Cry for credit help, again!

Discussion in 'Credit Talk' started by CCollector, Aug 11, 2003.

  1. CCollector

    CCollector Well-Known Member

    Hey guys, CCollector here. I'd just like to post current financial situation and I'd like to get advice as to what I need to do.

    I make $10/hr, working 30 hours per week (can't work full time because of school) and my fiance makes the same amount. So we bring home roughly $230/wk each.... or $1840/mnth total.

    I'll start with our biggest monthly payments and go from there.

    My car payment is $346/month, hers is $335. My insurance is 155/month, hers is 175. So... just in cars/insurance, we have to pay $1016/month, leaving about $820 for the rest. The rest:

    $50 /mnth for cell phone, times two cell phones: $100 /month.
    $30 /mnth for gas, time two for each car:
    $60 / month.

    So, cars and cell phones are costing us $1016 + 160 = 1176 month, leaving about $660 to pay off credit cards.

    I owe $4200 @ interest rates ranging from 15-28% (damn Citibank, that's who I collected for) and my fiancee owes $2200 @ interest rates ranging from 15-25%.

    We have had our cars since October (two '02 Honda Civic LXs) and we are trying very hard to get out of the cars asap. We have come to the conclusion that our only option is to pay on them another 6-12 months and hopefully the cars will even out enough that we can sell them to pay off the loan and then jump into a cheaper car. We made a very bad decision buying new cars and getting in $6,000 worth of credit card debt making $10/hr and in college. We plan on buying $5-10k cars next time so our payments are much less. We turn 21 in a few months so our insurance should also slack off (hers anyway, my insurance company is screwing me because they are assessing accident points to my insurance because my brother got in an accident and they do that to the two highest risk cars).

    So anyway, we realize we made mistakes and we want to unbury ourselves. Our credit cards are maxed out, but we have not missed any payments and both of our credit reports are over two years old now. My fico is 634 as of three weeks ago and I haven't pulled hers in a while. If we were to spend $500/month paying off credit cards, I imagine it will take roughly 13-14 months to pay off our credit cards. Is there else we can do to help get out of this?
     
  2. CCollector

    CCollector Well-Known Member

    One question I have: I have four credit cards, all open.... three are regular MasterCards, one is a retail card.

    They are all in good standing and open. The oldest is about 26 months and the newest is about 18 months. Should I close all four of the accounts and pay them off? How would this impact my credit when I go and try to get a $5,000 used car loan in about 6-12 months. Should I keep them open and just try to pay them off?
     
  3. GEORGE

    GEORGE Well-Known Member

    CLOSE THEM-------->NO!!!!!!!

    PAY THEM OFF---->YES....

    Put them in the SOCK DRAWER...or get a SAFE DEPOSIT BOX in a STATE that would take 6 hours ROUND TRIP to get the cards...so you won't be likely using them for anything any time soon...
     
  4. GEORGE

    GEORGE Well-Known Member

    ***$50 /mnth for cell phone, times two cell phones: $100 /month.***

    T-MOBILE family plan...$69.95 2 phones

    ALL T-MOBILE to T-MOBILE are no charge against the 800 ANYTIME MIN.

    ...and are they "REALLY" necessary???

    "IF" you have had them 1+ year...it should be MONTH-TO-MONTH so no $300 FEE to drop them...
     
  5. CCollector

    CCollector Well-Known Member

    Thanks, that is good advice for cutting costs on the cell phones, but we are in a contract that costs $200 to cancel =(. We have Nextel so we use our unlimited direct connect (walk talky) feature all the time.

    So I will keep the cards open and pay them off. I just wish there was someway I could get Honda to buy my car back and let me get a cheaper one.
     
  6. GEORGE

    GEORGE Well-Known Member

    Re: Re: Cry for credit help, again!

    You could SELL IT...but the LIEN HOLDER MUST AGREE...(and approve the new owner)
    Unless they PAID IT OFF IN FULL...(probably dreaming)
     
  7. CCollector

    CCollector Well-Known Member

    Re: Re: Cry for credit help, again!

    Yeah, pretty much no way to get out until I can sell the car for the same amount of the loan to clear the title. My fiancee might be getting a little break from her mother (her mother is going to take over payments) but that is still up in the air and still leaves me with an expensive car for about 6-12 months.
     
  8. lakpr

    lakpr Well-Known Member

    Re: Re: Cry for credit help, again!

    CCollector,

    Some tips to possibly lower your insurance payments, which may help:

    (1) You can get multiple-car discount, if you can add each other's names on registration of each other's cars ... requires you both to trust each other to keep up with the payments on the cars, though ...

    (2) Also, since you are already engaged, you can advance your marriage date and get married :), and get marriage discount ...

    (3) Some credit unions have tie ups with insurance companies, through which you can get discount rates on insurance. I am a member of a credit union, one which ANYONE in US can join (albeit through back door) -- it has tie up with Travelers Group of insurance. Email me, if you want more details. You might get better quote there.

    (4) Even if you don't have a lot to protect, try asking for renter's insurance, which in turn can land you enough of discount on your insurance rate to offset premiums on renter's insurance and more. American Family Insurance offered such a deal to my brother -- if he wanted only auto insurance, his premiums were $507 per 6 months; if he agreed to take renter's insurance, his premiums were $438 on both ... go figure! :)

    Best of luck.
     
