@tacpoly wrote:
I suggest you try a cash-only existence for a while. I mean, it’s a long way to the end of the year. Either you racked up a lot of debt really quickly or you carried a lot of it from the end of the year even after you got your big bonus.
I think you have to ask yourself if you can truly afford to carry that amount of debt.
You are absolutely right. To be clear, it was a combination of carrying some of it over, and then racking new debt on top of that. I've had a sense that I've been mismanaging my money for some time, but this was the jolt that I needed to get moving.
I can get the utilization levels down to healthy levels (<30%, even) by this time next year, assuming, fingers crossed, no more CLDs and no other surprises. I know the adjustments that I need to make in my life; now's the time to tighten belts and make them. No more extraneous travel, cut down on the eating out (and, conversely, learning how to cook), etc. In researching the consequences of a CLD, I've learned a lot in the last 24 hours (just from this forum alone, even). Truth be told, if I were Chase, I'd be spooked, too - the CSP debt alone should've raised major alarm bells. I just thought, "Oh, that has the lowest interest rate, I can keep min payments on that while focusing on other debt" - I had no idea 90% was maxing out, etc. I know now, and I know what I need to do to change.
I'm not waiting for the big payday to clear off my debts - my DTI even without the bonus is <40%. I know I've been spending recklessly, and as I said, this is the stern kick in the butt that I've needed for years. This morning, I went through my recurring payments and cut $100/month in dumb recurring spending - things I can do easily without but have just had for no justifiable reason. I plan on making more cuts like this - I just need to persist in holding myself accountable. I went rewards chasing and opened up a bunch of cards that make no sense for me (I'm an AA/Starriott loyalist, and CSR/CSP/Hyatt make no sense for me even with CSR being 3x for travel/dining). And now I realize I'm dangerously close to screwing up my financial life, and that I need to make an about face. I just can't do it overnight, and I hope my other lenders won't follow suit (because a chain of CLDs will not be good for me in the short term).
To that end, I'm going to focus on paying down other lenders first, so they don't get spooked. I can see why Chase got spooked, but my biggest debt load is with them - I'm not going to fix that overnight. My utilization with other lenders is lower - so I'm going to start with them while slowly working on the Chase debt.
And thanks to everyone who's chimed in.
