As a U.S. Citizen, I'm sure we all think about welfare reform at one point or another. I've been lucky and never had to use our welfare system, but I've often thought about how we can make it better.

While you're reading the rest of this article, I don't what to give you the impression that I'm against helping those in need. I'm happy to pay my fair share of taxes and to have a portion of those taxes to go towards helping those in need, whether that be welfare, SSI, scholarships, etc.

Debt Settlement is the process of negotiating your debt down to a lower payment. You usually go through a company that specializes in Debt Settlement, and they will actually be the ones that will work with your creditors. Depending on you situation, they can cut what you owe in half. Some situations can be more or less than that, less the fee that the Debt Settlement company will charge. Debt Settlement is pretty much the option that you would choose right before filing for bankruptcy.

Pros of Debt Settlement:

With all the talk today about unemployment and foreclosures, people are trying to figure out how to become debt free. You have many options available to you and one of those options is Debt Consolidation. Debt Consolidation, as it's name implies, is a method of consolidating your debt. This is done by taking the total balance of all your debt, or at least the debt you wish to consolidate, and putting it into one single loan.

Pros of Debt Consolidation: