turning life around

[DavenJuan]

In hopes this thread isnt moved i wanted to post a bit about myself and hope some of my fellow MM might shed some insight on a few things for me, so here goes...

As you know i am 26. I lhave lived on my own out of my parents sheltered home since i was 18. my issue is i have debt and it is hendering me in so many different ways. How can i ever be 100 percent confident in my endeveours when i know financially i am a complete mess?

However i made some progress today.

I requested 3 of my credit reports and disputed a few negative reports on each of them.

i have about 11 negative accts and only 1 positive acct. the 11 accts are totalling somewhere around 12,000 ranging from 70 dollars to 5,000 dollars for particular accounts.

i am so sick of being suffocated by this debt. it is a barrier to me in so many aspects in my life. the obvious no credit cards that i get declined for, and also no able to open a checking acct due to a delinquent account. but also my profession. I hold a significant license to sell stocks and bonds but no one will hire me based on my credit. I have a great job now, however there is no room for progression because of my credit.

with that said, i cant take it anymore. i need/HAVE to get this out of my life so i can be the man i know i am. The problem is where to start.??

-do i pay the small accts off first or the higher balanced ones?

-some accts are coming off as early as late year 2009...do i not bother with those accts?

-im also working on a fixed income..so only a very small amount of money a month can go to these delinquent accounts

bottom line is , i WILL get all of these taken care of. i plan to come up with a plan to have all this paid off within the next year, 2 years at the most. my biggest fear is that im 30 years old and still in the same situation i am in today. all of this debt came from when i was young, 18 - 19 yrs old racking up debt like no other and im still paying for it almost 8 years later.

just wanted to share, vent a bit, and see others thoughts or similar success stories..

a bit of reassurance is always a good dose we all can use.

 

[reset]

I signed up with one of those non-profit credit services that consolidates your credit. They take over all your accounts, you pay them one payment every month, the creditors stop calling, and they usually reduce your overall debt since the creditors know they are going to get paid.

Five years later, it's paid off. Good feeling. That's the route I went.

 

[jonwon]

In hopes this thread isnt moved i wanted to post a bit about myself and hope some of my fellow MM might shed some insight on a few things for me, so here goes...

As you know i am 26. I lhave lived on my own out of my parents sheltered home since i was 18. my issue is i have debt and it is hendering me in so many different ways. How can i ever be 100 percent confident in my endeveours when i know financially i am a complete mess?

However i made some progress today.

I requested 3 of my credit reports and disputed a few negative reports on each of them.

i have about 11 negative accts and only 1 positive acct. the 11 accts are totalling somewhere around 12,000 ranging from 70 dollars to 5,000 dollars for particular accounts.

i am so sick of being suffocated by this debt. it is a barrier to me in so many aspects in my life. the obvious no credit cards that i get declined for, and also no able to open a checking acct due to a delinquent account. but also my profession. I hold a significant license to sell stocks and bonds but no one will hire me based on my credit. I have a great job now, however there is no room for progression because of my credit.

with that said, i cant take it anymore. i need/HAVE to get this out of my life so i can be the man i know i am. The problem is where to start.??

-do i pay the small accts off first or the higher balanced ones?

-some accts are coming off as early as late year 2009...do i not bother with those accts?

-im also working on a fixed income..so only a very small amount of money a month can go to these delinquent accounts

bottom line is , i WILL get all of these taken care of. i plan to come up with a plan to have all this paid off within the next year, 2 years at the most. my biggest fear is that im 30 years old and still in the same situation i am in today. all of this debt came from when i was young, 18 - 19 yrs old racking up debt like no other and im still paying for it almost 8 years later.

just wanted to share, vent a bit, and see others thoughts or similar success stories..

a bit of reassurance is always a good dose we all can use.

I usually see people with bad debt, find an angle to reduce the debt to only then think:

I am in the safe zone now, it wont hurt to purchase so and so.

Hence before you know it those cards are then maxed out again.

I show alot of resolve with debt, i have credit cards and i use them in emergency only, but i know most people will use them like cash cards and consolodate or move the card debt e.t.c to a interest free account for 6 months, to only go out and spend again.

Its a cycle that most cant get out of.

I would suggest in your case to tear up or take away any thing that can lead you to temptation and ride the waves, even if one day the shi* hits the fan and your skint.

Debt is never a good place to be, especcially with spirralling interest rates that keep amounting to the debt, its one of the worst place to be in.

I have just recently sold an house, i wont buy into the housing market again, not whilst i am single, the debt is far too much considering how easy and cheap it is to rent, i know some people get into so much debt there life is simply stuck in a rut of paying bills, hence high mortgage payments or credit card debts, they get sucked into the cycle or materialism and get caught up in it, following the sheep and keep getting them-selves deeper and deeper.

I am a in a postion where i have little to no debt and i can walk away from virtually anything, my job is secure and pays a decent wage, hence i have no stress and its a good place to be, but first one needs to stop spending for now and hold out.

People live well over there means, trying to keep up with others, its never a good way to be, i see these people unhappy and there life is nothing but a slave to the system tied into by debt, its worse then any poor relationship imo, debt is a majour fuc*er and should be sorted out asap.

 

[MacAvoy]

I signed up with one of those non-profit credit services that consolidates your credit. They take over all your accounts, you pay them one payment every month, the creditors stop calling, and they usually reduce your overall debt since the creditors know they are going to get paid.

