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Only slightly off topic, it would sure be easier to help people before they run up so much debt they can't pay it. After the debt is acquired it is a bit late to decide it is time to ask for help.
First thing I suggest is to refinance the high interest rate debt, but don't bother unless you keep it paid off and don't run it up again. There is no reason to keep a hold on a 28% interest rate loan.
$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 rent5% 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.
You cannot afford $1200/month in rent. You need to find a cheaper place to stay. I've seen 1 bedrooms in the Miami area going for $750/month. You're going to have to live there even if it's the ghetto.
You also need to ditch cable and internet. Sell your tv. Use the public library for internet. Eat ramen noodles. Sell your pet. You're going to have to sacrifice and cut back on a lot for the next 5 years to pay down the credit card debt.
$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
I know a cyber hug doesn't even begin to cover the stress and hardship you are under, but I feel for you. Sometimes life happens in the worst way, and I am behind you 100% to claim bankruptcy.
I know a cyber hug doesn't even begin to cover the stress and hardship you are under, but I feel for you. Sometimes life happens in the worst way, and I am behind you 100% to claim bankruptcy.
You cannot afford $1200/month in rent. You need to find a cheaper place to stay. I've seen 1 bedrooms in the Miami area going for $750/month. You're going to have to live there even if it's the ghetto.
You also need to ditch cable and internet. Sell your tv. Use the public library for internet. Eat ramen noodles. Sell your pet. You're going to have to sacrifice and cut back on a lot for the next 5 years to pay down the credit card debt.
your score is reasonably high enough to qualify for a zero balance transfer. Apply for a card that will give you that and transfer the highest interest balance to it while you work at paying the remainder of that high interest balance.
a 2nd job might help. Dog walking is easy but some places are paying better than $10 per hour these days.
your score is reasonably high enough to qualify for a zero balance transfer. Apply for a card that will give you that and transfer the highest interest balance to it while you work at paying the remainder of that high interest balance.
a 2nd job might help. Dog walking is easy but some places are paying better than $10 per hour these days.
The OP has peripheral artery disease. He can’t do a lot of walking. May not even be able to feel his feet.
One of your other posts on a different topic said you have a collection of over 10,000 vinyl LPs.
Holy Crap!
OP - what other stuff do you have?
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