You can have a do-over starting today. But you have to get over the feeling that it's too late

You really don't need to hire a debt settlement company to negotiate with your creditors.

A little personality goes a long way.

You settled a debt instead of paying in full will stay on your credit report for as long as the individual accounts are reported, which is typically seven years from the date that the account was settled. Unlike with bankruptcy, there isn't a separate line on your credit report dedicated to debt settlement, so each account settled will be listed as a charge-off.

You must be sure - and I mean absolutely positive - that you have the willpower to pay off those credit cards and not use them again.

By definition, saving - for anything - requires us to not get things now so that we can get bigger ones later.

If you have even a smidgen of doubt that you'll be able to stay away from racking up additional debt, don't do it.