Help!!!!! sad and sooo freaked out!!

I just finally got my bills together with FH and its out of control.. hes freakin out and so am I and I need a second job asap!! i now have to sell my car its that bad I dont know how everything got so out of hand but its goin to be a tough year.. any ideas or help guide me in the right direction would be much appreciated?? Im soo lost and I really want to get rid of this debt asap!!!

Sorry you're going through that ....

if it's credit card debt, you can call the credit card company directly and see if they'll lower the amount you owe them (they often do give a 'discount' because they'd rather get some of their money than none at all).

best way to manage your money, IMO, is to give yourself a weekly cash allowance and never ever use the credit card. That way, you know how much you spend.

Good luck!!!

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Posted by MrsInglima

What did you spend your wedding money on? Do you have any extra that you can pay your bills with? That's what we did. We spent half on furniture and half paying off our debt.

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welll we spent most of the wedding money on the wedding and the little left over DH is weary about spending it on my bills since I did it to myself and it was suppose to be almost gone by the wedding.. but because I used alot for the wedding it just got bigger.. Plus I would still need more then that to take care of the debt so Im screwed kinda

well, first question

what kind of debt?

If any of it is student loans, see if you qualify for the federal Income based repayments or income contingent repayments for Fed loans, that can reduce the costs.


For Credit Cards, if you can get some money together, go to the one that is the highest and see if they will come up with an amount that is acceptable to both you and them to completely pay off the debt. I was able to help someone settle a collection notice for 20% of the actual amt due. It may affect your credit, but it will help with the monthly cost.

For utilities, see if there is something you have that is a luxury, not a necessity. DH and I have cable internet, but dont pay for cable TV, and its kept costs down. If you can get on a family share plan for Cell phones, it can reduce the cost. A family plan can be 90 as opposed to 120-200 for two plans.

For car insurance: one tip I was told is look at your deductible. if you can afford a higher deductible, it will reduce your monthly car insurance payment. If thats not feasible, taking a defensive driving course can lower your bill by as much as 20% per month (per a guy I work with)

If you are part of an expensive Gym, if you dont have a required contract period, look into going somewhere like Planet Fitness where there is a 10 a month membership.

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Posted by eternitybride

well, first question

what kind of debt?

If any of it is student loans, see if you qualify for the federal Income based repayments or income contingent repayments for Fed loans, that can reduce the costs.


For Credit Cards, if you can get some money together, go to the one that is the highest and see if they will come up with an amount that is acceptable to both you and them to completely pay off the debt. I was able to help someone settle a collection notice for 20% of the actual amt due. It may affect your credit, but it will help with the monthly cost.

For utilities, see if there is something you have that is a luxury, not a necessity. DH and I have cable internet, but dont pay for cable TV, and its kept costs down. If you can get on a family share plan for Cell phones, it can reduce the cost. A family plan can be 90 as opposed to 120-200 for two plans.

For car insurance: one tip I was told is look at your deductible. if you can afford a higher deductible, it will reduce your monthly car insurance payment. If thats not feasible, taking a defensive driving course can lower your bill by as much as 20% per month (per a guy I work with)

If you are part of an expensive Gym, if you dont have a required contract period, look into going somewhere like Planet Fitness where there is a 10 a month membership.

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Thank you for this!!! Its actually credit card debt.. no student loans.. I got myself in a bad position awhile ago and then took a loan out from the bank and now almost paid off on that.. But now I racked up the other cards and back to where I started.. It was just an ongoing cycle and I wasnt incharge of my money like I should have been and now Im totally screwed and its putting a huge strain on my relationship. This is the one thing DH was not goin to tolerate.. so now its my problem and I need a solution. Im actually callin my gym today and cancelling membership to join planet fitness.. I have a lot of designer bags I will prob have to sell -(they were actually gifts so I didnt purchase them) , and my car is paid off in march will prob sell the car and hopefully make some money to pay off the debt.. I need a second job but I work 10am to 7pm mon thru friday.. so I know most places arent just goin to hire me for weekend.. Its just all my fault and Im just soo upset over it . its really makin me sick to my stomach

for credit cards, this is what DH did when he got in a pinch.


