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Helped my mom out and now I'm stuck

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Helped my mom out and now I'm stuck

Hello, all I need some advice on getting out of a sticky situation.

 

 

I'm 19 and I had a good credit history and record until recently. until my mom needed some help paying bills so of course, I did all I could as a college student to help out. Now I'm a huge fan of credit and I was trying to work my way up to the better cards. I let her borrow some of my cards and also bought her some things, she said she would pay me back but now that bills are due and interest is coming I feel stuck and her tax refund hasn't come yet. SO I have a Discover it card with a CL of 1400 and a balance of 450, a Capital one Quicksilver with a CL of 500 and a balance of 240, a AMEX every day with a CL of 500 and a balance of 91, and a Credit union cc with a CL of 1000 and a balance of 250. 

 

 

should take care of the minimums ....will this runin my credit/life??

 

 

Thanks

Message 1 of 7
6 REPLIES 6
Gunnar419
Valued Contributor

Re: Helped my mom out and now I'm stuck


@Anonymous wrote:

Hello, all I need some advice on getting out of a sticky situation.

 

 

I'm 19 and I had a good credit history and record until recently. until my mom needed some help paying bills so of course, I did all I could as a college student to help out. Now I'm a huge fan of credit and I was trying to work my way up to the better cards. I let her borrow some of my cards and also bought her some things, she said she would pay me back but now that bills are due and interest is coming I feel stuck and her tax refund hasn't come yet. SO I have a Discover it card with a CL of 1400 and a balance of 450, a Capital one Quicksilver with a CL of 500 and a balance of 240, a AMEX every day with a CL of 500 and a balance of 91, and a Credit union cc with a CL of 1000 and a balance of 250. 

 

 

should take care of the minimums ....will this runin my credit/life??

 

 

Thanks


As long as you pay at least the minimum payments and pay them on time, the hit to your credit will be temporary. Once you get your utilization back under countrol, your scores will rebound. Nothing you've said so far indicates that this will cause any long-term problems to your credit.

 

Can your mom give you the money for the minimum payments even if she doesn't have enough to pay it all off? She should also cover the interest payments for you, but that's between you and her.

 

Bottom line: Don't be late on any payments. Try to pay more than the minimums if you can. And your scores will come back when your utilization lowers.

 

That was nice of you to help your mom. Now hope she's nice enough  (and able) to help you get through this temporary bind.

 

 

Message 2 of 7
rmduhon
Valued Contributor

Re: Helped my mom out and now I'm stuck

It won't your credit if you have to make just the minimum payments for a bit. Try not to let that go too long though because of the interest.
Message 3 of 7
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Helped my mom out and now I'm stuck

Hello 800orbust_1,

 

Reading your story brought back memories of a great lesson learned... To avoid hijacking your thread (or boring you), let's just say I was that freshman in college with four maxed out cards because I helped my parents. It didn't end well: I never got the money back; couldn't keep up with payments and school; and my credit was evenutally ruined.

 

Work-study can only do so much.

 

I agree about not making late payments; continue to pay the minimum for all accounts. It will take longer to pay off, but you will be current. And see if your mother will pay you back. If not, since summer is coming up, get a job (or internship) to help you pay off the balances while you're on break. And sorry to sound harsh, but I wouldn't lend her (or anyone else) money anymore unless there was a surefire way you could retrieve the money or make sure the loan, if not repaid, won't set you back.

 

Hope everything works out for you!

 

CAP

 

p.s.- Nice name! Working to get that score, too!*__*

Message 4 of 7
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Helped my mom out and now I'm stuck


@Anonymous wrote:

Hello 800orbust_1,

 

Reading your story brought back memories of a great lesson learned... To avoid hijacking your thread (or boring you), let's just say I was that freshman in college with four maxed out cards because I helped my parents. It didn't end well: I never got the money back; couldn't keep up with payments and school; and my credit was evenutally ruined.

 

Work-study can only do so much.

 

I agree about not making late payments; continue to pay the minimum for all accounts. It will take longer to pay off, but you will be current. And see if your mother will pay you back. If not, since summer is coming up, get a job (or internship) to help you pay off the balances while you're on break. And sorry to sound harsh, but I wouldn't lend her (or anyone else) money anymore unless there was a surefire way you could retrieve the money or it make sure the loan if not repaid won't set you back.

 

Hope everything works out for you!

 

CAP

 

p.s.- Nice name! Working to get that score, too!*__*


I agree with comicsandpurses, fact is the people you allow to borrow your credit cards have no obligation to repay the money they spend. It's your name not theirs that's on the line, though it doesn't seem like your mom is trying to stiff you. Try talking to her to work something out that will help you pay the minimum's without putting too much stress on either of you. 

I actually am in the same situation as you, and I've been in comicsandpurses situation too. I just kept paying the minimum until I got a raise so I could pay more. Then I just used my taxes to pay off the rest that I owed. It's not fun or ideal but you can do it, just try not to feel overwhelmed and whatever you do don't give up.

Message 5 of 7
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Helped my mom out and now I'm stuck


@Gunnar419 wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

Hello, all I need some advice on getting out of a sticky situation.

 

 

I'm 19 and I had a good credit history and record until recently. until my mom needed some help paying bills so of course, I did all I could as a college student to help out. Now I'm a huge fan of credit and I was trying to work my way up to the better cards. I let her borrow some of my cards and also bought her some things, she said she would pay me back but now that bills are due and interest is coming I feel stuck and her tax refund hasn't come yet. SO I have a Discover it card with a CL of 1400 and a balance of 450, a Capital one Quicksilver with a CL of 500 and a balance of 240, a AMEX every day with a CL of 500 and a balance of 91, and a Credit union cc with a CL of 1000 and a balance of 250. 

 

 

should take care of the minimums ....will this runin my credit/life??

 

 

Thanks


As long as you pay at least the minimum payments and pay them on time, the hit to your credit will be temporary. Once you get your utilization back under countrol, your scores will rebound. Nothing you've said so far indicates that this will cause any long-term problems to your credit.

 

Can your mom give you the money for the minimum payments even if she doesn't have enough to pay it all off? She should also cover the interest payments for you, but that's between you and her.

 

Bottom line: Don't be late on any payments. Try to pay more than the minimums if you can. And your scores will come back when your utilization lowers.

 

That was nice of you to help your mom. Now hope she's nice enough  (and able) to help you get through this temporary bind.

 

 


+1....Make the minimum payments for now and do not miss a payment...good luck!!

Message 6 of 7
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Helped my mom out and now I'm stuck

Treat this as an unavoidable evil, consider that you are repaying a debt to the person who gave you life and do not worry.

Message 7 of 7
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