Thread: Please Help!

I am new to credit repair. I got myself in to a difficult situation and don't know the best way to recover. I have accrued around 20,000 dollars of debt. I have ignored it for years. Not knowing what to do, or having the money to pay it. Now I am a little older and wiser and want to fix my wrongs.

I have people calling my apartment all day. I am fearful to talk to them. I make a modest living and can't settle these debts quickly. I want to do the best thing for my future. I also have a judgement on my account. I feel like I am sliding into quick sand.

Can anyone help?

Thank you

Work out payment plans with them all and take care of the judgment first.

Well chances are you found this website because your heart is pounding, your palms are clammy, you shudder every time the phone rings and/or just keep turning the ringer off, your friends don't understand why you don't answer the phone half of the time, you don't sleep well at night, you keep thinking how the world ass you know it has ended, and you almost never go out because you rarely have enough cash to do anything and dont have a credit card to cover any quick expenses.

It's pretty easy for me to say and I doubt you will believe me right away but your not alone. Many of us have been there in one way or another. There is a lot of information here and a big group of people that are willing to spend a few minutes, every day trying to help you get your life back on track.

You might want to start by reading. Read everything you can find on this board. You could also grab a piece of paper and write down everyone you think you owe and how much you owe them. On another sheet of paper, list your assets such as bank balances, annual income, and any other source of funds and amounts. On a third sheet of paper list your monthly expenses like car payments, insurance, rent/mortgage, food, ect. This will give you a quick 'financial snapshot' of where you really are.

That's going to be tough so don't rush through it. When you got that together, put it in a folder and put it away for a few days (it might be a tad depressing). Spend those few days reading some more here on the board. Take note of some peoples sucess stories. Pay attention to some of the names and the dates of the posts, this journewy will take some time. For many it is a slow uphill battle that takes a few years but the important thing is they make a little bit of progress every week. Notice I am speaking in terms of weeks and years here, not hours and days. Believe that with some hard work and time, you can get through this.

As you continue to read the threads here, see if any of the situations are similar to yours. Again, note any progress the poster makes and believe that you too can do this.

Do yourself a favor and don't start posting here and asking a million questions about everything you are supposed to do right away. If you don't bother to read, we cant help you. You will see people sign up and become instant credit commandos only to be asking almost rediculous questions five minutes later. They will offer you advice on a complicated matter and swear they know what's best for you only to start a new thread a minute later asking what corner of an envelope a postage stamp goes (it still is the upper right corner by the way). Remember the advice you get here is from everyday people who may have been in your shoes or it could be from some teenager trolling for kicks. Good advice generally builds a consensus amongst the posters here. Don't take this as an affront to posing questions, just try to make an effort to find the answer first.

Maybe in a week or so, you can think about ordering your credit reports from annual credit report dot com. When you have them in hand you can start by correcting any personal information, such as name and address innacuracies. That will take about 45days. (more time to read). Maybe go to the FTC website and print yourself a copy of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. At that point you can start triage your reports and decide what to start working on first. Several great people here will be more than willing to assist you in getting started, but you will most likely need your credit reporst and those three sheets of paper in front of you with your 'financial snapshot' in front of you. When you post your questions, the replies may ask for some additional info that will be contained on those pieces of paper. Be honest but also be careful not to post any actual account numbers or personally identifiable information.

Good luck. If you want to put in the effort, people here can help you.

Originally Posted by JKat

I am new to credit repair. I got myself in to a difficult situation and don't know the best way to recover. I have accrued around 20,000 dollars of debt. I have ignored it for years. Not knowing what to do, or having the money to pay it. Now I am a little older and wiser and want to fix my wrongs.

I have people calling my apartment all day. I am fearful to talk to them. I make a modest living and can't settle these debts quickly. I want to do the best thing for my future. I also have a judgement on my account. I feel like I am sliding into quick sand.

Can anyone help?

Thank you

First, we understand your situation, and the main goal right now is to stay calm and analytical to assess your situation, and make a plan.

Understand that your situation's first requirement is NOT credit repair, but financial management. You need to review your finances in detail, and then make a plan to present to your creditors.

