My husband was out of work for a long time, and we really got ourselves into a lot of debt. (about 30,000) I have managed to keep up with the minumum payments on time, but because of the interest on the cards it seem like we are never going to make a dent in it. We don;t own a home to cash out equity and pay them off. Does anyone havve any advice that might help.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:14 am
First-you never want to cash our your home equity to pay off bills-that just another hole you are digging.
Cut up the credit cards. Get rid of them and only use cash-you can spend what you don’t have. The interest on the cards is killing you.
Then live as minimally as possible and just start throwing any extra money on bills-before you know it they will be paid off. Make a budget and stick to it. We owe $18,000 on a car and should be able to pay it off in 8 months so it can be done.
You can do this! Don’t give up but fight really hard.
Don’t consolidate your debts-that’s not paying them off at all. It’s just putting them all in one pile instead of four piles-they are still going to need paid.
Also, you can read Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover, it goes more in depth on the process-great stuff.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:14 am
Make a budget and get rid of all excess expense.
Both of you pick up second jobs and put all earnings towards the cards until you have paid off the balances.
Be sure to pay off the cards with highest interest rates first and work your way down.
It is common sense, finding the motivation is the hard part.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:14 am
Don’t consolidate your debts-that’s not paying them off at all. It’s just putting them all in one pile instead of four piles-they are still going to need paid
January 14th, 2010 at 9:14 am
Yes, First re-negotiate the terms of your current outstanding credit card companies by contacting them directly and asking for relief. Tell them you want to close the account and just pay it off. Stop incurring into my CREDIT unless you are making a major purchase. This all requires discipline and a monthly budget to be successful. You can do it! In recent years Credit Card companies have raised the minimum monthly payment percentages on CC accounts to enable consumers to pay them off sooner. You may also want to consider getting advise from a Debt Consolitation Service Company, Bank or Credit Union. You may also want to consider getting a part-time job to supplement your income to payoff the debts sooner. The key is to NOT get into more debt while you are paying off the exisiting debt another way to save money is to pay more than the minimum due each month to the creditor. GOOD LUCK!