Is being 10k in credit card debt is bad. Please no advertisements.?

Question

1st thing i want to make clear is I dont want to be poked fun of or badgered. I posted this question a week ago and found nothing but negitive feedback and advertisements for bankrupcies and credit solutions. I am in sales rely on commision well sales were horriable this year and i had to result in using cc for some bills and ended up to be around 10k between me and my wife medical bill seemed to be the main expense. I am just wondering how many of the rest of the public is in this situation too. I just transfered half of it to a 0 percent for 18 months, i am commited to take care of this and going to pay it. How come did i get called a deadbeat on here? and things like that.

Answer 1

Is it bad, yes. Could it be worse, yes.

Being in sales means that you are reliant on the buying patterns of others. I'm not trying to make a comment on the quality of your work, but being that it is not steady income you have the danger of easily living beyond your means.

I personally got into credit card trouble in my early 20s when I was laid off from work and no one wanted to hire me for various reasons related to my school schedule. I fell back on the cc's to support myself, even living at home my family was not able to fully support me as we are a low income family. I had the choice of through away the chances of completing my degree and going to work in a steady fulltime job or roughing it out. Well, I'm almost done with my Master's now, still working in low paying jobs because I am a psychology major, and doing everything I can to plug away at my debt that has been lingering for years now. I know I should be able to finally get a good paying job in a year or so, but I'm generally messed up for at least 5 more years in terms of credit and everything. So in the meantime, I do what I can to keep my costs and luxurgies low, and remain patient.

Why do people call you a deadbeat? Who knows. All I know is that nothing is being done to help people out that won't put them further in the hole down the road.

Answer 2

Having being paid on commission is very hard. I know. I am commission only and my sales have been low this year. It is bad to have a lot of debt. The first thing you have to look at is what is the credit limit. Is the credit limit and what you owe on the credit card over the 35% threshold? If it is then the way to pay it down is paying the credit card on a bi-weekly basis. It is great that you have a zero percent rate for 18 months. But it would be really nice if you have it paid off in 18 months. Paying the credit cards on a bi-weekly will afford you this opportunity. Take the minimum payment divide it by 2. Pay the first payment as soon as the bill comes. Then 2 weeks later pay the 2nd half of the payment. But mark the 2nd payment principle. Although you have a 0% card the actual interest is accruing. This is where your finance charges come from. If you want to send extra money. Then take the finance charge and divide that into 2 as well along with the payment. Your credit card company won't like it but you're paying they are not. You can do this with all your bills. In the end you might have money owed to you.

Answer 3

First, the majority of the users here are rather young from what I have seen, and don't really understand your situation unless they've been there.

I am serious, and being 10k in debt is not really bad, as long as you pay more than the minimum amount on the card or credit when you are able and do not let it go more than you can afford on a monthly basis. When you are able, make more than what you would normally put as payment. This way, the card/credit companies will see that you're serious and always pay on time.

Also, quite a few people that have asked questions here have not always been honest with the use of their information. I would not worry about what they are calling you as you alone, know what your situation is. Medical bills can put you into collection if they're not paid on time. Just do the best you can.

Answer 4

I'm sure you are not the only one!! The transfer was a great idea. Since it is on 0% for 18months, this is the second problem, pay minimum only. Pay the other cards, pay the one with higher apr. This is not a huge amount, most people are more in debt than this. If you can get a second job would be better! Just don't panic. Cut the expenses, dining out, switch cabel company, for new customers the service is cheaper. Deadbeat? That sounds strange to me! If your credit score is good, try to get new card and transfer. If not, then just pay it off on the existing cards. Good luck!

Answer 5

It's only bad if the amount of debt is severely out of proportion to your income, you cannot make at least the minimum monthly payments, or you're behind on your payments.

A rule of thumb is to pay off the highest percentage credit card first, even if it's not the highest balance. Make an extra payment with each paycheck *before* you do anything else with the paycheck, even if it's only $50 above the minimum payment. Once you've paid that one off, start on the next one.

Interesting note - don't cancel your cards once they're paid off. Instead, use one to grocery shop and then pay off the full balance every once in a while. This will help ensure that your debt/credit limit looks favorable. Example:

you have two credit cards, one with a limit of 10,000 and the other of 25,000. if you pay off the 25,000 card and are carrying $5000 on the other card, and you cancel the paid off card, then it looks like you're only good for 10,000 credit, with half of that in debt. Otherwise, you're carrying $5000 debt, but have a total credit value of $35,000, which is obviously a more advantageous ratio.

Hang in there - you'll get it all paid off.

Answer 6

It is easy to do. The first thing I would do is to go and borrow enough money from a bank, credit union or some place like that to get away from the credit card companies. Credit card companies are sharks and thieves, it is legal rape. You will have a much lower interest rate and not get hit with all their hidden fees. You can do it and it will take some time. It may mean taking an extra job to pay off one and then what you were paying on the first, apply both payments to the second, and so on. You will get them paid off but cut them up. I have no credit cards, I operate solely on cash and it is amazing how you have some extra money when you are not paying $100 or more to those thieves in interest. You can do it, just hang tough. Best of luck.

Answer 7

Credit cards are sometimes a necessary evil of life. As for the amount, it depends on your monthly gross income whether or not I'd call it bad.

Dave Ramsey says we shouldn't be indebted to credit cards at all. Of course, that is easy for him to say.

I used mine after Bank of America lied to me about doing a refinance on my motorcycle. After going through the hassle of filling out a stack of paperwork, they said they don't offer refi's on auto loans.

So, I went to my bank, they had a special on a new card account with an APR a good bit less than the current BOA loan. I paid the bike off with the card and haven't regretted it since. 2 weeks later, I got my title but of course I'm still paying the debt.

How much are you paying toward this $10K debt a month? If you're only paying the minimum, it'll take just about forever to pay it off. Try paying a little extra each month.

Transferring it was a good idea IF the APR after that intro period is relatively low.

You're not alone in this, a lot of others out there are in a similar situation Thomas. Good luck!

Answer 8

Yes, that's a lot of unsecured debt and you are paying a lot of interest on it. Transferring what you can to the 0% interest card is good. But now you have another minimum payment that must be made each month.

The best way to get out from under is to make yourself a strict budget. Take every penny you can squeeze out of that budget and put it on the highest interest rate credit card, while making minimum payments on the rest. When the highest interest rate card is paid, move to the next till they are all paid off.

It will take you 2 or 3 years to pay it all off but you will have a good payment history. Credit counseling or debt relief companies will just trash your credit score.

Answer 9

Any form of credit card debt is not good, but sadly most Americans suffer from it. Believe me, you are not alone in this rat race, and in no way a dead-beat. The best way to pull out of this financial abyss, is to pay off the credit card debt as fast as possible. If you earn extra in commission sales next year, don't spend it on anything you do not need. Instead spend it on the credit debt, this will not only lower your debt, but it will also lower the payments on the intrest. (Considering you also pay down on the Principal) If you want, try taking a few investment courses on Real Estate, they can provide you a wealth of not just investing information, but also financial information as well. Good luck on getting out of debt.