Credit Card Debt Consolidation Debt Relief Programs Offering Help To Many

Online, March 15, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Credit card debt consolidation and debt relief programs have gained steam in recent years as the number of American who have taken advantage of these services has risen dramatically during the economic downturn. Though the economy is officially off life support and doing much better, these debt management programs are helping more Americans than ever before.

The types of debt help programs is also greater now that in the past. Consumers have available to them such options as debt consolidation and debt consolidation loans, credit counseling, debt negotiation, and in extreme cases - bankruptcy. Help with medical bills is also available today.

The need for such programs as these is indeed acute today as nearly one third of Americans who were raised in the middle class dropped down the economic ladder as adults - and that's before the Great Recession hit. Yet the help which these programs offers in terms of debt management and debt reduction is also strong and meets the challenges facing today's American individuals and families.

Debt consolidation is one of the most familiar debt relief programs available today. Available in forms today that work both with loans and without the use of loans, debt consolidation is often done to secure a lower interest rate, secure a fixed interest rate or for the convenience of servicing only one loan. Debt consolidation can simply be from a number of unsecured loans into another unsecured loan, but more often it involves a secured loan against an asset that serves as collateral, most commonly a house.

Debt settlement, also known as debt arbitration, debt negotiation or credit settlement, is an approach to debt management and debt reduction in which the debtor and creditor agree on a reduced balance that will be regarded as payment in full. Typically only unsecured debt can be settled. Unsecured debts include credit card debt and medical bills, not federal student loans, auto financing or mortgages. In debt settlement, the person in debt avoids the stigma of bankruptcy while still lowering, sometimes by more than 50%, their debt balances.

It's important for consumers to explore their options for debt relief and ask many questions before making an informed decision and then deciding on the best debt relief program that fits their needs and their lifestyle.

National Debt Relief offers a free debt analysis which can be taken advantage of at their website:

www.nationaldebtreliefinitiative.net