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"My Social security according to the website will be $3205 a month at age 70,
but I doubt I will make that far"
From the sounds of this, you are not already collecting SS. Why not?? Sure it would be at a reduced amount but it would still be a few thousand a month that you could be applying to the debt. You should apply immediately for SS.
The problem is the OP is 63 years of age. Not only will the SS benefit be lower but he/she is not yet FRA (Full retirement age which is roughly 66 1/2 years.
Since FRA has not been reached yet the maximum amount of money the OP can earn is roughly 18,000 dollars per year without reducing benefits. Since the OP is earning roughly 55,000 per year (4583.33 per month) the Social security benefit would be reduced by half that or 2291.66 per month. It is likely the O.P. would not see much if anything from social security.
It seems to me you should file for Chapter 13. If you look at your card statements it tells you how many years it would take to pay off the loans making minimum payments. My guess is you will have them paid off by the time you hit 90 years old paying the minimums.
I was reading your old posts to get a feel about who you are and your thinking.
You sound like at best your health is not good. I would almost stop paying my Cards and make sure I max out any company 401k or save as much as possible while you're working. You may not be able to work much longer.
Do you think you might have 5-10 years left to live? If so, you need to save your money to take care of you.
Change your phone number and don't worry about the calls. You currently lease ? Sell your crap and downsize to a place you want to be the rest of your life cause once your Credit goes completely bad you'll have trouble leasing again.
Save money and take care of yourself if you are in bad health. The Credit cards can take whatever is left over after you're gone.
You're going to need $$ once you cannot work any longer so save it now.
you will get 2000 month ss. in 4 years you out of debt. cut up the cards. you have a house? I would get a 0% card and payoff some of the higher debt. I have 1 card and when I get up in the morning I make sure it says 0.00
cutting up the card will not close the account. When a card gets paid off, write to the company to close the account completely.
$92k in debt...10 credit cards...1 Lending Club loan . they range from 12% to 28% with the Lending Club
at 22%....I'm 100% current on all accounts,with 100% on-time payments and a real Fair Isaacs Fico of 670.
Credit card usage is at 78%. I've fallen in the inescapable trap of high interest on huge balances and I can only pay the minimums.Every month I get billed appx. $1300 in interest so that the amounts applied are less than $1250 on total payments of appx $2530.I will mathematically never be able to pay off debt when you include the compounding interest.My take home pay is appx. $55k /year or $4600/month. I pay health insurance through my employer.
Minimum debt payments currently taking 55% of my take home pay.....26% of take home pay goes for rent
5% for food,pet stuff.personal/hygiene items/household stuff....5% for medications(Currenly on nine)after my co-pays ..the other 9% goes to electricity,cable/phone/internet,auto insurance,gasoline,etc. I've been tracking my expenses since at least 2011...I NEVER eat out;no lattes or avocado toast,rarely buy cooked food or have food delivered. Yet,very frequently I have a cash flow deficit in my budget that makes me take even more debt on to keep my 100% on time payment record.
No car payment but will need one sooner than later as the car is 21 years old and besides the cosmetic factor,has become unsafe to drive...Can't see out the rear windshield and also out of the closed windows because the window tinting became cloudy after 21 years of Miami heat,and trying to remove the film just made matters worse when the actual glass became stained. You can't read the odometer,radio or clock display even at night....the LED's just dimmed out...At least read in 2018 it was 96,000 miles. Have to add power steering fluid once a week and the transmission button seems to get stuck at least once a week.
No cell phone payment. Have a flip phone with Go Phone that my employer adds $100 a year or so to
be able to keep in touch with co-workers.
No savings of any type....don't own property...No children to mooch off from ...No friends or relatives to ask help from...NO HOPE.
I'm 63...not in the best of health.Already work 50-55 hours a week that I can barely handle.Haven't been to a movie or a concert since 2007, I've been on 2 vacations since 1996 and they were both family-related.
Don't smoke,drink,do drugs or have sex with another person ..and don't have "Joneses".How I got in this situation is irrelevant at this time....the toothpaste is out of the tube and can't be put back...mistakes were made that were so severe that even a prolonged purgatory is not enough...Maybe only a time machine would help.
So....I give up...Bankruptcy is the obvious choice....but I won't qualify for Chapter 7 as my income is above the Florida median..My Social security according to the website will be $3205 a month at age 70,
but I doubt I will make that far...and even then I will still be in massive,hopeless debt.
I don't even want to bring up other solutions I've considered.
Thanks for reading
A Chapter 13 bankruptcy is probably your best option. It doesn't wipe out all your debts, but it would wipe out portions of them. A bankruptcy lawyer could construct a Plan for you and you make a monthly payment into that plan that goes towards paying off a share of your debts. It keeps your creditors from being able to take you to court and garnish your wages. While you do not qualify for a Chapter 7. You do qualify for a Chapter 13.
Many of us have trouble understanding how someone with so few apparent obligations (I'm assuming no wife) you said you had no children could get themselves in this much financial difficulty.
Is moving to a less expensive area in your locality an option?
In the end, this forum is here for you to vent. You may not like the replies you get though.
If you aren't willing to go the Chapter 13 route, well, I don't see a lot of options for you.
Admitting your problem and facing it is a good first step.
When I have a huge thing in front of me I try to just look at what I need to do NOW or I get overwhelmed.
Getting this solved before getting earliest SS is a good goal.
You may find that with your job and clearing some debt you end up in a much better situation.
Getting the right debt counselor is really important. Is there Legal Aid you could call and get referral for that?
They generally know who NOT to call for their people in financial trouble.
The thing is: credit card companies would much rather settle for less money than NO money. That's the one power you have with them. Of course their superpower is to take away your credit score. Don't make any deals without good counseling. They (finance companies) are way smarter than we are.
The suggestion to get a place to live where you don't have to qualify through credit search is really important before bankruptcy. Good luck.
Like recycled said in post #7, you've got over 10K vinyl LPs. But as you've indicated elsewhere, you've also got 2K 45s, 500 books, and scads of DVDs, etc. You said your condo is a warehouse that you love to curate. So basically you've put yourself into your current financial situation to buy "stuff". I know you said in that thread that you didn't want to be called a hoarder, and I won't, but if you're NOT a hoarder then sell all the stuff and put the money toward your debts even if declare bankruptcy. Or, consult with a BK lawyer and see if you can keep the $ from the sale of the stuff to fund a decent vehicle when you do declare bankruptcy.
Look, I know how much stuff is enjoyable. I used to sell buy and antiques, and those I didn't sell I kept. I could afford to do it and I had sufficient storage in the garage and two sheds in the yard. But, when I moved to my current house I let the auction guys go through those storage areas like the Mongolian hordes and clear out everything to the bare floors. It certainly paid off, as even with the auction house fees I made over $4K. I know you love your stuff, but if you have to move and have trouble walking now, you won't be able to afford to move it anyway, especially to smaller quarters. And which is more important, your life/health or your stuff?
I wish you the best. You shouldn't feel badly for financial mistakes you have made in the past and I disagree with the posters that say you can't change. Obviously you are beyond all of that now, you have a clear picture of your financial problem and you need a solution.
Do whatever is best for you/that will reduce your stress - a few posters had advice such as do not pay on the credit cards anymore (I don't know if this works as I haven't done it) and others gave you advice on bankruptcy or collecting SS earlier than 70 - so please go ahead and do one of these options, only you know which is best for you.
Check out the Mr Money Mustache blog for a community that advises on how to live well on very little money.
{{{hugs}}} to you.
p.s. join some free clubs/social groups in your area to meet others!
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