Question: Situation is this. I am very topheavy in debt. I have lots of credit card debt. I have other debt to but i’m not getting anywhere with my credit cards. I have been able to make all my minimum payments but paying like zero principal on my cards for over a year. I haven’t used any of my card in a year in a half. I cannot afford to pay any extra on any of my minimums. My income is about to go down at work and i will not even make budget on all my minimums. Besides the fact that even if i make my minimums i get nowhere, soon i will not be able to make my minimums.
I do keep a budget i have for the past year. I only buy what i need i never spend any extra it would be impossible to tighten my budget. I am afraid i start getting behind on credit card payments late fees interest rates galore i’ll never get out of it.
So i figure i need to do something.
Credit counseling came to mind. I talked to a company there like yeah you deal with us you only have to pay 40 percent of the balance. At first they advertised it as a credit card counseling service, but then when i talked to them on the phone all of a sudden it’s a debt meltdown service. They’ve been around some time. the website is www.moneycares.com. Anyone here of them.
Anyway i need some sort of credit counseling advice help that is why i’m here. All i do is stress over my credit cards.
Any thoughts on credit counseling, and if so, how do i know who the frauds are.
Even if my credit suffers i just need to do something about this i don’t even care.
I got in my credit card trouble due to financial job loss and excess medical bills i didn’t go out and shop and buy lavish anything for myself.
Answer: The LAST place I’d go is to a web-only service. The second-last is a place that “guarantees” or states up front anything like “you deal with us you only have to pay 40 percent of the balance.”
Have you tried your bank or credit union? With your payment history, you may be able to get a consolidation loan at a substantially lower interest rate that your cards have. For the same total monthly payment you should be able to pay off the principal, too. with bankruptcy reform would i even be able to file.. Second job forget it much of year we work OT just now we hit a slow point and my job i’m no second job i averaged 50 hours a week last half of last year (i wasn’t so worried then though) Beans and rice? Maybe but i’m not going to do that because of credit cards.
I have decreased my debt over 3,000 dollars the last year with my budget, but have gotten nowhere with my credit cards. I had a personal loan that pretty much all my payments are principle and got that paid off, and i had court fines and another personal loan hence the 3000 decrease in debt. BUt yeah i paid like 7,000 towards it.
In the next year i will free up another 206 dollars in payments with another personal loan.
I figured great as i free up money by paying off my loans i’ll have more for my credit cards. But for one, my income went down, and ALL my credit cards have upped my minimum payments. WTF. I’m still paying the same monthly payments.
So it’s like a make a plan it seems to be working then something gets screwed up with work or companies jacking up payments.
It’s hard to figure out what to do, the last half of last year my income was very good. There are points it seems real realistical i can do this, but at times i don’t know. NOw imy income is down some, and i predict it’ll go up significantly in the next six month with overtime. BUT, a layoff is even possible by that time. Obviously if that happens i’ll have no choice but to file for bankruptcy. I should have done it before the law changes with the new laws they bankruptcy court makes you seek credit counseling and if your income is high enuf they may deny it on your credit card debt.
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