How to get out of debt!

[Anonymous]

What happens if she claims bankruptcy now? I see more people doing it now than before. Is that not the case.

[Anonymous]

I think OP has explained everything really well that she has minimum $2600+/mo of debt, rent, utilities, gas etc. Except debt, the rest is bare bones for normal functioning. She has a lot going on with medical issues and I agree that she needs to earn more income because there is not a lot that could be cut here.

She could get extra hours at her nursing job or do uber or anything else. Going back to school if she has to cut hours is a very bad idea.

[Anonymous]

Op, is there a way you can refi the auto loan or credit card to reduce the interest or monthly payment? Save some money on auto loan and pay higher interest credit cards first. Continue to cut down the interest rates and that should help.

I think this much debt would take you atleast next 6-8 years of non stop working and bent tightening to get rid of x

[Anonymous]

contact ACCC American Consumer Credit. They will lower your payments. For about 2-4 months your credit rating will drop, but will rebound once you make consistent payments. They will get your cards down significantly so you are paying more principal. You do pay them a fee but it is minor in the grand scheme of things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, please know that you are not alone. Lots of people find themselves in what feels like a hopeless financial situation. It does no good to beat yourself up over how it happened (except to acknowledge it and make the necessary changes going forward.

Without going into too much detail which I'm sure would be ripped to shreds by the perfect people of DCUM, I also accumulated a large amount of debt ($35,000). Check out Money Management International. It's a non profit debt management plan. I tried getting my creditors to lower my interest rate and even though I was a long time customer with good credit, they refused. I enrolled in MMI last year and it's been a great experience. The enrollment process was very easy. They work directly with your creditors to lower your interest and work out a payment plan. You make one lump sum to them each month (a $50 monthly fee is added into the payment). Within 10 days of my first payment, all my creditors had accepted the plan and my interest rates are all at 10% or lower. My monthly payment is $200 less than I was paying on just my minimum payments. My debt will be paid off in 4 years. Your credit will take a slight hit at the beginning, but this doesn't tank your credit like the debt plans that tell you to stop making payments and once you're delinquent they work out a deal. There were no missed payments at the start of the plan.

I highly recommend it. They take into consideration all of your expenses when putting together the payment plan, so be sure to list everything.

Additionally, cut back on whatever you can. Cancel streaming services. Clip coupons. Stop eating takeout. All the little things add up.

Good luck!

OP, this is probably the best advice you got. If you are not trolling, try to understand what the PP is telling you to do and ask questions if you don’t understand.

[Anonymous]

Not Op, but I tried using ACCC and in my case their fees were quite high, $200+/mo and I decided not to use them and handled it myself. Most important thing is to not add more debt to your name. Put those cards away and only needed in high level emergency

[Anonymous]

OP, your expenses seem minimal to me.

Your are obviously being crushed by your debt.

You are early 40s and are in poor health. Your salary is not high. I really don't think working 5 years of overtime is realistic for you to pay off this debt.

I would not be afraid of declaring bankruptcy in your case.

First - sell the car to get rid of those payments.
Save up as much cash as you can and buy a beater car. Costs less to insure. Yes, you might have more repairs but so what? You won't have $7200 repairs annually.
You need to own your car outright. You can even stop making credit card payments until you get a car for cash.

Then make sure you have signed a year or two year lease at your current apartment.

Then declare bankruptcy and clear your other debt.

Keep paying the rent and utilities on time, religiously. You will build back your credit over time, and meanwhile, you don't need any more credit. You need to learn to live within your means.

Instead of paying $2000 monthly towards debt, start saving that money for a car repair fund, and for your emergency fund. It does NOT go towards anything "fun" whatsoever and it does not go towards your children, gifts, etc.

You MUST buy disability insurance.

Also work overtime when you can to help build up more of a safety cushion.

Once your debts have been cleared, you may go back to school IF your hospital is funding it. Try to get an education that will position you for a less physically demanding job that you can continue into your 60s though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have about $55K of credit card debt and $27K of auto loan. Overall, my minimum monthly payments are about $2700-2800 when my take home per month is about $4500 as a nurse making $60-65K/year. On top of debt, I still have to pay rent, utilities, groceries, gas, etc. I stay very depressed that I would never be able to get out of this. I want to go back to school to get advance nursing degree(paid by hospital) but have to adjust on my hours.

