Anonymous wrote:Older car might give more trouble if unexpected maintenance and other costs come up. Working more is the only way I think.

We make over a million a year and have a 16 year old car and an 8 year old car; neither costs us as much in maintenance as OP's monthly $700 loan.

This is insanity.
1. You need a cheaper car. Immediately.
2. You need to work more. Period.
3. You need to pay off debt before going for more school Extra time should be spent working to pay down debt.

From someone who paid off 100k in debt in my 20s (all but 20k was high interest private student loans because my parents refused to contribute to college and I could not get enough financial aid due to their salary--I finished college in 1999--my debt burden was unheard of then). I worked three jobs. All my debt was paid off at 31. I lived on beans and rice mostly for years. I did not spend money. Everything went to debt repayment, retirement savings.

Please do all of this:

-Get a roommate and pay every cent to credit card
-Babysit/Dogsit and pay every cent to credit card
-Contribute to the company match for retirement
-Put half of your tax refund towards your debt and half towards an emergency fund.

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.

Correction - OP has paid down $2000 of debt in 8 months. The total went from $82K to $80K?

OP, can you add some more information because I am making some assumptions:

You said earlier that you were sending $2500 annually towards a 401K. How much do you have saved for retirement?
Is your employer giving you a match?

Do you have any expectation of a pension through your employer (or a former one)?

Do you have any cash savings at all? Any emergency fund?

How much will you expect to earn once you have finished school? And how long do you expect to work before retirement?

Do you carry any disability insurance through your work or privately? If you were sick or disabled, how long could you continue to pay the rent and food before you were evicted with no paycheck coming in?

Also, OP... since you are taking classes now, you qualify for a year free of a great budgeting app calle YNAB (You Need a Budget). I think it will help you with your spending.

https://www.ynab.com/college

OP, I went back and read all the comments on this thread, because I remember it very well.
I was the posted pushing hard for you to consider declaring bankruptcy to clear your debts and start fresh.

I was arguing with one poster in particular, who felt it was entirely possible for you to pay off your $55,000 in CC debt in just three years, if you worked hard and spent 80% of your take-home pay on rent+CC payment+Car loan.
S/he said in just three short years, you would have all your debts cleared?

I thought it was highly unlikely you could sustain that level of repayment on a $60,000 income. Was I correct?

Reading your update - you say you have managed to pay off $2,000 of your debt over the last 8 months? So do you now owe $53,000 instead of $55,000?

So perhaps in a full calendar year you might be able to pay off another $1,000 of the debt. That would bringyou to $52,000 owed instead of $55,000?

I think I was correct then, that at $3,000 a year you are not going to be paying down this debt in just 3 years.

I also was concerned that you needed disability insurance and would be in big trouble if you got sick and weren't able to bring in a paycheck for a period of time. And I see from your post, that's exactly what happened.

I strongly urge you to reread the advice from earlier this year and consider bankruptcy filing. You need to start protecting your financial future moving forward and thinking about retirement, pension, social security, and an emergency savings account.

You are in a really vulnerable situation depending on your income to survive, and you have bad health and a physically tiring job.

Anonymous wrote:I agree about delaying school and maybe doing it later after the debt situation is in a little bit under control.

Some people look at the bankruptcy as a failure and could take it very close to their heart and would never be able to recover mentally. Not sure how OP is.

She doesn't have anything in retirement savings.
I don't think she has any pension from her job.
She doesn't own a house.
She's 43 and says her health isn't great (diabetes, overweight) and is working a job that is pretty physically demanding.
She's working to improve her income and once she gets the new degree, should be able to start saving for retirement but not if she has to pay off this $55,000 CC debt. She'll be in her 50s at this rate.
That's why I suggest bankruptcy and then building retirement savings.

I agree about delaying school and maybe doing it later after the debt situation is in a little bit under control.

Some people look at the bankruptcy as a failure and could take it very close to their heart and would never be able to recover mentally. Not sure how OP is.

