I'm in MAJOR debt how can I get out? Is there any free debt consolidation agencies?

Question

I am a 22year old student who earns about $850 -$920 a month. My rent is $600 and my car is $285. I owe about $8,100 in credit card debt and it keeps growing cause I can't afford to pay it. What can I do to help stop it from growing? Is there any free or really good, low cost debt consolidation agencies I can go to? I feel like I am never going to be debt free again any helpful suggestions would be great. I know I'm an idiot for getting into debt so young, but I feel like I'm stuck now. : (

Answer 1

if you make 920 and you have a car payment and rent of 825 == sorry you need to quit school and get a full time job till you get your act together and than go back to school!!!

Answer 2

You shouldn't feel like an idiot at all! We all have to learn from our mistakes, it makes us better people!
You should talk to a credit counselor. I was in a very similar situation--I did some research and found that my best bet was to go with a debt managment program. they lower your interest, lower your payment, get you out of debt quicker and help your credit back into a better place. You pay all of your debts in full--its not a settlement in anyway. My debts were just credit cards and I know that they cannot do anything with car notes or mortgages but the credit cards and budgeting they can!
You should check out the company i went with. i called a lot but this one was great--looked at my budget and showed me how i could get myself into a better place with saving and such.
http://www.debtcounselingcorp.org

Answer 3

To stop it from growing you need to put more than the minimum in paying for the cards. A roommate and buying a car with half the payment would get you an extra $500 a month which is enough to make the minimum payments plus hopefully a little extra.

Answer 4

I agree with the Dave Ramsey idea...

Your bottom line: If you stop charging on your credit card NOW, you need to be earning $1435 a month to afford your current situation (assuming you spend not more than $200/month on food and misc)

Here is the math:

$600 -- Rent
$285 -- Car
$350 -- Credit card payoff in 30 months
$200 -- Food, ent, misc

-----------------------------------
You are not stuck. You must earn more and spend less. The problem is that it is not going to be easy. Dave is going to tell you to cut your rent in half, get rid of your car, and work at doubling your income. I would agree with him.

Best of luck.

Answer 5

With your income, you can't afford RENT as high as your CAR PAYMENT. SELL the car immediately. Get a roommate AND a cheaper apartment ASAP. Debt consolidation is WORSE than useless until your spending is less than your income.

Answer 6

Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet. the only solution is to increase your income, or reduce the amount going out. Can you sell your car, and purchase one outright? How about downsizing your apartment, or getting a roommate?

Have you considered taking another job? Anyone who tells you that they can get you out of debt, by paying some fee up front, us usually a scam.

The only guaranteed method, is to bring in more than is going out.

Good Luck!!

Answer 7

I worked with a place called United Financial in Boca Raton, FL. They helped me get rid of about $15,000 in credit cards in 5 yrs. They can be reached at 561-883-2398. When you pay everything back you get your first payment back in a check. Good Luck!

Answer 8

suggest u visit daveramsey.com to learn ur hard lessons from others bigger mistakes.
it is cheaper and easier.
u have an income problem not debt.
u need to find more work,less school, more budgets to make ur money behave.

Answer 9

www.prosper.com