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So this is a mess now and I need advice on what to do.
My scores are low, so I doubt I qualify for nothing but a payday loan (which I'm avoiding at all costs), but I'm not playing the what if game. My EX score is 659, TU (as of Oct. 8) is 665, and EQ (as of Oct. 8) is my lowest at 568. I'm noticing all that one has it outdated information, addresses, jobs, and an account that was dropped from the other two. It might reflect the current info now, and I won't know until the 8th when I can get my freeish monthly report. I use CreditCheckTotal.
I need under $10,000 for various debts, IRS bill I owe, hospital bills, and a few things that haven't gone to collections but (due to dates) will be sometime early next month. If I can get SOMETHING, great. If not, I'll try a tighter budget and see what happens. I can't get anyone to cosign me and my income is just under $2,000 a month. Please don't assume I have family support or party, I really don't and I don't go out anymore since I can't afford it.
1. What is your total monthly obligation? (minimum payments for everything, plus rent/mortage/etc)
2. Have you calculated what interest your loan need to be under to ensure your monthly obligation is lower than what you currently pay?
3. IRS is usually super good about setting up low interest long term payment plans. They will also sometimes do deferments. Have you spoken to them yet?
Hospitals will set up payment plans and sometimes for ridiculously low monthly payments if that's all you can afford.
You absolutely MUST call them and find the person who can manage it. Sometimes it takes multiple calls, though.
A friend of mine put a $50,000 emergency on a payment plan over 6 years at just $450 a month -- they basically are cutting the overall price but she has to absolutely positively pay it monthly or it goes straight to collections for the original amount less payments made.
@Anonymous wrote:
Sorry for the late reply, I've been working and tired today. But basically:
1) The monthly payments are odd, they're not monthly. They're weekly due to everything landing on a different day and week. So technically it's about $350-$450 a month, a little over $1000 with everything else added. 75% of that being my car payments and debt.
2) No, I hadn't. I really wanted to just pay everything with the loan and do a lump payment monthly. Thatll be significantly easier to manage monthly and obviously remove a lot of stress.
3) Yes I had, but I had to temp quit when I lost my other job. It doesnt really help me with the others though, including student loans.
I honestly think this is the biggest myth out there in personal finance.
If you can't get on track paying the bills individually, a lump payment isn't going to change things. Individual bills are actually easier for me being smaller amounts that are staggered out. More flexible.
You have to write a budget and get a calendar and do some planning and learn to manage it all.
Figure out how to earn more money. Get your expenses down. Big car payment? Get rid of it. Get a roommate. Get a smaller home. Sell things. Get serious.
It takes a really disciplined person that can achieve any help from personal loans. 95% of the time is just another trap that fosters even more debt in the end. I learned this lesson the hard way and feel passionately about it, which is I might be coming off with an edge here.
IRS payment plans amount 6% APR and most states are about the same. Set them up ASAP. Go low on the amount (so you have less commitment while you take care of other stuff) and throw extra money on them when you can.
Medical will work with you also but you have to set it up soon and don't mess up at all. They give you once chance before sending you to collections.
Best of luck to you!
For an amount that low the IRS will practically let you name your own paymnet plan. I had clients on plans for almost nothing. I believe if memory serves right it must just pay off in 6 years.
Hospitals, the non profit kind may do a charity write off or low payments just ask.
The for profits vary some supper nice others will take your body and sell it to the body farm.
It pays to ask.
From the various posts I have come up with the following 3 pieces of information
-total debt less than 10k
-Monthly obligations 1k
-Monthly income 2k (not specified if before or after tax)
It looks like everything can be paid off in under a year, maybe a bit longer if the 2k is pre-tax. If you really want to consolidate to 1 payment, and you have no where else to go, you could try prosper or upstart or lending club. They might stick you with 20-30% interest, but if you pay it off quickly that shouldn't upset things too much.
NOTE: I would not recommend this. I think stick it out. Pay off the small balances first so you can have less payments. Maybe call your lenders and see if they can change your due dates.