Every once in a while someone asks me: "Is it better to settle your own debts or hire a professional debt settlement company?"

The answer is easy - it depends. If you are willing to put in the time and effort to learn how to do it, then you can certainly learn how to do it yourself. If not, then hire a professional company. It's a lot like changing the oil in your car. If you don't mind getting dirty and have the right tools, you can do it on your own and save yourself some money. If you have no interest in getting dirty, or don't have the time, then bring it to your mechanic or quick oil change center.

If you want professional help, here are the debt settlement companies we recommend.

If you want to settle your own debts, you have 2 choices. First, you can either learn as you go or search online for the right information. Second, you can learn from a debt settlement pro. Charles Phelan, owner of ZipDebt.com, offers you professional training on how to settle your own debts. The program is called Do-It-Yourself Debt Negotiation Training & Coaching Program.

It's not free information (although you can sign up for a free report on the website), but it's a lot cheaper than hiring a debt settlement company. And you'll get personal coaching to go along with the training. So in the end you will save yourself lots of time, money, and headaches. And if you ever have any questions, Charles is always very quick to respond.

If this sounds like the type of help you are looking for, here's a more detailed review of ZipDdebt.com

Do you have a tough question about debt or credit, and can't find the answer?

Then you should try asking your question on a personal finance or legal forum to get more information. I get questions about specific credit problems & debt issues all the time. I offer general help whenever I can. But for those questions I can't answer, I direct people to some of the top forums to get the help they need.

Not everyone responding to questions on these forums is an expert. But if you stick to the good ones, you'll at least get someone with some knowledge about the issue you are having. At worst, you'll get someone who went through the problem on their own. At best, you'll find a financial professional. Either way, it's a quick, easy, and free way to get advice about credit & debt problems.

Setting up a forum is easy, so there are lots out there. But most have only a few posts, so those won't give you the help you need. Others are simply a bunch of ads.

So you need to find the good ones, and avoid the bad ones.

You will need to sign up for a free account, which is well worth it to get free advice. It's a good idea to create a username that does not contain your real name. Any type of nickname or creative name will do. Then you'll need to confirm your account by checking your email.

Once you are done, it's a good idea to search the forum for your particular question or issue, to see if it has already been answered. If not, then go ahead and post it. Sometimes you might get an answer within a few minutes. Other times you might need to wait a day or two. Keep in mind that most people on the fourms, even the moderators, are volunteers. So be patient.

Then, poke around and see if you can answer anyone else's questions. The real value of these forums is the community, and the more involved you are, the more you will enjoy it. And you might help out someone in a tough situation similar to yours.

Here are a few of the good ones in each category. If you've used any others that are helpful, post them in the comments:

Credit & debt:

TheFinanceForums.com
CreditBoards.com
CreditInfoCenter.com

Personal finance:

FatWallet.com
SavingAdvice.com

Legal & bankruptcy:

ExpertLaw.com
FreeAdvice.com
BKForum.com