Credit Line Increase

[805orbust]

Hey, I agree with what everyone else said. Also reread my previous post and it felt a little over the top. You've got this. We've definitely been there and just want to help. The feeling you'll have when you pay that last cent off is indescribable. 

We want you to have it 🙂.  You've got this. 

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[Anonymous]

@805orbust  No worries!  I probably need that kind of push.  While this whole situation is difficult, and I can say that some things are hard to hear, it's honesty and it's coming from people who are speaking from experience.  I can assure you the only advice I'd get from family and friends would either be no sympathy at all, because they would not understand how or why I allowed myself to get in this predicament (make your choices and deal with the ramifications, too bad, too sad, etc) or there would be the whole "I feel sorry for you/pity you" and that would be the end of it (i.e. no solutions on steps to take/suggestions for a plan, etc).  Plus, I'm kinda private and I know if I share this with family or friends, it isn't something that they would keep to themselves.  I prefer not to have everyone know my business.

Ugh. I'm clearly in my feelings and it just sucks knowing that I have all this crap to pay for and my friends are buying new cars, houses, patio furniture, etc.  (BTW, total side note:  has anyone else but me wondered how people are able to buy so much stuff (houses, cars, UTV, furniture, etc) in a short period of time?  Inquiring minds want to know!  Maybe the better question is, "how are people not scared to buy all this stuff and not be concerned about accumulating so much debt?" ).  I did this myself and one day it will be paid off.  So, with that said, thanks for the words of encouragement.  

I will be relieved when my balances say $0!!!!  

[K-in-Boston]

A lot of us have been there and some of us still are to varying extents (raises hand).   You're not going to get any judgment here.

I would definitely say that in the short-term, making a plan on how much you can pay and where to put those payments is the way to go.  Definitely don't add new charges to the cards if they have existing balances since you'll accrue interest immediately.  Yes, you need that available credit because without it your future options for reducing the amount of interest you will pay will be severely limited if you always have maxed out cards.  It takes a lot to be able to admit that you may have an issue with filling the cards right back up.  If that is the case, cut the cards until you can get everything under control.  If you can trust yourself to always pay your new charges in full, then emptying one of the smaller cards might make sense if they earn rewards as you can apply those rewards to your payoffs - but if you go that route, promise yourself to treat it like a debit card and pay the full statement balance each month.

Once you can get the balances down a bit (and not necessarily to 30%, just not maxed out all over), read up here and ask questions.  If you can chip away at the balances, then loans or balance transfer offers may be available for you that can substantially reduce the interest you are currently paying.

Are you eligible for membership at Navy Federal Credit Union or do you have an existing relationship with a local credit union?  I am not suggesting to apply for anything now, but it may help with a roadmap.  Approval for pretty much anything is doubtful right now, but after few thousand dollars in reduced balances a credit union may be willing to give you a chance and help you really slow the bleeding - there is a substantial portion of your current payments going toward interest.

[Anonymous]

@K-in-Boston  My goal is to not charge anything until I can pay these balances down.  Cutting those cards....yikes!  My hesitation to that is I travel for occasionally and that requires overnight travel. While my employer covers the cost of the hotel rooms, I have to put a CC on file for potential incidentals (which I never have).  I know I can use a debit card, but that sometimes incurs a hold and then I wouldn't be able to use my debit card. As of right now, my dept is not doing any in person training and it's all virtual.  But hopefully that will change sooner than later.  My travel is infrequent, so using my card for that will be a rare occurrence.  Two of the cards are below 60%.  I know not great, but much better than they were last month.  

I am a member of VACU.  I have a small checking and savings account with them. I also t9ok outa small loan ($500) with them. That loan is something that my employer offers employees who are VACU members. No SP or HP and the payment comes out of my check  every pay period.  The loan should be paid off next month and it is reported to the three credit bureaus.  I took out that loan  because my oldest had an emergency health issue first of the year.  She was transferred by ambulance from one ER to the hospital she goes to for followup.  I knew I was going to have two ER visit co-pays, of at least $300 total.  So I did that loan to have for emergencies.  My daughter met her out of pocket medical expenses right after that and I already had a payment plan set up through the hospital, so what I ended up owing was less than. I thought it would be.  The hospital bills were paid in full a few months ago.  I'm thinking about doing another loan  after this is paid for and applying that to one of my CC.  I know you can do one every six months, maybe 2 loans max.  The VACU isn't my main bank, but I do have a relationship with them.

I looked up NavyFed because I see a lot of people posting about that.  I could qualify because my dad was in the military. I'm sure he is not a member and to join, I would need some documentation from him to verify his veteran status.  I'm sure that would pose the question of "why do you want to join that CU when you aren't in the military and there is a CU 30 minutes away 🙄.  So, I feel like that is too much of a hassle and people ending up in my business.  

[K-in-Boston]

@Anonymous it sounds like those loans are guaranteed, so certainly go that route as much as you can as long as the interest is lower than your existing APRs.  Having a set timetable to pay the loan off is also good since it keeps you "honest" on your payback which might not be as easy if you say "I'm going to pay an extra $100 for 6 months on that card."

Cutting the cards would be an extreme measure.  If you can keep from using them, there is no need.  Maybe stash one in your office desk to use for travel if you did need to resort to that?

As for NFCU, you are eligible.  Most likely they will just pull up your father in their database.  It's rare for them to ask for a DD-214 for eligibility.  They are much larger than most banks but have very lax underwriting.  (They are the largest CU, and larger than the next few CUs combined!)  There would be no interrogation whatsoever.  After you get the balances paid down a little more, I would implore you to join them, open a share account with as little as $5, and apply for the Platinum Card which offers a 0% balance transfer for 12 months with no fees to transfer.  They CAN be very, very generous, and it's an opportunity to potentially save hundreds of dollars a month in interest.

[Anonymous]

@K-in-Boston Good to know!  I will definitely have to look into the CU.  I've read posts where many people have mentioned how generous they are when it comes to loans.

As far as the loan that I have with my CU, I'm pretty positive the max amount is $500 that you can borrow, which comes out to $46 a payperiod.  While the loan is for six months, I think it can be paid off early but I think keeping it open for the duration of the loan terms is better for my credit in the long run.

Thanks for the suggestion on NFCU.  That makes me more optimistic now about being a member.

[Anonymous]

Here's an update:  Of course, in typical fashion, life always throws me a curve ball.  I had an added car expense, although it was small, had to pay personal roperty and real estate taxes, and found out my youngest will need braces, so I have a huge down payment to make next month.  With that being said, I knew that I wouldn't be able to pay too much extra towards my Discover card.  I already made two separate $25 payments a few weeks ago.   I decided to pay the rest of the minimum payment, plus a few extra dollars the day before my minimum payment was due.

Here's the kicker: automatic minimum payment comes out the 22nd of each month and in the past, if I paid it early, they didn't take the automatic payment out.  Well, not the case this month.  Paid the rest, plus a little extra, on the 21st and then on the 22nd, the remaining balance of the minimum was taken out.  I paid a total of $332 towards my balance.  Of that total, $158 and change went to interest. (Boo)  With that being said, I just got an email from Discover saying they increased my credit limit from $9500 to $10,500.  I was definitely not expecting that. 

I guess it's a good thing I made an extra payment by mistake!

[AllZero]

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@Anonymous wrote:
With that being said, I just got an email from Discover saying they increased my credit limit from $9500 to $10,500.  I was definitely not expecting that.

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Congratulations on your CLI!