@Anonymous wrote:
Hello. I've been lurking this site for hours and want to cry because of the abundance of info available. Thank you in advance!
At the same time I'm so frustrated with myself for being in this place but I've had a very stressful few years and I know I'm not alone bUT I'm a firm believer in *know better do better* ... I need your help.
I'm a DV survivor and have struggled to work and maintain my finances since 2008. But my credit score never dipped below 600 because of the positive status on my student loans since 2000. In 2012, I purchased a car through a bait and switch dealer and was stuck with a ridiculous monthly car note.... 445... 2k down.... on a used auto. Didn't realize what happened until the forms came in the mail and struggled to pay loan with insurance as long as I could. My mother was dagnosed with COPD and having little children wirked intermittently and had to make tough decisions about bills.
Apparently my student loans although in good standing wi the the DOE were sold to Navient aka Sallie Mae and when I finally was able to speak with someone when their systems were working never explained that somehow my loans were getting ready to be sent to collections. I refused their terms as I only had child support coming in at 450 per month and 20 wasn't doable.
Ex tried to pay car loan since he was using it but neglected to pay for insurance and license/car suspended. My mother passed almost a year ago and I finally went back to work part time in sept 2015 through a temp making 2/3 of my prior salary.. 21hr. But with small children and high expenses I barely have any funds left over. The NFP is hiring me full time in January but because of their budget constraints I'll only make 40k.
Bottom line. My CR is shot. It could be worse but thankful I'm at 550 and 520 with TU and EQ, respectively. I don't know which issue to tackle first. The car loan is 11k past due. Payoff is 22k. They're willing to settle for 10k. With my credit idk who will approve me. I'm afraid to apply to avoid any hard dings... they referred me to Carmax in CT ... I'm in Manhattan.
I read rehabbing may work but Navient reps are not like DOE reps and I'm leery of them. I'm with MCU but again... one repo from 2008- couldn't make final years payment on car loan and turned in my truck only owing 5k to pay daughter's tuition. I didn't know a thing about refinancing and trade in deals were horrible.
My goal is to get student loans back on track to eventually apply for loan forgiveness through my employer. Put the car back on the road and use payments to clear credit. Repair credit. Purchase a condo/coop within 3 years. My child support order has been modified and as long as he pays I'll have 800 per month.
Any advice is welcomed and will be followed. Thank you in advance.
K.
Hello it certainly does sound like you have a lot going. Congrats on your new employment opportunity btw. With this statement^^^, honestly at this point I wouldn't worry about hard pulls at all right now. I'm a big fan of lists, so I'd sit down and write out a "priority" list. Getting this new job with a decent steady income rolling in will be a tremendous shot in the arm, and it will make things easier for you going forward.
I can't comment on the student loan issue other than to say try to get payments going as soon as you're able to. If you let some of your creditors know you've got a new employment opportunity coming, they might be more flexible in working with you.
As for the car, do you have other means of transportation if you were to sell it? With your current scores, most lenders will fall into the sub-prime possibly predatory category. I think you said your current payment is $445, is there any way you can talk with the leinholder and see if they'll modify your contract to where you're able to keep it? The reason I ask is because I've gotten 2 or 3 sub prime used auto loans (I'm talking 20% interest) and the payments were close to 445/mo. I'm afraid you may end up in the same boat
One item on my credit is a voluntary surrender. I eventually went back and settled with them and it reports as such. After a year of GW, they won't budge and it's often an achilles heel for me. If you end up having to give it back, I agree with a previous post to take the 10k offer and run.
Oh and on a personal note, going forward try budget off of your income alone and not rely on child support. I asked for my spouse not to pay but the judge ordered her to anyways. I don't really need it as it's a tiny amount but I notice that she pays randomly at best.
To summarize, I'd do the following:
1. Work on modifying current car loan to where the lender will let you keep it.
2. Get the student loans back into positive status
3. After you start your new job, try apping for the cap one platinum or secured card
Good luck with everything and keep lurking and posting!
