Can I Negotiate Credit Card Debt Reduction?

Credit card debt is one of the more primal sources of anxiety in contemporary culture.  Although there are many people who never use their credit to live beyond their means, they seem to be the exception rather than the rule.  Many hard-working and entirely honest, intelligent people get themselves into situations where there is simply too much to pay.  The reasons for this are reasons we are all probably very familiar with.  Sometimes there’s a job that’s been promised, or another form of income that is on the way, and we borrow against ourselves, only to find these promises vanish.

Other reasons can be more severe and dire.  Emergency medical procedures, even with fairly good coverage with insurance, can start to add up when all the co-pays weigh in.  But it’s also very common for people in this society to decide that a better life is just around the corner.  We see advertisements and other reinforcements from the media that tell us we deserve better than what we have.  If we can start living the good life, it will create a kind of snowball effect where it attracts the same.  It seems as though we can live beyond our means, because we deserve it, and because things are about to change.  When we wake up and realize that things won’t change, it’s time to reconsider how we do things.

This can lead to a very unstable pattern, however, of getting used to the ebb and flow of panic and denial when it comes to money matters.  It sometimes starts to seem as though this is how we are meant to live, even though the debt gets worse each time.  It’s a system that simply cannot sustain itself.  Although negotiating for debt reduction is always an option certainly, there is also an open option to live with less.  Also, acknowledging that we have everything we deserve right now, at this moment, can be a good daily practice, to keep away the feeling of lack and want, in order to open the door to a future that is already better, right now.

In the meantime, chances are that you’re probably feeling as though you’ve gotten in over your head.  It’s important to remember that you’re not alone, and this is something most people deal with at least once in their lifetimes.  You can certainly negotiate with credit card companies, because they are still run by human beings, which is sometimes easy to forget.  Talk to them.  Ask about your options.   Find out about lowering your interest rate, negotiating for fees to be waived, and ask about other possible solutions.  The fact still is, money talks.  If you offer to pay off a large sum of your debt up front, they may be willing to work with you for a lower rate for the rest of it.  As a last resort, there are consolidation companies, but these should be very closely scrutinized, because it’s possible to get in much deeper with some of the more unscrupulous businesses.  Use good judgment.