Debt Settlement-Negotiated By Self-Bad for My Credit?

I have about 36K in "bad debt" related to medical bills, being poor ect. Now earning decent income, but not enough to pay off my overwhelming debts. I can pay minimums, but fear that I will be stuck in this rut for years and never have the credit/avaialable income to afford a home. Question:
Is debt settlement bad for my credit? I have 6K and wonder if I could use this to pay some bigger debts. Not through a debt-settlement corp, but by myself. For example, I have 2 credit cards, each with 5k in debt. I have been paying on these cards for 10 years and have paid them what I have borrowed 3 times over. If I offer to settle now for 50%, would that hurt me? Also, I have an 11k debt related to med bills-I got behind on this, but am in a payment plan. Previous to payment plan, I was offered to settle the 11k+ debt for 5,600 hundred. Is this bad for my credit? It would save me money and free up more to pay other debts (400 per mth) What do I do?

I'm sorry. I'll be more specific. My question is not about *how* to settle, but rather, if settling debt for less than what I currently owe would *damage my credit*.

A negotiated settlement should not as a rule work to your detriment. It is as long as the co agree the settlement, a full and final settlement.
Talk to each firm and ask them individually how they report to the credit ref bureaus to be sure though (if they know themselves!).
Don't necessarily pay the larger debt's, negotiate with the each and go with the accounts that you offer the best settlement-you save more money that way and will be able to become debt free quicker in the long run. Negotiate hard and inform each firm that you only have 6k, once its gone its gone!

you total your bad debt and---what you can save every month what ever you can save out of that pay 50% andkeep 50% for your further emergency.

say for example, as you say, your bead debt--36k o.k. say you can earn 8000$. out of this you need for your expenses , say 4000$ thus you have 4000$ with you pay out of this 2000 or 3000$ as you wish and keep balance of 2000 or 1000$for your emergency. it willtake sometime but it will besafe.to make it quicker--if you get more dollersas income then you pay them also.this way you will be a day debt free.

remember, what ever you decide remain punctual

If you are current on the credit cards, they are not likely to settle for less than the full amount. If you are only paying the minimum on those credit cards, you will be paying on them forever. You have to pay a lot more than the minimum.

If you have $6K, pay off the highest interest rate credit card first and put the rest on the second credit card. Put every penny you can squeeze out of your budget toward paying off the second card.

When the credit cards are paid off, start working on the old debt -- one at a time, working newest derogatory backward to the oldest. The older the debt, the less impact on your score. And the more likely they will accept a smaller settlement.

Since you do have a large sum, you may want to consider making an offer to clear up that $11K medical debt instead of the credit cards. Send them a letter offering to pay 25% in one lump sum as full and final settlement. Ask that an authorized agent sign and return a copy of your letter indicating acceptance of the settlement. When you get the sign off, send them the payment. Don't give them direct access to your bank account. They may ask for more, but you should be able to settle for a lot less than 50%.

You could then use the rest of that $6K to pay on the highest interest rate credit card.