i messed up pretty bad!!! AKA CC debt

[CreditCuriosity]

As others has stated time to pay it off and stop spending.. No easy way out of it other than a BT card or a consolidation loan for possibly a better apr.  Best of luck 

[yfan]

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@Credit_ wrote:

add 3 vacations in the begining of the year.  Should i look into a debt consolidation loan?

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If the vacations are at the beginning of this year, I'm assuming they were only booked and you haven't taken them yet. If so, cancel them. ALL of them. Get all the refunds you can (and let go what you can't), and put all of it towards paying down your debt.

[Dalmus]

I will echo the general sentiments.  You're acknowledging you messed up, which is good, and you are (apparently) willing to do something about it.

The best thing you can do is to minimize all non-essential spending, and throw money at paying down your CC debt.  I subscribe to the theory of paying cards down to $0 rather than pay the highest APR card first.  The reason being that if there is only a $200 balance, you still have a minimum payment to meet (typically $25 or $35).  Three cards with a $300 balance being paid to $0 gives you an extra $75 to throw at the next card in line on top of ITS minimum payment, and so forth.  First, though, if any cards are maxed out, I would get those cards down to below 90% utilization.

I have been in your position... A debt consolidation loan is not the way to go if you have ANY doubt as to your ability to STOP carrying balances on your credit cards.  I personally go to cash-only purchases whenever my utilization gets above 20% until I pay the debt back down.  On one hand, it feels like you're losing out on rewards, but when you figure you're paying 18-24% in order to earn 1-3%, the rewards are meaningless if you carry a balance.

If you can stop using your cards, period, until the debt is paid down to something reasonable, you'll recover just fine.

[Anonymous]

You can voluntarily close cards and get lowered aprs it ruins util but it saves interest. That's pretty much what the debt management people do but they have special relationships where the cards dont always appear closed.

[bdhu2001]

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@Credit_ wrote:

add 3 vacations in the begining of the year.  Should i look into a debt consolidation loan?

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No.  Your problem is spending.  Debt consolidation won't help if you still have the same mindset.  Credit is to be used like cash, unless you're buying a house or car.  Everything else you should pay off before due date.  

If you see a purchase you can't afford to payoff, then it's a purchase you need to save up for.  It's understandable that there are emergencies, thus you should budget for those also.  If you can pay more than the minimum and set up a plan that gives you a realistic payment plan.  Use it for 2-3 months to be sure it's actually realistic and you can live with it.  

After those three months, you can consolidate, but you'll need to cut up every card until you pay off at least 10 of the 20K.  If one or more of your cards show up in the mail because they were expiring, you still have to pay the amount listed in your budget for each card plus 100% of all new charges.  If you aren't able to do that, cut up the new cards until you've totally paid everything off.  If you're impatient and want to get a second job to pay off the bills, that's acceptable.  Charging more, is not.

[bdhu2001]

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@Dalmus wrote:

I will echo the general sentiments.  You're acknowledging you messed up, which is good, and you are (apparently) willing to do something about it.

The best thing you can do is to minimize all non-essential spending, and throw money at paying down your CC debt.  I subscribe to the theory of paying cards down to $0 rather than pay the highest APR card first.  The reason being that if there is only a $200 balance, you still have a minimum payment to meet (typically $25 or $35).  Three cards with a $300 balance being paid to $0 gives you an extra $75 to throw at the next card in line on top of ITS minimum payment, and so forth.  First, though, if any cards are maxed out, I would get those cards down to below 90% utilization.

I have been in your position... A debt consolidation loan is not the way to go if you have ANY doubt as to your ability to STOP carrying balances on your credit cards.  I personally go to cash-only purchases whenever my utilization gets above 20% until I pay the debt back down.  On one hand, it feels like you're losing out on rewards, but when you figure you're paying 18-24% in order to earn 1-3%, the rewards are meaningless if you carry a balance.

If you can stop using your cards, period, until the debt is paid down to something reasonable, you'll recover just fine.

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I agree.  The snowball method of paying the lowest ballance & rolling the payment into the next card is what finally helped me get out of cc debt.  It also helps me stay out of cc debt.

[core]

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@bdhu2001 wrote:

Credit is to be used like cash, unless you're buying a house or car.

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How come the car gets special treatment?  What's the difference between a $20k car and a $20k series of 3 vacations?

[Anonymous]

Seriously? Perhaps you have never lived somewhere without public transportation. My car gets me to work, the grocery store, my kids to the doctor...its a life line for many. All a vacation gets me is extra sleep.

[core]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Seriously? Perhaps you have never lived somewhere without public transportation. My car gets me to work, the grocery store, my kids to the doctor...its a life line for many. All a vacation gets me is extra sleep.

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I guess I wasn't clear.  What I meant and should have said is that perfectly serviceable and reliable cars can be had for around $1000.

"Oh, but I don't want to drive that kind of car!  It's worth some debt!"  Yes, but from there it's not too much of a stretch to say "Oh, but I don't want to vacation in Arkansas!"  That's all I'm saying.

[Anonymous]

True. Nothing wrong with a used car as long as it's safe and reliable.