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I'm maxed out at 12,500 at high apr across 5 different cards all 17 - 22 %.
My biggest balance is 5K.
I just started a new job so i'm unsure how much a full 2 weeks paycheck is after taxes, but I gross $2500 every 2 weeks.
I spend $1600 on monthly reoccuring bills & needs + $1400 on mortgage, plus my car and auto payments = $4000
My girlfriend nets $1000 every 2 weeks.
We are barely getting by. Not much money is wasted on friviolous things.
Do I snowball method.
How do I get above water?
Can I consolidate all 12K somewhere for less than 12%?
The answer ia pretty much always the same with questions like this, you either need to make more or spend less. There are a few things that stand out to me. First, $1600 above and beyond rent/mortgage & car payments is a LOT. You make the comment that not much is wasted on frivolous things, but I'd love to hear what goes into that $1600.
Second is that it seems you've got $1k per month going towards car. I'm not sure if that is for one or two cars, but if you're struggling to get by that is also a lot to be spending, even for two cars.
If you dig into what goes into those two buckets, I bet you'll come up with a lot of areas to cut. It may seem normal to have a $500 car payment and a $100 phone bill each month, but it's possible to get by on $200 and $30. It may seem normal to spend $100 on dinner for two several times a month but if you're barely getting by and debt is building up, then you simply can't afford it.
The same advice thats repeated over and over is to start with a budget to really understand where the money is going and make adjustments.
NFCU MR: $25K | Venture: $21K | Amex ED: $18K | NFCU CR: $18K | Amex BCE: $15K | IT #1: $17.5K | PNC Core: $15K | PPMC: $12K | Wells Fargo: $11K | Savor: 12K | Cap1 QS: $8.5K | Barclays Rewards: $7.75K | IT #2: $7.3K | MLife: $9.5K | Sportsman's Guide: $8.7K | PenFed PR: $5.5K | Elan Plat: $2.3K | TRV: $3.6K | BotW: $3K
Current FICO 8 Scores: EQ: 828| TU: 805 | EX: 814
***********EDIT - I should also mention that I actually wrote what Gemini101 wrote but erased it. I was afraid to come off too harsh and make you feel more doomed. In reality though Gemini101 is 100% correct. You need to get your spending habits in check. Unless there is a medical reason why you have to spend as much as you do, some things need to change in your life.
How is your util?
What's your current score?
This will help. I literally just went through this, albiet we weren't "underwater" nor were we "barely getting by", we just wanted to avoid paying astronomical interest payments.
If your intentions are to try and consolidate and pay down, make sure your score is high and your util is low.. That litterally makes no sense as the very idea of a consolidation loan is to consolidate your debt.. But util was a factor 100% of the time and we were denied every single time.
We had nearly 50k in CC debt, combined incomes of over 300k, one doctor one tech professional, not a single late payment, 100% clean credit, and we were denied for consolidation loans everywhere. In the end we simply paid down our cards aggressively and now people can't find a reason to say no to us.
I can tell you this, 1k for cars (which I hope includes insurance) needs to be squashed asap. We have $0 in car payments, not because we paid cash for top dollar cars, but because we bought reasonable vehicles to keep expenses down. I hope you're not upside down on the vehicles. If you are not, you can start by cutting that expense.
Also, I hate to ask as it may be private, but can you break down the $1,600 in reocurring bills and needs? We can help you, we just need more info!
What City do you live in? Get a spread sheet with creditor, balance apr and miniumum payment up and please post . What is the car deal? $1K for auto what the ...? How much is your car insurance? Do you have student loans? Where is the $1600 going? Many times you get spending stuck in habits that cost money and don't think about them. Sometimes it appears the spending may need reworking. No one here is out to judge you. Many infact have been in tough spots before. DW and mine business barely survived from 2006 to 2009. Last year on the other hand was fantastic. We had to cut cable tv out and dinner was a a $1 TV dinner for those three years. We are masters of thrift. It was not fun.