honest debt mangement companies

[njcarita]

attempting to get out of a mountain of debt........ was sick for 2 years couldnt work........... now i am working about 30 hours a week.......husband is working alot of hours ........ have one going to college next yr............... but my minimus on my credit cards is taking my whole paycheck ( not complaining I owe it)............. most of my credit cards are 0 still......... but one is 30% and i called and they wont lower it.................. i am not behind..... never late.............. and i have tons of equity on my house but cant tap........cause my debt to income ratio is tooo high........... and my job too new ( 13 weeks yay) for it to be included as income............... so i know there is a way out of this ....rolling up my sleeves and NOT dis-paring ( not easy sometimes).......... was wondering if anyone work with an honest debt company................ i want to pay this back.... cause I owe it.... dont want to go bankrupt cause i owe this money.... just need a way to pay it back slower or lower interest rate.............gosh if i was able to refinance at these rates my monthly mortgage would be less than my mortgage is now and wiping out my debt...........but not an option..... so any ideas........ help.............

 

[njmom47]

attempting to get out of a mountain of debt........ was sick for 2 years couldnt work........... now i am working about 30 hours a week.......husband is working alot of hours ........ have one going to college next yr............... but my minimus on my credit cards is taking my whole paycheck ( not complaining I owe it)............. most of my credit cards are 0 still......... but one is 30% and i called and they wont lower it.................. i am not behind..... never late.............. and i have tons of equity on my house but cant tap........cause my debt to income ratio is tooo high........... and my job too new ( 13 weeks yay) for it to be included as income............... so i know there is a way out of this ....rolling up my sleeves and NOT dis-paring ( not easy sometimes).......... was wondering if anyone work with an honest debt company................ i want to pay this back.... cause I owe it.... dont want to go bankrupt cause i owe this money.... just need a way to pay it back slower or lower interest rate.............gosh if i was able to refinance at these rates my monthly mortgage would be less than my mortgage is now and wiping out my debt...........but not an option..... so any ideas........ help.............

DH used Novadebt.
(Hope I'm allowed to post a specific company name)
They charge $25 bucks a month, but to him it was worth it.
He was debt-free in less than 4 years, paying extra towards debt when he could.
I'm sure there are free programs (Consumer Credit Counseling comes to mind).

ETA I called one of my credit cards on my own and was enrolled in a 12 month interest-free plan (they didn't charge me any interest and I paid as much as I could each month, and when the plan ended, I had less of a balance to pay with less interest overall).

 

[HeatherC]

I am sure you will get lots of great advice on here!

Can you transfer the 30 percent to a o percent card? Then continue to make the same payments on it. This way all that you pay will go right to the balance.

If that isn't an option...a couple other ideas..

1. Rework your budget...lower cable, cell phone bill, etc, insurance deuctibles, etc, put the money saved directly to the card with either lowest interest or balance. Lower interest saves you more money, but lowest balance gets paid quicker and then you can cross a card off your list which is motivating.

So if you cut $50 a week from food, send it to the card.

Also..can you ebay or craigslist anything? Great way to raise quick cash and clean out the house.

Cell Phone...get out of contract if you have one. I have Virgin Mobile.. $35 a month for 300 talk minutea, unlimited data and text. Cancel land line.

Raise deductible on car insurancs. If it is $500, do a $1000. Will make your monthly bill less.

Check out Dave Ramsey forum boards.

Hope this helps!!

 

[vicki_c]

Look up your local Consumer Credit Counseling Services office.

 

[JeRmS]

I've been through this and to be honest I wouldn't work with a debt management company and here is why ..

A Debt Management company is going to take your bills and wrap them into one "easy" payment for you, from that payment they will then dish it out between the creditors you owe but in smaller amounts that they have worked out with these creditors which in turn will just take you longer to pay down the balance.

These companies do not work for free so of course they will be taking their % for handling this all for you.

NOW hear me out -

I had a credit card that was 29% interest that REFUSED to work with me. So I played hard ball ... I quit paying it ... yep, sounds bad right? Well guess what, in 8 months this company started calling me. At first they were a bit threatening but I just kept ensuring them on their recorded phone calls that I was willing to work it out but I had terms they had to agree on not the other way around. This went on for a few weeks and then finally they came to me and stated they were willing to work with me. I negotiated all of the following ...

Close the account with no negative impact on my credit report
Down payment of $500 from me to be applied to Principal
all accrued interest and late payment charges dropped - 8 months of 29% interest and late payments was nearly 1/3 of the bill!!!!
interest % dropped to 1%
and I could ONLY pay $100 per month until the remainder was paid off. (granted this will take me a little while to pay, but it saved my sanity)

 

[carymomof3]

Call your credit card company and tell them you'd like to talk to someone about a hardship program/balance liquidation program. I have a friend who was able to convert almost all of her cards to BLPs. You agree to have your card closed and put on a 5-year repayment plan with fixed payments at much lower interest rates (sometimes 0%). The companies would much rather go this route and pay what you owe than to have you declare bankruptcy. CC companies WILL work with you, but sometimes you have to make multiple calls. And you have to be willing to close your accounts. Good luck!

