SEVERE credit limit decrease HELP

[Jesi]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I'm sorry about the CLD, but let me see if I understand. So you owed $472, not $25. $25 is the MIN due. If you only pay the min, you get hit with interest. So first thing is pay it off, and never pay for things you can't pay when the statement hits. And paying it off fully will drop your utilization, thereby bringing back up your credit score. Utilization is reported each month and resets so not the biggest problem in credit.

Second, don't wait until the due date to pay a card, pay immediately when you get the statement. I check my accounts once every week or two and pay if the statement hit. There are times where I have to wait until a week before the due date to pay the card, but I pay it. The wind and snow storms were well covered on the news BEFORE they hit, so you could have played it safe and paid before the storm.

I personally have my cards spread out to the 8th, 15th, and 22nd of each month (or close enough if the card doesn't allow that exact date). Rotating categories on the 22nd, flat rewards on the 15th, and 8th for everything else (specilized cards). Doing this allows me to pay on time and make sure that all my bills are spread out. Perhaps it would help you.

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I can only pay the minimum due, do you know where I can come up with thousands of dollars to pay off the card? I'd love to hear about it! Yes, I know paying in full will drop the utilization, we aren't making enough money right now to pay the cards in full.

I don't usually wait until the due date to pay the card in full, right now I have no choice. Either eat or pay off credit cards, I choose eat. I can't help that my husbands work isn't as fluent as it was before and he had a pay cut. So no, I couldn't have played it safe, I didn't have the money to pay that card early at the time.

I'm well aware on how to pay the bills and pay them early. I don't get the luxury of doing that on every card every month, sometimes they get paid on the due date. It is what it is.

[Jesi]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Jesi wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Fifteen Synchrony cards?!

I agree with happypill - that's way too many. In fact, having 15 cards at all is probably too many, but then I'm playing it conservatively these days when it comes to credit, having learned some hard lessons from my past mistakes. I only have one Synchrony card (Amazon Store Card), because I buy a lot of stuff there; I was considering getting CareCredit (also Synchrony) but decided against it because I've seen too many negative stories about that card here and elsewhere.

But we're really not talking about me. I do understand that you faced serious issues with your power being off for 6 days and the nearest Gap store where you could pay being an hour away, but again, I have to ask; wasn't there any other way you could have gotten online - gone to a friend (I understand you have no family living nearby) or neighbor who did have electricity and was willing to let you log on to their computer or power up to use your own device, or done the payment from work if you had access to a computer there and your work wasn't too sticky about personal use? I genuinely am having a hard time seeing how you had no alternatives whatever in this situation.

P.S. I also understand you're upset and under stress, but there's no need to be snippy with people who are trying to help you...

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Fifteen is probably an exaggeration, my husband and I are authorized users on each other's cards as well. I see several people with signatures of cards showing they have 20 or more. Gotta build credit somehow and this was how we were able to buy our car, we had a lot of cards with no balance on them and high credit limits.

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Forget about what everybody else does and have for credit products. Worry about yourself please.

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Stop commenting on my post please.

[Jesi]

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@Anonymous wrote:

"The people who have 20 cards whose signatures you see have them with different lenders, not one lender "

This ^^ 

Diversify your lenders.

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I do diversify my lenders, I don't only have cards with Synchrony. I have Comenity, Capital One, Credit One, Bank of America, TD Bank. People are making assumptions because I don't post my cards in my signature. I didn't think it was relevant considering I was asking about my credit limit being decreased and everyone is apparently bored today so they're talking about everything but what I asked about.

[luxeprw9]

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@Jesi wrote:

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@luxeprw9 wrote:

I don't have any store cards so I'm not sure if this is an option but  going forward you should consider setting up automatic payments.  If it is an option, you could set it up to pay the minimum due.  That way if something like this happens again, you will be covered.

Seems like you are on the edge financially.  A little bit of unsolicited advice -  sometimes being credit card debt free and not worrying about credit can be an enormous stress reliever.  Instead of trying to build credit (right now), maybe take a year off from the credit game and build an emergency fund and live off of cash.  Trust me, not being at the mercy of banks and credit scores, is life altering!  The opportunity to build credit is a marathon, not a sprint.  Taking a break, clearing your mind and having cash will help you in the long run.

