With a mountain of debt and a budget that seems to fail, you probably feel like it would a take a miracle-like a whisk of Oprah’s magic wand-for you to get rid of your debt for good. However, you can make your own miracle by following any of these procedures to lower your debt payments. Start with the first option and work your way down.

Negotiate with your creditors

In these dire financial times, even the creditors would feel for you and give you a break by paying less. Using your credit report and recent billing statements, come up with a list of people and establishments you owe and the amount of debt you have with each of them.

Figure out how much you are able to pay each of them, then call each creditor and let them know you are willing to pay the debt but can only afford to pay a certain amount. If the person at the other end of the line says no, simply ask to speak to a supervisor. Make sure to get any payment agreement into writing, preferably with the company letterhead, before paying part of your debt.

Use a debt consolidation

Combine all your separate debts under a single debt umbrella using either a debt consolidation or home equity loan. Take the average interest rates on your current debt and look for a loan that has a lower interest rate than your current average. However, avoid having lower debt payments yet extending your repayment period, which would more likely build more interest over time.

Make a credit card balance transfer

Transfer the balance from one credit card to another. If you have a good credit score, you can get a balance transfer credit card with a lower interest rate and your other cards.

In some instances, you can even get an extremely low introductory interest rate that you can exploit into paying interest-free payments on your debt. However, if balance transfers are not done right especially using expensive credit cards, you may end up with costlier payments.

Sign up for credit counseling

Consumer credit counselors can be better skilled at negotiating to your creditors when it comes to lowering interest rates and payments. The consumer credit counselor first analyzes your credit situation. This includes the number of accounts, balance, minimum payment, balance due, and any past due account.

Once determined, the counselor then considers your monthly income and bills, as well as creating a debt management plan for paying off your debt. The proposal is then sent to each of your creditors for approval.

Credit counselors can also teach you some much-needed money management skills that can help you make a budget. Remember that the best credit counselors are often non-profit.

File for bankruptcy

In the United States, you have the right to relieve all or part of your debts when you have done everything but still cannot meet your obligations to creditors and lenders.

You can either apply for Chapter 7, which allows you to wipe out certain debts, and Chapter 13, wherein you repay all or part of your debt based on a payment plan.

Also, new laws on bankruptcy prevent people from abusing this procedure. Filing for bankruptcy requires an income-debt comparison, as well as consumer credit counseling.