Finance and Credit Professional

Many people probably have considered a variety of options of how not to pay your credit card debt. In other words, they are looking for ways to get out of debt without having to pay off credit card bills. If you are looking for ways how not to pay your credit card debt that will get you out completely without damaging your credit, you are out of luck.

If you want to get rid of debt while maintaining the best credit rating possible, you will have to pay the debts; there is no other choice that will keep your credit score intact. 

Ways to Keep from Paying Credit Card Debt while Protecting Your Credit Score from Serious Damage

If you have no other options, there is a way to keep from paying your credit card bills in order to be able to afford other essential monthly bills.  This will only work if, despite your best efforts, you are not able to pay your credit card bill and care for other financial obligations simultaneously.  This method should only be used for a very short period of time.

First, pay for the absolute essentials.  This means food, transportation, child support, rent, and anything else that you have choice but to pay on a monthly basis.  When it comes down to paying your rent or mortgage payment or your credit card bill, choose the one that you have to pay in order to live.

Your credit card account will not be considered delinquent until thirty days have passed without payment from the due date.  That means that credit reporting agencies and collection agencies will not be aware of your situation right away.  This way, you will be able to continue paying for the vital things in life, even though failing to make payments on your credit card bills is sure to lead to increased interest rates and extra charges.

This should only be used as a way to buy time to get your financials in order and you should make a payment, the late and the current payment as soon as possible on your credit card in order to avoid collections action.

The very limited effects prioritizing your bills in this manner will bring to your credit score are nothing compared to the damage inflicted by charge offs and filing for bankruptcy.

Related News

Debt-burdened Ford records narrower loss (Houston Chronicle)
In a way, Ford Motor Co. is like a family with too much credit card debt: Without the interest payments, it would be in the black. Ford on Thursday announced a narrower loss — $282 million in the first quarter versus $1.4 billion in the first three months last year. But it paid out more than $341 million for the ...more

House bill would let courts alter mortgages (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
Bankruptcy courts would be allowed to alter mortgages written by "predatory lenders" in moves that could save 600,000 Americans from foreclosure, according to the author of a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday. ...more

Barclays weighs options for subprime losses (CNN Money)
Sources say $400 million was at stake in Bear Stearns fund. CHICAGO (Reuters) -- Barclays PLC may have tallied big losses in a Bear Stearns hedge fund that invested in risky mortgages, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. ...more

Photos: NASA fixes shuttle; space station in trouble (CNET)
Just like in Apollo 13, NASA astronaut uses instructions from Earth-based simulations to repair a space blanket. But fixing the space station's computer problems won't be so easy. ...more

Rates on 30-year mortgages drop slightly for second straight week (The York Dispatch)
WASHINGTON -- Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down for a second week as financial markets interpreted weakness in consumer confidence and home sales as evidence that the economy is still mired in a period of lackluster growth. ...more