Buried Beyond Belief! (creditors, debt collector, interest, 100,000)

[NYSinger]

Make sure you also have a revocable trust, it avoids expensive court fees as well.

You are taking a few steps, bravo! So your father gave you a credit card at the age of 18. Did he ever sit down with you to explain you how it worked? Suze Orman said that parents should receive the bill for the first few months and pay it with the money their kid gives them, then monitor how they do it on their own before they let them do it alone. I really think this is necessary. My parents didn't do this with me, but I heard my mother say so many times that a credit card is not free money and that I should always pay it in full each month, that I've never accumulated credit card debt. My sister, on the other hand, could have benefited from more monitoring as she did not listen.

I think a possible solution for you is to sell the house at a loss to pay back your debt, while selling objects to make for the difference. Then you should move into a rental and start over. You said you took money out of your IRA, but there is a 10% penalty on top of paying taxes when you do that before a certain age. The best thing for you, when you do move into your rental, is to start saving for an 8-month emergency fund, a 20% downpayment on a future home + closing costs and putting as much money as you can each month into your IRA.

You cannot afford to stay in your house. There is also a place you can go to learn about budgeting. I can't recall it, but Suze Orman recommends it. I'll see if I can find the name for you.

[czubmeister]

The amusing thing is that as of Nov 17th, I still have a 732 FICO score. Though the #1 suggestion on what is hurting my score is "You've made heavy use of your available revolving credit.

[greggd]

Originally Posted by czubmeister

to greggd, my first is 549,550.75 and my 2nd is 250,000 = 799,550 Zillow.com comes up with 678,000 but a realtor that came by a couple of weeks ago said around 750,000

Czub,

It's easy for us to make recommendations, but in the end, you know what you need to do and I hope all the best. That said, here's my 02 cents and a thought at the end.

Sell any excess Personal Property, guitar, PA, Toys etc. don't let it bug you to do this. You need to free up your life.

Discuss another career for your wife. I would suspect she is overqualified for that position and could allocate her time to better paying employment. She would be a key player in reducing the cc dept quickly if willing to be a team player. was she a participant in the cc usage?

Consider sale of the home, as 8snake mentioned, but first scout the cost of an appropriate apartment/condo rental unit. (look for those larger complexes that offer free utilities). You will eliminate mortgage, property tax, mortgage insurance, utilities, upkeep costs.

Discuss part time jobs for the kids while going to school, so they can save & pay for some expenses. Make sure they sock a % of their earnings.

Shed the excess expenses, don't make any donations, and be frugal... you know the weight watchers technique by now, just keep applying it. Instead of going to the meetings, take a walk with your wife.

A team effort is required here.

Keep track of all this stuff, and when your near done - Write a light hearted book and self publish it. Seriously, start thinking of the titles now, consider the title to this thread. You already have more than 1/2 the story. Look at the audience generated on this site by your query.

[FarNorthDallas]

It does not seem you have any sort of internal restraint mechanism as far as spending. You might need an external restraint mechanism to force you to change your way of thinking. Bankruptcy and foreclosure. Move away. Downside. Get new friends.

[darstar]

Take it from someone who has gone thru this before , the thing you will miss most is , ready cash. The CC thing is instant funds. Once you go on a cash lifestyle , you have to think long and hard , about how to afford things. The timing , the putting off , sometimes truly needed purchases ,.it can be tough. A lot of people are facing this same scenario , its only going to get worse.
I know you don't want to talk about it , but , remember , the 2 things you can't escape , death , and , taxes. The thing that got me , was the tax man. When liquidating a business , or even personal , sometimes , the tax ramifications can be worse than everything else. There are people out there , that specialize in this area , and , can be worth your time to investigate. All moves you make , should be considered on any tax problems that might arrive as a result of a BK , or a liquidation of assets
Remember , cash is king , especially these days. Don't leave home with out it.........

[jaindow]

I understand that your situation is indeed, "mind boggling" as you stated. It will be a long road ahead just to navigate through your financial crisis. In addition to that I sincerely hope both your kids can learn from your very bad experience. Your daughter is in college now and as such she is a prime target for credit card companies, if she hasn't already fallen prey to them! Please, please, please try to educate her about credit cards and personal finance as you now learn. You already mentioned showing your son this thread, and in addition to that, as father, you need to lead by example. The example your children have seen thus far, plain and simple, is fiscal irresponsibility. Seriously, what teenager should even have her "dream truck" and paid for by cashing in her education money? By allowing that you and your wife clearly demonstrated that a material item of declining value is worth more than her education and that is what she learn from that. Without seriously putting in an effort to teach your kids what you are learning, they have a very high probability of repeating your mistakes, IMHO.

[ChunkyMonkey]

Originally Posted by czubmeister

$51.00 800 Line

I've switched my phone to 3U Telecom for my long distance which is a lot cheaper than most of the big companies but the best part is there 800 line service is only $0.99 per month once you've switched. You should look into them. It is a small savings, but at this point every little bit helps. Good luck to you.

[czubmeister]

I'll definately check that phone company out.

Just made an appointment for next Thursday at 2:30pm a recommended bankruptcy attorney. I'll let you guys know what happens. I just got through taking my info from quicken and making a spreadsheet for the attorney.

Some intereting numbers...
I have a total of $184,100 total credit lines on all my cards.
I have $42,617 left of that available credit... which of course I've stopped using.
The total amount I owe on credit cards, house and loans is $936,085

I need $9,300.00 per month to make my nut and right now I am pulling in $2,900 per month.

That about sums everything up.

[HappyTexan]

Good luck czubmeister. Better late than never as they say.
Look at this as a chance to wipe the slate clean and start fresh with a new perspective.

[darstar]

Originally Posted by czubmeister

I'll definately check that phone company out.

Just made an appointment for next Thursday at 2:30pm a recommended bankruptcy attorney. I'll let you guys know what happens. I just got through taking my info from quicken and making a spreadsheet for the attorney.

Some intereting numbers...
I have a total of $184,100 total credit lines on all my cards.
I have $42,617 left of that available credit... which of course I've stopped using.
The total amount I owe on credit cards, house and loans is $936,085

I need $9,300.00 per month to make my nut and right now I am pulling in $2,900 per month.

That about sums everything up.

No consolation , but , the line is forming on the right , the left , and in the middle with folks with like kind numbers.( real unemployment is 13% )
Soon , look for some serious attempted relief from the Government , as they try to legislate us out of this hole . Going to be an interesting ride....