Deep credit card debt

[Anonymous]

Hi. I am deep in credit card debt, I would say about 30k. No car payment. I lost my job and been putting living expenses on credit cards for about 2 years. By paying minimums on the cards, I was able to "survive" longer. I realized lately that I have been paying so much on interest only. I could hardly keep up anymore. I have been paying late fees from time to time. I am getting tired with how things are right now. I am having anxiety attack. I could barely sleep at night thinking how my present situation will affect my kids in the future.
I made so much bad decisions financially in the past and I don't know how to correct it now. I feel so hopeless.
Someone advice me to consolidate my credit cards but I am kinda afraid and hesitant to do it as it might have a long term effect in my kid's lives.
I know my credit score is bad now due to medical bills that went to collection and some late payments. I have this thinking that since my credit score is not good anymore, I would just go ahead and enroll to a debt consolidation program and get rid of all credit cards. Cut down on other expenses and live within my means. I know it will hurt my credit score more. Will this be a good idea? Am I really hopeless? Is there a way out in my situation right now? Thank you...

[Anonymous]

Please read Dave Ramsey (you can borrow one of his books from the library for free) or seek out one of his classes. His approach is more religious than some people like, but it is designed for exactly your situation.

I am sorry you have been struggling. Are you working now?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please read Dave Ramsey (you can borrow one of his books from the library for free) or seek out one of his classes. His approach is more religious than some people like, but it is designed for exactly your situation.

I am sorry you have been struggling. Are you working now?

OP here, thanks.. yes, I am working right now.

[Anonymous]

Second Dave Ramsey. Look for his podcasts, you can start listening to them right away. What’s your current hhi? I know 30k sounds daunting, but check him out and you’ll hear stories of people who’ve dug themselves out of bigger holes. Are you married or single?

[Anonymous]

30k is not that bad. Unless you want more credit, your credit score is irrelevant. You sound depressed... is that possible? Sending support, this is not insurmountable OP.

[Anonymous]

I do not recommend a debt consolidation program. These companies have a bad track record for taking your money but then failing to pay your debt.

How many credit cards do you have and what is the balance on each one and the interest rate? What is your total income? How many kids do you have? Are you married and does your spouse have an income?

Write out something like this:

Bank of America...$22,000... min payment $152... 12%
Chase..................$6,000.....min payment $ 58...8%

You might be able to find a 0% credit card to transfer some of your debt after a while.

$30K in CC debt isn't so bad, if you do not have a car payment and no student loans. Dave Ramsey's total money makeover, or the classes (Financial Peace University) would be a great place to start.

[Anonymous]

401k loan is probably your best bet or refi your house and use cash out to repay. Or home equity line of credit. That sort of thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:401k loan is probably your best bet or refi your house and use cash out to repay. Or home equity line of credit. That sort of thing.

Many people who take this approach end up repeating the cycle. Maybe not in the OP's case since she attributes the debt to job loss, but it isn't usually a good idea, especially using secured debt (home equity) to pay off unsecured debt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:401k loan is probably your best bet or refi your house and use cash out to repay. Or home equity line of credit. That sort of thing.

I would not do either of these unless the debt was caused by an unexpected one time event like massive medical bills. Check out dave ramsey and follow his debt snowball method. It works. I would also call every lender and ask if you can get the interest rate reduced and look into transferring whatever you can onto a 0% rate card offer. As others have said, your credit score really doesn't matter, unless you are trying to get more credit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi. I am deep in credit card debt, I would say about 30k. No car payment. I lost my job and been putting living expenses on credit cards for about 2 years. By paying minimums on the cards, I was able to "survive" longer. I realized lately that I have been paying so much on interest only. I could hardly keep up anymore. I have been paying late fees from time to time. I am getting tired with how things are right now. I am having anxiety attack. I could barely sleep at night thinking how my present situation will affect my kids in the future.
I made so much bad decisions financially in the past and I don't know how to correct it now. I feel so hopeless.
Someone advice me to consolidate my credit cards but I am kinda afraid and hesitant to do it as it might have a long term effect in my kid's lives.
I know my credit score is bad now due to medical bills that went to collection and some late payments. I have this thinking that since my credit score is not good anymore, I would just go ahead and enroll to a debt consolidation program and get rid of all credit cards. Cut down on other expenses and live within my means. I know it will hurt my credit score more. Will this be a good idea? Am I really hopeless? Is there a way out in my situation right now? Thank you...

From Dave Ramsey:

Baby Step 1: save up 1k for emergency
Baby Step 2: Pay off Debt Using the Debt Snowball Method

Now that you’re prepared to avoid future debt, it’s finally time to get rid of your current debt. Start by listing everything you owe except your mortgage. This is called the debt snowball method, and you’ll use it to knock out your debts one by one. You’ll order your debts by balance, smallest to largest. Don't worry about interest rates unless two debts have similar payoffs—then you’ll list the higher interest rate debt first.

Attack the first balance on your list by paying as much as you can each month while making minimum payments on your other debts. When you’ve paid it off, add what you were paying on it to the payment on your next debt and start attacking it. Your results will keep you motivated to dump all your debt.

Before you know it, you're debt-free! Millions of people have used Dave’s course Financial Peace University to beat debt for good.

[Anonymous]

You can do this!

[Anonymous]

Dave Ramsey can be helpful, but I think it's a lot to digest if you're stressed about the payments.

Look for a personal loan (i.e. Lending Club, Lightstream, Credible) to consolidate your debt. These loans will likely have lower interest rates than your cards and you can't charge more to the loan like you can with a card as the balance is reduced.

Having one monthly payment for a set amount every month on a day of your choosing is manageable and much less unwieldy than keeping track of multiple cards and payment dates. Then put your cards in a ziploc bag of water and freeze them. Also make sure you delete them out of your Google Pay if you use something like that.

Once that is settled, then read Dave Ramsey or whichever financial celebrity has a method that works for you.

[Anonymous]

Step 1 should be to cut up all the cards and to make sure any purchases from now on and paid for with cash.

Step 2+ is pay down the debt.

You can do it OP.

[Anonymous]

Are you working now OP?

Sorry you are stressed.

[Anonymous]

Look into using Mint.com, a free financial service. Decide how much you can pay down your cards each month and create a goal in mint to "Pay off Credit Card debt." Mint will help you figure out how much to pay on each card based on your interest rates. Also, if you've been late and now have higher rates as a result, call your credit card company and explain your situation. They may lower your interest rate. Good luck.