Need advice on what to do...
Date: Sun, 05/28/2006 - 06:35
Yesterday my parents answered there phone and it was for me. SBC was tring to collect something from 3 years ago... The phone call ended with him telling me to sell my car and take public transportaion, when I said some rude comments and hung up. I know this was not the route to go, but I was already very fresterated before he called and made my morning ever more enjoyable.
After that call I began to try to figure out how much debt I really had and I couldent come up with even an estiment. I am in no way possible to pay anything except maybe 5$ per creditor per month.
My current expensives are pretty stirght forward.. I make around 1200$ a month, I pay my parents 350$ per month this includes my turck payment and a tiny fraction of the household bills, another 200 for insurance and another 300 - 400$ in fuel cost to go back and forth to work. The remaining goes to food and nessicitys and a small bill (telephone) to last me though the month.
By the end of the month im already borrowing from my parents to help get me though the last few days before payday. I have been living like this for almost 3 years now and im sick and fed up with it. I have no idea what to do, I cant even use the phone without worring about a collector calling.
I talked to a lawyer to find out about bankrupcy and trashed that idea because I couldent afford it! Im 24 years old living with my parents, and my credit is shot. Sorry for venting but I need to get this fixed or atleast pointed in the right direction. I found this site with google and figured I would give it a shot. Thanks for taking the time to help me with the bad situation.
Matt
Hiya Matt, This place is great. I been here myself a few days an
Hiya Matt, This place is great. I been here myself a few days and gotten some nice help and information. Good luck with your situation. I am in no way an expert with any of this and I'm sure someone will chime in later with some good things for you to do.
Remember you have a annual credit report that you can view online as well for free once a year at annualcreditreport This is how I came across a CA that was listed on there but never contacted me. I'm glad I looked at my report, then I came here and people gave me some good advice on what to do next. While this won't help your situation its good information to have as it's a right for you to know whats on your report.
Alot of younger people don't know that they can view there Report online once a year now. This was just put in place over the past year.
It's a Holiday weekend so I'm going to assume alot of the normal posters have a better life then I do and are partying it up. Have a good Weekend :-)
wow, did I write that post?? sounds like me almost 10 years ago.
wow, did I write that post?? sounds like me almost 10 years ago... You can get through this. Your problems aren't really all debt related, your reality check has just bounced, now it time to take care of it.
I assume from your post you are living with your parents? This is not a comfortable situation to be in , and the resolution will be kinda painful. In short there is now way to do this easily. The good thing is if you pay attention, you will learn some valuable lessons to help you stay out of this situation in the future.
fisrt, if you haven't already (or they haven't figured something out), you need to have a long heart to heart with your parents. Yeah,your 24 years old, but your still living at home and they will probably be the ones who's support (not necessarily monetarily) you will need to get through this.
Pull your credit reports. You can get them free once a year at www.annualcreditreport.com (freecreditreport.com is a different site run by Experian which tries to trick you into buying their credit monitoring service at about $120 a year. You may need this later, but not now).
Annualcreditreport is run by the Federal Trade Commission in order to ensure you have access to your your credit reports as allowed under the FACT act.
Once you do this go through and see what accounts are reporting and what those balances are. Gather up the bils you know you have and start putting it all together.
You need to be able to explain to your parents your debt situation, and the only help you really want from them (unless it is absolutley insurmountable ) is maybe a break on the money you are paying them. At this point you also need to come to a realization that you probably need to consider going back to school, your parents might help here, otherwise after you figure out what you want to do and where you want to go , head over to the US Department of Education Website and complete the FAFSA form. this is the form schools use to determine eligibility for scholarships, grants, and (worse case scinerio) loans. Even being 24 you can get scholarships andgrants, soem are even aimed at adults that are goingback to school.
ONce you have figured out you debt situation, you should listall your debts, then determin if you want to consolditates, settlem or file bankruptcy ( you cn do this on your own with out a lawyer, theyre are lots of resources for self-filers out there), there are still fees to pay, but its less than an attorney will charge you.
