If you have debt, there is probably no greater source of stress in your life
. It will invade every area of your life making it difficult to concentrate on anything else. Many people leave their debt exist way to long and this is a mistake. You will not have peace and comfort in your life until you eliminate your debt, even if this means bankruptcy. It is a solution no one wants to have to use, but it exists for a reason.
Bankruptcy should be considered if you have more debt than you make in a year...anything less than that can be managed in other ways. If you have charged off debt or debt that you are certain you cannot repay in full this is good time to consider settling these debts. Settling a debt is when the lender agrees to take less than what is actually owed on the account as payment in full. This has become quite common right now because of the amount of debt that people have. You can do this by contacting your lender letting them know that you would like to settle the debt. The debt may have to be a certain age before they will do it, but if they feel that is the only way that they will get paid, they will usually agree at some point to settle.
If you have current accounts, those should not be settled. If possible, it is best to keep these in good standing. If you feel overwhelmed and can barely make minimum payments, you may want to consider using a nonprofit credit counseling organization to consolidate your consumer debt. You will make one payment each month and the credit counseling agency will pay your lenders. This option should have you out of debt in 3 to 5 years.