@Anonymous wrote:1) Know you are not alone. You're human, and lots of folks, my wife included, are/were in the same boat. The struggle IS real.
2) It seems like you are a little stressed by all of this. Take a breath, and know that it will be OK.
3) If you haven't already, STOP ADDING NEW debt to these cards if you can.
Now, with your current situation, it looks like three main options for you, with option 3 being my real recommendation
1) Try NFCU. You might get something. They are SUPER awesome. Equifax hates me, too... That being said, they do not use FICO8 for their scoring. I'm thinking it is FICO5 or something, because the score they told me was 40 points higher than my FICO8, and was the same score MyFico said was my FICO5 score... so that might help you.
2) Have the other half of your household borrow the money, if their scores are better. Not co-signing or anything... just borrow it themselves. I hate to suggest this, but this is ultimately what I did for my family.
3) And this is the method I REALLY recommend to you for now until you garden a bit longer - SNOWBALL. Target the SMALLEST balance and apply all your extra (within sane reason) funds to that balance each month. Pay ONLY the minimums on other cards. Once you have paid the FIRST one off, take all you were paying on THAT card and apply it to the NEXT SMALLEST balance. Work your way up. This will serve several goods... 1) you'll FEEL better because you'll see your smallest balance disappear... ie you'll have ACCOMPLISHED something, 2) Your scores will improve as you garden and 3) you'll be tackling your debt without taking on additional. If, after doing this for a while your scores improve (which they will) then try NFCU or others.
Thoughts?
Correction - Always pay more then the minimum payment. Anytime you do a minimum payment, it most likely triggers a flag that can cause your account to be reviewed. The best way to mitigate this is to pay the MP and a few $ extra (i.e. MP is $25 so payment should be 35 or 50).
Who are your cards with?
Might want to checkout a hardship program...
https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Personal-Finance/Hardship-Programs/td-p/5573212
@NateW1269 wrote:Right now we're trying the snowball affect to get the cards down to 45% hoping we can qualify for a loan afterwards to take care of the rest. But the interest rates make it so hard to keep up. I figured we don't qualify to ask for a lower rate but to be honest I haven't even tried for fear of rejection. What won't happen is me digging into retirement OR home equity loans. We need to pay this debt down by 2020 so that we can move on to placing more into retirement. We just caught a few bad breaks and obviously made the mistake of using credit cards to manage them. The tension is building and I/we just need a solid plan of action with measurable results. She gets depressed when things are out of order. I've/we've got to fix things.
I know how hard and depressing it can be when it feels like there is no way out. Before finding these forums, I basically would bury my head in the sand and get anxious whenever someone would talk about credit cards and debt. I was too scared to confront my problems, but it also got me nowhere. I'm glad you recognize the problem and want to take action. I don't know what steps you've already taken so far, but here is what I suggest:
1. Set up a budget.
- Write down everything you make and subtract all of your expenses & bills to see what you have left (minus the CCs).
- Write down everything you spend money on that isn't a bill or needed expense (it may be eye opening to see where your money is going).
- Downgrade any services you can and/or eliminate any expenses that you absolutely don't need or can go without (cable, Netflix, Starbucks, etc).
- Set a small weekly spending budget for food & other needs
- Set aside a small percentage to put towards your savings. Even if it's just a little bit, it's good to have a cash cushion, instead of relying on credit cards for unforseen expenses AND it's a good habit to create. Ideally, you should put this in an account that you can't easily access that can earn you some interest. DCU's savings pays 6.17% up to the first $1,000 in your account! You just need a $5 minimum to open.
- Take whatever you have left and can spare and put that towards paying off your cards using the snow ball method.
- As you go along, keep tweaking at all of the above to optimize and help put away as much as you can.
2. Stop using your credit cards. Put them in the freezer, the sock drawer, whatever. Just take them out of your wallets and start using cash or debit.
- This will hold you accountable for every single penny. Seeing the amount of available funds, helps reset your spending priorities. I did this for 10 + years when I did away with all my credit cards, and I think it really helped my perspective on money. I only spent what I had or could afford, because I had no other option. Now that I have credit cards, I use them to boost my credit profile but I pay in full every month.
3. Find ways to boost your income. Drive for Uber, sell belongings, run a side business, etc... Every little bit helps.
It's going to be hard at first, and you'll have to make some major changes, but once you start seeing results, it will feel so good. Plus, you will feel more confident knowing you have a plan and that you're doing something about it. Just be patient and realize that it will take a while. Good luck!
