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my brother had 18k in cc debt on 2 cards. 90% utilization. he has great credit though. I suggested he try app'ing for some 0% interest cards and he app'ed for 4 cards that gave 0% interest for 9 months, 12 months, 15 months, and 21 months. Citi, Chase, Capital One, Discover. $15k extra CL on those 4. he will save $1500 in interest over 9 months. See if this is an option for you if your credit cards are charging outrageous interest fees and if you have no baddies on your report and a decent income (50k or more) then you can save yourself some interest payments. just my two cents. i'm not a pro but i've learned a lot on her. and i have myFICO to thank for my success.
"Use your Credit wisely, don't let it use you!"~Me
@pipeguy wrote:In my opinion, filing bankruptcy should not be done as a matter of "convenience". As you stated, you are cashflow stressed, but you have not missed any payments and other than high utility, your credit is not trashed. You need to examine why you are maxed out, be it needed spending vs optional spending. Get a second job, sell online on eBay, cut out eating out, buying toys (things you don't need but want) and then go after one card at a time with a bit extra to pay it off. Look to make a lifestyle change, meaning look where you can save a bit here and there and take that money to reduce your debt. Banks, not fly by night online debt consolidation companies, will issue debt consolidation loans try banks and credit unions - expect to get rejected, but you only need one to say yes.
Expect to spend a year or two "suffering" to tackle your situation, but that timeframe is less than what you'll go through with a bankruptcy on your record. I know a lot of folks on here go through bankruptcy for a multitude of reasons, and they recover in 2-3-5 years, but IMO maxing out your credit cards and having a hard time making payments is not reason enough to file bankruptcy just because its hard to pay for your spending. One thing you must do is get past the minimum payment routine, you'll never get out of debt making minimum payments.
You have options, bankruptcy is one of those options, but IMO at this point it would be a bankruptcy of convenience not one of necessity (and yes the easy way out).
Agreed,
OP needs self control.