deal with them when I have income coming in. My husband works and we would like to tackle his debt first to avoid any legal matters.
Should we deal with one creditor at a time and work out a settlement plan with them or call every creditor and see what each of them are willing to work out with us?
JM”
The Answer:
Dear JM,
In a perfect game plan it would be best to have a lump-sum of cash on hand, approximately 60% of the total debt that you owe. You would then contact all the creditors at the same time to negotiate settlement offers.
Once you’ve done that you will know if your debt settlement approach is going to resolve your entire debt situation. If some creditors are going to hold out, then you need to evaluate if debt settlement is going to work for you if the end result is that all of your debt has not been eliminated.
I tend to like solutions that fully resolve the problem and eliminate it so it does not have to be dealt with again.
