There are people out there who have played by the rules their entire lives. They bought only what they could pay for, when they could pay for it. They’ve never borrowed a dime and prided themselves on always paying their bills on time. And yet, thousands of people fitting that very description will still find themselves wondering how to beat debt when life is unfair.
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Medical Bills
Even if you have medical insurance, one really bad illness could leave you many thousands of dollars in debt and facing bankruptcy. High deductibles, non-covered procedures and policy exclusions can leave people forced to decide between living in debt and letting loved ones die. What’s worse, you won’t even find out how much things cost until you absolutely need them. There’s no price list available when you check into a hospital. They tell you it’s needed, you say “OK” and they stick you with a bill.
Identity Theft
The downside of maintaining a great credit rating is the potential for unscrupulous individuals to eye it hungrily and usurp your good name. Once they figure out how to “be you” they’ll run up obscene amounts of debt and vanish into the ether. You’ve done everything you could to build up a good name and suddenly you’re facing hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt—you didn’t even get to have the fun of creating. This is just as true for business owners as it is for consumers. If the victim is successful at getting the charges reversed, a small business owner could still be on the hook for whatever the bank couldn’t recover.
Trying to Help a Family Member
You’re at home one evening, relaxing after a hard day at work when your phone rings. It’s your grandchild who just moved to the city and is trying to get an apartment. They don’t have a credit history, so they need someone to cosign the lease. You love your grandbaby and you want to help. They assure you they have a great job and the decision won’t come back to haunt you. Then (you guessed it) 18 months later, the property manager calls you, says they can’t find your grandbaby—who disappeared owing 15 months of rent, plus fees and interest. And now, you do.
Life Can Be Unfair
There are times when life simply isn’t fair. And, even though you’ve always done the right thing, insurmountable debt can still find its way to your door. In those instances, if you don’t have a sizable nest egg, or an income capable of dealing with the debt—plus what you require to live—you’re in need of a solution.
Debt Relief
In such circumstances, you could feel entirely justified in filing for bankruptcy and walking away from the entire mess. However, that could have some very negative ramifications, including the liquidation of certain assets and an ugly mark on your formerly pristine credit record—for 10 years.
The next best solution is to engage a debt negotiation firm to get the debtor to waive fees, interest payments and a portion of the principal amount so you can pay the debt off. Yes, this will have negative credit ramifications too, but not nearly as bad as a bankruptcy—plus it won’t put your assets at risk.
And, while you may be wondering is a company like Freedom Debt relief legit, there are many ways you can assure yourself you’re working with a forthright debt relief company who will serve your best interests.
This can be the perfect way to beat debt when life is unfair.