Huge CC debt...HELOC denied

[mrsklamc]

Can you sell the DVC???

I don't think she has one?

 

[xiola]

"I realize I owe you $20,000, I have 12,000... what kind of deal can you make me if I pay that 12 today?"

Careful with this. If you settle on a credit card, the difference is counted as income on your taxes. It can also affect your credit score.

 

[Gisele]

I am very sorry as well for the loss of your husband. In a case such as yours, and mine as well, the old adage when it rains it pours comes to mind. I too need to work on getting rid of debt.

I would like to suggest contacting Dave Ramsey, he has a financial show on t.v. look for him in your local listings or you can look here. Also, he has a website http://www.daveramsey.com/ Please consider consulting these two sources, for he and his programs have brought much needed relief for so many people over the years.

I wish all of us the best of luck and good fortune!

 

[minnie1928]

To the OP - I feel for you, your situation is rough and you've gotten some good (and not so good) advice. I hope that you are able to filter out the good advice and work your way through this. When you get your Dave Ramsey book, do yourself a favor - grab a quiet room, a comfy chair, pen, paper and a highlighter. This book can really turn your life around. My DH & I found out about Dave about 4 years ago and I can honestly say it was one of the best things we've ever done.

I agree with you...let the girls keep their money. I wouldn't use their money for the debt, but it might be a good learning opportunity if they use the money to pay for some of their expenses. Learning how to budget/plan at an early age is something we should all have done.

Good luck and lots of

 

[PinkRhombus]

Since when did children lose the responsibility to try to help the family through tough financial times, particularly when they are working and spending the money on unneccessary personal items?

You know...one of the worst things that I could do to my child is to make them pay for MY mistakes.

If push comes to shove, and you're down between paying for the lights and food, the OP can stop paying the credit card companies.

 

[ceecee]

I don't think she has one?

$15,000 for one vacation???????????????? I thought she bought a DVC!!! We go to WDW every year and that would pay for 5 or more vacations for us. We stay value or moderate and for usually for 9 days!

 

[Seveninourfam]

Allot depends on what bank is behind your debts. Rarely will a bank just drop their interest rates because you THINK the economics are now tough and it's going to get difficult for you to pay off the debt. The banks were hoping you'd incur debt and become tied to their system of penalties and interest changes. Depending on your state, sometimes it is best to go into a late pay. Generally, most banks won't start noticing you are really in a financial bind until you are over 30 days and nearing 60 days past due. And then they will offer amazing things in their collections procedures. The farther you go.. towards 90 days they will often even offer you incentives such as a closed card, interest free .. If you will just start paying down your current principle... Our debt was much greater than yours and we ended up living through a period of not paying a penny for the next 6 months. The last offers made by the original credit card companies were asking us to settle for just pay 10 percent of the debt and they would write off the rest. They were then sold to other companies for 5 and 10 percent and they new creditors were asking for 50 and 60 percent of the original in settlement... We live in a state that protects our home, and over 200,000 of our assets, and our wages cannot be garnished for this kind of debt. If you don't really have assets you can sell, then attourneys will see that, and you won't be sued for a judgement. Some states, they will sue for judgement to collect when your house sells. I said all that, not to stand up and applaud people who don't pay their bills, but to say, that millions of households have circumstances beyond which they can manage and they end up going into collections and are allowed to bargain for repayment. One negative tax law against you still on last years law. If you go past 6 months and are deemed written off, and then you choose to take a settlement offer of lesser than your complete debt, they will file with the IRS, the difference of what you did'nt pay and the IRS will charge the difference to you as income... All of your actions should be met with careful counsel. I figure if you do nothing but pay minimum payments... over the next... You are unaware that you will be paying for over the next 35 years.... Discuss this for free with a banctruptsy attourney and gain knowledge. There are lots of options. Getting great wisdom from within your state will help you select the best... and shortest distance to your debt free status... If you are unable to meet your monthly demands and you are only paying minimum credit card payments, I would certainly listen to the possibilities of bankruptsy. You should be able to keep your house, and beleive it or not their will be new credit lines again within 3 years. Whatever you do. Talk it over with professionals... plural. Get advice from more than one. If you are the type of person that thinks you will be attacked by collection calls, you probably will be. Or you can cut your home lines. If you think, going slow pay, or going no pay for a while is out of your conscious.... and you think paying on a 40,000 dollar loan is do able. Then you should pull out all equity of your home, reduce your savings, sell your car that has more than a 250.00 payment, tell your daughters to carpool with friends... and pay all your debt off. Then stay out of malls, stay away from Disney, don't go out to eat, tell your daughters that you are teaching them a very real lesson in life about being responsible, and stop buying retail. We have not used a credit card now for 10 years. And have probably bought less than 300.00 retail at malls in the last 10 years. You have allot of options. Personally, I'd choose the quickest route to your debt free days.

