Quick Answer: People struggling with $40,000+ in debt have options including bankruptcy, debt settlement, or credit counseling programs. Bankruptcy offers the fastest debt elimination in about 90 days for approximately $1,500, but individuals should evaluate all solutions with a financial professional rather than accepting one-size-fits-all approaches.
Question:
Dear Steve,
I’m married with 2 kids. We are about $40,000 in debt and I don’t see a way out. Between my wife and I losing income and the mounting bills with child care and taxes I’m barely making by each month.
What can I do?
The Daily Money Brief — Free, at 10 AM
Money you may be owed, scams to dodge, and the fine print decoded — the consumer money news that affects your wallet, every weekday.
Robert
Answer:
Dear Robert,
Getting out of debt is a combination of increasing income, decreasing expenses, or a combination of both options.
One way you can reduce expenses is by filing bankruptcy and starting over. Bankruptcy is the only solution that gives you the power to get a fresh start for a low cost and quick processing time. Typically you will be out of debt in about 90 days and it will cost about $1,500 or so.
I would suggest you look at my online How to Get Out of Debt Calculator and look at your basic options for dealing with your debt. These might be something like bankruptcy or a longer plan where you attempt to settle or repay your debt in a credit counseling program.
Ultimately the only way to come up with the best solution for you is going to be to talk with someone who can assist you to evaluate your current financial condition and your future financial goals. Only then can someone put together a solution that makes the most sense for you.
If you talk to someone and they tell you your entire debt problem can be dealt with using just one solution, like debt settlement or credit counseling, I would urge you to dig deeper.
Companies who sell one-size-fits all solutions often only really deliver a one-size-fits-none solution.
The best plan to get out of debt is going to be one that uses the right tool for the individual debts you have. Sometimes that can mean settling one, letting one ride and do nothing, and making a special repayment plan with a specific creditor. No two people are alike and naturally no two repayment plans are alike if you are hoping to get the best results.
I think the biggest hurdle to overcome when people are looking for advice on how to get out of debt is to brush back assumptions. For example, for those who are dead set on repaying their debt, they need to know what they approach will cost them in lost retirement dollars. For those who are afraid bankruptcy will ruin their future they should really read Those That File Bankruptcy Do Better Than Those That Don’t.
Here are some previous posts that will assist you in your journey to best deal with your debt.
- The Get Out of Debt Guy 8 Easy Steps to Eliminate Your Debt Checklist
- How Do I Get Out of Debt Quickly? Change Your Mindset.
- How to Get Out of Debt. The Honest and Unvarnished Truth.
- The Truth About The Success Rates, Failure Rates and Completion Rates of Credit Counseling, Debt Settlement, and Bankruptcy
The end result of your efforts on how to get out of debt should be to make your life fit within your income so you don’t need to use credit to make ends meet. In addition, you will want to make sure you are saving money each month and build up your emergency fund so in case you have an unexpected financial surprise you won’t need to use credit again and get further in debt.
Dealing With Debt? Understanding your options is the first step. See how all your debt relief options compare — including ones most sites won’t tell you about. The Find Your Path quiz gives a recommendation based on your actual numbers, and the Scam-O-Meter checks any company’s complaint history before you sign. Federal Reserve research shows bankruptcy filers recover faster than those who don’t file.
How to get out of debt question asked.