I got the idea when I read about financial incentives for mortgages to help people having a "hardship" (job loss); this is part of Obama's plan. I called the bank that holds our mortgage and wrote them the letter they requested, including documentation such as unemployment statement and prior years taxes.
After meeting with 2 bigwigs at the small, local credit union, they offered: three months of no interest payments and they waived the late fees during that period. This reduced our monthly payment by about $500. At the end of the 3-month period, we are supposed to meet with them again and they'll see if we qualify for some sort of permanent loan modification. (When we met with them, they said we didn't have the income to qualify for any permanent changes.)
So anyway, I then took this quest to my credit cards (DH had to take care of his own). But we both were able to secure some assistance: my American Express gave me zero percent for six monthes, which is a big help because then the entire payment will be going toward reducing the credit card balance.