 

[daileyad]

And I'm so not picking on you, but we get some many posters here who talk about charging the vacation first and paying it off "within a year at zero interest". "Why would I lay out the money up front if I don't have to..." "Life is too short"....."The kids are only little for so long..." on and on like that. Many of us suggest that saving up for the vacation first and then paying cash for the vacation is the safer and more prudent option. But I'm sure it falls on deaf ears for the most part.

Well, folks....*this* is the reason why you don't do that.

I so agree! I have done it both ways, and let me tell you a vacation is SOOOOOO much more enjoyable when it is paid in full before hand and I know I'm not coming home to any bills for it!

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

$15,000 for one vacation???????????????? I thought she bought a DVC!!! We go to WDW every year and that would pay for 5 or more vacations for us. We stay value or moderate and for usually for 9 days!

That was my initial reaction, then I started to carefully consider the type of vacation.

The OP went on a WDW/Cruise vacation. Those cruises can be very pricey - particularly a 7 night cruise, or even a 4 night cruise if it was peak season (which it very well could have been given the ages of her kids - teenagers, so may not want to take them out of school). I seriously looked at a 5 night cruise for next summer and it was over $7000 for our family of 4 for a cabin with a verandah (and my kids are both under 12, so they get the kids rate) ... plus we would have had the other cruise related expenses: passports ($400), tips ($350), transfers from WDW to Port Canaveral ($270), souveniers ($200), the dolphin excursion at Nassau ($600). That is $8800 for just the cruise portion. Airfare would run us another $1000 and a stay a deluxe could easily run $5,000 with tickets, food, souveniers, etc. And, the OP went last year before all the deep discounts and the awesome packages.

So, I can see how the OP spent $15,000 on a vacation. Yes, a WDW/Cruise vacation can be cheaper than that, but it can also add up very quickly depending on the stateroom booked, the resort category and the season of travel.

 

[tinatark]

I think you should get a part time job and pay all of that income to your CC debt.

 

[CarolA]

To the OP.

Once you get this paid off... Please buy more life insurance. You have already seen what has happened when your family was not properly insured and $50K for three girls???? I have more then that and I have no kids. (I have it provide for my mother) I am so sorry to hear of your situation, but I think this is a must. And soon!

And to the poster who asked... Tree Removals are VERY costly. It's amazing what those things cost to be done right. And insurance won't pay until the thing destroys your home! We have spent a fortune on that! (Think several grand for a decent size tree near a home etc...)

 

[gobraves39560]

$15,000 for one vacation???????????????? I thought she bought a DVC!!! We go to WDW every year and that would pay for 5 or more vacations for us. We stay value or moderate and for usually for 9 days!

Totally a dumb thing to do. That's the problem with America today!!! We are going, family of 4, QSDP, 8 days, $1900. And paid cash!!! Definitely would not charge for it, if I did not havecash to pay for it, we would not go !! Wow!!!!

 

[planbe09]

Can you sell the DVC???

I don't have DVC. If I did, that's the first thing I'd get rid of.

I hate to even ask this because you've been very diplomatic in the face of blunt criticism, but either sidewalk repair or tree removal must be WAY more expensive than I thought.

