I'm recently married, and we both have a lot of debt.  That wasn't a surprise.  Combined, it's pretty overwhelming.  And, most of our "bad" discussions as newlyweds include finances.  I wish we could get to a manageable place!
I'm getting the point where making payments is a struggle.  Is there something a creditor will do to help me out?  I've requested APR decreases in the past and they usually only give me 1-2 points.  That's really not helpful when the interest rate is already above 25%.  Any advice is much appreciated!  Thanks!

Last edited by meeulk (2007-11-26 09:25:26)

Have you thought of looking into a work from home job and applying the money you earn towards one of your debts? That could prove very helpful.

It's a good idea to apply for part-time jobs. Or you can even work at night to earn more bucks. Aside from my mom's job, she also joined online money making. She abled to pay all debts in just a year.

Also, have you looked into consolidating your debt?

I think that's usually a good strategy if you can pay off the individual debts with a loan or line of credit, and have a lower interest rate on the new debt.

You may want to avoid lumping a short term debt like a car loan into a longer one, like a mortgage though.

Debt consolidation is usually an excellent idea as it reduces the number of payments you need to make each week as well as reduces interest as well

Hi, thanks for the comments so far.  We've looked into consolidation.  The issue is that we would like to consolidate without going through a debt consolidation company.  The issue there is that our FICO scores are not that high, and it's near impossible to qualify for a loan big enough to cover all of our CC debt.

meeulk wrote:

Hi, thanks for the comments so far.  We've looked into consolidation.  The issue is that we would like to consolidate without going through a debt consolidation company.  The issue there is that our FICO scores are not that high, and it's near impossible to qualify for a loan big enough to cover all of our CC debt.

Maybe you're already doing this, but I thought I'd ask: Have you compared the interest rates on your various debts and been making larger payments toward the higher interest debts? Some of the department store cards especially are quite high.

If not, maybe that would be worthwhile in the meantime as you find a consolidation loan.

If you are paying 25% or more in interest then it is going to be extremely difficult to get out of debt. You need to find a lower interest rate.

Be careful of debt management compaies, tehy usually do more harm then good.

Firt question do you have a documneted budget.. do you know where every cent of your money is going.? If not do it ASAP. It can give some insight as to what you need to work on as far as out going cash.

Once you figure that out come up with a plan to chip away at your debts.
Dont be afraid to call your credit card companies and ask for a rate reduction, tell them the interest charges are killing you and making it difficult to make ends meet.  You will be suprised at how they can work with you.

Also BE VERY careful how you consolidate, transfering money from card to card doesnt always have the desirted effect.
FOR INSTNACE: If you get a teaser rate for a balance transfer (usually with fees) and transfer a sum of money to another card here is what you end up with instead.
You pay the lowest APR rate before higher ates, that is why credit card companies love when you transfer money, thye rake in all the charges on the higher rates because you never even touch them until you erase teh lowest first.

There are many many things you can do to get out from your debt fast//BUT you have to be focused and commited and sometimes get a bit of direction from someone already doing this.

Hope this helps and good Luck,.

Send me a pm I can send you to a site that can help.

-G-