I haven't read all the other posts, but what about defaulting on the CC payments and then when the bill collectors call, offer to settle on a much smaller amount? If you are struggling with payments month to month, the CC payment is lowest priority. Everything else that is a necessity (housing, utilities, transportation, food) come first.

I wouldnt change the car situation though because it will be real difficult to get a reliable car that is cheaper than the $27k loan, so I would continue paying on that car. I would buy the cheapest grocery food options, cut out all eating out, activities that cost money, etc.

I probably would delay going back to school until you develop good habits and fix some of this debt, as I think doing it all at once may be too much of a distraction while trying to also focus on school.

Anonymous wrote:Something that has helped me cut into my $40k of credit card debt is to gamify it.

Everytime I make a purchase, I put the exact same amount towards my credit card debt. If I can’t afford both, I can’t afford what it is I want to buy. I paid off 2 cards very quickly this way.

I also will randomly pay $5-10 here and there. Think of how CC debt works: rarely do you get a card and make a $10k purchase. Instead, it’s usually small things: $8 on a latte here, $12 on mascara there. Just like the little things rack up debt quickly, little payments can knock it down quickly.

Lastly, doing a 30 day no spend challenge. The idea is you pay just rent, car, and groceries, and even for groceries, you first eat everything that’s already sitting in your home.

A lot of times we think we need to wait to pay off debt until we have a big chunk of money, but really, paying off small bits here and there can get you far.

This is a very good advice but not everyone is so focused on debt and continue to pay small amounts here and there. Did you make a lot more than your debt? The problem with OP is her expenses are more than her income.

Something that has helped me cut into my $40k of credit card debt is to gamify it.

Everytime I make a purchase, I put the exact same amount towards my credit card debt. If I can’t afford both, I can’t afford what it is I want to buy. I paid off 2 cards very quickly this way.

I also will randomly pay $5-10 here and there. Think of how CC debt works: rarely do you get a card and make a $10k purchase. Instead, it’s usually small things: $8 on a latte here, $12 on mascara there. Just like the little things rack up debt quickly, little payments can knock it down quickly.

Lastly, doing a 30 day no spend challenge. The idea is you pay just rent, car, and groceries, and even for groceries, you first eat everything that’s already sitting in your home.

A lot of times we think we need to wait to pay off debt until we have a big chunk of money, but really, paying off small bits here and there can get you far.

Secure a lease on your apartment and file bankruptcy. Cut up your credit cards.

Anonymous wrote:Op here. A few updates on my situation. I did re-fi the car and saving about $200/mo. Paid off one credit card and negotiated lower rates with the bank for another one. I got sick for a little while so had to take some time off but otherwise working regularly. I did start school and only use a few hours off every week for it. My work is flexible so they are accommodating it. I am not doing any extra spending except some of the gifts I bought for my daughters for Christmas. My apartment is in an old 1800s building with single pane windows so electric heating bill is coming about $300/mo. Overall, $2K down in debt and a lot more to go. Any other kind advices are welcome!

Hi OP and good for you for managing to reduce your minimum payments a little bit. That gives you a little more breathing room, I suppose.

Congrats also on starting school! Advancing to the next level in nursing will be important in raising your income!

I remain adamant in my earlier advice that you should declare bankruptcy. You had $55,000 in credit card debt a year ago, and you have only managed to pay down about $2000 of that in over 8 months. That's great that you paid down debt instead of adding to it.

but at age... 43 now? ... with so much left to pay off, and with being back in school again, I really don't think it is realistic that you will be able to pay off your credit card debt. I'm concerned about your poor health, and the fact tat many, many women become unable to work jobs that are hard on the body like nursing, after a certain age. And you have high debt, not a home owner, and no retirement savings to speak of.

I just wanted to restate that for you - because I know you don't want to file for bankruptcy, but I still think it is your best option at your age.

I followed up the whole thread and a lot of people have suggested OP about how to handle situations but she seems adamant on things doing it her way and still not making a dent in her debt. She needs to move in with someone and pay the rent amount towards her debt otherwise this will go on for next 15 years.