Just need encouragement

[threecrazykids]

I am just needing to vent...we are on the verge of having to sell our house because we've made so many stupid financial moves. So FLAME AWAY because once that is all done I need advise on what the hell to do.

We have at least 15k in credit card debt and are literally buried.

I sat down probably 2 months ago and calc'd up our income versus our bills and we have less than $100.00 a month. That's just SUPER! So anything that comes up that isn't planned ended up going on a freaking card.

I am so p***ed at ourselves I could just spit.

I went through and lowered what I could for bills (dropped down to the basic cable plan, combined internet, phone, etc). I am seriously considering dropping our cell phones, I never use it anyway...maybe just get a prepaid phone for all of us to use.

I just don't know how any of these piddly little bills being lowered really makes a difference in the big scheme of things...ya know?

If it wasn't for the $500+ dollars a month credit card payments we would be just fine but I just am at my ropes end.

Is the only option we have at this point to generate additional monthly income? Hubby or myself getting a second job...then what if that income moves us into the next tax bracket? UGH...I just have a million questions and no idea where to start.



I plan on selling every possible thing we can to generate some cash to get those stupid credit cards paid off. And so help me God once they are paid I'm cutting them up for good.

Thanks guys for listening and I know I need a good butt chewing for this, this isn't the first time I've been in this boat.

 

[Liberty Belle]

You're not alone in that boat.

 

[mom of 3G's]

First off, I would cut down on any service that isn't necessary, i.e. the cable, at least one cell phone, etc. Those little bills add up to a large chunk of change each month. If you can't afford it, there's no reason to have these extra things in life.

 

[jemgumby]

No flames here. I am not part of the "almighty budget board panel of judges" that feels they can give people permission to go on vacation, etc. It's obvious you realize you have made some bad choices but let's be realistic who has never made a bad decision? Except for Jesus Christ I can't think of another person. With the economy going the way it is the majority of people are struggling and some of those not so good decisions are coming back to bite us in the butt!!! All I can say is hang in there and move forward. Have you tried contacting your cc companies and working something out? Just remember that one day this will be just a faint memory and you will have learned a very hard life lesson in the meantime.

 

[december14disney]

No flames. We all make stupid moves!

I hope things work out for the best..

 

[PatsMom]

I wouldn't let being worried about going into the next tax bracket stop me from looking for a part time job. Just check the brackets and if you are going to be in a higher bracket, you might want to increase your withholdings to make sure you avoid undewithholding penalties. Or at least make sure you have the money set aside to pay your taxes at the end of the year.

 

[suezpqt]

We have all been there before - myself included - honestly check with your local Consumer Credit Counselors!!! They work with your credit cards and anyone else that you ask them to - to drop interest rates - mine have been dropped to more than 1/2!!! It works!

 

[yasuern]

No FLAMES!

Okay now call everyone of your credit cards and ASK for a lower rate - if this doesn't work think about transfering some of the higher interest cards to lower ones - we often get deals like "transfer and enjoy 3.74% ON THE TRANSFERRED BALANCE ONLY until it is paid

Also could you take a home equity loan out to pay off the credit cards? or refinance to a longer period of time(if you have only 15 years left ask and see if you can refi to a 30 yr fixed) this will lower your monthly mtg bill - but you can still take any extra money(say even $100/month) and put it towards your principle


ALL of these suggestions have draw backs but its someplace to start/something to think about


Tough times and we are all feeling it - hope you get it all turned around


Sue

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

No flames here, but you can cut up those cards before they are paid off!

 

[dawnbu40]

We have all made decisions that we regret. Hindsight is 20/20. You are now making tough and difficult decisions but you are being responsible. Good luck to you and your family!

 

[HGD24]

Fortunately, I've not been in your position, but I have family members who have. Call your credit card companies and ask for a lower interest rate on any new purchases (which you hopefully won't need) and ask if you can get a no interest payment plan on the current balance. I actually got a 0% interest payment plan for a family member once. It took them a year to pay off the balance, but there was no more interest being calculated and they made at least the minimum payment each month.

Cut out anything unnecessary (ie: cellphones, internet service). Unplug all unused appliances - only plug them in when using them. The money saved on these things may not seem like much but any little bit towards the credit card bill is good.

Good luck!

 

[secretpantssam]

Hey everyone makes mistakes, so don't beat yourself up too much.

