How to Eliminate Credit Card Debt Legally Without Filing Bankruptcy

Holding delinquent credit card debt can adversely affect your credit report and score. Rather than wait to accumulate the wealth necessary to pay off all your credit accounts, consider alternative legal options you can take advantage of today. According to Suze Orman, a finance expert, a credit card with a $5,000 balance -- billed at 18 percent interest -- takes 30 years to repay, not including penalty charges that can be added to the balance.

• 1

  Organize your financial records. Itemize credit accounts by the balance owed and determine how much of your credit debt you can reasonably afford to repay.

• 2

  Meet with a licensed credit counseling agency in your town or city. Select a counselor who is skilled in debt elimination. Attend credit counseling sessions and authorize the counselor to make settlement offers if you do not feel comfortable negotiating on your own behalf.

• 3

  Request the elimination of all penalty fees, which can further reduce your debt total. Creditors can impose multiple fees if a debt is not paid on time, including nonpayment fees and over-the-limit fees and can increase interest rates. Inquire about having all or some of these fees waived to eliminate a portion of your debt.

• 4

  Make a settlement offer. For example, negotiate a 20 to 50 percent elimination of the total amount of debt you owe. Explain to each creditor that you wish to stave off a bankruptcy filing by paying down as much debt as possible. Request a written record of each settlement agreement.

• 5

  Provide supporting documents such as letters from an attorney stating your inability to budget yourself out of debt over the next five years. Compare your liabilities against your gross annual income on paper. Provide any documents that support any statements you make about your inability to repay your debts.