Many smaller debts owed to medium and large companies or financial institutions may be worth your time and effort to resolve on your own. Generally, for a larger creditor (not a mom & pop business), it may cost the creditor too much money and time collecting, fighting or suing over the full amount of a small debt.

Debt relief is a wide concept which includes different programs for reducing overall debt and debt exposure. It is important to understand the differences between the several programs as not all of them are available for everyone and even if available not all of them might be to your advantage.