Clear explanations of settlement, bankruptcy, collections, and the risks most companies leave out.
Comparison Guide
Compare long-term settlement, the Strauss Method, Chapter 7, and Chapter 13 — including time, lawsuit risk, fees, and how long recovery takes.
Read the comparison →Start here if you want the full picture of how debt settlement actually works.
Series Hub
The complete 4-part guide: long-term programs vs settling quickly, collections, risks, and a better approach.
Part 1
Why speed changes the risk, and why long-term programs often do not finish.
Part 2
What happens after charge-off, when attorney placement can begin, and why timeline matters.
Part 3
Lawsuits, credit, taxes, uncertainty of cost, and what most companies will not tell you.
When Chapter 7 makes sense, when it doesn’t, and how to weigh settlement against filing.
If Chapter 7 is off the table, compare a 3–5 year Chapter 13 with settling the accounts quickly.
Counseling fits people who can pay the accounts down. A short settlement fits people who can fund a resolution in months.
On a $100,000 example settled for $45,000, 25% of the balance is $25,000. Twenty percent of the savings is $11,000. Illustration, not a quote.
How bringing an account current can help if you are behind but not yet charged off.
Recovery starts after the last account is resolved. Plan on about two years from there.
Do not put both of you into a plan if the debt is mostly in one name. Joint accounts are the exception.
A Chapter 7 reports for 10 years, but most people start rebuilding much sooner than that.
Why paying a charge-off may not raise your score right away — and what actually helps you qualify again.
Look at every account first. Choose settlement, a payment plan, or a hardship/re-age before you negotiate one file.
Why making the first offer in writing is usually a weak negotiating position.
Why stopping the calls can leave a collector with only one remaining option: a lawsuit.
Why disputing a valid debt can put you in a weaker position if your goal is to settle.