I would cancel absolutely anything that is not needed. Even things that don't seem like a big expense can add up. Cell phones, cable, internet...you can live without these things for a few months. And even if it's just $50 a month, that adds up! Try to cut down on your electric bill by unplugging everything you're not using. Again this doesn't seem like much, but it all adds up. Another thing that might help is if you write down everything you spend money on. That way you can see how much money you spend on little things like coffee, lunches out, or whatever and you can cut all the unnecessary stuff. The more little things you cut out, the more money you have left over at the end of month.

And I also recommend calling your credit card companies to get the lowest rate they can give you.

Just take it one step at a time, and you'll get out of this.

 

[OctMtnWoods]

No flames. I can't tell you how refreshing it is to come to this board and hear people wanting to start living within their means again. Horray for you!

Since you have the positive attitude, and has seen the light, I'm sure you will figure it out and get it done.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I certainly wouldn't flame someone who realizes they made mistakes, wants to learn from them and is trying to dig themselves out of a hole

I do think looking for an extra job would be smart. Run the numbers, but even if it moves you into a higher tax bracket that will not likely eat up ALL of the added income. Every bit WILL help even if it seems like it isn't. It does add up.

Also, look at more ways to be even more ruthless and really cut out a lot:

If your cell phones are no longer under contract and you do not truly NEED them (ie your job requires it, etc.) then get rid of them.

Also, get rid of the "basic cable." Seriously. I have two kids myself and we went two years with no TV signal (couldn't even get a signal with an antenna in the middle of nowhere that we lived at the time). It really wasn't that bad. After about a month the kids got into the habit of doing other things to entertain themselves and didn't miss the TV (we have it again now because 1. it is included in our rent and 2. it helps us practice our German now that we have moved to a foreign country). Drop the cable now while the nice summer weather offers the chance for all of you to play outdoors instead. Many libraries also rent DVDs free of charge so you can watch those when the couch potato bug strikes

Then do all of the other standard slashing the budget things like really watching electric consumption; driving as little as possible by combining trips or walking, etc; really evaluating all the activites the kids are involved in and scaling back to what they love most and/or is the most reasonable or even taking a break if at all possible from any fee based activites for at least the summer (find free things through the city or at the library, etc.); eat at home always and eat healthy but not pricey (no steaks, no expensive granola bars or juice boxes, etc.)buy only what you really need and buy used when possible, etc.

You can do it if you REALLY set your mind to it. Good luck

 

[yakkin' yeti]

Hang in there! You won't get any judgments from me.

Haven't had cable for four years -- don't miss it. We use the library and Netflix for videos. (Yes, Netflix costs, but it is much less expensive than cable -- and we can get all the obscure British TV shows we like.)

We switched to prepaid cellphones and have never looked back. We save about $500 a year over our former plan, because I only use mine when I'm out of town on a business trip.

Another thing we did that might work for you is switched to a higher deductible for both our car and home insurance. That way, you're still covered in case of an accident, but you can save a few hundred dollars a year.

Craigslist, consignment (for both selling and buying my son's clothes), and ebay all help a little. We tried a garage sale last summer and didn't make much, but every little bit helps. I think it depends on the kinds of stuff you have for sale -- our neighbors had one last weekend and made over $500.

Please hang in there! There are lots of us toughing out this economy. You aren't alone.

 

[tinkermom23]

One day you'll look back and say " boy, that was tough but we made it!"

Don't give up or let it get you down too much. One thing that helped us is to remind ourselves, everyday, that we are working toward a goal. Ours was paying off medical bills and when I was at the grocery store, I thought, " Do I want to be debtfree or do I want to eat steak tonight?" and then I bought the hamburger.

It's a change of lifestyle that will be beneficial in the long run. And I agree with pp, cut up the cards now (and remove the temptation. )

Lots of people on the boards talk about Dave Ramsey and he suggests that you put $ in an emergency fund, then get rid of all credit cards, and you have the emergency fund if you need instead of holding on to the cards. Maybe check him out.

Oh, and try coupons is you don't already...every little bit helps. Maybe you could find a part-time job that pays cash or find someone that you can barter with if you are worried about changing tax bracket??

Whatever you do, good luck and hang in there!!

