I need serious financial advice...

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by my3kids

edited to add I just saw you live in Boston. Guess you can't find car insurance for less, or a cheaper apartment. Do you absolutely have to have a car? Would public transportation get you both to work until the debt is paid off. Is your boyfriend paying on the debt as well?

We live near the NH border, the only public transportation would still require a car to get to it from where we live. As well, as grocery shopping etc. If we lived deeper in the city it would be okay, but getting by without a car where we live would be very hard.

 

[phorsenuf]

I did some quick calculations and an $8,000. loan at 20% (yes, I calculated very high) works out to be $211. a month for 5 years.
Of course the lower the interest the lower the payment. I chose 20% as an example because if you have so-so credit it could possibly be that high.

check this site out.
http://www.bankrate.com/goocalf/calculators/credit-cards.asp

 

[my3kids]

But, if you get the low interest rate card and close all other accounts, then there is only a single credit line open on your report. As you as you keep making your payments on time, every time, it won't take long for the report to look very good. The problem with getting new cards is the total amount of credit available....if Target has you listed as a limit of $1000, MBNA as $20,000, another card as $2000 etc. then you conceivably could spend that much and of course, your income wouldn't justify being able to repay. If you have only one card then the total amount of credit available is lower, thus better looking.

 

[phorsenuf]

Originally posted by EsmeraldaX
We live near the NH border, the only public transportation would still require a car to get to it from where we live. As well, as grocery shopping etc. If we lived deeper in the city it would be okay, but getting by without a car where we live would be very hard.

If you are near the NH border, I would seriously consider moving up into NH. No sales tax and car insurance will be MUCH cheaper!
I live in NH and we moved from Ma. Depending on where you work and where you live it may work out much better for you!
PM me if you want!

 

[shatzjsl]

Esmerelda,

There is a lot of good advice here. I just wanted to add that I have been there. When I was your age I too had a lot of credit card debt. I was in a big hole. I finally cut up my cards and called the companies and asked them to close my account. It took 4 years but I finally go them paid off. It took a lot of sacrifices. If I wanted new clothes I had to put five or ten dollars away each payday until I had enough saved to go shopping. This usually took about 6 months. Then I went to the 50-75% off racks. It was tough but it made me much more financially responsible.

I now have one credit card and put a limit on it myself. If the credit card company raises it beyond that limit I call them and ask them to put it back.

You will get through this. It just won't happen overnight. Keep your chin up!!

Susie

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by phorsenuf
I did some quick calculations and an $8,000. loan at 20% (yes, I calculated very high) works out to be $211. a month for 5 years.
Of course the lower the interest the lower the payment. I chose 20% as an example because if you have so-so credit it could possibly be that high.

check this site out.
http://www.bankrate.com/goocalf/calculators/credit-cards.asp

I emailed that link home to myself, and I will look into it. That sounds like it could help.

Thank you so much for this.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by phorsenuf
If you are near the NH border, I would seriously consider moving up into NH. No sales tax and car insurance will be MUCH cheaper!
I live in NH and we moved from Ma. Depending on where you work and where you live it may work out much better for you!
PM me if you want!

PM sent

Thank you!

 

[Christine]

Esmerelda,
Please check into one of the 0% credit card offers that always float around. My cousin had $25,000 worth of credit card debt on various cards. My boss' wife also did a doozy with about $15K. Both of them went and applied for these cards that offered 0% for 6-12 months. They put all their debt on this one card, closed the other ones out, and made the largest payments they could. After the 0% offer ran out, they found another and transferred the balance. My cousin has been doing this for YEARS.... She has managed to get rid of all her debt and get herself in a much better financial picture. Please try this.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by shatzjsl
Esmerelda,

There is a lot of good advice here. I just wanted to add that I have been there. When I was your age I too had a lot of credit card debt. I was in a big hole. I finally cut up my cards and called the companies and asked them to close my account. It took 4 years but I finally go them paid off. It took a lot of sacrifices. If I wanted new clothes I had to put five or ten dollars away each payday until I had enough saved to go shopping. This usually took about 6 months. Then I went to the 50-75% off racks. It was tough but it made me much more financially responsible.

