Can I recover?

[Anonymous]

To make a long story short, I'm in debt up to my ears! I'm 27 now and I've been using credit since I was 18. My fico score was 592 last i checked and according to credit karma, my credit score is in the low 500s. It used to be in the low 600s but I took a hit when I switched jobs.

When I began college, I was dumb and opened up a lot of credit cards. Well, technically, it was only 4. 3 Citibank cards and 1 Wachovia. 1 Citibank and the Wachovia were settled after being in collections. 2 citibank cards remain in collections and I haven't been paying them; mostly because I forget to. That was around 2005-2008. Still have them though. Next up, I managed to open 2 Capital One cards and a Credit One card. 1 Capital One card is secured and one is unsecured. Following those cards, I managed to get store cards. 8 of them! That's all happened within the past 2-3 years. Also during this time, my mom let me use her credit card(s) and I would always say that I'd pay her back if I was able to use them. Well, I maxed out her Discover card to the tune of $12,000. She's paying it now because she doesn't want her credit to get screwed up and I'm supposed to be paying her back. Recently, I was approved for one of those credit cards that has a ton of fees and tricks, but since I'd lost my job, I was like whatever, I can pay it once I started my new job.

I pay my own auto insurance and cell phone bill. Those are my only two "real" bills, so I like to make sure those are always paid first. I don't have an auto loan, but I do have about $25,000 in student loans. I just graduated so those grace periods are coming to an end now.

I don't make a lot of money and when I DO get paid, I always run to fast food and spend it there or on things I don't need, clothes, trips, concerts, etc. It's a vicious, endless cycle. I know what to do, but I can never seem to follow through and it irritates me and everyone around me! I do the whole 'pay min' thing every month which is terrible, I know.

What SHOULD I be doing? In the end, I want to have 1 emergency credit card, 1 regular credit card, and a Walmart card(just because it has gas, food, clothes, etc). Should I try to pay some $ to every card every month or pick one card, pay it off, and then move on to the next card? The balances on half the store cards are low while the other half are kind of high. I also want to be able to pay my mother a large sum of money every month or something because for how much of her money that I've spent, she's pretty tolerable of me still hah.

[Pway]

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@Anonymous wrote:

To make a long story short, I'm in debt up to my ears! I'm 27 now and I've been using credit since I was 18. My fico score was 592 last i checked and according to credit karma, my credit score is in the low 500s. It used to be in the low 600s but I took a hit when I switched jobs.

When I began college, I was dumb and opened up a lot of credit cards. Well, technically, it was only 4. 3 Citibank cards and 1 Wachovia. 1 Citibank and the Wachovia were settled after being in collections. 2 citibank cards remain in collections and I haven't been paying them; mostly because I forget to. That was around 2005-2008. Still have them though. Next up, I managed to open 2 Capital One cards and a Credit One card. 1 Capital One card is secured and one is unsecured. Following those cards, I managed to get store cards. 8 of them! That's all happened within the past 2-3 years. Also during this time, my mom let me use her credit card(s) and I would always say that I'd pay her back if I was able to use them. Well, I maxed out her Discover card to the tune of $12,000. She's paying it now because she doesn't want her credit to get screwed up and I'm supposed to be paying her back. Recently, I was approved for one of those credit cards that has a ton of fees and tricks, but since I'd lost my job, I was like whatever, I can pay it once I started my new job.

I pay my own auto insurance and cell phone bill. Those are my only two "real" bills, so I like to make sure those are always paid first. I don't have an auto loan, but I do have about $25,000 in student loans. I just graduated so those grace periods are coming to an end now.

I don't make a lot of money and when I DO get paid, I always run to fast food and spend it there or on things I don't need, clothes, trips, concerts, etc. It's a vicious, endless cycle. I know what to do, but I can never seem to follow through and it irritates me and everyone around me! I do the whole 'pay min' thing every month which is terrible, I know.*
*(This is unnecessary spending and should be stopped today not tomorrow) You is digging a deeper hole for yourself. 

What SHOULD I be doing? In the end, I want to have 1 emergency credit card, 1 regular credit card, and a Walmart card(just because it has gas, food, clothes, etc). Should I try to pay some $ to every card every month or pick one card, pay it off, and then move on to the next card? The balances on half the store cards are low while the other half are kind of high. I also want to be able to pay my mother a large sum of money every month or something because for how much of her money that I've spent, she's pretty tolerable of me still hah.  (She is your mother and always deal with you, although I believe she is very hurt by having to pay off your debt on her credit card.)