 

[RunDanceSkate]

We are/were in the same hole but we are climbing our way out. This is what we are doing:

1. Watching a show called "Til Debt Do Us Part", Canadian show which also has a good (free) website. We use her cash jar budget method and it works. It has actually become a challenge to see how much we can have left in our jars at the end of the week, we put that against credit cards no matter how small the amount.

2. Faced up to our debts, this was the hardest thing.

3. 2nd job we started out working on night per week (Saturday) delivering pizzas and now have picked up additional shifts. We made the commitment to them that one of us would be there every Sat night, the hardest shift to fill and DH and I take turns. We easily clear $130 in an 8 hr shift after fuel/wear and tear on vehicle. That's over $500 per month.

4. Gave up all luxuries, eating out, movies, clothing, until we are out of this hole. I do have $30 per week in our budget for that stuff but we have been saving it for back to school clothes/ Christmas.

5.Got the kids on board (teenagers)

6. Don't use credit cards or even debit cards.

When we first started this 2 months ago it was going to take 3.5 years to pay off the credit cards using our first budget. Now with the 2nd job and cutting back even more it will be 2yrs. Budgeting is my new hobby it replaced shopping, and it feels great. My change jar actually has money in it. I taped it shut last week and haven't dipped into it once.

This is the debt calculator that we are using.

http://www.vertex42.com/Calculators/debt-reduction-calculator.html

We also plan on having a garage sale.

We have consolidated in the past but we just ran up the cards again as well as having the loan to pay off. Now that I am paying the credit cards off myself I think that I will keep them off. I hate seeing any charges on the cards now even if DH just charges something for work and pays it right back. It's different this time.

The next time I get a "transfer your balance offer" I will take it using the smallest card first so that I prove to myself that I can pay it off and if that works I will do a larger card on the next one. It seems those cards always have a major jump in interest rate at 6months so I want to pay it off before then.

Good Luck

Cindy

 

[SandrA9810]

Things were like that when I first lost my job, went from a few hundred extra every month, to -500 a month. We had to borrow money from Kari's parents to stay in our apt till the lease was up (3 months). I was so used to sending like 50$ to every company over the min that I had to take a look back over and re-adjust our payments to the bare minimum.
If you drive two cars, is it possible to stop driving one and share the other? You could drop the coverage on the second car. I did this with Kari's van for a while (40$ a month). Because we always shared our ride in, even if we were off 4 or more hours apart. Which yes, it got very stressful in the beginning because I was only working like 10hrs a day and she would work like 15hrs a day. Eventually it became a habit.

It's always hard when you look at the bills and just the min payments far exceeds your income, and you haven't even made room for gas and food.

I've tried calling a few CC companies, and they were no help at all. After asking bank of america, they thought my credit limit was too high and slashed it in half, but did nothing for the APR. The very last transaction (besides a balance transfer that was paid off) was in feb of 2006, and they still wouldn't let me keep my high credit limit. Citi has been good to us, I've seen a few point drops here and there on different cards. (Citi is the provider for goodyear, home depot, and our student visa card).

One nice thing about student loans is you can put those on forbearance. It does acrue interest the whole year, but you don't have to make a payment, and even if you do send one in occasionally they don't take you off forbearance till you call and ask them to. But you can only do it for 12months.

Ohh and credit counseling was a joke... they sent me a booklet stating I should seek more income. The best they could do was lower my min payments by 50$ a month. And we have quite a few high interest CC, and it barely made a dent. I didn't feel Kari's credit score was worth messing up for a measly 50$ a month.

 

[Glenn]

Hang in there. Check how many minutes youve been using on your cell phone to see if its even worth having. I have a Trac phone & put in 60 minutes good for 2 months for $20. They have specials & larger time cards that are cheaper/minute. They will also roll over minutes as long as you put in more minutes before the last one expires. Do you use coupons? Small savings but helpfull. Grocery shopping, do you do 1 store or check out all the adds? I go thru all the ads, sometimes its not worth a little longer drive sometimes it is. If Aldies or a Super Target is close they can have some good prices too. Good luck.

 

[Gretchen3ajoshmom]

Hugs.... We are digging out of a hole too.... It will get better. I have no quick fixes but coupons and low cost meals are great, cutting out eating out (this one can be tough for us) can help.. Look at your finances realistically and stick to whatever plan you develop... It does get better... And as you start digging out of the hole you will get better interest rates etc... Good luck