NBR: Massive Credit Card Debt

mrsbhk22 · October 2009

I have a really good friend who is struggling to get out from under her credit card debt. Do you have any pointers that might help her? I already told her to call the CC companies and see if she could change her due dates (so they are staggered and not all due the same week). She also tried to negotiate down her interest rates and they won't budge. She's only making minimum payments and getting no where. She's cut up all her cards so she isn't charging anymore. Any tips you have would be apprecaited.

BeeLove · October 2009

Pay off high interest cards first.

Make more than minimum payments - i.e. twice as much per month so she is paying towards her actual purchases and not just paying interest.

If she qualifies, consider getting a no interest card and transferring balances to give her a little breathing room on interest cards.

Make sure to pay them down below 50% so that her credit isn't negatively affected.

Never miss a payment.

MattysGirl81 · October 2009

Is there any way she can pay more than the minimum? She will never get anywhere doing that regardless of the interest rate or anything else.

chucknorris11 · October 2009

I used In Charge-- a debt consolidation non profit, to help with mine. They negotiate with your card companies to get you a lower rate (My rate on my chase cards went from 29% to 6%) and you make one monthly payment to them which they disburse to your creditors.

I LOVE it. I had about 17K in credit card debt and I make a 450.00 payment/month. It helps so much to not have to worry about that anymore.

The website is incharge.org. I highly recommend it. If you have any more questions let me know...

wwsurf81 · October 2009

Get a second job. That's what I did. I had about $3000 in CC debt and $4000 in student loans before I got married. When I got engaged I didn't want to bring that into our marriage so I tutored kids at night. I was tutoring like 4-5 kids every week and it only took me about a year to get rid of all the debt. Of course, I was also very careful and frugal with my money that year. The extra work sure did help though.

kerivp · October 2009

BeeLove:

Pay off high interest cards first.

Make more than minimum payments - i.e. twice as much per month so she is paying towards her actual purchases and not just paying interest.

If she qualifies, consider getting a no interest card and transferring balances to give her a little breathing room on interest cards.

Make sure to pay them down below 50% so that her credit isn't negatively affected.

Never miss a payment.

Totally agree. Have you been watching Susie Orman? Big Smile

Nicavesani · October 2009

kerivp:
BeeLove:

Pay off high interest cards first.
Make more than minimum payments - i.e. twice as much per month so she is paying towards her actual purchases and not just paying interest.
If she qualifies, consider getting a no interest card and transferring balances to give her a little breathing room on interest cards.
Make sure to pay them down below 50% so that her credit isn't negatively affected.
Never miss a payment.
Totally agree. Have you been watching Susie Orman?

YES! I was just going to say this!

Susie Orman has got a lot of good knowledge and tips on living debt free... get one of her books. It's not gonna be easy, but it's doable.

grinsandgiggles · October 2009

BeeLove:
Pay off high interest cards first.
Make more than minimum payments - i.e. twice as much per month so she is paying towards her actual purchases and not just paying interest.
If she qualifies, consider getting a no interest card and transferring balances to give her a little breathing room on interest cards.
Make sure to pay them down below 50% so that her credit isn't negatively affected.
Never miss a payment.

This. And she needs to cut out other things in her life such as cable tv (you can watch stuff online for free), generic grocery items/shampoo, etc. (and buy only what you will eat for a week so you don't waste). No going to the mall/movies, etc. If she's serious she needs to get serious. Best of luck!

Mrs.DeliaMarieP · October 2009

she needs to look into getting applying for low-interest credit cards (yes, there are sometimes fees attached, usually 3%, but it might be worth it to pay for the transfer fee rather than continue to rack up high interest)

She needs to pay more than the minimum on all cards but even more on the high-interest cards to pay those off fastest.

Once she gets one card paid off, rather than looking at that payment as "extra cash," she needs to continue putting that amount toward the remaining cards each month.

If she really has that much debt, it might be worth it to look into a consumer credit agency, as they can usually talk down the credit card companies, though there are stipulations that they have as well. Can't hurt looking into.

BeeLove · October 2009

Nicavesani:
kerivp:
BeeLove:

Pay off high interest cards first.
Make more than minimum payments - i.e. twice as much per month so she is paying towards her actual purchases and not just paying interest.
If she qualifies, consider getting a no interest card and transferring balances to give her a little breathing room on interest cards.
Make sure to pay them down below 50% so that her credit isn't negatively affected.
Never miss a payment.
Totally agree. Have you been watching Susie Orman?
YES! I was just going to say this!
Susie Orman has got a lot of good knowledge and tips on living debt free... get one of her books. It's not gonna be easy, but it's doable.

I'm actually not a huge fan of Susie, but she makes a lot of great points. I have just "been there, done that" and understand what it takes. I agree with the PP who also mentioned cutting out non-necessities like cable, eating out, etc. and putting ALL that money toward any outstanding balances.

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NBR: Massive Credit Card Debt

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