Right now if I was you, I would not be worried about getting any more credit cards.  I would be focusing on getting out of the dilema you have climbed yourself into.

This whatever attitude needs to stop immediately. 

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[Anonymous]

Short Answer - You can recover.

It will take time and determination - but you can recover.

Find a job that will enable you to stay current on your current cards

You need to find the emotional energy and motivation to clean this up and stick to it cause its going to take some time.

But yes, you can recover. 

[surferchris]

No that you are out of school, I would recommend that you get a second job.  Then use the extra monies to get out of debt faster.  Good luck.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

To make a long story short, I'm in debt up to my ears! I'm 27 now and I've been using credit since I was 18. My fico score was 592 last i checked and according to credit karma, my credit score is in the low 500s. It used to be in the low 600s but I took a hit when I switched jobs.

When I began college, I was dumb and opened up a lot of credit cards. Well, technically, it was only 4. 3 Citibank cards and 1 Wachovia. 1 Citibank and the Wachovia were settled after being in collections. 2 citibank cards remain in collections and I haven't been paying them; mostly because I forget to. That was around 2005-2008. Still have them though. Next up, I managed to open 2 Capital One cards and a Credit One card. 1 Capital One card is secured and one is unsecured. Following those cards, I managed to get store cards. 8 of them! That's all happened within the past 2-3 years. Also during this time, my mom let me use her credit card(s) and I would always say that I'd pay her back if I was able to use them. Well, I maxed out her Discover card to the tune of $12,000. She's paying it now because she doesn't want her credit to get screwed up and I'm supposed to be paying her back. Recently, I was approved for one of those credit cards that has a ton of fees and tricks, but since I'd lost my job, I was like whatever, I can pay it once I started my new job.

I pay my own auto insurance and cell phone bill. Those are my only two "real" bills, so I like to make sure those are always paid first. I don't have an auto loan, but I do have about $25,000 in student loans. I just graduated so those grace periods are coming to an end now.

I don't make a lot of money and when I DO get paid, I always run to fast food and spend it there or on things I don't need, clothes, trips, concerts, etc. It's a vicious, endless cycle. I know what to do, but I can never seem to follow through and it irritates me and everyone around me! I do the whole 'pay min' thing every month which is terrible, I know.

What SHOULD I be doing? In the end, I want to have 1 emergency credit card, 1 regular credit card, and a Walmart card(just because it has gas, food, clothes, etc). Should I try to pay some $ to every card every month or pick one card, pay it off, and then move on to the next card? The balances on half the store cards are low while the other half are kind of high. I also want to be able to pay my mother a large sum of money every month or something because for how much of her money that I've spent, she's pretty tolerable of me still hah.

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What you should be doing is cutting up all of your credit cards so you cannot use them, I wouldn't close any as it may damage your score further, but definitely cut them up. You have pointed out that you know what you are doing wrong and that is a great start, we must first see our faults in order to correct them, so you are on the right path. Stay away from using any credit at all. Focus on only one thing, that is paying off your debts. As someone else mentioned, try to find a second job. Work as many hours as you can possibly work, when you are busy working you do not have time to spend money and when you work a ton of hours you will not get bored and we all know that boredom leads to spending money. You may want to look for a debt consolidation company if you have to. You are at the age now when you have to start making some different choices, because it is no fun spending your midlife trying to clean up the mistakes of your younger years. Get determined and stick with it and you can do it.

[Anonymous]

i used to drop few hundred every wkd out drinking/eating. ever since i cut that to a minimal, it's crazy how much money i am saving and how much money i wasted.  oh well, u live and learn.  it's never too late! 

[camera_jen]

I keep my cards locked in a safe under my bed, except the one with the  lowest limit.  If I have an emergency, they are there if I really need them.  By making them less available all the time it removes the ability to  make impulse purchases.  I don't know if this will work for you or not.  We are different people with different spending habits.  I tend to be kind of a tightwad.

It doesn't sound like you will be stuck trying to recover forever.  I know the logical advice is to put off paying your mom since mom doesn't report to the credit bureaus but having family upset with  you is worse than a crap score.  You can apply for your student loans to be in forebearance for a little while, or to reduce the payments (which is probably better).  

[seruby]

First, stop applying for cards.  Every new card you get is going to enable you to spend more than you can afford and you'll never get out of the hole.   I did the same thing when I was younger and got a good number of charge offs from it.

