Help with Our Finances

[Anonymous]

My parnter and I have found ourselves in a really sticky situation and we cannot figure a way out of it. We are trying desperately to get a personal loan, but everyone keeps declining us.

Both of us have cerdit scores in the 680-700 range, depending on which bureau you pull. I currently have about $6,000 in credit card debt reporting out of about $43,000 in credit. I also have a personal loan of $11,000 balance and an auto loan at a $14,000 balance. Both have been paid on time for the life of the loan.

My partner currently hasa bout $11,000 in credit card debt, and an auto loan at roughly $20,000 balance, again paid on time every month throughout the life of the loan.

My income is $62,000/year, and his is $46,000/year. I have been in my job about a month now (just graduated) and he has been in his for about 2 years.

We desperately need some help trying to get this paid down to a manageable amount, but no one seems willing to offer us anything. We have a meeting at a OneMain branch today, but I am worried it will be about 35% interest. We need to borrow roughly $12,000 to get his balances off since mine are all on 0% cards and his are racking up huge amounts of interest.

Does anyone have any idea what we could do or channels we can try? We have done just about all the soft pull checks and nothing. Also, anyone have experience with OneMain? We co-applied so maybe that will help?

Thanks everyone.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

My parnter and I have found ourselves in a really sticky situation and we cannot figure a way out of it. We are trying desperately to get a personal loan, but everyone keeps declining us.

Both of us have cerdit scores in the 680-700 range, depending on which bureau you pull. I currently have about $6,000 in credit card debt reporting out of about $43,000 in credit. I also have a personal loan of $11,000 balance and an auto loan at a $14,000 balance. Both have been paid on time for the life of the loan.

My partner currently hasa bout $11,000 in credit card debt, and an auto loan at roughly $20,000 balance, again paid on time every month throughout the life of the loan.

My income is $62,000/year, and his is $46,000/year. I have been in my job about a month now (just graduated) and he has been in his for about 2 years.

We desperately need some help trying to get this paid down to a manageable amount, but no one seems willing to offer us anything. We have a meeting at a OneMain branch today, but I am worried it will be about 35% interest. We need to borrow roughly $12,000 to get his balances off since mine are all on 0% cards and his are racking up huge amounts of interest.

Does anyone have any idea what we could do or channels we can try? We have done just about all the soft pull checks and nothing. Also, anyone have experience with OneMain? We co-applied so maybe that will help?

Thanks everyone.

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In my opinion you should stop looking for ways to borrow yourself out of this situation; you're just making things worse.

You've just got to work on paying things down faster.

[Anonymous]

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

My parnter and I have found ourselves in a really sticky situation and we cannot figure a way out of it. We are trying desperately to get a personal loan, but everyone keeps declining us.

Both of us have cerdit scores in the 680-700 range, depending on which bureau you pull. I currently have about $6,000 in credit card debt reporting out of about $43,000 in credit. I also have a personal loan of $11,000 balance and an auto loan at a $14,000 balance. Both have been paid on time for the life of the loan.

My partner currently hasa bout $11,000 in credit card debt, and an auto loan at roughly $20,000 balance, again paid on time every month throughout the life of the loan.

My income is $62,000/year, and his is $46,000/year. I have been in my job about a month now (just graduated) and he has been in his for about 2 years.

We desperately need some help trying to get this paid down to a manageable amount, but no one seems willing to offer us anything. We have a meeting at a OneMain branch today, but I am worried it will be about 35% interest. We need to borrow roughly $12,000 to get his balances off since mine are all on 0% cards and his are racking up huge amounts of interest.

Does anyone have any idea what we could do or channels we can try? We have done just about all the soft pull checks and nothing. Also, anyone have experience with OneMain? We co-applied so maybe that will help?

Thanks everyone.

---

In my opinion you should stop looking for ways to borrow yourself out of this situation; you're just making things worse.

You've just got to work on paying things down faster.

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I agree wholeheartedly with this. 

Please know I say this having been in the same shoes, but I was moving $$ around all the time thinking it would improve the situation and it continued to get worse. 

I had a spending/budgeting/financial health problem . . not an interest rate problem.

Get on a budget, make a plan, and throw all of the $ you can at the highest interate debts first.

[loyalsudz]

Not more than a decade back, I found myself in a similar situation.  I used the snowball method and fixed up a used car which I still drive. After sticking to my budget, the changes in my outlook and options has changed considerably for the better. 

