My Story...... Where to start
Date: Tue, 07/11/2006 - 07:49
A little background on my life: I am 24 years old, male, from Michigan. I sell Industrial Realestate for a very large firm in the area. I have been doing this for 3 years.... I hate it! There are brokers in my office making $100,000-$200,000 plus easy.... I am not one of them. I have low self esteem and I dont know why. I feel like a faliure and I dont know what to do.
I guess it all started when I was 18, I went to college but never graduated. Why? Because I got a job making $30,000 a year at 18... not to shabby. But since I was young and making good money.... I spent good money. I quickly got charge cards and bought stuff I didnt need. Stupid stuff. I worked that job for 3 years when I was lucky enough to stumble upon my now current job. I had to give up making 30k, but the upside was I could make much more. Well this job is commission based, I do not make a penny unless I sell something. Last year, now five years after that first job, I managed to again make 30k. This year however.... not so good. I think I am on pace to make about 20k.
Now, I am $26,000.00 in debt! All credit card debt. Not to mention a car that I struggle to pay, $465/month. I dont make that much money, not to mention that I can go 2-3 months without getting paid.
I guess I just dont know what to do. I have decent credit still (690 last time I checked) but I am really concerned about money. I can't sleep, I am always in a bad mood. It is affecting my personal life.
I am in the process of getting a loan from my bank in the amount of 10,000. My thought is the rate will be less, and at least I can get 10k off my cards and ONLY owe another 16,000!! I would like to pay them all off and only have one payment to pay. But how do I do this? Who can I trust. You always hear ads on the radio or on the internet for debt consolidation but those are a scam.
I just hope I can turn my life around. I have cut up most of my credit cards, and try really hard not to spend anything. But gas alone costs me $350 a WEEK of which I dont have so it has to be charged.
Any advice?
Welcome to the forums-don't be so hard on yourself. If you learn
Welcome to the forums-don't be so hard on yourself. If you learn from your mistakes,they won't happen again. First,Sign up for the forums,it's free,and sign up for the free credit counseling. Someone will contact you and put you in the right direction. The positive you have going is,you are trying to take care of your finances,but don't know where to start,the counselors will help yopu with that. Believe me,I have tried runnig,ignoring,etc., from my debt,and all is does is finally catch up with you.Also,there is a wealth of information in these forums from people who have been where you are and how they are working to overcome their debt. You can read many solutions from others and also become educated in what to do and what not to do. But please sign up and get started on your road to financial freedom.Also those of us in the forum can be a great support while you are doing this. Hand in there,there is a light at the end of the tunnel,but sometimes you have to go around the corner to see it. :D ...Karen
Like Bossy said, you can't run away from your debt. It will chas
Like Bossy said, you can't run away from your debt. It will chase you everywhere. Besides, since you are feeling responsible to pay them, it will make you even more restless if you go somewhere else. You need to remember two things and the situation will be under control. First is proper planning of your finance and second is paying off the debt accounts from your savings. Take some professional help and get started. The counselor will advise you about your repayment plans and negotiate with the credit companies. He will handle the matter on your behalf and do all the dealings with the companies. Once you register here, someone will call you for a free counseling. This will be your first step towards putting things in order.
Definitely don't run from your debt, because it is only going to
Definitely don't run from your debt, because it is only going to get bigger. I would look into working with a debt management Program. If you talk to your creditors now, they will be understanding instead of when you are 4-5 payments behind.
Thank you for the replies! It's weird some times I have bad days
Thank you for the replies! It's weird some times I have bad days when I just want to hide, and others are ok when I think I can deal with it. But at the end of the day I know I will never run from it, I have to face it.
I am not going to join because I dont really want to deal with an agency. I know what I have to do. My debt is spread over prolly 3-4 cards. Once I get my loan (my mom has to co-sign... how bad is that!) I am going to call the credit card compaines and try to get them to lower what I owe if I pay all at once. I am hoping I can reduce my debt on my cards by 12k, I will transfer the remaing balance to the card with the lowest rate. From that point on I will only have two bills to pay (besides my car and what not), one credit card bill and a loan payment.
I just really wish someone sat me down and talked about this when I was 18. Explained how dangerous it can be. It is a shame that an 18 year old kid can get a card with a 10k limit. I have a card with a 20+ limit, they just keep increasing it. Amazing really.
Thank you all.... I will keep checking back on this site. And good luck to you all.