Call them... Most of them will be willing to:
1. settle for a lesser amount to make sure they get paid and the close the card.
2. Lower your interest rate temporarily but freeze the card which lowers your payments
3. put you in a graduated payment plan which lowers the payments now, but again freezes the cards.


DH had to do this at one point when he was unemployed, and it actually helped. He has a high amount of credit card debt as well, and it reduced his monthly payments by several hundred.


Some advice, if you can pay off one of the cards, do it. I have heard differing advice on whether it should be the highest interest or the lowest interest. I usually think highest, but people will pay off the card with the lowest interest rate and transfer the balance from the higher interest rate onto that card, then close the higher interest rate card.


To keep from getting more in debt, leave the cards at home, only buy what you can pay for with cash. This is what I am starting to do, because my credit cards are nearly maxed and its a problem, so I am being careful too.


its hard, but there are ways to work around it.

For part time jobs, I used to bartend to make money, and it was evenings and weekends (though it was hit or miss making decent money)

With the holiday shopping coming up, if you really feel you need to take an extra job, some places may be looking for weekend help.

For the car, do some research, see how much you could consider reasonably getting for it. Some cars drop to much in value for it to be viable. Also look into whether you need 2 cars because of work schedules. DH and I are able to make it work right now since he is out of work, but when he starts we will both be on the train. But sometimes, you need 2 cars, and you will need to factor that in.

Credit Card debt is the worst. I went into the marriage with none but I am knee-deep in student loans. FH had a lot of credit debt which we are trying to get him out of. Here is what you do:

1. stop spending on credit cards from now on. Try to use cash or debit for everything and if you don't have the cash to pay for it, then you probably shouldn't buy it. No clothes, no entertainment, etc. Remember the necessities: shelter and food aka rent/mortgage payments and groceries.

2. call your credit card companies and try to get your apr/interest lowered.

3. pay over the minimums every month if you can. this speeds up the paying off process as you are also getting rid of some of the interest

4. take off any reoccuring charges on your credit cards (magazine subscriptions, netflix, amazon prime memberships, etc.)


GOOD LUCK!!

See if you can work in a restaurant since that seems to be the perfect time and it's decent pay.

If that doesn't work then look around for seasonal work since this is the perfect time.

cut down on your spending pronto. Don't buy unnecessary things. Brown bag lunch. Use last years clothes.

Thx guys!!!!!!! I really got myself into a pickle .. I appreciate all your help!

There are some cards that have interest free rates for a promotional period (about a year). I think they also allow you to transfer existing balances on to the charge for no fee. If you can consolidate your debt to one card and stop paying interest fees on it that is a good first step.

Next, print out your credit card statements and see what you can cut out. If things were for the wedding, the good news is that they are not recurring charges. If you notice you are spending a lot of money on take out, go to the grocery store and pack sandwiches for lunch and bring yogurt for breakfast. Try to make dinner and then eat any left overs for lunch.

No impulse buys. Try to avoid the stores. Its hard, especially this time of year to avoid shopping and I know you love to shop! Esp when stores are offering discounts on the items you have been covetting all season!

can you reduce any of your plans, tv, cable, phone, etc?

I know it's hard.

Budget, budget, budget. Look at where your money is going each month. See how much you are spending on food, gas, etc. Write it all down. You will be surprised at where your money goes. Once you see what you are spending your money on, see where you can cut things out. For example, no going out to eat....no Starbucks...bring lunch to work....that saves a lot.

What we've been doing that works, is when I get paid, I take out a set amount for gas and food for 2 weeks. I keep it in envelopes to use. We've been trying not to charge or use the debit at all. My problem was, I'd just put everything on my debit and would be spending excess cash on stupid things. SO taking out and only paying with cash helps. Put a set amount to pay off those cards.

Try to put all debt on one card if possible. (the one with the lowest interest). Any extra cash should go to paying off that debt. Good luck. I know it's hard. We are trying to get rid of my hubby's debt from a long time ago. suckssss....get it taken care of NOW! maybe even talk to your credit cards to see if you can lower interest rate or if you're struggling with school loans, call to see if you can hold off paying for a bit. they work with you.