Getting a professional to do your debt reduction plan for you is not always satisfactory; especially if you are a perfectionist. You might actually prefer to do things yourself as you will know and be fully involved in the process of gaining back your financial stability. It is certainly admirable that you plan to take complete hands-on approach to settling your own debts but you have to be sure that you are mentally, physically and emotionally ready to take on your creditors all by yourself. After all, creditors can be an awfully scary bunch of people.

You will actually gain first-hand experience on how to handle situations where you actually have to convince your creditors to allow you to have your debt reduced. By learning a few tricks of the trade yourself, you will not only dig yourself out of the debt pool but you will also be saving a lot of money since you do not have to pay all the extra fees and charges if you were hiring a debt reduction company. Be mindful, though, that although the thought of you taking the reins on a process usually left to professionals can be somewhat of a novelty, it takes more than just guts to be able to do this and come out alive, so to speak. You need to be very well-versed and knowledgeable on all the terminologies as well as legal and monetary aspects of it. So you might want to follow some of the guidelines below if you wish to be your own negotiator:
1.You will need to sit down and gather all relevant documentation pertaining to the debts that you wish to have reduced. Check your credit reports for errors and study your financial documents so you will have a clearer picture on the situation you are in. Take note of all the essential information like your total credit card debts, interest rates, payday loans and any other debts that you might have accumulated over the years.

2. Budgeting is an essential step towards getting your debt reduced. Just as it is with the help of debt reduction advisors, you will need to work out a budget plan on how you are going to be able to make all the necessary payments should your negotiations with your creditors for a reduction of debt prove to be successful. You could possibly open up your own trust account and make it only accessible to you after 2 to 4 years while you work on the figures that you can afford to pay your creditors when the time comes for you to do so.

1. Although you will be representing yourself all throughout the debt reduction process, it is advisable for you to be ready to work with an attorney. Put your ego aside and it may be good to listen to your attorney’s advice. You will still be the main negotiator in the process but your attorney will be there to guide you. You can also have your attorney review your plan and see if it is feasible in the short and long term run. You are not, after all, a professional debt negotiator. So it is wiser if you were to have an attorney present while you are negotiating with your creditors.

2. During the negotiation process with your creditors, you need to be firm, assertive, knowledgeable, and most importantly, you need to be calm. Focus on the main objective of the negotiation and do not let yourself be cornered into agreeing to something that you feel and know you cannot afford. Be honest with your creditors but do not let them intimidate you as creditors usually tend to do. You may want to get your creditors to agree to reduce your debt by 40% to 60% and present your case well. Convince them that by agreeing to the reduction they will be getting some of their money back as opposed to otherwise. Do not let your creditors catch you off-guard with information that you think they did not have. Remain calm and stay on your course until you get what you came for.

3. Once an agreement is reached, show your creditors that you intend to follow through with all the plans you have made during the negotiation process by doing exactly that; follow through.

By being your own team, you will definitely feel a sense of accomplishment as you have stepped up to the plate and went for something that is not only necessary but also very important. So now all you have to do is to manage your budget and lifestyle so you will not have to go through all the negotiation process all over again.

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Category: Finances
Keywords: debt reduction, reduction of debt, debt reduction management