I would strongly reccomend you exhaust all other options before you turn to bankruptcy. I think (especially if your parents give you a break ) that consolditation would be your best option, if you registered you should be receiving a call in the next few days form one of the partners of this website. See what they have to offer, and ask questions in the forum to help you make a informed decision. If you go with a consolidator, then they will help you arrive at a livable monthly payment to them and then you sit down with your parents and look at whats left and decide what you can afford to pay them and still have some money left to live on.
I know this post is getting long, and there is a lot more. If you registered, feel free to PM me if you have questions, or just want to discuss this.... You are not alone, and you will get through it.
By the time you go through all this, you will have a handle on your finances, maybe be able to get a better job, and even get out of your parents house.
Oh and I forgot the most important thing, NO MATTER HOW BAD IT I
Oh and I forgot the most important thing, NO MATTER HOW BAD IT IS, STAY AWAY FROM PAYDAY LOANS.
Wow thanks for the quick response... And I already learned my le
Wow thanks for the quick response... And I already learned my lesson on the payday loans.. I have a bad checking account @ 800$ because of them... But thats just another thing to add to the list... I just got done pulling my credit reports and looking them over now.. it doesent look as bad as I thought, but its still not very good at all. On the issue of going back to school I would love to but my parents are of no help. I was told by my dad he would help me go, then when I was ready and all I needed was the funds he backed out... The only thing he is willing to help me with is co-signing for my truck I currently have and if I miss one payment its gone. Everyone I talk to says talk to your parents, its of no help, ever time I talk with my mom she always says ask dad. Dad almost always ends up in a fight... I get better respone from a brick wall then with him. Thank you for your helpfull information and letting me know im not alone :) Maybe one day my dad will relize if he helps me out now then ill be out of this house sooner then if he doesent help. I wish my parents would understand my situation more. Also I will register to contact the website people here next week sometime.. hard to work around my work schedl.. nights + varying times... Anyways its almost my bed time.. I think ill just put this to rest for today and crack at it some more tomarrow. Any other information is always helpfull and once again thank you for takeing the time to help another persons problems, its people like you that keep this world a decent place.
Well, like I said it wont be pleasant or easy. Basically you hav
Well, like I said it wont be pleasant or easy. Basically you have to "confess your sins", admit you screwed up and show what you are doing to correct your ways, and you are determined to make changes.
To go back to school, you don't have to have money from your parents. Thats why you do the FAFSA form on the Dept. of education website. Just because you have bad /poor/no credit doesn't mean you cant get financial aid as long as you (I assume are male) registered with selective service ( I don't know if you still can at 24). Education is never a bad investment, and upon completion if you have loans, it could help you to re-establish your credit.
For males, registering with selective service is the key to being able to take full advantage of government programs later in life. I was able to get Stafford loans two months after filing and discharging bankruptcy and the school i attended gave me a $1500 per semester scholarship. Go to the school you are interested in and talk to a admission /financial aid counselor and see what you can do to get things rolling ( this will also help you show your dad you are serious about changing things).
Another alternative you may want to consider is military service. You could gain from this in many ways. You will learn self discipline, gain self esteem, have educational opportunities, learn a skill or trade while in the service, and have money for college after your leave, there are many other benefits, including the gratitude of a nation for your service to protect our way of life. Some branches of the service require a credit check, so you could be limited in where you could go or what you could do , but it may be an option to explore. ( in my case I had already blown my credit too badly and I couldn't get in).If full time service isn't for your thing, you can have many of the same benefits with the Reserves or National Guard.
Don't panic, but decide you want to and will do what ever you need to to get past this and move on. at the risk of sounding like your father (but I suspect you are starting to realize this anyway) your 24 now, and its time to get serious about your like and to take control of it. Its hard work taking control of life away from your finances, and learning how to control them instead. Its going to take focus and commitment, but its worth it in the end.
You can post or PM me directly when ever you want, good luck, and stay focused