Help Paying Down CC Debt

[JustJay119]

like others have said, I would pay off the cars and apply the extra funds to pay down the credits starting from lowest balance first, and work my way up, applying all previous (now free) payments to the next card.

Now, Is it also possible to sell one of the cars?

Secondly, what about ride share services, Uber, Lyft, become a driver and in your spare time work as much as you can. You might as well use your asset to bring in extra funds, although it will depreciate your car faster.

Second income would help speed up the process. Just know you have to dedicate at least the next year to ONLY paying off debt.

Best of luck and you are not alone!! I have been through it but my credit got ruined. Wish I found this forum to help me in the beginning. 

[Yasselife]

@Anonymous See if you can qualify for a consolidation loan. The interest will hold you down.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello everyone! 

Well, here I am. I am currently in a mountain of debt, and I could use some help figuring out where to start, so I can free up more money monthly in order to reduce the debt burden and interest, as well as repair my scores. Here is all my current data, so maybe you guys can help me figure out where to start. My payment history is perfect minus one 30 day late and one Verizon Wireless account that went delinquent with a $132 balance with 4 months of late payments on that. 

Balances - 

Auto Loan - $6000 - $509 Payment 

Auto Loan $5950 - $469 Payment 

Venture - $20,450 / $22,500 limit

Amex BC Preferred - $18,900 / $19,300 limit 

Barclay Titanium - $10,950 / $11,000 limit

Discover - $5750 / $6500 limit

Savor - $4970 / $5000 limit 

Amazon Chase - $2930 / $3000 limit 

Best Buy Citi - $1560 / $1650 limit

Rent - $1825/m

I make $66,000 a year roughly. I have about $10,000 of liquid available. I was thinking to start with getting the small ones paid first, then get the auto loans paid off to free up about another $1,000 a month and get the Savor paid next. 

Feel free to ask me some questions in order to get more info. What would you guys do? 

Thank you for your help! 

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My advice would be to use the 10k to pay down revolving debt using the snowball method:

1. Stop using cards.
2. Pay off smallest balance first, then next smallest, and so on.
3. On other cards pay minimum + something each month.
As each balance turns to zero, that will free up your remaining monthly cash to apply to the next smallest balance.

[RSX]

ugh - sorry to hear that

if you apply for a new CC - you will either get it - but then have a new acct - a fresh HP -and a drop in Average Age - which wont help you get an Auto Loan (which is the priority)

or not get it - and suffer an HP for no reason

dont jeporadize a car loan for a small CC that is iffy at best for approval

also - what about using the part of the $10k to get a car - and not have to get a loan at all?

[tnhomestead]

Can you sell both cars and get something cheaper? I drive an old Ford pickup that I can't kill, and have a junker blazer that runs sitting as a spare. Pretty? Nope, but both reliable and while I get stuff together no car payment seems awesome. On an older car, a motor can be replaced for 2k with warranty, long block Chevy can be had for 1500, and labor. I don't get great gas mileage, but I save hundreds with cheaper insurance and no payments. Then when you get cleaned up a bit, get a nice ride at a better apr!

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

Debt pay down should be a dynamic process and reevaluated as you progress. It's easy to say do it this way or do it that way, but the reality is things change, such as the new auto repair. It's very difficult to pick a method and stay motivated. If cash is tight, start with the snowball method to zero out some cards and free up money. Then switch to avalanche to bring down the high apr balances. You may have to switch back and forth depending on life and it's curve balls, but that's ok. At some point you should be able to qualify for a debt consolidation loan or new card with 0% promo to accelerate the process. Reevaluate, then continue.

[difringe]

I'm going to second anyone suggesting that you get a second job. There are a lot of work from home opportunities out there that are remote and don't care where you live, even though you may have to do some digging to find them. The best way to get through this is going to be cutting whatever expenses you can, increasing your income in whatever way you can, and sticking with it; picking snowball or avalanche will save you a little bit here or there, but in the end, you're really going to need more income.

If you decide on the debt consolidation loan option, there are loan financers who offer soft pull pre-approval/pre-qualification that will give you an idea as to what loans you can get, but to be honest, with your current debt and scores, if you do get approved, you'll probably get offered some 30% APR loan that will be incredibly difficult to pay off (I was in a very similar score situation in the past and experienced this).

Prosper, Upgrade, SoFi, Upstart, BestEgg, Marcus, Payoff, Rocket, and LendingClub all offer soft pull pre-approval/pre-qualification. With your job, Upstart might end up offering the best rate, but you can confirm for yourself.