Paying off a credit card after you've reached its limit can be a real hassle - not only is the interest extremely high, but with the monthly minimum you can only hope to finish paying it off in the next decade or so and you would end up paying twice or maybe even three times the amount you originally owed.
This is why most people try all kinds of schemes to pay off their credit card faster, everything from moving all of their credit card debt to the card with the lowest interest to paying off large sums of money each month in order to avoid the huge interest.
But there are better ways to deal with this debt, one of which actually promises a fifty percent cut, quickly and easily, and a full payment in as little as two years.
It may sound too good to be true, but debt settlement is a very real alternative, one brought about by the recession we've been experiencing in the past couple of years.
With the very real fear of going bankrupt, credit card companies are now willing to negotiate with their clients in order to cut their losses to a minimum, even if this means giving up on a part of their profits.
A big part of your final accumulated debt is actually just fees, penalties and most of all interest, so it's no surprise that you can get your deal cut in half - you are essentially just being excused from paying back all of these added costs that build up in time.
Also, you are able to negotiate a much lower interest, as debt settlement also implies some sort of collateral; this way you will be able to get rid of your debt much faster than you would be able to by just paying the monthly minimum.
This solution is basically just a trade-off: the credit card company drops a lot of the extra cost so that you can pay them at least the money you originally borrowed, thus helping the both of you steer clear of bankruptcy.
It really is a sign that mentalities are changing, if only to avoid more loss.