I agree with Fender. Don't turn unsecured debt into secured debt!!! So you might miss a payment. If your debt is secured, then your home is at stake!!!
I would seriously encourage you to consider a DMP as others in this thread have mentioned. I have been in one for about a year and I expect to be done in about a year and a half. A credit counselor will work with your creditors in negotiating a plan to pay back your debts while also working with you to develop a budget you can live with. Usually, a DMP will also consolidate your payments and handle the paying of your creditors as well. You just make one payment to the CCCS. I use CCCS of Central Florida. My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. My scores were around 530 when I started about 14 months ago and now I'm give or take a few points from 700.
If you're like me and you're paid a salary. I would also suggest a part-time job. There have been several good examples already mentioned. My personal favorite was working the night audit in a small hotel. The schedule is fixed, and typically between 1 and 5 am, its dead. Once I got the handle of it, I only had about 2 hours of paperwork. I got paid to sit all night, crunch some numbers (well, plug in, the computer does the rest), and spend the rest of the night catching up on my other job, watching tv, listening to music, occasionally check in or out a guest, answer a phone, and occasionally (okay, frequently) nod off.
I did it 2 nights a week and brought home a little over $300 every 2 weeks. Since I was able to do my budget on my first job, all that money went straight to the bills. Of course, if your job can regularly supply overtime (read: guarantee), go for it!!!
Don't be afraid to apply for a 2nd job just because you have to sign for a credit report. In my years of working customer service, and now managing a customer service organization, I can honestly say I've only had a job run a credit check on me twice, and never for a part-time job just to make a few extra bucks. Personally, we only run a credit report if a background check comes up with something and the candidate has a REAL good explanation to keep us from discounting his application off the bat.
I would seriously encourage you to consider a DMP as others in this thread have mentioned. I have been in one for about a year and I expect to be done in about a year and a half. A credit counselor will work with your creditors in negotiating a plan to pay back your debts while also working with you to develop a budget you can live with. Usually, a DMP will also consolidate your payments and handle the paying of your creditors as well. You just make one payment to the CCCS. I use CCCS of Central Florida. My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. My scores were around 530 when I started about 14 months ago and now I'm give or take a few points from 700.
If you're like me and you're paid a salary. I would also suggest a part-time job. There have been several good examples already mentioned. My personal favorite was working the night audit in a small hotel. The schedule is fixed, and typically between 1 and 5 am, its dead. Once I got the handle of it, I only had about 2 hours of paperwork. I got paid to sit all night, crunch some numbers (well, plug in, the computer does the rest), and spend the rest of the night catching up on my other job, watching tv, listening to music, occasionally check in or out a guest, answer a phone, and occasionally (okay, frequently) nod off.
I did it 2 nights a week and brought home a little over $300 every 2 weeks. Since I was able to do my budget on my first job, all that money went straight to the bills. Of course, if your job can regularly supply overtime (read: guarantee), go for it!!!Don't be afraid to apply for a 2nd job just because you have to sign for a credit report. In my years of working customer service, and now managing a customer service organization, I can honestly say I've only had a job run a credit check on me twice, and never for a part-time job just to make a few extra bucks. Personally, we only run a credit report if a background check comes up with something and the candidate has a REAL good explanation to keep us from discounting his application off the bat.