So, you do have rights.You can choose to  simply refuse to take the call. Most answering machines allow screening your call before picking up and if you have caller ID/call blocking you may be able to filter the call out entirely.

If you choose to pick up, you can insist that you not be contacted any more, and the agency is legally obligated to stop calling - if you’ve sent a ‘cease and desist’ letter. Of course, legal action of that kind can be expensive, so you may want to employ other techniques first.

Be sure you keep a diary of any calls made or accepted, and note any terms agreed to. Note if you’ve insisted they stop calling you, especially if you’ve been called at work. You can tape the call if that’s legal in your state. (Sometimes it requires notifying the other party that you are doing so.)Few debt collectors will make any statement that’s out of line if they know they’re being recorded. That recording or diary can be especially important if you have negotiated a reduction in the debt.

Most debt collectors have the authority to accept substantially less than they’re asking for. Naturally, since they get paid a percentage of what they collect, they’re going to try to keep the amount as close to the original as possible. But they will accept less if you press. They know that 50% of $500 is better than %100 of nothing.

Part of the agreement should involve a commitment on the debt collector’s part not to put any black marks (beyond what may already be there) onto your credit report. You should take that one step further and insist they report quickly any payments you do make and to adjust any amount owed.

Get it in writing before you send anything more than a token good faith payment. It’s ok to send some money to demonstrate the sincerity of your commitment to the agreement. Send too much and they have little incentive to make the effort to comply with the terms binding them.

Maintaining your calm during discussions will go a long way toward making an inherently unpleasant situation less stressful.

Here are a few simple guidelines to keep in mind.

In the U.S., the biggest tax write-off for many individuals is the interest paid on a property loan. Since they represent large debts, paid over many years, the interest is (for several years) the overwhelming majority of the total monthly payment. As a result, much of that interest paid can offset taxable income.

But there are other tax issues involved with other forms of debt that should be factored into planning.

Taking out a home equity loan used to be primarily for the purpose of making improvements to the property. Many people these days use that money for a much wider variety of goals. A HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit) can be used to finance just about anything - an auto purchase, repayment of credit card debt… you name it.

One advantage of this type of debt is precisely the tax benefit. Just as with a primary loan, interest on a second mortgage or a HELOC is tax deductible. So, even when the interest rate is the same as a credit card (and they are often lower), the net result can be beneficial.

The only way to know for sure in your circumstances is to do the calculations. Online loan calculators are readily available that will help you do just that. Run through several scenarios to decide the effect in your case.

It’s possible to obtain a loan to pay for large medical costs. Some people pay for such things with a credit card, which is possibly the most expensive way to finance the debt. Sometimes that’s necessary; no ‘one-size-fits-all’ recommendation is possible.

Since much of the interest on such loans, and sometimes the medical expenses themselves, is tax deductible it can be worthwhile to finance the costs that way.

Interest on or amount paid to student loans, too, is tax deductible up to a point. Your circumstances will vary from another’s. Tax filing software is probably your best bet for calculating the pros and cons in your individual case. As you answer the ‘interview questions’ you can put in the amounts and follow the tutorial to determine the impact.

Whatever the example, whenever you are considering assuming debt - especially for large amounts - taking the time to evaluate the tax implications can save you substantial amounts of money. That can easily be worth a couple of extra hours of research, especially since you’ll be able to use that knowledge time and time again.

Before taking out new credit, consider the odds that you will have to default on repayment. Don’t factor in to your decision the possibility of deliberately defaulting or filing bankruptcy. You’ll find the consequences are rarely worth it and that should be reserved as a very last resort.

You can factor in expected increases in income - banks and other business do - but you should be very sure you’re actually going to receive it. A promised raise or hoped for income from a stock sale is far from guaranteed money.

Look at current interest rates and make a prediction about where they are headed, businesses do. That’s a very difficult thing to be confident about, but general trends are not random. Look at bonds, futures and other indicators. If 6% bond option prices are going down, many pros are betting interest rates will rise to above that in the future. These represent the bets of professionals about the future direction of inflation and interest rates.

