WHERE DO I START?? PLEASE HELP- Credit destroyed and I need a plan

[Anonymous]

So my husband and I have really got ourselves into a bad financial position and want to dig our way out.  We havent been doing this very well on our own, so before I start - I wanted to get the advice or more experienced people from this board.. as many seem very experienced.

My husband was out of work for 2 years.. In that time we had to claim Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.  (filed July 2010- discharged 10/2010.  After that things were going OK and we opened a few small credit cards and got 2 auto loans.  - big mistake.  5 months ago, my ex stopped paying child support (seperate issue) and our income went down by $2000/month.  Since then, we have barely made our essential bills- ie rent, utilities, insurance, etc. 

I am now behind on many bills.  I dont know where to start.  I dont have the money to catch up on all of them at the same time.  Most are 90 days late at this time.  Do I wait and then try to settle or PIF for the promise of a deletion?  I only have a couple of hundred dollars each month  to put towards these.  but most want a big payment to even become current.  and then (obviously) the minimum payment. The duplicates are because my husband and I each have one from some companies.

I NEED A SHORT TERM PLAN AND A LONG TERM PLAN

Capital one           400 balance wants 100 to be current

Capital One          759 balance. wants 350 to be current

HSBC                   800 balance wants 350 to be current

HSBC                   325 balance wants 180 to be current

1st National CC    400 balance wants 220 to be current

Premier CC           300 balance wants 200 to be current

Sprint                    900 past due balance

This month, weJust gave back a car  to the bank on a voluntary repo- we were underwater by about $7K. Now I am waiting for the auction to take place so we find out exactly what we owe.

Student loans of about $40k with a $250 / month payment (ON TIME)

I have just taken on a second and a third job in hopes of generating additional income, but I would like advice on the best way to proceed.

Thanks in advance!!

[Anonymous]

im really sorry to hear about this. first and for most dont let the past dues age and not do anything about them. is your husband working? i wont try to pry too much into your personal life. what i would do is sit down with your husband and come up with a plan TOGETHER. draw up your necesary bills to live and see how much money you can afford to put towards the balances every month. if both of you attack this together you can come out of it. on paper it doesnt look to bad from my end. are any of your creditors threatening legal action?

[annielorie]

Capital one           400 balance wants 100 to be current

Capital One          759 balance. wants 350 to be current

HSBC                   800 balance wants 350 to be current

HSBC                   325 balance wants 180 to be current

1st National CC    400 balance wants 220 to be current

Premier CC           300 balance wants 200 to be current

Sprint                    900 past due balance

Whaat is the minimum payment each month 30$ or so because all these seem high...If you were 90 days late with all it would be 90 each to have no more lates be reported.  Sprint I would try to work with even if you can only pay 25 a month did they charge you service after your phones were shut off get that taken off bill if they charged you cancellation of contract on phones fight that. Losing child support is a hardship. I know everyone will chime in at the am hours 

[LIGHTNIN]

Hi and Welcome to the forums,

Sorry to hear about your problems. Most of us here have been in the same boat, at one time or another.

Have you called the CCC's, to tell them about your situation?   Some have programs to help recover.

Was the repo in your name too?  Are the CC's in joint names or individual names?

Is your husband working full time now? Can he get over time or a 2nd part time job?

Does you husband want to get out of debt as bad as you do?  or is it all left up to you?

Your children are they little and paying daycare or are they older like teenagers?

Have you cut out cable, eating out etc?

Sorry if some of our questions,are too personal.You dont have to answer the one's, you dont want to.

We are just here to help you.

Debt can put a real strain on a marriage and the whole family.

At one time I worked 2 jobs and another time 1 full time and 2 part time jobs. So I understand the position your in.

With you working 3 jobs,you have little time to spend with your husband and your children.So set aside some time to contect with them. Find some free things to do with them.My DH and I sat our kids down and told them money doesnt grow on trees. That talk was very helpful for all of us because the kids didnt know why, we were feeling down all the time.So when the cable was cut off, they understood they had to play out side and do other things.Sorry for the long post, it's just your story sounded like mine awhile back. You'll get through this. 

[Lasardo]

Agreed as above. your situation qualifies you for a "hardship" call the cc companies and ask to be transferred to collections, explain your situation and you want your account to first be blocked as a no interest to be accrued. Remember you have the upper hand, you have what they want..money. They do not want to report you on your credit bureau report they want to get paid. Explain that right now all you can pay is $10,$50, etc. when they block the account you will not be able to make new purchases. I worked for a credit card company for a bit and we got situations all the time like yours. They want to work with you..not against you. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

HI everyone and thanks for your replies.

My husband is working, but is currently on disability - a box fell on him at work.  - but he is receiving full pay- just not any overtime.

We have already cut out all non essentials.  I have one child in elementary who needs before and after school care next year

(which I cant afford) and one who graduates high school TODAY and will be a freshman in college in August ($$$) I make a lot more money

 than my husband, and extra work for me -unfortunately - pays alot more

It seems if I could just go back to paying the minimums on my credit cards I could catch up. ... but at this point, they want the past

3 months minimums, plus service charges, plus any over limit amounts NOW just to get back on track.  I can only afford to pay them

$10 or $20 a month right now.  If I pay them $10 a month each will it help my credit- or will it hurt me in the long run? thats all I can afford.

I called these companies in the beginning of the year and told them my problem.  the only one willing to put us on a hardship

program was Capital One. Some of the others gave me answers like- "well, our credit cards are for people who already have

bad credit , so we dont have any programs to help you."

I think my husband has just thrown in the towel and resigned himself to the fact we will never have good credit.  He is more concerned

with feeding the kids and keeping  a roof over our heads - and rightfully so.  Prior to the recent mess- we were paying our bills and trying

to rebuild our credit fromt the bankruptcy- but we already had bad credit and I dont think that he saw that paying our bills on time was going

to help us down the road.  He only could see that right NOW we have to pay ridiculously high interest rates and can not get approved for

anything better until later and right NOW he had to choose between electricity or paying a credit card company... So I guess what I mean is

we were already feeling the pain of bad credit- now we will be feeling it indefinitely.

.

[trix_r_4_kids]

OP:

In addition to the helpful advice you will get from more seasoned members of this forum, I would also recommend that you contact your student loan servicer about getting a hardship deferral or forbearance.  Granted the interest will continue to accrue (on unsubsidized loans), but it will be at a lower rate than any of your credit cards.  While in forbearance, your credit will be protected.  Once that is set up, you can redirect that $250 payment toward other debts.

I know you said you "don't know where to start".  Don't despair.  Just take it one day at a time, one bill at a time.  Other's on the forum will offer really good advice in terms of what to tackle first and how best to do it.

[Anonymous]

IF i can not make the minimum payment.. but send the maximum I can send.. ie they want $50 but I can only send $10.  Does that help me or hurt me? 

[jason0618]

In my experience, and I admit I'm still new to all of this, but if the minimum payment is $50, and you can only afford $10, then they'll still say it's late, and charge you late fee, overlimit fee, and whatever other fees that would be applied.  End result, your credit will still have late pays and fees, and you'll have $10 less in your bank account.

I'd do as others mentioned, and try to get a forebearance on your student loans, then use that money to apply toward catching yourself up, one bill at a time.

I've only been doing this for about two months, and I've had some pretty good luck, so it CAN be done.  Good luck

[thankfulheart]

I would highly recommend seeking a credit counseling agency who can take your CCs in hand, get the payments lowered, interest reduced, and late fees gone.  They can help you with a workable budget and get your feet back underneath you.  As a PP said, you should also look into a hardship forbearance or deferment on your student loans.