hi all, I am new to this board, but in the past few weeks, have been finding myself constantly looking for credit boards, of other people in the same boat, and their ideas. I am in my mid 30's- and am roughly $40,000 in unsecured debt- includeing credit cards- and lines of credit. This does not include my mortgage, or car payment. For the first time, my husband & I have found ourselves really struggling to make ends meet- him working overtime just to make the bills we have- let alone anything left over. I have no opportunity for OT. We both started out years ago with no credit- and eventually ended up with way too much because our credit scores were so good. We were always able to make it- and if a payment went up- i'd transfer the balance to another card..no big deal....but looking back now- it was just a problem waiting to blow up. I'm sure as many many others have also had this happen- one by one, or credit limits started being reduced, and interest rates increased- with payments increasing as well. We both look like we maxed out our cards now because of this, and in turn- my credit score has gone from 700+ to 605, and lower depending on the reporting agency. WE can not get any more credit, can't get a loan to consolidate anything...we have lost our safety net. In a way, I guess it's a good thing, becasue we are not accumulating any new debt...but it's scary.... I struggle to shuffle things around each month to make sure things are paid- but it's harder and harder- and for the first time, I have one of my larger payments go behind with BOA because I had to buy oil for the house... I have been looking at my options for months and months- actually signed up with debt settlement attorney a few days ago and have now chickened out and cancelled before they took any payment. I dont' know which direction to go- what my options are- or HOW I can tackle this. NOt making my payments scares me to death- being sued scares me to death- but not knowing what to do scares me too... The bulk of my debt is with BOA- one large line of credit for $15,000 that is in a hardship program already- 3 small cards with them ranging from $4500-$1000, 2 small cards less than $2000 with CHase, and 2 small cards at $1000 each with CIti... I'm not even really sure what I'm asking- but I need some advice..can I settle on my own...where to start..what to do...or what other programs might they offer me if I let payments go a month or two? thanks in advance...
If you are so much in debt that the situation has gone out of your control, then you should immediately seek the help of debt management experts. They can guide you with appropriate solutions and help you get rid of debt.
thanks for replies. My total unsecured debt is not more than mine and my husbands income a year- the problem is the minimum payments have just become unmanageable. I have two of my accounts with B of A on their "hardship Program" where they reduced the interest rates, and put them on a lower payment for 5 years, as well as both of my Chase accounts. I have several small store cards- balances are all between $150-$500 each- but the payments add up to about $200 a month--so my first plan is to start with those, and work on paying those off- to save me that money. I was able to defer a loan payment for january and also do a skip a payment for a vehicle loan for janaury- totalling $725- so I am going to apply that to those store cards and I can pay off 4 of them and go from there with those... I guess really my question was, if anyone has dealt with any of these credit card companies- chase, citi, b of a- that got any other kind of program with them other than their standard "hardship" program....that might knock down the interest or payments a little more. Because I was current on everything, i couldn't really get anything....but if I"m willing to let things go a month or so- will they offer me anything else that might just be worth it to take a few dings in my credit at this time? My credit score has already plunged becasue of my credit lines being lowered- so at this point- how much more can it hurt? I will also check out those website that were suggested!
The bright side of this whole situation is that you're not accumulating any more debt. Hopefully you can come out of this with a better understanding of how to use credit responsibly, which first requires living within your means and only buying what you can afford to pay off each month. Anyway, I wouldn't recommend running off to some debt management company right off the bat. There's nothing they can do that you can't do yourself with a little persistence and some basic knowledge. What kind of savings do you have? Is settling even an option for you at this point, or can you only afford some type of a payment program?
