Need Advices with Debt

do not do that....it will affect your credit!

best way is to just try and pay as much as you can every month..it may be a slow process but it keeps your credit in tact

 

Those places that offer you 40% off of your debt, lower payments, etc. are usually full of bs. I had a friend try one of those services and it hurt his credit score because the credit card companies were calling him about his payments and they were reporting him to the credit bureau which lowered his credit rating. The company he used were not sending the credit card companies anything.

Really, to get out of debt you have to just suck it up and pay it off. Start with the lowest first and move up from there, you'll pay the all off faster this way.

 

Up to 40% means if your rates are at the highest possible, and if thats the case, then they can drop it down. I checked into these before and it would end up costing me a whole lot more going through one of these scams. Also, debt consolidation will contact your credit card companies and try to work deals to lower your interest payments, but it goes against you when they do this. These consolidators are making money off you.

Also, debt consolidation can and will probably show up in your credit as a negative. Your pretty much screwed if its credit card debt. Not many lenders will take on your debt unless you have something to back it up with.

My Advice: Pay off the lowest ones first...if they are large chunks, work on the high interest ones first, then work your way up. If you are really serious about paying off your debt, get very aggressive. This means go into ultra cheap mode/ramen noodle/no entertainment/ect ... and sink it all into your debt. Also, get an additional job (since you won't have anything to do) Also, don't "reward" yourself for working hard on working off your debt and splurge on something. This is your punishment. You don't reward someone for serving their punishment

Something else you can do is lower your means ... move into cheaper housing. If you have a car note, dump the car and buy an older car, save on the note and insurance. Most people aren't serious enough about losing debt and won't go through these extremes.

If you're trying to consolidate in hopes to have a lower monthly payment, then I don't think you're too serious about dumping your debt. If you feel interest is killing you, then you need to work on the principle, not do the exact opposite and try to span it out further.

 

i agree, just pay it off and save as much as you can... i should be officially out of debt this friday!

but maybe you should take it little by little like... save as much as you can, sell some things around your house that you don't use anymore and use that money to pay off your bills. I don't know your credit fees but the credit card wants you to pay off minimum so they can collect more money from you.. i guess you'll have to do just that.

 

i'm starting to think the credit score is the scam of the century . If I had a way to consolidate and pay off debts, i'd do it, negative credit score or not. No sense paying interest just so "the man" can keep your score high enough for you to borrow more in the future.

then again i have almost no credit. i was lucky enough to be turned down the few times i tried. somehow i surved without it.

 

I would attempt to get a low(er) interest private loan with a structured long term payment plan (i.e. 10 years). Pay off the amount of the CC with the loan and then cut the credit cards up. Usually the loan will have a lower interest rate than the CC, so you might end up losing less.
Of course, qualifying for a loan that large might not be so easy.

 

the secret is, once you pay off a CC, use that amout you were paying it off with and add it to your next CC payment. just b/c you paid off a CC doesn't mean you should be using that payment money as disposable income.

for instance, i owe a lot of debt b/c i lost my job a few years ago. well, i just paid off my car note which was $330/month. instead of thinking i've got $330 extra in my pocket, i take that $330 and add it to the payment of another CC. and within 4 months, that CC will be payed off. i just continue the process.

 

Yeah, there is no magic formula to pay it off quickly. Just do it the old-fashioned way. I only need about $1400 more to pay off my debts. I am going to send my entire tax refund to pay it off, just so I can be in the clear.

 

I just started paying off CC debt myself, so I feel your pain.

Make a list of your CCs and get the interest rate for each one, and concentrate all of your effort on the highest interest rate cards first. I did this last month and was shocked at some of the interest rates I had going. Don't worry about big CCs if they are carrying lower interest. Just knock out the cards based on interest rates. Higher Interest rates=more debt.

Remember, there are good types of debt too...at least, as far as your credit score is concerned. Any loan that is used to better yourself, like home and auto loans or student loans, is considered good. We're maxing out my wife's student loans to pay off CCs and when that is done, I'm going to use what's left over to invest in real estate.