 

[NYCDiane]

Look up your local Consumer Credit Counseling Services office.

Be very careful of this!!! There are many companies that have names like this that are NOT legit!

I'm currently using GreenPath Debt Solutions and they've been very helpful and my debts are being paid down. However, I do plan on paying off most of my debt when I get my tax refund next year (January). Until then, GreenPath is making small payment to my creditors at lower interest rates.


The situation you're in, though, makes it seem that Chapter 7 bankruptcy may be your best solution. I would meet with a debt counselor and go over everything so you can make an educated decision that will be in the best interest of you and your family.

 

[howlongtildisney]

I highly recommend Credability - my husband used to work for them. They do not necessarily do the "one easy payment" option. They can do as little as help you create a budget or as much as debt restructuring. If you don't choose to go with them, definitely look at their page of why you should choose them and look for another organization with similar attributes. http://www.credability.org/en/about-credability/why-choose-credability.aspx

MOST IMPORTANTLY - do not pay any fee for the assistance. There are many reputable NONPROFIT agencies who can help with debt.

 

[pocomom]

attempting to get out of a mountain of debt........ was sick for 2 years couldnt work........... most of my credit cards are 0 still......... but one is 30% and i called and they wont lower it.................. i am not behind..... never late.............. so any ideas........ help.............

I would transfer the balance to another card immediately if you can. Unfortunately they may not be willing to to work with you because you don't have late payments. Don't give up calling and trying to talk with them. Ask what criteria you will need to meet to get to help.
Also try and work out other ways you can save a little or earn more to put more towards the cards. Highest interest rate ones first. You have to get that principal down, to get refief. I wouldn't worry so much about your child going to college. They can work, take out loans, live at home. I would be much more concerned with YOUR financial security.
I disagree with pp thinking about bankruptcy. It really should be a last resort.

 

[njcarita]

okay just got off the phone with American Consumer Credit Counseling, a non-profit consumer financial education and credit counseling organization........... they seemed honest and upfront........... and everything i saw online says they are up and up....... any one try them???........................ they negotated 3 of my cards the 11 to 30% ones down to 4%.......... rest are already at 0%............ i am paying anothe card off this month......yay............... i tried getting 0% offers but to no avail.....................just nervous about making the commitment................hmmmm..............going to read everything before i accept....................and i really cant in my heart go for the chapter 17 or bankrupcy left.............. i do have a retiremement account i can tap and pay the fees and i do have a home i can selll if need be...... i cant walk away from a debt as long as i have the breath to pay it.............. i just wanted a way to consolidate and maybe lower the interest rates........ i really feel kinda drained right now........ so going to make dinner for the family ....take a deep breath........and than come back and re read all the responses and see whats what and than talk to hubby

 

[njcarita]

okay just got off the phone with American Consumer Credit Counseling, a non-profit consumer financial education and credit counseling organization........... they seemed honest and upfront........... and everything i saw online says they are up and up....... any one try them???........................ they negotated 3 of my cards the 11 to 30% ones down to 4%.......... rest are already at 0%............ i am paying anothe card off this month......yay............... i tried getting 0% offers but to no avail.....................just nervous about making the commitment................hmmmm..............going to read everything before i accept....................and i really cant in my heart go for the chapter 17 or bankrupcy left.............. i do have a retiremement account i can tap and pay the fees and i do have a home i can selll if need be...... i cant walk away from a debt as long as i have the breath to pay it.............. i just wanted a way to consolidate and maybe lower the interest rates........ i really feel kinda drained right now........ so going to make dinner for the family ....take a deep breath........and than come back and re read all the responses and see whats what and than talk to hubby

 

[marymouse]

Just remember that any time you use one of these services it will show on your credit report as a debt reorganization and look nearly as bad as a bankruptcy. Given if you can't pay the bills and get behind it will also hit your credit pretty hard. I've been there and it's not a fun place to be.

Debt consolidation companies also receive more complaints with the BBB than any other business.

Be very careful and really try to negotiate with the cards yourself. Unfortunately they usually won't make deals with you unless you are behind.

Good luck!

 

[Jeff_G]

I would recommend checking out a copy of Dave Ramsey's Total Money makeover from your local library.

It is an easy read with some good advice.

Basically get on a written budget, cut your lifestyle as far as you can, sell anything you can get away with until you are out of debt.

