over the stupidity of my fiance and myself. A bit of history: We moved to another state last year for a career. He was done w/school and we both made beans compared to his income now. We had nothing. We both had crappy junk cars, no furniture- it really sucked. So, basically - - we moved to the new state, started making some great cash (compared to before) and we started getting in debt. We have used credit cards for everything under the sun, including medical stuff for myself (we are not married, and I am not on his insurance, until Sept) So, last month we decided that we HAD to take care of this right away. We were STUPID, plain and simple. We took advantage of the larger cash flow- and we were not thinking 'ahead' So, we are wasting all this money on rent and decide to go talk to someone about buying a home and getting out of debt. Both of our credit scores came back alright. His was high 700's- mine mid 600's . We have never been late on our credit card payments, or car payments (we bought cars too, god we were so stupid!!!) We are in good standing w/our creditors. It's just A LOT of debt. So, we ended up signing on the dotted line last week for a home pretty under our budget- just to get us out of apartment living hell. We are planning on wrapping most of our credit card debt into a second mortgage. Please, be honest- do you think this was the best option? I will be honest and say that there is no way in hell that I could file for bankruptcy. While our debt is VERY high- we will pay it off and never get into this mess again. I just want to ensure that from this day forward I am making the right choices concerning how to take care of this debt properly- without getting even further into debt hell. *sigh* Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it.
Renting is stupid. No equity. Listen, sometimes you gotta cut your expenses, and get up off that high horse many of us have gotten onto. If it means eating peanut butter sammiches for lunch and ramen for dinner a few times a week, or cutting out the *gasp* cable, you know what I mean, then crunch down on lifes not so necessities, so you can have the american dream... Doesn't sound like you are in trouble right now, or they would not have loaned you the money for the house.. Just sounds like you need to tighten down the belt hardcore and focus on what you have
I see no reason to file bk. Your path is not as bad as you think for now you are building equity with tax deductions. Don't know what you are paying as an APR on your mortgage and credit cards. But if these are high (check this board for more info) than you can start trying to obtain lower APRs. As the last poster wrote, start cutting... Best regards, Mirage
I agree with Sam and Mirage. There are 3 basic things to do. First, quit using credit cards and get on a cash basis. You need the mindset that if you can't pay for it on the spot, you can't afford it? Second, you have to start living below your means. As SAm said, cut out everything that isn't necessary. Finally, you need to establish some amount of savings for emergency situations so you don't have to tap the cc cards again. I realize with all you have happening, you won't build a large reserve overnight but, start with something and keep adding. Good luck!
i agree with everyone too! But you are not alone, I myself have a great job and lots of debt too. As long as you can afford the payments you are fine. I do however negotiate low apr's with my creditors and try to get good balance transfer deals. This way I don't have to pay to much interest on my debt. Makes me sleep better at night lol. As for living below my means..... I don't think to many people can do that. I wouldn't be frequenting this board if I could part with my credit cards.
I agree that it really is very difficult to live below your means & just say no to "things." I am trying though! For the person that posted originally, perhaps it just means going on a cash diet for awhile. The last three years, I've HAD an all-cash diet, since I screwed up my credit and HAD to. It's not so bad once you get used to it.
