Debt Consolidation Options?

[joshk716]

Got a close friend of mine who is having some credit card troubles. I've tried getting him to work on the snowball method but it hasn't worked great because his minimum payments are all too high for his DTI. He currently has around $15k in credit card debt, the lowest card being 24%. Right now his minimum monthly payments total around $600 a month which leaves him barely any money for food and incidentals. He makes around $75k per year and is a federal employee and a reservist. He just lives in a high cost of living area and can't get ahead.

What are some options for him getting a debt consolidation loan? He current sits around a 575, mainly because his cards are maxed out.

[Jnbmom]

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@joshk716 wrote:

Got a close friend of mine who is having some credit card troubles. I've tried getting him to work on the snowball method but it hasn't worked great because his minimum payments are all too high for his DTI. He currently has around $15k in credit card debt, the lowest card being 24%. Right now his minimum monthly payments total around $600 a month which leaves him barely any money for food and incidentals. He makes around $75k per year and is a federal employee and a reservist. He just lives in a high cost of living area and can't get ahead.

What are some options for him getting a debt consolidation loan? He current sits around a 575, mainly because his cards are maxed out.

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He will probably not get any decent loan rates with that score and being maxed out on cards . He needs more income , cut to bare bones and get a second job everyone is hiring . Work extra at night or on weekends. 15K is doable but he must buckle down and cut all he can .

[Slowlyrebuilding]

Check Upstart, Upgrade and Lending Club. They are all more flexible with credit scores and you can get preapproval without a credit pull. The interest rates are high but could be lower than what he's currently paying.

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@joshk716 wrote:

Got a close friend of mine who is having some credit card troubles. I've tried getting him to work on the snowball method but it hasn't worked great because his minimum payments are all too high for his DTI. He currently has around $15k in credit card debt, the lowest card being 24%. Right now his minimum monthly payments total around $600 a month which leaves him barely any money for food and incidentals. He makes around $75k per year and is a federal employee and a reservist. He just lives in a high cost of living area and can't get ahead.

What are some options for him getting a debt consolidation loan? He current sits around a 575, mainly because his cards are maxed out.

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[sportsguy83]

I second the Upstart recommendation.  They have a pre-approval and look at more than just credit scores. I was approved for a $38k loan with around a 620 score earlier this year.  Their interest rates are high and they have orignation fees but it was still cheaper for me to go that route than continuing to pay my credit card interest rates.  The online process is easy (if approved).

[Citylights18]

Its crazy to think that 75k which was a fat income by national standards is now hardly a living wage.

He might want to try peer-2-peer lending. They will take on high risk borrowers even if they are employeed and with loan terms out to 5 years.

https://www.lendingclub.com/