Which debt relief options can lower your monthly payments immediately?

MoneyWatch: Managing Your Money Which debt relief options can lower your monthly payments immediately? We may receive commissions from some links to products on this page. Promotions are subject to availability and retailer terms. .chip { background-image: url('/fly/bundles/cbsnewscore/images/chip-bgd/chip-bgd-moneywatch.jpg'); } By Angelica Leicht Angelica Leicht Senior Editor, Managing Your Money Angelica Leicht is the senior editor for the Managing Your Money section for CBSNews.com, where she writes and edits articles on a range of personal finance topics. Angelica previously held editing roles at The Simple Dollar, Interest, HousingWire and other financial publications. Read Full Bio Angelica Leicht May 14, 2026 / 9:38 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Certain debt relief strategies can expedite the payoff process substantially compared to other options. Dragon Claws/Getty Images Borrowers have been struggling amid an expensive borrowing landscape over the last few years, and the inflationary climate certainly hasn't helped much, either. In turn, credit card delinquency rates climbed to the highest level in over a decade last year, and they haven't meaningfully retreated in the time since, either. With the Federal Reserve holding interest rates steady amid renewed inflation pressure, there's no rate-cut relief on the horizon, either. So, for borrowers carrying revolving balances, that means the high cost of credit card debt isn't going anywhere either.The timing really couldn't be worse for those with household budgets that are already stretched thin. Prices for groceries, housing, gas and insurance are climbing rapidly, as are the costs of other essentials, and a softening job market has introduced a new layer of financial uncertainty for workers across a wide range of industries. What that means for many borrowers is that the monthly payments tied to their credit cards, which felt manageable 18 months ago despite elevated interest rates, are...