Do you guys need help with a expense plan and budget?  Please let us know more specifics.  Is the 108K net?  If not, what is your take home pay?  List all your monthly expenses smallest to largest along with minimum payments, include items like the debts you have already mentioned along with expenses related to your four walls, and the vehicles.  After you have listed everything, are you in the red/or black and have something money left to your month.  If you are in the red, you may have to decide to cut back lifestyle and look at getting a beater and maybe selling off both cars, that immediately gets rid of half your debt and will buy you guys some much needed relief. Remember it is not forever, it is just until you can get control over your expenses.  Also, for a little perspective, please look up the video for Drive Free Cars, it is not selling anything it is just telling how you have more power and control to make that $108K work for your both.  Next try, to use the snowball method or alavanche method to pay the minimums on all your debts while paying the extra you should now have towards the credit card either the highest interest rate or the smallest balance.  You should be able to be debt-free in less than 14-18 months depending on lifestyle creep.  

[iced]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

My parnter and I have found ourselves in a really sticky situation and we cannot figure a way out of it. We are trying desperately to get a personal loan, but everyone keeps declining us.

Both of us have cerdit scores in the 680-700 range, depending on which bureau you pull. I currently have about $6,000 in credit card debt reporting out of about $43,000 in credit. I also have a personal loan of $11,000 balance and an auto loan at a $14,000 balance. Both have been paid on time for the life of the loan.

My partner currently hasa bout $11,000 in credit card debt, and an auto loan at roughly $20,000 balance, again paid on time every month throughout the life of the loan.

My income is $62,000/year, and his is $46,000/year. I have been in my job about a month now (just graduated) and he has been in his for about 2 years.

We desperately need some help trying to get this paid down to a manageable amount, but no one seems willing to offer us anything. We have a meeting at a OneMain branch today, but I am worried it will be about 35% interest. We need to borrow roughly $12,000 to get his balances off since mine are all on 0% cards and his are racking up huge amounts of interest.

Does anyone have any idea what we could do or channels we can try? We have done just about all the soft pull checks and nothing. Also, anyone have experience with OneMain? We co-applied so maybe that will help?

Thanks everyone.

---

In my opinion you should stop looking for ways to borrow yourself out of this situation; you're just making things worse.

You've just got to work on paying things down faster.

---

I agree wholeheartedly with this. 

Please know I say this having been in the same shoes, but I was moving $$ around all the time thinking it would improve the situation and it continued to get worse. 

I had a spending/budgeting/financial health problem . . not an interest rate problem.

Get on a budget, make a plan, and throw all of the $ you can at the highest interate debts first.

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I'll second this approach. Shifting balances around from account to account doesn't solve the problem. You have to budget your money in such a way you can start throwing much more than the minimum payment at these debts. 

[Chadsnana]

Do not borrow any more money or apply for anymore cards! To get out of debt you need to pay off debt. Start with sending in every extra $5 that you have to pay down debt. Do you have anything to sell? Can you hold a garage sale? Extra job a possibility? Where can you cut? Can you cut your cable, cellphone or Internet bill?

Many of us on this forum have been where you are. Getting out of debt is a project. Put as much energy into paying off your debt as you are into securing more credit.  Set youself a daily goal, a weekly goal, and a monthly goal initially. Daily goal could be not to eat out or pay for entertainment. Weekly goal may be to set up a budget or learn about the snowball v avalanche method for paying down debt. Monthly goal could be to learn where you are living large and take action to change it. Post your total debt on your refrigerator and keep a running tally. 

It helps if you and your partner are on the same page with this program but you do not need to be. When hubby and I started, I had a poor credit score and his was fine. However, I am the one who sees the value in saving money but he did not. I started by paying $5 extra dollars whenever I had it to a credit card. Seriously, I made a payment every few days. I did not eat out or buy new clothes, spend on entertainment, etc. for almost a year. I am surprised at how fast I was able to pay off my credit card and save for a rental property. Reading these forums daily will keep you mindful on your spending and credit.

[Anonymous]

The best thing to do is to get on a budget and see where you are spending too much and where you can start saving.

I started using YNAB a few years back and I was amazed at how much money I was wasting on trivial things that I didn't need to buy.  After years of using that I no longer need to use the budgeting software as I know what my limits are now.

Before doing anything else create a budget and go from there.  You will need to do this for a month or two but after that you should know what you can and cannot do with your current income.