I now have one credit card and put a limit on it myself. If the credit card company raises it beyond that limit I call them and ask them to put it back.

You will get through this. It just won't happen overnight. Keep your chin up!!

Susie

Thanks Susie. I know what you mean about clothes. I always look at the sales racks when/if I go shopping. I just bought a dress to wear to my brothers wedding and I got it for $11.99 off the 75% off rack.

The last two years or so, I have really put a limit on personal spending. If I buy anything "fun" it is small. Either a cheap cd, or a cheap article of clothing. No more spending like crazy like I did when I was in college. Vacations are my priority for fun spending. I'd rather have one trip to Disney during the cheap season for a long weekend per year than 10 nice outfits because when I'm 80 looking back, I'll remember the trips. I won't remember the clothes.

Right now I put about $10 per paycheck into another account that was to be used for the Dec. trip. I just used what was saved up in it to get our MVMCP tickets since we only had one day available to go to it. I kind of wish I hadn't though, because they are not refundable and now I'm giving serious thought to canceling the trip.

I think if I stay on this course, not spending money on clothes, books, dvds etc. that I have saved a lot more than I used to. In fact, up until getting the car, I was actually feeling pretty good about my finances. But than suddenly another $300 a month was going towards the car/insurance and I realize it was probably a dumb thing to do.

 

[my3kids]

This is just me, but I would never go on a vacation when finances were tight. In my mind, there would be a lifetime of vacations once the debt was paid off. If a debt looked insurmountable, the last thing I would want to do was add more to it. Again, that is how I would feel...a hundred different people would feel a hundred different ways.

 

[DoeWDW]

I don't know if you have access to a credit union, either through your workplace, where you live or through someone in your family, but they are wonderful! I have free checking, access to all my accounts online, a VISA at 14% rate, etc. It's also much easier to qualify for low interest loans through them.

 

[Christine]

Originally posted by DoeWDW
I a VISA at 14% rate, etc. It's also much easier to qualify for low interest loans through them.

That seems like a pretty bad interest rate.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by DoeWDW
I don't know if you have access to a credit union, either through your workplace, where you live or through someone in your family, but they are wonderful! I have free checking, access to all my accounts online, a VISA at 14% rate, etc. It's also much easier to qualify for low interest loans through them.

I have a small account (just enough to keep it open) through a credit union through my fathers workplace. There is also something through my workplace. I will certainly look into it, although my current bank has free checking/online access. So the only really good thing would be a loan.

When I was getting financed for the car, I was able to get a much lower rate through the dealers finance company with a co-signer than through the credit union on my own, though.


Thank you ALL so much for the advice/encouragement. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.

 

[nowellsl]

You'd be surprised how much difference a low interest rate makes. A lot of credit cards offer special rates on balance transfers that are good until the balance is paid off. I just recently tranferred a balance and was able to get an interest rate of 3.9 percent until it's all paid. Or you could call the credit card directly and negotiate a lower rate. Those interest payments really add up if you're paying a high rate!!

 

[momof2inPA]

What about looking for a job in your field in another state? Thirty thousand goes much further in Western PA than in Boston.

 

[danacara]

There are no easy answers for you ... well, OK, I think if you're paying greater than 50% of the rent and the entire car payment, and your bf is earning more, if anything HE might be leeching just a bit ... but there is a wonderful site I want to recommend to you. http://www.cheapskatemonthly.com . It has a somewhat Christian bent that I basically ignore, but the advice and help in strategizing is second to none. I'd focus on three things. Eventually, you want to get to a point where you are

(1) saving money in advance, month-by-month, for short-term bills and long-term wants, in a very organized way - you already have the hang of that. On Cheapskate they call this the Freedom Account and they will teach you how to build one.

(2) are putting money to the side in case of dire emergency, ie getting laid off or facing a health crisis. This took some convincing for me until the time last year when I crashed my car into a snowbank, and my first thought, I swear it, was "I have money put away to fix this." Now I am a big believer. This is called the Contingency Fund and it keeps your life much calmer.

