Debt settlement programs help set up debt repayment plans and may negotiate with creditors on your behalf. Once you’ve settled on a plan, you’ll have to make regular payments to the debt settlement company to pay off your remaining debt.

Debt relief programs don’t automatically eliminate your debt, but instead set up a more manageable repayment schedule, in many cases. Your entire debt won’t be forgiven and you’ll still have to make payments, but you may be able to reduce your overall debt burden.

Debt relief services aren’t free, and you’ll have to pay a fee that’s often calculated as a percentage of the debt burden you’re paying off. Credit counseling services, which are similar, often come at a cost as well.

Emergency debt relief programs can help you get out from under your debt burden. But it's a decision that needs to be made carefully. It isn't necessarily a perfect solution and there may be some serious trade-offs to make.

If your score has already been damaged by a series of poor financial habits it may be worth a temporary hit with debt relief now to improve your creditworthiness long-term.

Debt relief refers to a variety of solutions designed to help make your payments more affordable so that you can ultimately become debt-free. It might include a replacement loan that lowers your interest rate or modifies your repayment term, or you may even see a reduction of the total amount you owe.