I am 42F and single.

Set your budget so that it is below your current salary. Curb your spending. Then add an extra shift every week and everything from that goes to pay down your debt. If you are not living with roommates, find a cheaper place and live with roommates - use the savings to pay down your debt.

+1 also get rid of your car and buy a nice used one for $12,000.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here. I got a 2022 Camry hybrid XSE and the price of the car would be same as what I owe or may be a little less. I am working extra and picking up shifts as much as possible but it’s not making dent in my situation. I am a nurse at a surgery center and it gets very demanding standing on feet for 10-12 hrs. Not many excuses but telling so that others would understand my pain. My credit score is about 680 and I have been making minimum payments on time. My situation when I was with my fiance was much better and I was making good progress with debt since he didn’t ask for anything but it has gone very tight at my own apartment. I am under one year lease and don’t have extra bedroom to get a roommate. It’s an older building in Gettysburg,PA and I am concerned about big heating bill during winters. I looked into trading cars but not making much sense since loan is going to be close to same after all the fees, taxes etc. I am looking into refinancing current auto loan and start 7 year loan so that payment could come down.

You don’t turn up the heat. You put a space heater and sleep with a robe on over your jammies. Yes, it needs to be a safe temperature, but the room doesn’t need to be 72 degrees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have about $55K of credit card debt and $27K of auto loan. Overall, my minimum monthly payments are about $2700-2800 when my take home per month is about $4500 as a nurse making $60-65K/year. On top of debt, I still have to pay rent, utilities, groceries, gas, etc. I stay very depressed that I would never be able to get out of this. I want to go back to school to get advance nursing degree(paid by hospital) but have to adjust on my hours.

I am 42F and single.

Pick up a casual position somewhere, put all of that money towards debt

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Normally the CC debt is the priority as, I assume, it’s at a much higher rate. But, you also can’t stop paying for car as you need it. Can you consolidate CC debt into a smaller loan? When you analyze your monthly spending, where can you cut? Do you go out to lunch each day? Coffee out? You’ll need to make spending cuts. You can do this!9

I am a nurse so get very tired to do another job and going to be very difficult once I start the school.

I don’t hv a lot of extra cash every month and barely breaking even and sometimes go into negative. This is becoming a huge task since my cc debt is almost 1x gross annual income.

I'm an RN and have 3 casual positions on top of my FT positions. You can't afford school right now. Get another PRN position somewhere and knock out some debt. Get a roommate. Sell the car and take public transportation. And stop with the excuses. You created this mess, clean it up. And bankruptcy is terrible advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here. I am an LPN and work as a nurse in the surgery center. Extra hours are available but it also gets very tiring.

I got some of this debt after my divorce and part of it is me spending a little too much but I hv learned my lesson. Car payment is about $700/mo and I hv some medical issues too that takes away some of the cash. Can’t get rid of car since I do hv to travel to see my family.

Excuses. I see a trend here

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had to get a better car because of my driving due to kids and the area I live in(Gettysburg,Pa). Family is spread out in that area and I need to see them from time to time. My car loan is at 7% apr and got me if the credit card debts reduced to lower apr of 7.99%.

I don’t invest a lot in 401k and max about $2500/year. I got a tax refund this year and used that towards paying down the debt.

Going back to school is I really want to do and it would increase my salary by 30-40% after 18 months of education but worried about the debt.

Seriously, the excuses you have (see, it's a real word, not "hv") are exhausting. Take care of your health, work more hours SOMEWHERE, you cannot afford school. Get rid of that car. Get a roommate. STOP THE EXCUSES

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you need to become a travel nurse. It pays a lot better.

idk if there are travel jobs for LVN.

There are. It's clear you have no real interest in tackling the problem you created

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here. For me, $200/mo for medical is low since I take ozempic, pcos medication, anti depressants, other vitamins, co-pays, regular lab work. I am very tight on groceries too and never eat out.

I am cutting down on my miscellaneous and household stuff but that’s minimum because I need to buy basic items, toiletries, etc.

EVERY one of your posts has a "but" in it.