Need advice - $50k in debt
Date: Thu, 10/06/2011 - 17:34
We own a home and pay $2200/month (includes tax & insurance) and have about $30k equity. We also have 1 car payment ($375/month) and owe what its worth (19K). I have a school loan ($275/month). We own 1 other car worth about $5k.
After paying all that, utilities and the minimums, we have about $250-300 left over each month which barely pays for gas. We aren't charging anything on the store cards but I often pay the minimum on the Visas/MCs and what little comes off the principal is sometimes used to buy groceries. We filed a chapter 7 in 2005 so that is out. I can't keep living like this and want to be done with credit. I was thinking of trying this settlement route.
I was going to try just 1 or 2 cards for now. In a week I'll have $1500 to put towards cards, but I can set that aside for a settlement. Even if I can eliminate just a few minimum payments now, it will help.
Here is what we owe:
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Holy Crap, 28 cards! Although I didnt have 28 c cards, I began
Holy Crap, 28 cards! Although I didnt have 28 c cards, I began with around 100k of debt between me and my wife, stopped paying hers (I found it easier to negotiate for her than to negotiate my own) in March and have settled about 55k.
I see you have Cap 1 accts, good luck with them, they settle rarely from what I have read and they also sue, you may want to think about leaving them for last. I settled Sears Citi for 40%, Chase for 35% and a 37k Amex for 38% (Amex gave acct to atty, others were with OC. Cap 1 will not budge, will charge off next month, we will see.
Whatever you choose to do, read up here and have a plan. Know what can happen if you get sued and be prepared.
I was forced to stop paying after a loss of imcome, but wish I had gotten this under control years ago when I had steady income.
Good luck!
You are in a mess!!!...well, other than settling on some, I thin
You are in a mess!!!...well, other than settling on some, I think you can consolidate some other cards to. This will help you in lowering the interest rate on your credit card debt. In order to consolidate the cards, you can transfer the balance from all the other credit cards that have high interest rate to one which already has a low interest rate. In fact consolidation may be able to help you in handling the credit card debts more easily as consolidation reduces the number of debts you have into a single debt.
Quote: In order to consolidate the cards, you can transfer the
Quote:
In order to consolidate the cards, you can transfer the balance from all the other credit cards that have high interest rate to one which already has a low interest rate. In fact consolidation may be able to help you in handling the credit card debts more easily as consolidation reduces the number of debts you have into a single debt. |
Please before you post, THINK!! He doesnt have any low interest cards and with $50k worth of debt he isnt going to be granted any others that would be worth the effort. No lender is going to grant him $50k at low interest.
To the OP....good luck. You need to learn to live within a budget and not rely on credit. You already had one bankrtupcty...that should have taught you a lesson.
start with the smallest companies -- I am not sure how much you
start with the smallest companies -- I am not sure how much you have saved for settlements but if you only have $1500 probably starting with the smallest is the best --
capital one is really tough, so is discover --
chase, home depot, citibank -- were ok to deal with --
good luck !
first off, if you have not missed several payments in a row on y
first off, if you have not missed several payments in a row on your cards, they will not hardly settle with you..
second, from what i have found out thru my own settlements... if you owe less than $1000, they are not likely to settle... so that would rule out wm, targer, paypal, home depot, aa citi, kohls and orchard.... so on those you could call them and ask if they have a hardship plan and they will want to know what your hardship is... hours cut, pay cut, etc....
so if you are still making payments on the cc's, unless you ask about hardship programs, you will have to stop payments in order to get settlements.... keep in mind if you are paying some but stop paying some, they can look at your credit report and know who you are paying and who you are not.. and they may question that.....
now, if you stopped paying on all of them, and save up all your extra money for a few months, you will get somewhere with settlements.....
forgot to mention, check with the bank who financed your auto (3
forgot to mention, check with the bank who financed your auto (375), if you have been good with payments there, and for long enough time, they may be willing to "modify" your auto loan which will reduce the payment, possibly extend amount of time and reduce the interest rate... been there done that!