Second, set yourself on a budget.  I know most people hate that word, but it's the only way you'll get out of this mess.  I have mine set up so that I can manage to pay my cards off no matter how much I use(though I don't use them a lot now), keep my bills paid, and still have some "me" money.    Treat your mom like a bill too.  Yes she's your mom so she won't make a fuss about paying the card, but you're supposed to be paying her, so she's essentially another bill.   I don't know how much or how often you get paid, but even if you paid her $25 a week, she'd probably appreciate it.    As for your "me" money, take it in cash when you paid, then when you're out, you're out.  Don't use your debit or credit card to buy something if you don't have the cash, or can't pay it off when  you next get paid.   I personally only take $80 a week - sometimes it's enough, sometimes it's not.  Once you're better financially and can afford to pay a lot at once on a credit card, then you can use the card when your cash is out.

So basically your bills consist of all those credit cards, your car insurance, cell phone, and mom.  As for your cards, pay down whatever ones have the highest interest rate first, then work down.

3 years ago, I lost my job and got a few COs because of it.  2 years ago, the only card I could get was a secured card with a $200 limit.   By the end of last year, I had 3 cards with a combined $5,150 limit.  I don't need anymore so I'm done applying - I didn't even need the 3rd one but it offers cash back and I felt I needed to reward myself.   But it goes to show that recovery is possible - you just have to prioritize correctly.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

To make a long story short, I'm in debt up to my ears! I'm 27 now and I've been using credit since I was 18. My fico score was 592 last i checked and according to credit karma, my credit score is in the low 500s. It used to be in the low 600s but I took a hit when I switched jobs.

When I began college, I was dumb and opened up a lot of credit cards. Well, technically, it was only 4. 3 Citibank cards and 1 Wachovia. 1 Citibank and the Wachovia were settled after being in collections. 2 citibank cards remain in collections and I haven't been paying them; mostly because I forget to. That was around 2005-2008. Still have them though. Next up, I managed to open 2 Capital One cards and a Credit One card. 1 Capital One card is secured and one is unsecured. Following those cards, I managed to get store cards. 8 of them! That's all happened within the past 2-3 years. Also during this time, my mom let me use her credit card(s) and I would always say that I'd pay her back if I was able to use them. Well, I maxed out her Discover card to the tune of $12,000. She's paying it now because she doesn't want her credit to get screwed up and I'm supposed to be paying her back. Recently, I was approved for one of those credit cards that has a ton of fees and tricks, but since I'd lost my job, I was like whatever, I can pay it once I started my new job.

I pay my own auto insurance and cell phone bill. Those are my only two "real" bills, so I like to make sure those are always paid first. I don't have an auto loan, but I do have about $25,000 in student loans. I just graduated so those grace periods are coming to an end now.

I don't make a lot of money and when I DO get paid, I always run to fast food and spend it there or on things I don't need, clothes, trips, concerts, etc. It's a vicious, endless cycle. I know what to do, but I can never seem to follow through and it irritates me and everyone around me! I do the whole 'pay min' thing every month which is terrible, I know.

What SHOULD I be doing? In the end, I want to have 1 emergency credit card, 1 regular credit card, and a Walmart card(just because it has gas, food, clothes, etc). Should I try to pay some $ to every card every month or pick one card, pay it off, and then move on to the next card? The balances on half the store cards are low while the other half are kind of high. I also want to be able to pay my mother a large sum of money every month or something because for how much of her money that I've spent, she's pretty tolerable of me still hah.

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Well, you recognize there is a problem, and that is half the battle right there.

As one other poster suggested, cut up all of your cards. NOW. Do it now, I'll wait right here till you get back. . . . . . . OK, now that you've done that...wait, did you save one of them? Ok, go back and uncut-up one of them, a non-store card with the highest limit. That is going to be your "emergency card". I want you to take that card and put it inside a large gallon freezer bag, fill the bag with water and place it in the freezer. Thats your "emergency" card and its the ONLY card you should have right now. The idea here is that if you ever feel you "need" to use it, you will have plenty of time to think it through as its thawing out.

Next, go to your mother, give her a big hug and apologize to her for putting her in that position. Then tell her NOT to ever enable you that way again, no matter how much you beg her to do so.

Then put yourself on a budget. Be realistic, and allow youself some "me" money and STICK TO IT.

With your current accounts, make sure you meet the minimums on all of them, well in advance of the payment dates. Pick the one with the smallest balance and put every bit of extra money you have towards it, then when it paid off roll its monthly payment into the card with the next lowest balance.

Consider working a second part time job for extra money. When I was in my late twenties, at one point I was working two minimum wage jobs, putting in 70 hours a week. Keep looking for that "entry level" carreer job that your college degree is applicable to. Eventually it will come along.

Hope this helps.