(3) are paying off your debts in logical order given the interest rates and fees attached to them. They call it Rapid Debt Repayment, and there's a tool there that can help you make a schedule.

You're not really a candidate for debt consolidation because you're only in the hole a fraction of your current annual income. It might be time to do things that are kind of brutal short-term to make for a better long-term outcome. That probably includes moving in with your parents for a year or so. I know it's rough, but you're at the point where that extra $400 could make a huge difference. $7500 debt, at 17% interest, would be paid off in 14 months if you could add that $400 to your current $200/month. If you could move the debt to a 0% card, it'd be gone in 12.5 months. That's it. One disciplined year at home, the debt would be gone.

 

[lil mermaid]

The way I see it, you can really only do two things. 1) Cut your expenses, or 2) increase your income. I hate to say it, but you probably should start by cancelling your trip. Second, you should probably pay off the store accounts and then close them for good.

Making under $30k per year with no hope of making much more, living in the Boston area...it will be very difficult to get ahead. I think that your income is a bigger issue that what debts you care carrying (especially since you don't ever think that you will make much more.) I don't see how you would ever be able to buy a home with that salary. I agree with Snoopy...now is the time to start looking for a new job. It will be much easier to do now, rather than ten years from now. I know this is a tough time to be looking...but there are jobs out there. You are college educated, and seem intelligent..you should be able to find something that pays you more. Maybe you should even think about going back to school.

I don't think that moving to New Hampshire will really save you much money. Sure your car insurance would go down some, but your commute would then be longer. You still have to pay Mass income tax if you work there. Probably, if you live close to the border, you do much of your shopping in NH anyway (at least I know I did when I lived there!)

If you don't want to do that, how about getting a part time job, for nights and weekends?

Whatever you decide to do, I wish you the best of luck. I've been where you are, and its not easy!

 

[Wish I lived in Fl]

Joe Dominguez- Your Money or Your Life

Amy Dacyczyn- The tightwad Gazette

Yes the car pushed you financially to the edge but a reliable car is important and an older car would be more likely to give you unpleasant financial surprises. Any babysitting or dogsitting favors for friends? Or a part time job - And then put everything toward paying off the debt.

Dh and I used to scorn his parents thrifty ways but they put 4 kids through parochial school, braces and loaned them money for college. When the kids repaid them the college loans that was part of their retirement nest egg. Now we are realizing we need to be more like them.

Good luck!

 

[4cruisin]

How about getting a part time job on weekends or evenings for a while to help out with the debt. If you live near NH, there are Walmarts, Home Depots, Sam's Club etc. It would be difficult to work extra hours on top of a full time job but it serves 2 purposes; it provides some extra $$ and most stores offer discounts for employees. That would help when you need to purchase new clothes or household items. Where there is a will, there is a way. I would never give up my car...it is your only means of travel and independence. It sounds like you got a good deal on a good car so I would not even consider getting rid of it.

Good luck.

Nancy

 

[aprincessmom]

Not sure what field you work in but there are plenty of jobs in the Boston area that will pay more than 30K and offer benefits and such. Heck, I waitressed almost 20 years ago and made about $26K with benefits part time...and that was 20 years ago.

Also, many secretarial positions in the Boston area pay in the mid-to upper 20s with benefits to start...including health and educational benefits so if you want to go back to school you can.

You won't get ahead financially without getting a new job. If you can't make the money to support yourself you will always be in this situation.

My cousin graduated 3 years ago with a useless degree and took a job in Boston that paid in the mid-$20s in something he didn't really want to do but in a company he liked. He lived at home for a few years, took the commuter rail into town, took his lunch to work, etc. to save money. Three years later he is working in a job he likes for the same company, going back to grad school at night (part of his benefits package) and making $50K a year after getting 2 promotions. He has his own apartment with a friend, a nice new car and money in the bank.

It can be done...you need to sit down and determine what's important to you and make a few short term sacrifices for long term happiness.

Good luck ...you've gotten some great advice here. I hope you can make it work for you.