Free Money To Pay Off Debt - Are There Any Government Grants To Pay Off Debt?

When your debt builds up to a certain point, it becomes obvious that there is no way you are going to get rid of it all just by paying a bit back every month.  You could pay off all or part of it in a lump by borrowing money, but that is just transferring the problem elsewhere, so what you really want is to get some free money that you can use to get rid of your debt without having to pay if back.

You clearly need to wipe out as much of your debt as possible without having to repay it at all.  That appears to be the solution, but is it actually possible?  The unsatisfactory answer to that is, yes and no.  The hard truth is that there is no source of free money that you can use to pay off your debt, but the better news is that there are ways to wipe out the majority of your debt without having to pay it back at all.

It is important to accept the fact that you will not get free money to pay off debt and that this is just an inaccurate claim to suck you into other products and services.  The tenuous link used to justify the claims of free money and grants is that there are lots of grants available for setting up new business, and if you get one of these, start a business and make money, then you can pay off your debts.  This is deliberately misleading, because the fact is that there are no grants or other sources of free money which are designed just to pay off debts.

However, there are ways to deal with serious debt that involve writing off well over half your debt without needing to repay any of it, which has the same effect as if you were given a huge bag of cash.  The way to achieve this result in the US is through debt settlement, and the way to achieve it in the UK is through an IVA (individual voluntary arrangement).

A debt settlement company will negotiate with all your creditors to agree new deals for settling your debts for only a portion of the original amount you owe.  The reductions are usually agreed in exchange for paying off the balance in a lump sum or at least quite quickly.  Do not worry about the fact that you do not have a lump sum to pay with.  The negotiations can take varying amounts of time to agree, and in fact timing is everything when it comes to striking the best deal.  From the moment the process starts, you stop paying your creditors and pay money every month into a new account instead.  This is saved up and used to pay the settlements as they are reached.

An IVA is something that is only available in the UK.  It has the same affect as debt settlement, in that you make one affordable monthly payment for an agreed period, after which you remaining debts are written off.  It is a legally binding agreement, and if you can get the creditors for 75% of your debt to agree to it, the remaining ones have to sign up too.

Both debt settlement and IVAs are designed for dealing with very serious debt situations, and should really be thought of as an excellent alternative to bankruptcy.  To be eligible for either scheme, the amount of your debts will normally need to be a five figure sum.  Both options give you a way to become free from debt in a situation where it would otherwise be impossible.  It is only by being able to write off such a large proportion of the money you owe that repayment once again becomes possible.

If you wish to look into either debt settlement or an IVA, you must make sure you only approach reputable and trustworthy companies to assist you.  Some organisations operating in this area of business cannot be relied on to provide unbiased advice, and you could end up with an expensive scheme that is entirely inappropriate and which does not achieve the result it is meant to.

The safest approach is to follow recommendations for only the most well established and ethical companies, which you know have already rescued hundreds of other people in your situation.  Once you have your list of good companies, you should then apply to two or three of them and select the one you feel most comfortable with.