My wife and I had an embarrassing amount of credit card debt. In the past two years we have taken care of all of it (over $30,000.00) We started by calling all the companies and explaining that we could not even afford minimum payments and would be willing to settle with them. They all refused so we stopped paying and started saving. We cashed in a couple IRA’s and put them in a savings account put together around $20,000.00. Credit card companies turned over their debt to collection agencies who called us, our neighbors and family. We did not respond until they started sending settlement letters. Some settled for 20% or so and some for 60%. Now our credit sucks (600 or so) but our debt to income ratio is very high. I do not think this is for everyone but it is for those who are settled and do not need credit. Our total debt now is our home mortgage and we are working on that.