Debt Settlement-the "Do it yourself" Method

Doing things on your own have two connotations, one is a positive, "I am learning how to take care of my challenges and increasing my scope of knowledge and value to the outside," and a negative, "I am on my own and things are hard."

Debt settlement might bring up positive, challenging feelings, about doing things yourself and taking your financial life into your hands; or, it could bring fearful thoughts of tedious work, legal fears, and feelings of being left to fend for yourself.

The secret about debt settlement is that regardless of whether you hired a company or decided to do it yourself  you will have to deal is the some of the same factors:

   1. You will still get creditor and harassing phone calls
   2. Your credit score will be impacted just the same
   3. If you get sued you will have to go to court at your own counsel, or hire another attorney

The only factor that is not there in a debt settlement program is who does the negotiations. Now you can examine the above and determine for yourself that if you hire a debt settlement company, and if you are willing to pay in the range of 15% of your total debt plus a monthly fee.

Out of 4 challenging factors involved in a debt settlement, 3 of them you will have to handle by yourself already. Lastly, is it worth paying thousands of dollars for just one factor when you will already have to coach yourself to deal with the toughest 3?

I say toughest because in the overall picture, dealing with the above 3 will take more time, be more cumbersome, and put more strain on your life that anything else. Although the negotiations require some finesse and organization skills, those you can learn more quickly than you might think.

What"s the advantage of doing it yourself?

So in a sense you will already have to train yourself to deal with the collection calls, threats of a law suit, as well as navigate through life without the availability of credit for the duration of the debt settlement process.

In a debt settlement you will have already prepped yourself to settle debts yourself. A case in point is when clients that have signed up with a debt settlement company will realize one or two months into the program, that they will have to shoulder a lot of the weight by themselves and that the debt settlement company is really handling the easy part.

The problem arises when they decide they want a refund, the first couple of payments went straight towards the fees, so that getting a full refund will be almost impossible.

If there was a way to enroll yourself in a debt settlement program with a company for just a couple of months, knowing that you would receive a full refund (which will not happen), that would be like your own tutorial in debt settlement. And although it will be an incomplete tutorial, 50% of the progress towards a settlement will be made in those first few months.

The progress is determined in your communication with your creditors and how you lay the foundations towards successful settlements. And in those first few months where you learn by trial how to handle collection calls, submitting letters or any crucial communications, as you build up your savings.

By not paying for several months directly towards the debt settlement company, you will put more funds in your own savings account that will build up much more quickly. You will be able to build up enough savings to complete a settlement in just a few months compared to 8-12 months just for the FIRST SETTLEMENT.

That is the biggest advantage of a "do it yourself debt settlement" approach: getting your first settlement in the door much quicker.

Teach Yourself Necessary skills beyond Negotiation

Debt settlement requires patience and skills. The skills are not just negotiation skills for you can break down negotiation into just proper communication and counter offers with supporting material or evidence.

You will teach yourself organization, communication, time-management, and budgeting skills. A do it yourself program should have all of those involved to make it a worthy purchase. Otherwise it would be just another eBook full of information you can get off the web for free.
Although these are cognitive skills you will need to build emotional skills. Let me explain, some people do not like to handle stress let alone confrontation. In a debt settlement program you will need to develop a very specific understanding about the people you will deal with so that you do not panic and ruin your chances at a successful settlement.

You must communicate with your creditors out of honesty and not out of a desire to get a good settlement. If collectors get the whiff that you are just playing around, they will send your debt to legal where you will be sued. You must communicate appropriately with collectors, which means you must have a control over your emotions.

The story is very simple, you have a hardship and you can't pay. This is why you are doing this so don't get yourself into a bigger mess by trying to be dishonest.

In fact, many debt settlement clients drop out of an otherwise successful program because they were too intimidated and the settlement company did not do a good job of coaching them through the process and putting their minds at ease.

Certain methods taught in good "do it yourself" systems will give you more insight into where you stand and the real options you have when it comes to your debt, your rights, and your options. This is like the story of the mechanic that knew where to turn the screw and charged $1000 to do it. Debt settlement is similar, maybe not as simplistic as turning a screw, but the idea is similar and debt settlement companies charge very hefty fees for that knowledge.

Why not just teach you the knowledge for a fraction of the cost, and in the process, giving you skills that you can translate into many other areas of your life.

Have your debt forgiven

An important note to understand is this: creditors prefer to deal with the client directly rather than with a debt settlement company.

Why?

For two reasons:

   1. Creditors and collectors know that they can't intimidate debt settlement companies, and that they might not get the full truth from them. Leading to poor collection efforts by the collectors. The think they can get more money from you (which is the truth if you don't teach yourself how to settle your own debt beforehand)
   2. They think that the money you are spending on a debt settlement company could be better used towards paying them!(Which is also very true!!!).
      
In fact, some creditors have shifted their policy to absolutely refuse to deal with a debt settlement company; unless it's a law firm or lawyer. So already debt settlement companies are at a disadvantage and will be charging you for debts they can't even negotiate for you!

Another important factor to note: some debt settlement companies try to act abrasive from inexperience and send "cease and desist" letters from the beginning to creditors and collectors. This could land you straight in the legal department and on to a law suit before anyone even had the chance to negotiate.
Shouldn't I hire an Attorney for this?

You should always consult with an attorney for any legal matters. Depending on your situation you might have to use an attorney or you might not (when in doubt go speak with one), but for the majority of the cases you are using skills that you can learn to perform on your own.

Additionally, if you hire an attorney, you should hire someone you can speak with face to face and one you have full attorney privileges with. Since the recession started the Debt Settlement industry and Loan Modification industry have exploded. Certain states had different exemptions for law firms that debt settlement companies did not want or couldn't afford to deal with.

So a new model arrived on the scene, giving the "Law Firm" credibility its worst hit ever. Companies have figured out a way to involve the license of the attorneys without actually paying the attorney fees.

How?

They licensed out the name of the attorney so that they could claim that they are a law firm, when in fact it is just run by regular people (like former mortgage brokers). Then for every client the firm had they would split the fees in some manner.

This is illegal, as attorneys cannot share client fees with non attorneys. A lot of these companies have been caught and shut down, but those were only a handful out of hundreds.

So if you choose to hire an attorney, seek one in your local area that you can speak with BEFORE you pay them anything and see if you should hire them to help you out.

Consider this: sometimes you will receive a settlement offer just by missing a couple of payments and sending in a debt settlement letter, such as a hardship letter. Does that kind of work seem like you need to pay thousands of dollars to a "law firm" that won't even let you speak with the attorney?

You can do this yourself we know this, but always keep in the back of your mind that if your situation is bad enough you might want to speak with an attorney.

Weaving your way through a do-it-yourself debt settlement is like jogging through a minefield blindfolded -- you might make it through without blowing yourself up, but who wants to suffer such a nightmarish experience and take such a crazy risk? Yet that's exactly what many people in your situation opt to do, making up their "strategies" as they go. Scary, huh?

We're with You

MyBlueChimp.com can spare you then feeling of stepping on that mine because you didn't know where you were walking. We walk with you, guiding you every step of the way past the challenges of debt settlement and showing you exactly what to do as you approach each challenge. If you can read a few paragraphs of instruction -- if you can watch a simple video -- you can navigate your way to financial freedom.

Take off that blindfold today. Get started with MyBlueChimp.com and experience the peace of mind that comes with having a step-by-step guide to steer you successfully through your settlement and get out of debt. We won't let you down.