It was very expensive, especially because the roots which raised the sidewalk interfered with the sewer pipes that run from my home to the street.

$15,000 for one vacation???????????????? I thought she bought a DVC!!! We go to WDW every year and that would pay for 5 or more vacations for us. We stay value or moderate and for usually for 9 days!

Having had no debt at the time, I really wanted to take advantage of the 0% Land/Sea package. It was a major splurge, but I would have been able to pay it off within the year if it werent for the other unexpected factors. I'm trying not to feel guilty about it. I just know I'll never charge a vacation like that again as long as I live.

I think you should get a part time job and pay all of that income to your CC debt.

I work 12 hour shifts 3 days a week, and 4 hours on Saturday mornings from 5 to 9 a.m. After I hear from the CC companies, if they won't lower my interest rates, I may go for a part-time job. I spoke to a Disney Visa representative, and she referred me to their Proactive Solutions Team, which is reviewing my debt. I've already decided to use a large amount of my savings, so I feel some relief that the debt will be reduced almost immediately. I'm now worried about getting my savings back up, but I think I can do it. I just pray nothing else happens in the meantime.

To the lady who said I should get more life insurance, yes, I know. God knows I never thought I'd be in this situation.

I'm very tired now, trying to keep myself together until tomorrow, when I hope to hear from Visa. I keep telling myself this isn't the end of the world, but it's hard to stay calm. I was going to write out all my expenses vs my salary, but I just can't tonight. I'll get a fresh start tomorrow. I have to get to sleep, work early tomorrow.

I just wanted to let you all know that Visa has that Proactive Solutions Team, in case someone else needs help managing their Visa debt. I never knew about this until today.

Thank you all again.

 

[lailah]

I'm sorry, but I can't remember what HELOC stands for? I'll probably remember once someone tells me....

 

[DVCBELLE]

HELOC = Home Equity Line of Credit

 

[C.Ann]

Totally a dumb thing to do.

-----------

Gosh - that's "harsh"..

 

[xmlguy]

Having had no debt at the time, I really wanted to take advantage of the 0% Land/Sea package. It was a major splurge, but I would have been able to pay it off within the year if it werent for the other unexpected factors. I'm trying not to feel guilty about it. I just know I'll never charge a vacation like that again as long as I live.

WDW resorts and packages have become outragiously priced for average families, and the offer of credit not only increases the costs but increases the risk should something unexpected happen. I really can't imagine Walt Disney encouraging loans of any kind to enjoy his parks, nor pricing the vacations so high that it would take a family a year or more to pay off.

After paying off this debt, you should plan an affordable vacation, which can be just as fun but at a fraction of the price. It just requires some more planning and effort than accepting one of the package "deals." When you make your own plans, you can be more selective to pick options that are a real value, the same price or less than you can do elsewhere, minimize the cost, and do _more_ things you all like while enjoying the trip just as much.

Good rooms nearby WDW are available through Priceline for $30/night, and resorts for $80/night or so. There are tons of great, affordable restaurants nearby where you can use coupons from the Entertainment.com book to get half off. It may be a ways off before you can afford any trip, but this is a vacation that you can look forward to and not regret due to the cost afterwards.

 

[hotrodguy]

No one has mentioned this yet, but I think you need to file for bankruptcy and clean the slate. After all you have been through, you need a fresh start.

 

[MKCP5]

Totally a dumb thing to do. That's the problem with America today!!! We are going, family of 4, QSDP, 8 days, $1900. And paid cash!!! Definitely would not charge for it, if I did not havecash to pay for it, we would not go !! Wow!!!!

Very helpful. Very Smug. Very Superior. You must be proud.

 

[Kay1]

No one has mentioned this yet, but I think you need to file for bankruptcy and clean the slate. After all you have been through, you need a fresh start.

And tell the bankruptcy judge what? Oh, I have the money in IRAs and savings to pay off my debt but I just don't want to. And tell her daughters the same and say, Hey, let's go on two $15,000 vacations next year.

The OP made a couple of bad choices (as have we all) but nothing in hers posts indicate a lack of morality.