I received a notice of judgment being filed against me for a debt this creditor bought. I have offered to make payments but have not received any response. My question is it wise to answer your judgment or do you think that you should use a lawyer? I have contacted an attorney that does this type of work but the charges are about a third of the over all debt. I would like to know if it's wise to try and deal with this yourself.

You NEVER ignore a summons for judgement. If you read throgh this forum you will find loads of threads with very similar situations. You should be able to deal with this yourself. Just answer the summons indicating your Intent to Defend against the suit. Then send a copy of the answer to the plaintiff with a request for verification that you owe the debt and they have a right to collect on it.