Having a debt is natural and I haven’t known any single person who has no debt. Some of them are manageable but most of the time it is the size of Mount Rushmore. Hiring debt settlement companies can be your best bet but for someone who has little left of everything, settling debts to yourself could be your last resort.

The next question is, can you settle your debt on your own? According to Cynthia Johnson Rerko, a lawyer specializing in financial restructuring, that if you want to settle your own debts, you’ll “need to draw on all of your inner strength … and your social skills once you start calling your creditors in order to try to settle your debts.” — MSN.com

So coming from the experts, you can settle your debt and here are the seven ways on how to do that according to MSN.com:

1. Remove emotion from the equation
Rerko suggests that before pursuing debt settlement, you take emotions completely out of the equation. “This is about business, your business,” she says. “Do not let creditors intimidate you or talk to you in anything other than a professional tone of voice with a professional approach to finding a solution.”

2. Understand that it will take time
“Recognize that you are probably not going to get a satisfactory settlement in your first phone call,” Rerko says. “Your call even expressing a desire to try to settle your debt is the carrot that should keep the creditor negotiating with you.”

3. Stop making payments
This point is crucial: Creditors will never agree to settle a debt if you continue making even minimal payments. Remember, the goal of the collections agent is to get as much money out of you as possible. So if you’re making payments, the creditor has no incentive to settle with you.

4. Save up reasonable lump sums
According to Rerko and other debt settlement experts, “Cash is king with creditors. …[The] creditors are probably thinking that they are going to have to write off, also known as ‘eat’ the entire balance that you owe them.” Because of this, you can often settle a debt for pennies on the dollar, when you pay in cash.

5. Let your wallet be your guide
Rerko advises that debtors “[divide] the total amount you owe by the amount of cash you have on hand to settle your debts. For example, if you owe $6,000 to your creditors and have $1,700 in cash available to settle your debts, then you have 35.3 cents with which to settle every $1 of debt.”

6. Have an alternative plan
Debt settlement is often a better option than bankruptcy for people with high debt and low means. However, settlement doesn’t always work. If it’s not going to work for you, you may need to have an alternative plan.

If you do decide to file for bankruptcy, you’ll certainly need to consult with a qualified lawyer about your options.

7. Have a plan to rebuild your credit
Personal debt settlement is no picnic, and it will certainly take a toll on your personal credit. After all, you’ll have to stop making payments for any number of months while you’re settling your debts. And once the debts are settled, your credit report will likely show that they were settled for less than you owed — a black mark that will stick around for years.

But don’t lose hope. Settling your debts quickly can often have less of an impact than filing for bankruptcy.

Hopefully this article will help you in settling your debts gracefully like a ballerina finishing her act.

Jorge Lopez is the CEO of Bajamisdeudas.com. With his free time, he is a doting father to his two beautiful children and a dedicated man of the family.