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" Credit Card Debt: If you&amp;#039;ve got mounting credit card bills, call your card company and ask for a lower interest rate. It helps if you can point to a history of paying your bills with them on time, but even if you&amp;#039;re a new cardholder or have a spotty payment history, simply explain that you want to build a positive relationship with the company--and not move your debt elsewhere--and they may agree to lower your rate, says personal finance expert Erica Sandberg, author of Expecting Money: The Essential Financial Plan for New and Growing Families. As you pay off your cards, tackle your highest-interest-rate debt first.   If you&amp;#039;re unable to make a minimum payment, call your credit card company immediately and explain the reason and the amount you can pay. &amp;quot;Some companies will give you a break, others won&amp;#039;t,&amp;quot; says Sandberg. You can also seek free or low-cost advice from a credit counselor; debtadvice.org can help you find one.   A Mortgage: Mortgage debt is generally considered &amp;quot;good&amp;quot; debt because your home will likely increase in value over time and you get a tax deduction for the interest payments. So don&amp;#039;t worry about putting extra cash toward your mortgage if you&amp;#039;ve got other debts that carry higher interest rates--just keep making your monthly payments. On the other hand, if you&amp;#039;re otherwise debt-free, it may make sense to pay off your mortgage early. If you&amp;#039;re having trouble making your payments, try contacting your lender directly. Depending on your situation, you could renegotiate from an adjustable-rate mortgage to a fixed rate or ask for a repayment schedule, for example. Or contact a community-based organization like ESOP (Empowering &amp;amp;amp; Strengthening Ohio&amp;#039;s People), which offers free assistance to homeowners--in any state--facing foreclosure (877-731-ESOP). Many states also offer foreclosure-prevention hotlines; to find resources in your state, go to hud.gov and search for &amp;quot;avoiding foreclosure [your state].&amp;quot;  A Car Loan: Having trouble making your car payments? As with other types of debt, you can contact your lender and try to negotiate anything from refinancing to extending the loan period to accepting partial payment. If you can&amp;#039;t afford the payments on a car lease, know that terminating your lease early can carry stiff financial penalties. A different option is to transfer your lease through a site like leasetrader.com or swapalease.com, which matches you up with someone willing to take over your lease and helps guide you through the paperwork.   Medical Debt: There are numerous options for people who need help with medical bills, even those who also have health insurance, says Andrew Cohen, community research coordinator at the Access Project, a national research and advocacy group focused on access to health care. If you have current or past-due medical bills, call your medical provider, talk to a manager of patient accounts, and ask if they have financial counseling available or if you qualify for any public programs (such as Medicaid), charity care, or financial assistance. You should also ask about payment-plan options and discounts. For more help, contact the Access Project&amp;#039;s medical debt resolution program at 866-918-5232 x231.  Student Loans: Student loans are considered &amp;quot;good&amp;quot; debt because education is an investment in your future. And they usually have low interest rates, so even if yours is a big one, it makes sense to make the minimum payments and focus on paying off any other higher-interest debts you may have first. But do pay student loans on time. &amp;quot;A student loan in default looks terrible on your credit report, and getting back in good standing is difficult,&amp;quot; Sandberg says. Before you get into trouble, contact your loan holder and ask if you qualify for a forbearance (you&amp;#039;ll get a break from payments but interest continues to accrue) or a deferment. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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