I have 10,000 in credit card debt?

Question

im 23 and have got myself in a hole that i cant get out of im selfemployed so evey month i make a different amount,i have use my credit cards to live off of,and now im haveing a really hard time paying them off,i want to consolidate my debit or do debit management i dont know witch one to do, i spoke with somone from credit solutions but i dont know if i should go through them there is so many out there,does anyone know of a good place to go threw? also i have been researching online and read you have to be in collectins to get in one of these programs in order for the companys to settle, i have never been late on any payments so sould i just stop paying them? and mabey rake up some more debit b 4 i go threw with it?

Answer 1

A line of credit, or a bank loan will help. You could use a loan to pay off the credit card, then pay back the line or loan at a much lower interest rate. There isn't much else you can do..find a part time job? Never pay the minimum payment on a credit card.

DON"T stop paying, it'll make things worse.

Answer 2

All those credit management companies out there are charging you for something you can do yourself. All it takes is disclipline.

You can pay off your credit cards by using the "Snowball" effect. This was featured on oprah.

-Gather your statements and prioritize them

-Start paying off the card with the lowest balance first

-Once that card is paid up, double the payment on the next card down the line...(that means the payment you was using for the card that is now paid off, add it to the 2nd card you're now tackling)

-Apply the same techiniques above to subsequent cards. Also communicate with your creditors and ask for extra grace...you'll never know if you avoid them!

Finally when all is said and done, stay away from high interest rate cards. Your credit card balance should be only 50% of the credit limit used. Anything over sends a red flag to the credit companies.

Credit cards should really be used to make certain purchases, not day to day living-why don't you use your debit card for that?

Answer 3

The debt management programs are very GOOD if you have mainly credit card debt. I went through Profina Debt Solutions which is now called In Charge. I was doing good on the program until I started getting those dumb payday advance loans....!

Anyway, In Charge/Profina (www.incharge.org)helped me consolidate all my credit card bills in to one payment per month and they work with your creditors to get your interest and payments reduced. You can't leave any credit cards open though. (Just a bank debit card)

Most of my creditors were very supportive of the program. They'd rather be paid something than nothing at all.

PS: My credit card debt at the time was about the same as yours, around $10K. Don't let it go any further!!

Answer 4

1. Stop using your credit cards right now. Cut them up. They are easy to replace if you REALLY need them. From now on pay for everything with cash or a debit card. At least until you get out of debt.

2. Prioritize your credit card bill according to the interest rates. Pay off those higher interest rate cards 1st. The only thing you're paying for with interest is time.

You don't need credit solutions.

Answer 5

Bad credit is one of the worst problems to have... however there exists a solution.

I will hereby talk from my personal experience.

I did debt consolidation a couple of years ago, however If I had to do it again I would pay to some minor details,
if someone wants to get out of debt today it is pretty easy with a debt consolidation plan, however it may get a bit tricky at times, I suggest you get as much information as possible online on this first,

a good place to start in my humble opinion is astraight to the point ebook with question and answer I found :

http://umgarticles.atspace.com/debt-consolidation.htm

if it helps kindly remember me in your voting!.. cheers!

Answer 6

There are many banks offering 0% APR during a year or so. Apply for those CC and move your balance to it. If possible, get the less newer credit cards possible, but only the ones with 0% apr.
cut your expenses. Eat cheap. Sell thing on ebay or with people you know.


There is this Radio Show, Dave Ramsey, of a person who was bank rupt. He has this 'snowball' poicy, you should listen to it. It is a National show that really will help to listen to. And you can call him, he would give you a great input

Answer 7

Girl, you need Suze Orman!

Credit solutions can help you even if you are not in collections, they are non profit companies, but they do make money off of you.

You can get through all of this. If you don't want to use your creditcard one more time then go to the library and check out anything by Suze Orman. Do what the book says and you will not only get out of debt, but you will be on your way to being an investor and a person with a cushion in the bank!

She is the Bomb!

Answer 8

whatever you do, don't stop paying!

if you still have good credit you can probably get a credit card that offers 0% interest on balance transfers for 12 months (be careful though because it usually goes WAY up after the 12 months), or Blue from American Express offers 4.99% interest on balance transfers for the life of the balance (I did this because it was going to take longer than 12 months for me to pay it off). transfer all your existing balances to the new card and then don't use this card for ANYTHING else because they will put any payment you make toward the low-interest balance before they put it toward the high-interest purchase you made. cut up your old credit cards and pay only cash for new purchases.

if you don't have good enough credit to get a new card, an easy way to get started is to call up your current credit card companies and ask for a lower interest rate. tell them you are considering changing to (insert competitor's name here) because they offer a lower rate and then ask if they can match that. tell them you are trying not to let your account go to collections and it would really help if they could lower the rate - they don't want it to go to collections because it's expensive for them. my friend heard this tip on the radio and wasn't sure whether to believe it, but figured she didn't have anything to lose, and then 2 of the 4 companies were willing to significantly lower the rate they charged!
you don't have to be in collections in order to get help, but basically you'll just be paying them to get all your debt in one place. just start paying off the card with the highest interest rate first and then move on to the others.
good luck!
p.s. i am 24 and just got out of $8000 debt after 18 months, you can do it too!

Answer 9

Lump sum settlements are effective. you may ought to prepare a solid rationalization for the settlement and clarify the place the money exchange into coming from. 30% is slightly low till the debt exchange into already at debt sequence point. do not take out greater credit to get an IVA you heavily isn't eligible.

Answer 10

Keep one credit card for emergencies.
Don't pay for meals, gas, etc with a credit card. You'll be paying long after the meal was digested.
Pay more than the minimum amount, or it will take much longer.
Use cash or a check - if you don't have money, then you don't buy things.