If you’re struggling to pay your credit card, mortgage, or auto loan debt, simple debt negotiation tips may bring you some much-needed financial relief.

There is no shame in struggling with debt today. The national unemployment rate has risen higher than 10 percent. Those fortunate enough to still have jobs are being forced to take unpaid days off by their employers, dramatically reducing their annual income. In such difficult times, it’s easy to let debt spiral out of control.

By relying on some common sense debt negotiation tips, though, consumers can regain control of their debt.

The fist tip is the most important: don’t ignore your debt. Call your credit card company, mortgage lender or auto lender as soon as you find yourself struggling to make your payments. This may seem counter-intuitive, but your lenders are your best hope for financial relief.

Tell your lender that you are struggling with your debt, and that you’re unsure you’ll be able to continue to make your payments. And don’t forget one of the most important debt negotiation tips: tell your lender in very specific terms why you can’t make your payments. If you’ve lost your job, tell your lender. If you’ve suffered through an injury or illness that has kept you from working, tell your lender. The better the reason, the more likely you are to get financial relief from your credit-card company or your lender.

And don’t forget one of the most critical debt negotiation tips of them all: Have a plan in mind for what kind of debt relief you want. If you’d like your credit-card company to forgive some of your principal balance, tell your card issuer. If you’d like your mortgage lender to reduce the interest rate on your mortgage loan, tell this to your lender.

Many debt negotiation tips are common sense. But if you rely on them, the odds are far better that you’ll earn some debt relief from your creditors. Of course, you’ll never know until you make that first call. In addition to this free article there are other resources such as you public library, relatives, and friends that can offer you other debt negotiation tips.