It helps sometimes to put things in perspective with a little math. On a daily basis here at ZipDebt, clients report successful settlements on their debt accounts. I finally had a chance to take a closer look at the numbers for 2009 so far. For the months of January and February 2009 combined, clients have reported settlements that resulted in more than $1.1 million in savings.

In other words, creditors forgave more than a million dollars worth of unsecured debt balances. Virtually 100% of these settlements were negotiated by clients on their own, with training and coaching assistance from yours truly.

I should also point out that the $1.1 million saved does not include the additional savings achieved by using the do-it-yourself approach. Clients saved at least another quarter-million dollars in fees that traditional settlement companies would have charged to accomplish the same results. And of course, that leaves aside the fact that many of those settlements would not have taken place through a third-party debt company. That’s because of the backlash triggered by the use of a settlement company, which often prompts the creditor to escalate early to aggressive collection agencies or attorneys, resulting in a much higher settlement percentage, etc.

If you are wondering, “Will the banks still settle in this financial crisis?” there is your answer! More than a million bucks worth of debt in just two months – gone, vanished, out of clients’ lives forever. I feel pretty good about that, and it’s results like these that motivate me to keep going. I have a tough job that involves far more work than most people realize (especially my copycats and imitators). But as long as I’ve been doing this, it’s still a wonderful feeling to see the settlements roll through and witness the positive effect it has on clients’ lives.