defaulting on credit cards

[Anonymous]

I didn't expect to be in this mess.  As with a lot of other people un-expected expenses came up etc  and when it comes down to paying my electric bill vs paying CC it seems that I should be paying electric bill and not CC.  But CC messes up my credit and electric bill doesn't. 

I don't have anyone I can get money from.  My parents helped me out a couple months ago but only with a few bills and so that never really got me caught up.  I don't really have anywhere for a renter to sleep if I took one in and not sure I want some strange person living in my house with my things.  We do have a friend that will be moving in in the future that will help pay some bills/expenses but that isn't possible for a little while yet. 

I work 9-10 hours a day plus Saturday and have a one hour commute each way so it doesn't leave a lot of time for a 2nd or 3rd job.  My car payment is a big one if I could get rid of it but as soon as I paid it off my car died (would have cost thousands more to fix than it was worth) so I had to take on a new car payment.  My milage is pretty high on it (long commute) but not quite underwater yet but not sure trading it in would be any better.  Need a reliable car to get to work. 

[hedgeclipper2]

Sorry you are in the situation you are in.  It sucks.  I have been there.

But, most creditors are willing to work with you IF you contact them before the problems start.  Maybe they could reduce your interest rate for a while so your payments will matter more.  I know most of my creditors did this.  They reduced my interest rate and told me I couldn't charge on the cards anymore until they were paid off.

I would just keep calling and being as nice as possible.  People often forget how far being nice goes

I wish you all the best and I hope you do not have to damage your credit in the long run.  However, you are right, electricity comes first!

How good is your credit?  Is there any way you can get a low interest card and balance transfer to this card?

[haulingthescoreup]

Just a quick comment --even though your utility company doesn't report your regular activity to the CRA's, if you get behind, they might, and if they send you to collections, they definitely will.

[hedgeclipper2]

Also, I know its kind of hard to post details about financials due to embarrassment or whatever reason....BUT....if you posted some of the cards you have that you want to reduce rates on there may be some people on this board that have had similar problems and can lend insight or techniques and information that could be helpful.  Just a suggestion

[Anonymous]

My credit is in the low to mid 600s now.  It would be higher but my utilization is high on all my CC.  I've finally gotten it up in the last 1 1/2 years.  I still have some old charge-offs on my CR from 4-5 years ago from Merrick, Household Bank, etc that are pulling me down. 

[hedgeclipper2]

By any chance are you a member of Navy Federal Credit Union?  Or any other Credit Union that you have credit products with?  They often have killer rates on balance transfers.  I just transferred a home remodel onto my NFCU card at 2.99% which saves alot of money in the long run.

[Anonymous]

I am a member with NFCU...car loan, LOC, 2 CC.  But they won't increase my CC limits.  So not sure what else I can do.  I guess I could contact them and see what else they can offer me.  The local CU I have a CC with only offers $500 limit for people with less than stellar credit. 

[hedgeclipper2]

I would definitely call them.  They are very pleasant to deal with in my opinion.

It is a breeze to do refi's with them too.  Maybe you could refi your car loan to squeeze out a little more money?  Just a possibility.

I hope I am being helpful, lol.

[Anonymous]

Yes you are being helpful.  I've tried in the past with them and they said they can't re-fi just to lower my monthly payment. 

I'm not too hopeful because they declined me to increase my LOC by $500.

[hedgeclipper2]

That seems weird.  Especially since you aren't totally upside down in the car.  Are you a member of any other credit unions that could get your payment reduced?

Also, you didn't say anything about your house, but a QUICK way for easy income is to rent a room in your house if you can.  It's what I do (I use the money to save and spend on vacations and things I wouldn't normally buy with my own money, haha)