29% of all people with debt say that medical expenses contributed to their debt.

Senior citizens, especially widows with little financial experience, have an average debt of $5800 because their expenses exceed their income from social security and pensions.

If your debt has grown to an unmanageable level, you are not alone. Many people feel the daily stress of debt, but debt relief options have helped millions of them get out of debt.

Common Debt Relief Options
You can take control of your situation and get out of debt with one or more of these five options:

• Debt settlement
• Credit counseling
• Debt consolidation
• Self-help
• Bankruptcy

Debt Negotiation or Debt Settlement
Debt settlement services offer to negotiate and settle your debts for less than you owe. Debt settlement is an option for people who cannot afford their monthly payments, and who are not worried if their credit rating will be negatively impacted during the program. Companies like Freedomdebtrelief.com or DebtOk.com offer these programs.

Credit Counseling
Credit counseling is a program that enrolls you on a debt management plan ("DMP") which usually allows you to qualify for a concession rate from your creditors for lower interest rates and lower payments. The plan should include reduced interest rates, lessons in budgeting and money management, or a comprehensive debt management program.

Some credit counselors can help you repay your debts, but be wary of credit counselors who:

• Ask you to pay a high up-front fee
• Require you to sign up before the consultation
• Offer a plan without assessing your situation
• Don't teach budgeting or money management skills

Before you sign, check the Better Business Bureau for complaints.

Debt Consolidation
You may be able to consolidate your debts with a home equity loan or other debt consolidation loan. If you're confident that you'll be able to make the payments without building more credit card debt, debt consolidation can be an excellent way to reduce your payments and possibly reduce your taxes. You must be a homeowner to qualify for most debt consolidation loans.

Self-Help Debt Relief
The easiest debt relief options are things you can do yourself, like:

• Tracking your spending
• Checking your credit reports
• Negotiating with creditors for reductions

Track your spending - Write down every penny you spend for one month, including monthly bills, automatic payments and bank charges. If you see a lot of unnecessary expenses like $10 weekday lunches or $4 magazines bought at a newsstand, cut those expenses and use the savings to pay down your debts.

Check your credit reports - The government provides three free reports a year at www.annualcreditreport.com and 4 out of 5 people's reports have errors that can increase your interest rate or damage your credit.

Negotiate with creditors - Call your creditors and ask them to reduce your interest rate in order to keep you as a customer. If you know a payment will be late or you can't pay it, call the creditor before the due date to arrange a new payment plan.

Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy should be your last choice for getting out of debt because it will damage your credit for 7-10 years and, depending on which type of bankruptcy you file for, you could be forced to give up some of your assets or assigned a long-term payment plan. There have also been legal changes put in place by congress that makes if more challenging to qualify for a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, forcing many people to file for a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy which is really a repayment plan.

Debt can be stressful, but once you gain control over it, you'll sleep better at night. Debt relief options like free online budgeting and debt management tools or professional credit and debt services can help you become free of bad debt and start planning for your future again.

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