No company can promise an end date, but if you have multiple debts, the first one should be settled within a year.

You won't be caught off guard and you won't feel guilty, because you'll be spending money that you've allocated for the occasion.

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.

The debt settlement company will direct you to stop paying your creditor and instead send the money directly to them each month. The company's goal is to demonstrate to your creditor that you don't have the money to pay up - that's your leverage. After a few months, the company will typically go to the creditor and say, "I'm holding X dollars on behalf of your customer. He doesn't have the money to pay you, so you should take this amount as a settlement or you'll end up with nothing." If the creditor wants to get paid badly enough, it will take the money.

It's not about having it all. It's about having what you value most.

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

If you'd asked me a few years ago about debt settlement companies, I probably would have told you to avoid them.