Five years later, it's paid off. Good feeling. That's the route I went.

I think this is the best route to go as well. Like you, I had a hard time finding a job in a new city because of the whole credit rating thing. When your in the financial business its unfortunate.

I would go this route instead of bankruptcy. Or better yet, go see a non profit credit councillor, then go see a bankruptcy trustee that way you know both sides of the coin. But the non profits IMO is the way to go.

 

[Mr.Positive]

People live well over there means, trying to keep up with others, its never a good way to be, i see these people unhappy and there life is nothing but a slave to the system tied into by debt, its worse then any poor relationship imo, debt is a majour fuc*er and should be sorted out asap.

This is the key to getting rid of your debt, and staying out of debt. First, put yourself in the position of being 'cash flow positive', ie you make more money than you spend. Everyone's situation is different, but get there as soon as you can, whether it's selling your car and buying a cheap used one, moving in with friends to save rent, etc.

I used to have over 10k worth of credit card debt years ago. I paid it off in a little over one year by busting my @ss. The day I paid it off, I celebrated like there was no tomorrow, and from then on, never racked up debt again.

What I did was consolidate all my credit cards on to one credit card. I would do a balance transfer to those zero interest rate deals, for six months or so, pay it down, then transfer to another credit card that had a zero percent interest deal.

So I essentially paid no interest and all my payments went directly to the balance I had. It worked for me, though I had great credit so I was getting those zero balance transfer offers all the time.

 

[Maxtro]

What I did was consolidate all my credit cards on to one credit card. I would do a balance transfer to those zero interest rate deals, for six months or so, pay it down, then transfer to another credit card that had a zero percent interest deal.

So I essentially paid no interest and all my payments went directly to the balance I had. It worked for me, though I had great credit so I was getting those zero balance transfer offers all the time.

This is what I'm doing. I got one card with a 20% APR (missed one payment) that I'm trying to pay off ASAP. I've put most of it's balance into other cards with 0% APR for one year.

I then look at how much money I can afford to spend each month for bills. I take out the amount for the minimum payments on the 0% cards and what ever money I have left goes into the high APR card. Once the high APR card is payed off I'll pick one card and pay it's minimum payment and the other card gets the rest of the money. The key is to pay the same amount of money each month.

If I keep my plan going I'll be debt free in less than a year. The hardest and most important thing is to stop using the cards and to stop buying stuff. Right now I want a GPS navigator, laptop, Wii, and HD-TV. But I can use my willpower to hold off and buy those things later.

 

[penkitten]

i had my credit report done with transunion...
i paid the small things off one at a time first.
then i paid the bigger things, by saving it in my savings account and then calling them to request a copy of the bill be sent to my new address and i would take that bill, copy it , and send a money order in to pay it off but i kept a copy of each money order to prove it was paid.

when that was done, i had my credit report done with equalfax... and started doing those until they were all paid too.

there might be a third company like transunion and equalfax... but i dont know the name

 

[jophil28]

I do not have a credit card anymore - cut it up twenty years ago. I have two DEBIT cards only. I cannot get into debt .. t is that Easy. THis has forced me to me a better money manager because I am spending my own money. There are times of minor inconvevience BUT they are far outweighed by the benefits of not having CC debt.

"The poor spend their money.
The middle class manage their money.
The rich invest their money. "

 

[synergy1]

Dave Ramsey's book, Total Money Makeover was good. I am not in any significant debt , nor have I have I ever been. However, I felt it was wise to learn about how people get in debt so as to avoid it.

The basic idea is to tackle your smallest debts, while paying the minimum on your other ones. After each debt is paid off, you work on aggressively paying off the next largest and so on. The idea is to instill into ones self a sense of forward progress.

Debt is not a tool. In the united states, it has been hyped up as such to the point where kids in college are racking up 10,000 dollars in debt before they leave. You have to have a credit card! You have to have a good credit rating to function in society. Everything you do is based around your FICO. What a load of ****. No one reads the fine print, no one realizes the late fees/ interest payments utterly devastate both short and long term savings. The idea of exhibiting patience and saving money is dated and archaic.

 

[woods]

I took Dave Ramsey's financial peace university. It is very smart. The credit companies have addicted everybody. There is NO reason to have a credit card. You can use debit cards, or prepaid credit cards to do the same thing, except there is no interest, and you are forced to limit yourself.

The first thing you do is set up an emergency fund. put all your spare money into it until you have 1000 dollars, and dont touch it! Secondly, budget your money. That means, know in advance, where every penny of your paycheck will go before you cash it. It doesn't mean you cant designate 200$ a week to blow on booze, if that's what you want to do, but you will know where it goes, then with time, you can find ways to cut it down.

Also, and envelope system works good. Have en envelope for every expenditure. Cash your check in all small bills, and put 100 for food, 50 for gas, 100 to pay off debt, 60 for porn, whatever, etc.

Your money goes a lot farther when you know where it is going.

 

[DavenJuan]

i cant even get a credit card, nor do i want one for those many reasons stated above.

I am working on a envelope system, the thing i need to do is stick to what i designate to what. I always "induldge" in money that is designated to go else where and things then get erray.

what i havent been doing is "designatingJ" a portion of my checks to past due bills. I think that should be priority if i plan on making progress.