I hope everything works out for you!

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Definitely will never do auto payments, that will lead to bounced payments, it wouldn't lead to be me being covered if the money isn't there, that's more for people that get paid the same amount every week and can budget that in. Our income changes week to week, like last week because of the weather my husband was only at work Monday. They told him to stay home because they coudln't work Tuesday through Friday. His paycheck is going to be horribly low this coming up week so had I not paid the bills ahead and let them go through when they were due we'd be in a lot of trouble. Plus I'd be paying more interest by paying them on the due date. I prefer to just pay them myself and usually early to keep the interest being charged as low as possible. I'm working towards being debt free, I can't really do that without building at the same time because I have a couple cards with high interest rates that are getting difficult to pay down. I really can't do any emergency fund until I pay the debt off that I have otherwise it will never go away with the interest rates they have.

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I understand.  I would recommend reading Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover for a clear cut plan to get you and your family on track.  I know there are alot of people who don't agree with him regarding his investment advice but for getting out of debt, in my opinion, he's 100% on the money.   

I wish you well and hope to hear good reports from you in the future!  You can do it!  Stay strong and stay focused!

[Anonymous]

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@Jesi wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Jesi wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Fifteen Synchrony cards?!

I agree with happypill - that's way too many. In fact, having 15 cards at all is probably too many, but then I'm playing it conservatively these days when it comes to credit, having learned some hard lessons from my past mistakes. I only have one Synchrony card (Amazon Store Card), because I buy a lot of stuff there; I was considering getting CareCredit (also Synchrony) but decided against it because I've seen too many negative stories about that card here and elsewhere.

But we're really not talking about me. I do understand that you faced serious issues with your power being off for 6 days and the nearest Gap store where you could pay being an hour away, but again, I have to ask; wasn't there any other way you could have gotten online - gone to a friend (I understand you have no family living nearby) or neighbor who did have electricity and was willing to let you log on to their computer or power up to use your own device, or done the payment from work if you had access to a computer there and your work wasn't too sticky about personal use? I genuinely am having a hard time seeing how you had no alternatives whatever in this situation.

P.S. I also understand you're upset and under stress, but there's no need to be snippy with people who are trying to help you...

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Fifteen is probably an exaggeration, my husband and I are authorized users on each other's cards as well. I see several people with signatures of cards showing they have 20 or more. Gotta build credit somehow and this was how we were able to buy our car, we had a lot of cards with no balance on them and high credit limits.

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Forget about what everybody else does and have for credit products. Worry about yourself please.

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Stop commenting on my post please.

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I know the truth hurts, with all due respect.

I will stop commenting as you requested as a "goodwill gesture".

[Anonymous]

So sorry to hear about your husband's job situation right now. isnt that an invitation right now to look for a job that provides stable income? i know its hard to shift from one job to another sometimes , but knowing that you are in debt and paying high interest cards , i think the best way to get out of this situation is to look for a job that provides stable income. it probably already is waiting for you to notice and take action , may be this is the time of change . Good luck !

[Anonymous]

So I just read how strapped you are for money that you can't pay more than the min due. So my advice, look at where your spending is going. Cut out any unneccessary expenses (ex movie theaters) and plan a budget. If you eat organic, you may need to see if you can cut some of the foods to normal produce, if not everything. If you order or dine out alot, you may find cooking at home is cheaper. Perhaps you can cut cable (if you have it) and stick with Netflix. Or see if you can go to a cheaper, less channels plan. Price compare different service providers (cable, internet, cell, etc.) when you can switch and take the cheaper option if you can.

Budgeting is not fun, but neccessary. Every little thing you can save on or cut is better for you to be able to pay your bills and helps in the long term.

[Anonymous]

This tread is going downhill quickly.  A reminder to all (responders and OP) to make sure your posts fall with the guidelines listed here.  OP, your only option is to contact Credit Solutions again but I would not be that hopeful that they'll restore your original limit. In time your scores will rebound as you pay down the balance.  Good luck and the thread is now locked.