  9. lakpr

    lakpr Well-Known Member

    Re: Re: Cry for credit help, again!

    See this article on more ideas to save on insurance
     
  10. CCollector

    CCollector Well-Known Member

    Re: Re: Cry for credit help, again!

    Great tips, thank you. There are a couple of reasons my insurance is so high ($3,000/yr premium):

    (1) I'm a 20 year old male with a 2-year old, 5 mph over speeding ticket.

    (2) My father pays for really high coverage limits.

    (3) My brother (22) got in an accident and my insurance charged accident points to MY premium because it affects the two highest risk drivers.

    I need to get out from under my dad's insurance because I want to pay the absolute lowest coverages and I don't want my brother to hurt my insurance.
     
  11. poobybear

    poobybear Well-Known Member

    Re: Re: Cry for credit help, again!

    You say that you bought the cars in October, so why don't you try to refinance them once you have 12 months of on time payments, and that will lower your monthly payment (& sometimes your apr will be lowered also), but you won't pay down the principal as fast as you would probably like. Is there any way you and your fiance could share one of the cars? That way you could get rid of one, and share the other. Also, you should try to get a policy with both you and your fiance on it. At least get a couple of quotes, because that seems like a lot of money to pay monthly for a civic (it also depends on where you live). BTW-once you get married, expect a HUGE discount on auto insurance.
     
  12. sirrowan

    sirrowan Well-Known Member

    Re: Re: Re: Cry for credit help, again!

    Your premium of $155 x 12 = 1860, not $3k. I'm confused about that.

    It sounds like your dad's insurance company is screwing you and your dad.

    Consider getting your own insurance. You can exclude everyone in your household from being on your plan.

    OR you could use your father's address as your rental location (with a different agent AND insurance co.) and get the rental insurance to obtain a multi policy discount. Or instead of rental insurance, you could get a small life insurance policy (enough to burry yourself in a pine box) to get the multi policy discount. At your tender age, life insurance is really cheap.

    PAY YOUR CREDIT CARD BILLS OFF WITH THE MONEY THAT YOU SAVE ON INSURANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
     
  13. lbrown59

    lbrown59 Well-Known Member

    credit help, again!

    Your premium of $155 x 12 = 1860, not $3k. I'm confused about that.
    sirrowan
    ----------------------------------------
    CCollector SAID| My insurance is 155/month, hers is 175.
    This is where the 3 grand comes from.
    THE END ** *** ** LB 59
    """"```--~~~~~~~~~--```'""'''
     
  14. lbrown59

    lbrown59 Well-Known Member

    credit help, again!

    Some tips to possibly lower your insurance payments, which may help:
    lakpr
    ===============
    One tip I've never seen is knowing how to fill out an app to get the best rate.
     
  15. lbrown59

    lbrown59 Well-Known Member

    Re: Re: Cry for credit help, again!

    *My insurance is 155/month, hers is 175.

    CCollector
    =================
    Makes my 500 a year for 5 pick ups sound like free insurance don't it?

    *Odd usually a FM pays less for auto insurance than a MALE.


    """"```--~~~~~~~~~--```'""'''
    THE END ** *** ** LB 59
     
  16. lbrown59

    lbrown59 Well-Known Member

    credit help, again!

    my insurance company is screwing me because they are assessing accident points to my insurance because my brother got in an accident .
    CCollector
    =============
    Why screw you for your brother?
     
  17. lbrown59

    lbrown59 Well-Known Member

    Re: Re: Cry for credit help, again!

    See this article on more ideas to save on insurance

    -- lakpr
    =====================

    *Move to a "better" ZIP code. Areas where there are more uninsured motorists and more wrecks get slapped with higher rates.

    THE END ** *** ** LB 59
    """"```--~~~~~~~~~--```'""'''
    ps
    *If forced insurance really worked there wouldn't be such areas.
    More peoof it's a farce.
     
  18. CCollector

    CCollector Well-Known Member

    Re: credit help, again!

    My dad skims some off the top (let's me pay $155/month versus 250ish/month). My fiancees insurance is higher than mine because she is on her own policy and obviously noone is skimming any amount off the top.

    We aren't getting married until we pay our bills off, but I am going to investigate quotes with multiple policy / multiple car discounts. I turn 21 in October and she turns 21 in November, and many people have told me we get large discounts at 21, 23, and finally 25. My insurance company told me my insurance would not be going down any when I turn 21. I hate those people. My fiancees insurance couldn't take me on multiple car discount because we aren't living together. When we get quotes from other places, I'll just say we live together.
     
  19. O2BDETFREE

    O2BDETFREE Member

    Re: credit help, again!

    Not sure if this can help but I just did this with my son (he has a motor vehicle record that looks like a rap sheet). If you have good medical insurance, take your medical payments on your car insurance down to $5,000. It dropped my son's insurance per month by about $50.

    For anyone wanting to feel good about their insurance - my son's was $477 per month up until December when some of his accidents came off. For my own car I pay $450 per year!! In December his insurance went down to $400 per month and then I dropped the medical payments and it went down to $350. In December he will turn 21 and my agent has told me it will go down to less than $200 a month so it is true that turning 21 does help a lot.
     

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