 

[Planogirl]

Consolidated Credit is for real and good but they do charge a monthly fee. I would would look for the local Consumer Credit Counseling location and start there.

Be careful with the strategy of just not paying until you get the terms you want. Some companies won't ever budge and will send you to collections or place the account in chargeoff status. They can also file a judgment against you. All of this isn't great for your credit score to say the least.

 

[dhardawa]

Check with the Red Cross. My friend used to work there and they had a department that did debt consolidation and there was no fee.

 

[njcarita]

always been a budgeter and a saver..... hence my house has 70 percent equity in it and we were able to live off about 6 months of saving.......... but budgetting with NO income for me for 2 years and lots of medical bills was impossible after a while............... i am going to hold off going with a consumer credit company for now.....going to attempt it on our own for now....... i went ahead a pd a big chunk of the 30% cc.............. is there places i can cut from my budget im sure there is.......but honestly been pinching my pennies till they screamed lately............ right now me being able to work has been amazing..... and God willing I will be able to continue till i am at this job for 2 years and than be able to refinance.......... but now i am heading for work............. got to make more cc payments........... thanks for the replies............now i am debating whether to close the 30% card while we are paying it off or not.............. we have had for 11 years so its one of our older cards..........cant believe they wont lower our rate..................

 

[JeRmS]

..........cant believe they wont lower our rate..................

What incentive are you giving them to lower your rate??? you are paying on time payments to them WITH the interest of 30% ... If I were them, I wouldn't lower it either.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Look up your local Consumer Credit Counseling Services office.

Yes.
. . . free to you
. . . they help with budgeting

 

[mafibisha]

attempting to get out of a mountain of debt........ was sick for 2 years couldnt work........... now i am working about 30 hours a week.......husband is working alot of hours ........ have one going to college next yr............... but my minimus on my credit cards is taking my whole paycheck ( not complaining I owe it)............. most of my credit cards are 0 still......... but one is 30% and i called and they wont lower it.................. i am not behind..... never late.............. and i have tons of equity on my house but cant tap........cause my debt to income ratio is tooo high........... and my job too new ( 13 weeks yay) for it to be included as income............... so i know there is a way out of this ....rolling up my sleeves and NOT dis-paring ( not easy sometimes).......... was wondering if anyone work with an honest debt company................ i want to pay this back.... cause I owe it.... dont want to go bankrupt cause i owe this money.... just need a way to pay it back slower or lower interest rate.............gosh if i was able to refinance at these rates my monthly mortgage would be less than my mortgage is now and wiping out my debt...........but not an option..... so any ideas........ help.............

You've gotten some good feedback, and I wish you all the luck in the world.

My oldest sister and her DH recently refinanced for a 30 yr loan, although it took them many attempts with different banks. But their new rate is so low that it freed up alot of cash, helping them to pay off a lot of debt. And when I say a lot, I'm talking 20K not including their car and mortgage.
They're tackling their mortgage next hoping to pay it down to at least a 15 year (they're in their 50s and don't want to be paying on it in their 80s! eeks! Our parents advised them not to do it but it's working out well for them, they're very disciplined.

You might have to shop around a bit to find a bank but might be a good option.

 

[CalicoSky]

There's been some excellent advice here. A couple of things to be cautious with:

1) Hardball negotiation. It sometimes works, but it could also backfire and end up with your account being sent to a collection agency. Only you can decide if that's a risk worth taking.
2) Transferring unsecured debt--e.g. credit cards--to secured debt such as a mortgage. If you have to stop paying credit cards you'll take a hit on your credit rating, but if you stop paying a mortgage you risk foreclosure. Weigh the pros and cons based on your debt size, income stability, and the amount of potential savings vs. any financing costs.

The strategy I like for knocking out nagging bills:

• Ensure you can cover your mortgage and car payment (if you have one)
• Make a list of all your debts, their interest rates, balances, and minimum payments
• Determine how much of your budget can realistically go toward credit cards and similar debt each month
• Pay that amount to your creditors each month, putting the minimum payment on all but the one with the highest interest rate. The high-rate one gets every bit of the remainder of your monthly debt budget.
• As balances go down, minimum payments should as well, but you keep applying your original total budgeted amount. This will leave a larger $ amount to apply toward that high-rate balance as time goes on.
• Apply any windfalls--gifts, refunds, bonuses, overtime pay, etc.--to either an emergency savings fund, that highest-rate balance, or a combination thereof.
• Once the highest-rate debt is paid, start applying the same strategy to the next highest rate.
• Continue until you're debt-free.

An exception: If you have a low-balance debt that you can knock out in 3-6 months and free up that minimum payment entirely, that can be a win by giving you a sense of accomplishment and also wiping out a minimum payment that's likely a higher % of the balance than some larger debts.

Hang in there, you can do this!