Latest news with #debt forgiveness
CBS News
2 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Want to qualify for credit card debt forgiveness this August? Don't do this.
It's understandable if the idea of having a large portion of your credit card debt forgiven sounds too good to be true. After all, in today's still sticky inflationary climate in which the rate rose in the last two months and in which elevated interest rates are making borrowing cost-prohibitive, it may feel like there are few viable options for regaining your financial health. But if you're stuck with high-rate credit card debt, forgiveness may be the solution you desperately need now. For qualified borrowers, a credit card debt forgiveness program (also known as debt settlement) can help reduce your balance by 30% to 50%. That's real relief that can be the difference between financial independence and remaining mired in high-rate debt indefinitely. But if you want to qualify for a credit card debt forgiveness program, it's important to start by understanding eligibility. This may require making some select moves now, especially if you're looking to be approved to start the plan this August. And it may require avoiding some missteps, too. In other words, if you're looking to qualify for credit card debt forgiveness this August, it's equally important to know what not to do. Below, we'll break down what you need to know now, this July, that can help you qualify before August 31. See how much of your credit card debt could be forgiven with a program here today. While the following list is not exhaustive, by avoiding these three seemingly innocent (but costly) mistakes, borrowers can improve their chances of being approved for a debt settlement program. It may seem counterintuitive to stop making payments on your credit cards when trying to get debt relief support. But that's what will be required if you're looking to qualify for forgiveness. Consider halting your payments, then, whether they be automated minimum ones made each month or those you make independently. By making your payments, even if they're doing little to reduce your overall debt, you're demonstrating an ability to pay to the credit card company. Sure, this may take months, years or even more than a decade to pay off what you owe in full, but making payments implies an ability to make some sort of progress, thus reducing your likelihood of being approved for forgiveness. And, yes, halting payments will damage your credit score, but if you need the help credit card debt forgiveness offers, the majority of that damage may have already taken place. Learn more about the credit card debt relief options available to you now. One of the key ways to qualify for credit card debt forgiveness involves demonstrating an inability to pay. If you have a medical issue that's hurt your ability to earn an income, a job loss that has left you without a viable income stream or something else entirely, you'll need to prove it to qualify for help. So don't throw away your medical bills, proof of job loss or anything else that clearly illustrates your current financial circumstances. Sure, you may be able to request copies of the paperwork needed here, but that could take weeks or even months to secure, delaying your forgiveness approval comfortably past August and potentially well into the fall. You'll typically need $7,500 to $10,000 worth of credit card debt to be approved for a forgiveness plan. But if you don't have that much, increasing your debt load to meet that threshold isn't the right move. Remember, forgiveness will only cover 30% to 50% of what you owe, so you'll just be causing your debt load to increase unnecessarily. Additionally, with alternatives like debt management programs, credit counseling and debt consolidation loans (among others), there are multiple debt relief alternatives available and worth exploring if you don't have enough debt to qualify for forgiveness. This is a good problem to have as it means your debt situation is more manageable than others, so use that to your advantage and avoid racking up additional debt to meet the forgiveness threshold requirements. This summer could be the smart time to start the delayed work of getting out of high-rate credit card debt and regaining your financial independence. If you're focused on qualifying for a forgiveness program, however, avoiding these mistakes can help you become a more attractive candidate for debt relief companies. The key here, however, regardless of whether it's via a forgiveness program or some other debt relief service, is to be proactive and to take action. It likely took a long time to build up your balance, and it will take time, effort and due diligence to dig out of that financial hole, so starting that process as soon as possible makes the most sense now.
The Guardian
17-07-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Wes Streeting considers writing off part of doctors' student debts to avert strike
Doctors could have some of their student loan debts written off as part of a package of measures being examined by Wes Streeting that may help avert next week's strike. The Department of Health and Social Care is analysing how a new system of 'forgiveness' could be brought in for younger doctors who are paying back student debts of up to £100,000. The disclosure that the DHSC is looking closely at such a scheme comes before crucial talks on Thursday afternoon between the health secretary and the co-chairs of the British Medical Association's (BMA) resident doctors committee aimed at averting the latter's planned five-day walkout starting on 25 July. The health department is looking at several different ways such a scheme might work, according to well-placed sources. They include not charging interest on debts accrued by doctors in training while they were at medical school – freezing the debt in effect – and cutting the overall debt by a certain sum for every year the doctor works in the NHS in England. Advocates of debt relief believe it would incentivise doctors to stay in the NHS rather than quitting and would show them that the government is keen to improve their finances but without giving them big annual pay rises that would prompt other public sector workers to seek the same. The BMA's resident doctors committee wants Streeting to give the 55,000 doctors in training in England it represents a 29% pay rise over the next few years as part of its long-running campaign to restore the full value of salaries to the level they were at in 2008. But Streeting has refused to reopen negotiations on the 5.4% award for this year he imposed on them in May. The DHSC has begun modelling the practicalities of a debt relief scheme as it explores what steps it, and NHS trusts, which directly employ medics, could take to meet doctors' concerns about issues that do not involve their salaries but cause them huge frustration. It is also looking at whether doctors could have some or all of the cost of taking exams needed to progress their careers covered and moves to make it easier for younger doctors to take annual leave. While Streeting cannot offer resident doctors a bigger pay rise this year, he is aware that being able to commit to progress on non-pay related issues – which he has more freedom to deliver – could show them that he is, as he has said, the health secretary most sympathetic to their desire to improve their working lives that they are likely to encounter. Debt forgiveness is a key priority for the BMA, which may see it becoming an issue on which the two sides – currently far apart – can find common ground. The co-chairs of the resident doctor committee, Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt, indicated that they would consider any proposal from the government on debt write-off. Crucially, they added that it could act as 'an element' of them realising their ambition of restoring the value of doctors' pay. 'If wiping out student loans for doctors in England is something the government is considering, then we would be interested to see the details of what that means in practical terms. 'Loan forgiveness is something we would have to consider as a committee as an element of restoring value to doctors' working lives, and so if the government is serious about this then we look forward to hearing more from the health secretary in today's meeting. 'After five years of study, students can finish medical school with debts of up to £100,000 and then, as doctors, face monthly loan repayments of up to 10% of their salary for most of their working lives.' However, any student debt write-off scheme for doctors would be complicated for the government, and require the Treasury's approval. It could also prompt other health unions, notably the Royal College of Nursing, to demand that their members are able to benefit from such an arrangement.
