Including all fees, debt settlement costs about 50 to 60 cents for every dollar you owe. So, for example, if you had $40,000 in credit card debt, that debt could probably be settled for somewhere between $20,000 and $24,000, total. You would need to be able to raise that money within two years or less, whether by making monthly payments of $1,000 for 24 months, or by putting down a lump-sum payment of $12,000 and then making monthly payments of $500 for 24 months, or through some combination of payments that would get you to 50 to 60 cents on the dollar within that time frame.