Credit Card Debt

[Berk]

To the OP. Do what you have done twice before. Declare bankruptcy, ruin your credit, wait 7 years and do it all again. It is invariably what is going to happen. Your track record proves that. OR do what many have suggested - get rid of all your cards. Pay down the lowet balances first. See if you can lower your APR on the remainder. Negotiate terms if you can AND NEVER EVER, EVER APPLY FOR ANY OTHER TYPE OF CREDIT/CHARGE CARD AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

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@Berk wrote:

To the OP. Do what you have done twice before. Declare bankruptcy, ruin your credit, wait 7 years and do it all again. It is invariably what is going to happen. Your track record proves that. OR do what many have suggested - get rid of all your cards. Pay down the lowet balances first. See if you can lower your APR on the remainder. Negotiate terms if you can AND NEVER EVER, EVER APPLY FOR ANY OTHER TYPE OF CREDIT/CHARGE CARD AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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How encouraging....

[paturner]

Ok, so here's break down of cards, credit used, available and interest rates. Forgive the organization of the chart but coudln't figure out how to get into spread sheet (any help with that would be appreciated);

Creditor	Balance	Available Credit	Credit Limit	APR%	Monthly Pymt
American Express	$1082.00	$917	$2000	22.24%	$35.00
Discover	$963.70	$436.00	$1400	22.99%	$32.00
Capitol One	$1858.14	$391.56	$2250	17.90%	$73.00
Barclays	$900.22	$1299.78	$2200	27.24%	$29.00
Amazon Visa Chase	$1690.36	$109.64	$1800	21.24%	$49.00
Amazon Store Card	$0	$2200	$2200	$25.99%	$0
Paypal SmartConnect	$1372.00	$628	$2000	26.99%	$45.00
Belk	$200	$2800	$3000	24.49	$25.00
Walmart Discover	$1887.00	$2613	$4500	16.99%	$85.00
Credit Union	$4850	$156	$5000	9.9%	$109.00
Office Depot	$200	$800	$1000		$25.00
Wells Fargo	$700	$300	$1000	25.99%	$30.00
Old Navy Visa	$1845	$895	$2750	24.99%	$55.00
TJ Maxx Mastercard	$2674.91	$1325	$4000	26.99%	$68.00
Lowes	$54	$446	$500	24.00%	$27.00
Chase Freedom	0	$500	$500		0
Capitol One #2	$482	$500	$500	24.90%	$25.00
Goodys	0	$500	$500	24.00%	0
Best Buy Mastercard Khols	0 $69	$600 $1931	$600 $2000	24.00%	0       $25.00

[B335is]

Forgive the bluntness, but have you heeded any of the advice given thus far? Namely, reaching out to these lenders with 20+ % APR? Are you cutting non-essential costs from your budget? Can you earn more money?

[Berk]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Berk wrote:

To the OP. Do what you have done twice before. Declare bankruptcy, ruin your credit, wait 7 years and do it all again. It is invariably what is going to happen. Your track record proves that. OR do what many have suggested - get rid of all your cards. Pay down the lowet balances first. See if you can lower your APR on the remainder. Negotiate terms if you can AND NEVER EVER, EVER APPLY FOR ANY OTHER TYPE OF CREDIT/CHARGE CARD AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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How encouraging....

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The last thing the OP needs is warm fuzzies. He or She needs to realize the seriousness of their situation. They have declared bankruptcy twice before. They have proven that they cannot handle credit. They don't need to prove it again. I do hope they take the advice of everyone here. They are like a heroin addict. They love the feeling of using a credit card, hate coming down, but the sound of that plastic hitting the scanner is like a shot in the arm - until they wake up the next morning, open the bill, and realize that they are suddenly out of heroin.

[Anonymous]

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@paturner wrote:

Ok, so here's break down of cards, credit used, available and interest rates. Forgive the organization of the chart but coudln't figure out how to get into spread sheet (any help with that would be appreciated);

Creditor	Balance	Available Credit	Credit Limit	APR%	Monthly Pymt
American Express	$1082.00	$917	$2000	22.24%	$35.00
Discover	$963.70	$436.00	$1400	22.99%	$32.00
Capitol One	$1858.14	$391.56	$2250	17.90%	$73.00
Barclays	$900.22	$1299.78	$2200	27.24%	$29.00
Amazon Visa Chase	$1690.36	$109.64	$1800	21.24%	$49.00
Amazon Store Card	$0	$2200	$2200	$25.99%	$0
Paypal SmartConnect	$1372.00	$628	$2000	26.99%	$45.00
Belk	$200	$2800	$3000	24.49	$25.00
Walmart Discover	$1887.00	$2613	$4500	16.99%	$85.00
Credit Union	$4850	$156	$5000	9.9%	$109.00
Office Depot	$200	$800	$1000		$25.00
Wells Fargo	$700	$300	$1000	25.99%	$30.00
Old Navy Visa	$1845	$895	$2750	24.99%	$55.00
TJ Maxx Mastercard	$2674.91	$1325	$4000	26.99%	$68.00
Lowes	$54	$446	$500	24.00%	$27.00
Chase Freedom	0	$500	$500		0
Capitol One #2	$482	$500	$500	24.90%	$25.00
Goodys	0	$500	$500	24.00%	0
Best Buy Mastercard Khols	0 $69	$600 $1931	$600 $2000	24.00%	0       $25.00

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Holy high utilization, Batman!