Look at your own credit history the same way a bank would. Try to see it from their perspective. Would you loan yourself $10,000 at 7% for 48 months? Avoid rationalizing late payments or defaults. You may have had a legitimate reason, or you may not yet have developed the resources (inner and financial) to repay all your debts on time.

Consider your total income and expenses realistically. You may badly want a new car, but can you afford an extra $500 per month without sacrificing essentials while still meeting your current obligations? Be honest with yourself.

No one can decide for you whether it’s worth assuming an ongoing $200 per month credit card payment at 12% in order to have an item you’ve been longing for. You may value having the item today more than you value the extra money it will cost you over what you save by saving for it.

But you should at least think about it. Impulse buying is the most common way credit card users get in over their heads, financially speaking. Project the possibility that if you wait (and saved for, say, a year) you will have both the item and something else you can purchase with the money you would have paid in interest.

Evading the fact, if it is a fact, that you can’t really afford the payments is the surest way to get into financial trouble. That kind of trouble can take months or years to get out of. Think long term, be realistic, and you’ll be able to decide what is the right amount of debt for you.

Credit card debt settlement can help by reducing the amount of debt owed to the bill collector.

You can approach credit card debt settlement in 2 ways. You can either go for credit card debt settlement all by yourself or you can take advice from a credit counselling company or a professional.

Any of these credit card debt settlement methods are fine, as long as they work for you and help you get debt-free quickly. If you go for credit card debt settlement all by yourself, you will need to analyse the various options available to you e.g. checking on various balance transfer offers available in the market, checking the short term loan options with the banks etc etc.

However, if you want to take credit card debt settlement advice from a professional, you need to be a bit careful.  For one thing, you should be able to trust the advisor fully. So you need to check the credentials of the credit card debt settlement advisor/company.

There are many debt settlement companies that advertise will promise to get rid of your debt virtually overnight. Be suspicious of these companies, 9 out of 10 times their advice or offers are not genuine.

A credit card debt settlement cannot erase your debt overnight.  What they can do is negotiate with your creditors for lower fees, give you genuine credit card debt settlement advice, and help you throughout until you are finally out of debt.  The credit card debt settlement companies/advisors will be able to help you in the best way if you tell them your current financial situation correctly. Your future plans are important too, as they might influence the decision on ‘What route for credit card debt settlement would work the best for you’.

What is ‘debt consolidation’? At base, it’s a simple proposition. Gather all your multiple sources of debt into one debt and make a single payment every month to a single debtor.

But for that to be helpful several things have to take place at once. After all, whether you pay $750 + $450 + $250 to three debtors or $1450 to another it’s the same amount. With online bill payment it isn’t even necessary these days to make out three checks.

In order for debt consolidation to be useful one or more of the following has to occur: (1) either the total monthly payment has to decrease , or, (2) the net amount of interest has to decrease, or, (3) the actual total debt has to go down as a result of consolidation. Which, if any, of these take place depends on the specific debt consolidation plan you have planned.

In the ideal case, which rarely happens, all three take place. The most common scenario is that the monthly payment is lowered. This has several advantages to the debt ridden. When the payment is lowered, you have a much higher chance of being able to pay it consistently.

That helps prevent piling more debt (interest and late charges) onto existing debt. You also have a much more relaxed frame of mind, knowing you can meet the monthly debt obligation without sacrificing other needed items.

The risk is that if the payment is too low, some of the psychological factors that led to excessive debt in the first place can rise again. Thinking you have lots to spare can cause you to relax too much too soon. Continual worry is not healthy, commitment and concern are - if your goal is to become debt free.

Unfortunately, many plans lower that payment by extending the life of the loan long enough to cover paying off the entire original amount owed. That leads to more interest paid over the long term. Try to negotiate a lower settlement, then consistently make the agreed on payments every month.

Losing debt is like losing weight. Consistency, and a commitment to lower it, and keep it lowered, is the key to long-term success.