Good luck!

 

I suggest thinking of it like 35K as a car loan. You will not be able to pay it off immediately without killing yourself. First, see if you can put it on one or 2 cards that have fixed balance transfer rates, see if you can get 3 or 4% for ever. Then pay on it like a car note. 600 a month for 60 months and you will be fine. Don't do anything that will ruin your credit, that will follow you for 7 years.

 

You can do this.

Start paying off the smaller debts and work your way up.

Look at saving money on eating (groceries, junk food, etc...). I managed to hold on to my house and am paying down a comparable debt myself. I am the grocery shopping master. I know where every freaking penny goes in my house. I have even paid stuff with change collected around the house.

I'm sick like that, because that's the kind of grocery shopping master I am.

You must be willing to make sacrifices, if you too want to become a grocery shopping master.

 

don't pay it. Just start over with a new identity. Theres plenty out there to pick from.

 

I still owe about 11k on my credit cards, but that's down from 21k last year. I basically applied for 0% interest cards and transferred the balance to them, then I set up automatic payments of $400-$500 each month on the cards since the 0% was good for 12 months. There were a couple of cards (Ameican Express and Discover) which also offered 3% lifetime APR. I transferred the max to thos ecards and set my payments at $100 each month. As long as you're not paying interest or paying very low interest, you'll be able to make up huge grounds in your debts.

The best that debt consolidation services can do for you is give you a line of credit at 15% interest. You can also apply for a personal loan from a bank which will usually give you a rate of 12% if you get approved. For people who are paying 19% across the board on their credit cards, these options would obviously be very good for them if they have bad credit

Since you have a credit score of 749, I suggest you leverage that and sign up for some 0% interest cards from major companies, like American Express, Bank of America (MBNA), Discover, Chase and Citibank. DO NOT EVER USE Capital One. Your credit score will take a dive but it won't go beneath 710 most likely even if you open up an additional 4 or 5 cards totalling 30k credit.

You have to spend the following year REALLY concentrating on knocking down as much debt as possible. Afterwards things will be more manageable.

 

It depends on your situation. If you consolidate and settle for a lower payment, then it will be a negative on your credit score. If your score is really high it might not be that big of a downgrade, and it could be a good deal.

The problem with only paying off credit cards a little at a time as much as you can is that the interest will keep goind up and up. You may actually be better to consolidate, pay it off, and take the credit score hit. Once you are out of debt you can rebuild the negative fairly quickly.

If you are planning on getting a home loan, or something in the very near future then you won't want any negative hit on your credit score.

The main thing you need to do is not use your credit cards at all. Budget your money for a while and see how long it will take you to pay off your credit card debts, and if it can't be done because of continuing interest then consider consolidation and be done with it.

 

Couldn't have said it any better myself...

 

Make sure you pay off the bookies before the credit card companies. A low credit score never snapped anyone's tibia.

 

For you, using a service to help pay it off might not be a good idea because, like others have said, it hurts your credit.

But if your credit is already shot to hell (like mine was 5 years ago) and you have no other choice, I can't recommend Consumer Credit Counseling Service enough. This is the only legit service out there. Their fee is very low. The ones you see on TV are all ripoffs. For most of them, their fee is higher than the amount they use to pay your creditors.

I used this one back in 2001 and had everything paid off by the end of 2002. Now, I have 1 credit card that I use to pay for everything, but I pay it IN FULL every month and have done so for the last 4 years. My credit has improved dramatically (I was able to buy a house in 2004) since paying all this crap off. Once all my garbage from 2002 falls off my credit report in 2009 I will have perfect credit. Literally.

It takes a long time and a lot of hard work, but there's nothing like the feeling of having no (bad) debt. Just remember, there are no shortcuts.

 

35K??? Holy sheet!

I thought my $1900 was bad.

I did a debt consolidation back in the late 90's. Didn't seem to affect my credit, it's currently like 730-750. You just have to use a reputable debt consolidation company.

Good luck.

 

I'm in about 15k and owe another 13k on my truck so hell thats close to 30k.