I need some real help with your credit situation. In 2007 I relocated and by selling off our old home we were able pay off the old debts and buy a home in cash. I was so happy to be debt-free. But now my husbands earns about $15000 yearly and I have about $ 22000 credit card debts, mostly used for buying the grocery and other necessities. You can see that I am unable to make even the minimum payment. I have my old mother-in-law to care for, so cannot go out to work. She is on SSDI. I really don’t know what my options are.
I don't want to risk my home by taking a home equity loan, may be we'll never be able to buy another one. My credit score is down from 780 to 655. Since I do not have a home loan, can I file for bankruptcy? I need you advise, please help.
Over the years I’ve spent a lot of time in and around credit cards. My first professional job was in a customer service call center answering inquiries from credit card customers. From there I bounced around to different areas within the company including fraud, new credit, and then on to software development. Of those experiences, answering the telephones provided the best education on what works and what doesn’t in terms of getting out of debt.Pay debts off smallest to largest. Make minimum payments on all but the smallest one, and throw everything you can at the smallest one. The psychological advantage of scoring one or two quick wins bringing balances down to zero is worth the difference in interest charges.
Hi Emily,
I think it is too early to consider filing for bankruptcy. Instead you should contact your creditors and request them to accept a reduced payment, over an extended period of time. I think if you plan a budget and run the household accordingly, you will be able to save cash to make the minimum monthly payments. To cut down on your expenses, you should avoid buying things you can do without. While shopping for groceries and other necessities you can look for discount offers.
If you are not able to negotiate with your creditors on your own, you can take the help of a credit counselor. A credit counselor will negotiate with your creditors on your behalf. It is possible that he may get your interest rates reduced and any late fines waived off. After the debt amount is reduced, you will manage to make payments comfortably. But you must be careful to not miss any payment.