[gh17]

If you've been bankrupt twice before (and if it wasn't for something like medical expenses or some drastic event), there's a real problem.  I'm guessing you're spending beyond your means.

Are the balances on the store cards like TJ Maxx, Old Navy, etc. from general Mastercard/Visa purchases or store purchases?  I'm hoping they're for groceries or something - if you're spending that much on clothes and you're in that much credit card debt, that's a real concern.  But this also raises the question - why are you putting everyday purchases on such high interest cards instead of on your lower interest cards?  Although I suppose it could be because purchases were made when close to your limits on other cards.

You need to do a serious evaluation of your budget.  Your money can go to your mortgage, food, gas, electricity, and I guess internet and a phone bill.  Car payment if you have that.  If you have kids, then things like school supplies and some clothes.  But beyond that you really need to limit it.  Cut cable and get a basic internet package.  If you really need TV get Netflix or get an antenna for the local channels, but cable prices can be outrageous, so I'd cut that bill down as much as possible.  Get rid of the data on your phone, or put it at the minimum.  Same with minutes and texting.  If you're spending more than 40 bucks per person, switch phone providers if it's not gonna cost you huge contract breaking fees or anything.  Consider even breaking off internet and relying on a library - if you have kids, I don't know if I'd recommend this because of homework and stuff, but you really need to do all you can to save money.  Stop eating out.  DON'T GO SHOPPING.  You need to go as bare minimum as you can.  Look at your income, and look at your monthly expenses.  If you're spending more than you earn, you need to either make some cuts or find a better job.

You need to pay more than the minimum payments or you're not gonna get very far.  Beyond the minimum payments, start throwing any extra at the highest interest cards.  This is how you'll pay it off fastest.  However, if it will give you motivation to pay off one card at a time starting with the small balances, that is another option - it's better than only paying the minimums, but it just won't go as fast as focusing on the highest interest cards.

All new purchases need to be cash or debit.  And if it absolutely has to end up on a credit card, make sure it's on the lowest interest one available.  (But it should not be on a credit card!)

Call all your credit companies and do whatever you can to negotiate lower APRs.  If you get a no, try to call again and speak with another representative.  If you keep getting nos, see if you have balance transfer options available.  Try to transfer high interest balances to lower interest cards.  Keep in mind that there may be balance transfer fees.  This is okay, just keep the fees in mind, and make sure you're actually saving money by doing the transfer.

But overall, BUDGET your expenses.

You need to learn to never ever ever ever use a credit card for anything that you can't afford with cash, and every time you make a new purchse, you need to learn to immediately pay it off with cash.  If you can't do that, credit cards aren't for you.

[MyDataMyChoice]

Have you tried the shopping cart trick for any comenity Visa Cards? (Fuel rewards mastercard?) (Sportmans Guide Visa) maybe you can get lucky and get a descent limit and balance transfer to one of these cards if it allows. (even if they are just the smaller cards... helps with minimum payments) Then snowball

0% APR Balance Transfer

[Dw4250]

OP you need an iron clad budget that you stick to without question.  A budget is a lot like a diet.  It requires lots of patience, discipline and sacrifice. 

Do you have a family member or friend who could help you to be accountable?  The reason I ask is since you have been down the yellow BK road twice before, you may need some help maintaining discipline.  There's no shame in asking for help.

Once you get your UTL around 50%, you may be in a position to qualify for a debt consolidation loan from a CU or Lending Club.  But again you need to address the fundamental issue.  Your earnings must be  > spending/debt obligations.  

Good luck!

[BearsAndTurtlesRtheBest]

We are in the same situation but with a larger number in CC debt, and so far hwat has helped us is 1.shredding CCs so they dont get used AT ALL and if the are being used its on a $0 balance card that is used to pay either gym membership, or mohtly Equifax Credit Monitoring that way its PIF so it as if we paying in cash since there is no APR getting accmulated. 2. paying off small balanes tht way those extra $25 or $30 are used for the next smallest acct, and when ever you can big the most to the largest acct that way that minimum payment can lower a couple dollars

All in all its a huge lesson to not do it again, and not use credit on things you arent going to able to pay back right away.

So far my parents altho they have high UTL they have gotten approved for CCs that offer 0% APR in BT for 12-15 months which that has helped us out alot!! so if you can do the same I would go ahead and do so.