how should i deal with my $15,000 credit card debt?

Question

in college, to survive, i racked up $15,000 on credit cards form 7 different credit card companies. i then graduated and have a job, but i am way over my head in bills. i'm never late on my school loans, rent, or car payments. so they arent the problem. the problem is i missed a payment here and there on my credit cards and now every company wants me to pay atleast $100.00 right away. there is no way i can afford that. i could barely even afford the normal payments. i got letters telling me they are going to transfer my accounts to a collection agencies. what happens then? and what are my options? i'm very worried.

Answer 1

It sounds like you are earnestly trying to do something about your situation and I admire that. It sometimes takes much effort to get to where you want to be and sometimes you can't do it by yourself. Since you are ready to make payments on your debt but just don't know how to go about it, I can make some recommendations based on experience, as I was once a financial counselor. In my opinion it may be time to contact a financial counselor at a debt management company. Debt management is sometimes the only way that you will be able to show your creditors that you are trying to turn a new leaf. I admit that I am currently on a debt management program myself, and it has helped me tremendously.

In case you are interested in contacting a counselor, make sure you look for these things in a company:

1) A company who is genuinely trying to help consumers. A company who is looking for the consumer's best interests will not only counsel you, but they may take you through a budget, analyze your situation, provide free financial material, etc. In other words they don't just try to enroll you. You should never feel pressured.
2) A company who is non-profit, certified, and has a good track record with the BBB. A company who is non-profit may ask for a donation but it is purely voluntary. All your payments should go to your creditors. Also there are regulation agencies in place to weed out the "shady" companies, so you should make sure they are certified and a responsible member of the BBB.
3) A company that answers all your questions. You probably have lots of questions, but a caring counselor will walk you through step by step, and explain thoroughly every step of the process.

My overall experience is a smooth one and it probably has something to do with the fact that I saw how the DMP (debt management program) worked behind the scenes. As far as my debt goes, in about 18 months, I have gone from $14000 debt, to about $8500. That's a big leap for me, and it's only going to get better as the payments get larger when accounts begin to close. It's a great system and more people need to take advantage of the great opportunity creditors have given consumers through the DMP. My credit score wasn't bad to begin with but it has increased from 695 to 723.

So if you are interested in the company I worked for, it is http://www.incharge.org . If you are interested in the company I have an account with, it is http://www.careonecredit.org/ . Both of these companies are registered with the BBB and have outstanding reputations.

There are plenty out there though, so you should find the one that best suits your needs. I hope that you get to where you want to be and don't ever give up! Patience will heal your credit. There is no quick answer. Good Luck!

Answer 2

First and Foremost, understand how credit ratings affect your life. To give you an idea, what ever money you use on your credit card gets reported to three credit bureaus and they pretty much rule our lives in our adulthood. In the sense, these ratings are taken into account if you want to rent an apartment, buy a car, get another credit card, buy a house.
If you So put it short, one mistake has an adverse affect on your future. So though buying a house or any other future purchase doesn't seem to be big now, it is going to catch up with you.

What collections do?
collections degrade your credit report and score very badly. Even though when things get much better later and you pay off all the collection amount, the collection will stay on your credit report surely for 7 years at a minimum.

How to Fix the problem you are facing?
Call all your credit companies and tell them that you are going to pay them off as you are enrolling into credit counselling program and not to send it to collections as of yet. Call a credit counseling program. Following are some of the links which will help you to get out of this problem really fast.

http://www.moneymanagement.org/
http://www.knockoutdebt.com/

This will tighten your budget but all this is worth the pain instead of failing for bankruptcy.

Answer 3

Whoo, Well your perfect solution would be to borrow money from mom. But in all seriousness. I will tell you thing DO NOT DECLARE BANKRUPTCY. It will ruin you, no matter what anyone says. the best thing to do is to call each company and set up some sort of payment arrangements, if only to get them current again. You may have to sacrifice, but you are not to far in the hole yet, that they will not work with you. But collection departments are definitely a financial death row. get your credit cards up to date wait a few months and then try to apply for one credit card with lower interest and transfer you balances. But keep in mind whenever you are late even if it is two days late on your payment, your other credit cards can run your credit report and find that late payment and increase your APR with them. It happens all the time. so watch it carefully. And also i would say make sure you keep track of your credit report and credit score. So in short call them make arrangemets to get them current as best you can. Good Luck

Answer 4

Try calling debt free. or some kinda debt company that helps with NOT consolidating because then you get a loan with higher interest and it is not worth it.

I am using debt free right now and they are great almost have all my debt paid off from 6 credit cards. What they do it call all your creditors that you put on the plan and lower your interest rate and you send them one money order a month and they distribute it out to all the cards appropriatly. that way your cards are not deliquent. And after the cards get paid completey they are closed, so you don't rack up more debt. and as your balance gets lower so does there fee. And the fee is not bad before i was paying 39 dollars and now i am at 15

If you get sent to a creditor which i have before, you just have to set up a payment plan with them but it looks really bad on your credit.

Answer 5

Most creditors will work with you if you call and explain the situation. Tell them you want to pay this off, but are having a hard time. Ask them to lower your interest amount. They would rather work with you than have you file bankruptcy on them, or just simply ignore them. After you have worked out an agreement, make your payments at least one day early and pay at least a couple of dollars over the minimum. Your credit report will say that youpaid early and paid more than the minimum, which looks good for you.

Answer 6

The first thing you need to do is to contact all of your credit card companies and explain your situation.

By letting them know that you plan on paying them back, and not ignoring them, they will be willing to work with you. They would rather have you pay a little then nothing at all.

Make arrangements with them, and ask them if they would consider smaller payments. Also, maybe reducing your interest or the amount you have to pay back.

Then, anytime you have a little extra, put it onto the card with the highest interest. Continue to do this until it's paid off, then close that account.

Whatever you do, DO NOT continue to use your credit cards.

Answer 7

Your best bet is to go to see a credit councillor and work on a proposal. If it does go to a collection agency, then make them an offer of so much per month and if they say that it is not enough, then ( I don' t know where you are writing from, but in Canada, if the agency refuses your offer, then legally you owe them nothing) apply for interest relief and they should put your cards on hold for the Principal amount owed and you would not have to pay the interest on the cards.
Just call and discuss this with them, they can be negotiable and if not then, they have to wait.

Answer 8

it'll be bad for your credit score and it'll be hard if you apply for a loan in the future.

100 dollars a month isn't that hard, get a second job, even as a cashier with minimum wage over the weekend, 2 days should give you 100 dollars.

cancel your tv service, that's 30-50 dollars saved, you can still watch public chanels, about 3-5 channels are available. go to your local library to rent movies, that are free. if you have home phone and cell phone, cancel your home phone for now, that's another 30-50 dollars. stop buying magazines, newspaper.

oh and cancel your internet service, go online in the local library, save money and electricity, if you cancel all these services, you'll save 100-150 dollars a month

Answer 9

I would suggest seeing a credit counselor. They can negotiate a lower interest rate or monthly payment with your credit card companies. Another option would be to transfer your balances to a card with a lower interest rate, if you can find one. But be careful of introductory rates.. make sure the lower rate is fixed for the life of the balance.

Answer 10

Run, don't walk, to Consumer Credit Counseling Service. (Beware of companies that claim they can erase your debt or that the goverment will erase your debt -- they are either trying to get you to file bankruptcy or they are frauds.) They will set a budget up for you, work with your creditors and may even lower interest payments. Good Luck.