I have too many credit cards and owe a lot on all of them, Please help.?

Question

I was thinking on calling a company that I saw on TV that helps you with that problem. They pay off all your credit cards and you pay the a low monthly payment. Is that a good thing to do? Has anybody out there done it? And about how much do they charge. I owe about 6 thousand dollars on three credidit cards all together. Please help Thanksssssssss.

Answer 1

Don't do it. Is what those companies do is call all your credit cards and tell them to settle with you or you're going to file Chaper 11. Most of them will "settle" but then you pay this 3rd party company to pay the settlement amounts, and MANY times this 3rd party company does NOT end up paying your creditors and the 3rd party collects your monthly payment. Then your credit is shot and you're paying a company for nothing and stuck. I'd highly suggest NOT doing it. Do you own your own home? Can you consolidate with a home equity loan or 2nd mortgage? If not, just keep plugging away and get a 2nd job. Good luck and don't get overwhelmed, everyone has credit card debt.

Answer 2

My husband did the consolidation thing with DebtAmerica before we were married and they charged him about $250 a month just for the service. His bills didn't really seem to get any better. Your best bet is to get a loan from a bank. Once you pay off the debt, freeze the cards in a huge ice cube in your freezer so you won't use them. But keep them open, especially the ones you have the best/longest credit history with. If you have trouble finding a loan with a bank(if your credit score isn't good enough) try a credit union. They typically are more open to taking on people with credit problems.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

I feel for you... If you have a home you should try for an equity line of credit first depending on the state your credit is in... if it's to bad you will need to go for the home equity loan...maybe even a refi... rates are good right now. anyway all these choices will have a better rate than any credit card that you have so that you can pay them off and then pay the bank back at a lower interest rate.. Then DON'T DO IT AGAIN. My grandma says if you don't have the money then you can't afford that.. PUT IT BACK!!!

Answer 4

I would not recommend anything like a consolidation becouse it generally includes putting up colateral like a home. Six thousand dollars is a good bit of money, but it is not an insumountable obstical to overcome. I would recommend: putting your credit cards in a plastic bag, filling with water, placing in freezer, and begin to pay down the debt.

I would start by getting a budget started with the money that you have coming in. Figure how much you can afford to pay on your credit cards and begin the process of getting out of debt. If you have time you can pick up a part time job working on sat/sun until you pay off your credit cards.

I only offer this alternative becouse to be debt free will change your life. I am in the process of getting out of debt.

I will recommend going to Clark howards website which you can do a google search to get the exact address. I wish you only the best and good luck to you and your bright future.

Answer 5

Don't bother with the TV ads. The money you'll pay them, you can pay toward your debt.
Try calling each of the credit card companies and negotiate a lower interest rate. Tell them that you received another offer from another company for lower interest and you're planning on transferring your balance. They will work with you.
Once you've contacted all of them, work on paying off the smallest balance first. Then progress to the next ones.
3 cards is average for most people and most people are over 20 K in debt. You're doing pretty well...

Answer 6

most of those companies are in place to rip people off. . I wouldn't go that route.
Try this:
1) call the companies you have cards with and request a lower interrest rate
2) start with the one you owe the least to work on first (pay more than the minimum, of course) Then work your way up.
3) after you've payed one off - don't close it. Companies like to see that you have credit and you are able to not use it all. . shows responsibility
4) if you chose to consolidate them, make sure you don't get screwed on the rate!
5) THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO DO:
DON'T get your balances up too high again! Keep it under control. A lot of people when they start to get their balances down start to put things right back on it again - which is defeating the entire purpose, really ! : )
good luck to you_ as well as the entire US population over 16-years-old who all have credit cards ; ; ;

Answer 7

FIRST - CUT YOUR CREDIT CARDS IN HALF!!!!!

SECOND - DON'T GO TO A COMPANY THAT PROMISES TO PAY OFF ALL YOUR CREDIT CARDS. IT'S A LOT OF BUNK!!

THIRD - I'D GO TO A BANK, AND EXPLAIN YOUR SITUATION AND THAT YOU WANT TO CLEAR UP YOUR DEBT. ASK THEM IF YOU CAN HAVE THEM TRANSFER THE DEBT FROM YOUR 3 CREDIT CARDS TO ONE LOAN FROM THE BANK, AND PAY THE HIGHEST MONTHLY PAYMENT YOU CAN PAY. YOU PROBABLY CAN GET A LOAN AROUND 6% OR SO. (THE COMPANIES THAT SAY THEY'LL PAY OFF YOUR DEBT, USUALLY CHARGE UPWARDS OF 20% - 28%,OR HIGHER, AND YOU'LL NEVER GET FINISHED PAYING BECAUSE ALL YOU'LL REALLY BE PAYING IS THEIR INTEREST CHARGES, AND YOUR $6000 WILL JUST STAY THE SAME). BUT THEIR POCKETS WILL GET FATTER AND FATTER - WITH YOUR DOLLARS!!

FOUR: TRY TO KEEP CALM. THERE ARE MANY FOLKS WHO HAVE HIGH DEBT, AND REALIZED THAT THEY MADE A TERRIBLE MISTAKE. THE BEST THING IS: YOU WANT TO PAY YOUR DEBT OFF, AND ONCE YOU'RE ABLE TO DO THAT, PLEASE DON'T TAKE OUT ANOTHER CREDIT CARD (EVEN IF YOU'RE APPROVED FOR ONE).
THE BEST POLICY IS: IF YOU CAN'T PAY FOR THE ITEM, SAVE UP UNTIL YOU CAN BUY IT ~~FOR CASH!!! GOOD LUCK TO YOU, MY FRIEND.

Answer 8

The companies don't pay off your credit cards. They negotiate with the companies you owe to take smaller payments, and often the companies you owe will reduce the interest rate. You are usually not allowed to use those credit cards or any others until everything is paid off.

Some companies are legitimate, others are shaky. I know of one person who used Consumer Credit Counselling, and they seemed pretty honest.

Good luck.

Answer 9

It is true that credit card charge too much of interest and its better to pay credit card debt with another loan like personal loan etc and pay them in emi... you will save lot of money.

Answer 10

look for a nonprofit debt counselor. Try consumer credit counseling service (CCCS) in your area.
If you are going to go it on your own. pay the minimum on every card except the one with the highest rate. That one you put the minimum plus all of your extra cash towards. It will take time. But you will get there.
You may need to consider a second job to get it going faster.
Good Luck. I have been there.