Well guys those of you who know me know that i am a young guy. I messed up my credit when i was a teen and over the last 6 months or so have been trying vigerously to clean it up. I got a great job so i ended up buying myself a new car. 16.9 %..but i figured i was making good money so what the heck. Plus full coverage. and my rent my monthly bills are pretty hefty. Well last week i was layed off from my job and its extremely hard to find anything decent. Im slowly falling back into the old realm of financial trouble. Im living off my credit cards for daily expenses. Just recieved cancellation notices on both of my auto insurances. Plus my checking account is overdrawn and my car payments due on the 26th. I really cant take this anymore. Its hard enough beeing a young guy , but i chose this financial responsibility because i thought mt job was secure. Guess i was wrong. I feel everything ive worked so hard day and night for slipping away. Right now i really feel like just giving it all back. The credit, my new car. Im at a point where i just cant handle the stress anymore. Granted i dont have children or a mortgage but the few things i do have are becoming harder and harder to keep. I feel like just crawling in a hole for a few years. Sorry to put a miserable post on here. I just needed somewhere to vent.
Joey, Sorry to hear about your job and problems. Wish I could offer some advice, but can only suggest you hang in there - things will get better. Will you be able to collect unemployment? Any chance you could borrow some money from your parents so you can stop using the cards for now? If you are able to borrow the money, maybe you could call the credit card companies and ask for a month off from making a payment.
Unfortunatly im all alone with my finances. My biggest problem right now is my auto insurance and my rent. I dunno i guess ill just roll with the punches. If i have to i can move in with a friend for a while. But i really dont want to sell the car cause i will be taking a bath on it.
Joey, you could try to trim the fat from your insurance...how much is the deductible on your collision? You might be surprised by the difference upping from 250 to 500. Do you have rent car reimbursement? Could you take a bus? This was something we did when DH was laid off, now that he is working we will add back some of those things. We have been where you are...hang in there!
Cut everything down to the bare mininum, (ex: cancel cable, gym membership, etc) Be sure to keep some type of phone line (land or cell, not both) for job interviews. Network, call old businesses you dealt with, they may be hiring. Call competitors they may be hiring or even take a crappy job and keep looking. Does the company that let you go have a placement service? Look in other areas of the country, try monster.com for this. Remember to apply for unemployment. Do you have a skill that you could do some contract labor jobs with? Just remember to try and stay positive, I know it is hard! Good Luck, Michelle
Joey - I would rank your debt and contact those creditors that are most important and see if they can work with. Be open and honest with them and they might be able to extend some payment dates and possibly spread out some payments. I wouldn't let late payments go by without contacting the creditor and explain to them your situation.
I agree with trying to cut the expenses, but check one thing before you change the deductible on your car insurance. Check your loan papers to see what is required. Some lenders have a deductible that you can't increase. For example, if they require a $250 deductible and you go to a $500 deductible, you have violated the terms of your loan and they can add insurance to your loan to get the $250 deductible--at their rates (and believe me, they're more than you'd pay). After my divorce, I canceled the cable because I didn't watch TV that much anyway--my ex did. I saved about $40 a month. And I started listening to the radio, and spent time at the computer. It's amazing, once you wean yourself from TV, how much more you can accomplish. I started a part time business. Made money instead of spending it. Eat at home, don't go out and buy meals. If you do, take part of each meal home. You'll not only save money, but you may find that your health improves as well. Just a few suggestions, but keep your chin up, and you'll get through this somehow.