As Woops stated, read these posts in this forum. I will try to find the thread previously posted for an identical situation to post.

You need to do a "cash flow" analysis right now, and determine the minimum needs to survive, and direct any left over cash to debt repayment. You will need to brainstorm for ways to increase your income and decrease all your expenses. Again, search for other posts, members have posted great information about ideas for increasing cash flow.

You can stop the calls legally, but this will not stop the collection activity. Your best action is to create a "real" plan for what you can pay each of your creditors, and when. Then COMMUNICATE with them, show them a "real plan" and work out mutually agreeable terms.

This will only get worse, you need to take ACTION now! Check your local government and nonprofit agencies for financial management help. Often local agencies offer free financial management advice and reviews.

Originally Posted by woops

Well chances are you found this website because your heart is pounding, your palms are clammy, you shudder every time the phone rings and/or just keep turning the ringer off, your friends don't understand why you don't answer the phone half of the time, you don't sleep well at night, you keep thinking how the world ass you know it has ended, and you almost never go out because you rarely have enough cash to do anything and dont have a credit card to cover any quick expenses.

It's pretty easy for me to say and I doubt you will believe me right away but your not alone. Many of us have been there in one way or another. There is a lot of information here and a big group of people that are willing to spend a few minutes, every day trying to help you get your life back on track.

You might want to start by reading. Read everything you can find on this board. You could also grab a piece of paper and write down everyone you think you owe and how much you owe them. On another sheet of paper, list your assets such as bank balances, annual income, and any other source of funds and amounts. On a third sheet of paper list your monthly expenses like car payments, insurance, rent/mortgage, food, ect. This will give you a quick 'financial snapshot' of where you really are.

That's going to be tough so don't rush through it. When you got that together, put it in a folder and put it away for a few days (it might be a tad depressing). Spend those few days reading some more here on the board. Take note of some peoples sucess stories. Pay attention to some of the names and the dates of the posts, this journewy will take some time. For many it is a slow uphill battle that takes a few years but the important thing is they make a little bit of progress every week. Notice I am speaking in terms of weeks and years here, not hours and days. Believe that with some hard work and time, you can get through this.

As you continue to read the threads here, see if any of the situations are similar to yours. Again, note any progress the poster makes and believe that you too can do this.

Do yourself a favor and don't start posting here and asking a million questions about everything you are supposed to do right away. If you don't bother to read, we cant help you. You will see people sign up and become instant credit commandos only to be asking almost rediculous questions five minutes later. They will offer you advice on a complicated matter and swear they know what's best for you only to start a new thread a minute later asking what corner of an envelope a postage stamp goes (it still is the upper right corner by the way). Remember the advice you get here is from everyday people who may have been in your shoes or it could be from some teenager trolling for kicks. Good advice generally builds a consensus amongst the posters here. Don't take this as an affront to posing questions, just try to make an effort to find the answer first.

Maybe in a week or so, you can think about ordering your credit reports from annual credit report dot com. When you have them in hand you can start by correcting any personal information, such as name and address innacuracies. That will take about 45days. (more time to read). Maybe go to the FTC website and print yourself a copy of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. At that point you can start triage your reports and decide what to start working on first. Several great people here will be more than willing to assist you in getting started, but you will most likely need your credit reporst and those three sheets of paper in front of you with your 'financial snapshot' in front of you. When you post your questions, the replies may ask for some additional info that will be contained on those pieces of paper. Be honest but also be careful not to post any actual account numbers or personally identifiable information.

Good luck. If you want to put in the effort, people here can help you.

Very good post Woops......nice tutorial for the new members.

I am fortunate that I am not in the same situation as the original poster, however I wanted to take a second to say that your responses to him/her were above and beyond what is typically found on internet message boards. I stumbled across this site while looking for solid advice on credit repair techniques. Looks like I came to the right place. ...and good luck JKat, hang in there, your're not alone.

Thanks. Just sort of threw that together from expierence. I still don't sleep well everynight, but at least I'm sleeping now. The credit really goes to everyone else on this board.

This is a previous posting which captures a lot of information best suited for your situation:

http://consumers.creditnet.com/Discu...ere-65952.html

It also lets you know that you're not alone.....