Need some advice on my credit situation

OK, I have no shame in admitting a few things here...

A few years ago when I was youngER and stupidER, I entered a debt consolidation program, BIG mistake. I know you aren't thinking about doing it, but not only did I not negotiate rates, I ended up defaulting and going to court with most since they didn't want to settle. So, I had a year or two of late fees and interest, plus court fees, and a horrible credit report from all of it - what fun! I think my credit won't be completely healed until 2012, it's a miracle I was able to get a mortgage recently.

However, that being said, no one is perfect. And I learned a TON from the experience. Mostly a lot of it was not being responsible and not caring about the bills as they came in. Factor in a few thousand dollar credit cards with a serious gambling problem, well, you do the math. Then find yourself in a job where you aren't making much money as an intern, and, well, do the math again :D

I only skimmed over this thread, but I want to point out a few things...

Work on IKEA FIRST - most creditors will actually report each month to the bureaus if you are over your limit. That means that each month that goes by that you are over IKEA, your report is being pinged (most likely).

The ideal balance most places say is 35% to have your balances at, your score is also hurt by your revolving debt ratios or whatever the heck they are called.

Honestly I don't think you have a lot of debt, I had a rediculous amount, which we don't need to get into. Maybe even borrow the money from a friend, family member or take out a personal loan (no offense, but not likely with your credit). I would recommend against getting a credit card. I can say from experience that you will transfer and relax a bit, and probably not pay off within that year and then you get slammed for interest for the ORIGINAL amount you transferred, regardless of how much remains. If you transfer 1200 and only have 100 left, you get to pay interest on the full 1200 - fun isn't it?

Anyways, it's not a fun time, but I was where you were and much worse. Both with the score and with the debt. It gets better, I have to admit the thing that you CAN'T do is dwell on it or look at the big picture. I remember looking at the overall picture and I was like, woah, this blows, and I struggled to make progress because I kept wanting to do it all at once. Make a plan, make a budget, stick to both, be realistic, and PAY YOURSELF a little bit each week or month. If you put 100% of your cash into your bills, you won't be able to stick with it for too long.

People make mistakes, learn from them and you are better off. Good luck mate.
 
I understand the idea and it seems like a good one, but I strongly recommend NOT borrowing money from a family member or friend. Being in debt to someone you are close to is a dangerous situation to be in. If, for whatever reason, you aren't able to repay the debt then it will stress the relationship and potentially cause lasting damage. Even if you pay it but it takes extra long to do so then that will cause stress during the time you remain in debt, and possibly even after the fact. I would much rather be in debt to a stranger (random company) than to a friend or family member, even if it meant hurting my credit in the meantime. Just a thought. :)
 
Derek, it's not the amount of debt he has, because it's not a lot.

It's the amount he has in relation to his credit line, which he has over-drawn by almost $150.

He is around 130% of his credit limit which is a terrible place to be at when they look at numbers.

Most negative scores actually roll off soon, within a few months.

Only when you default on something does it take upto 7 years to roll off and you don't want to go that long since you are 23 years old.
 
Sazar is totally right correct when he says that you should get the debt down on the card you are over your limit on - I completely missed that you were over your limit on that. If they're slapping on big charges because you are overdrawn, you need to get rid of that bit first, then start thinking about interest rates/amount etc.
 
Why does Sazar keep getting credit for that, I pointed it out first :p
 
Yeah, I previously was looking into getting a personal loan. IIRC I stated that my credit union gave me some false information. The first time I spoke to them, they told me they denied me for the loan (I was asking for $5,000), and the guy said no because of my credit score. He told me if I had at least a 500 credit score, I'd be considered. Fast forward a few months where my car hasn't been late for quite some time (I took a huge hit with that... I was making payments on time, but was 1 month late for a year...) and my score went above 500, the same guy who was cool previously now laughs in my face and said we wouldn't even consider you unless you had 500... never said we'd give it to you... even though he gave me the rates and everything. He also said that they wouldn't have given me $5,000, instead they would've given me the amount that I owe on the cards.

I was pursuing the loan because of the fact that if all of the cards were paid off, the mere payments on the loan would be easier to make because I wouldn't have the cards to worry about... plus we'd be able to get food in the house and stuff. Also, when I thought I was pursuing a debt consolidation loan from a company, it wound up to be a counseling company, not them paying the loan and me paying them.

I ran into problems because I would flip flop what card to pay. Ikea was always the minimum, and I alternated between Capital One and First Premier as they are spending money credit cards... and now I've let Ikea get away from me.

I will start spending as much money as I can on Ikea to get that knocked down. Once I get to a reasonable area, I will start tackling the other cards. Hopefully that works out. I should have a decent chunk of money coming soon from a few sources. Won't be able to buy my computer like I had anticipated, however I know that paying the credit card is going to be the smarter choice for the future, rather than making myself happy now.
 
Did you have a look at www.moneysavingexpert.com? It would definitely be worth posting in their forums to see what they have to say, and perhaps someone from the US could recommend somewhere to shift your debt for a low fee etc?
 
pay off the card that has the highest rate and the most outstanding balance on it
 
Why does Sazar keep getting credit for that, I pointed it out first :p

Did you say something J? :laugh:


I agree with J though, pay as much as you can and as fast as you can, if you can pay it in two payments as the balance for interest accrument is calculated daily and if you only have two 15 day periods per month to pay for compound interest on a balance you will save a small amount, but still that is more going to the principal.



Also call and ask politely to have any fees returned. My wife used our sears card right after I bought our deep freeze and fridge and pushed it over the limit by just a few dollars. I called and asked since we hadn't even received our bill yet and our rebates etc.... if they would refund the charges and remove it from the history, it took all of 3 minutes to ask and have it removed saving more on the balance plus never having it reported.




Imagine that every dollar you spend on interest is lit on fire in front of you. You wouldn't hesitate to grab it and put it out, so why should you give it away? $25 a month in interest is $300 a year and that is one of your bills right there.
 

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Also Hi EP and people. I found this place again while looking through a oooollllllldddd backup. I have filled over 10TB and was looking at my collection of antiques. Any bids on the 500Mhz Win 95 fix?
Any of the SP crew still out there?
Xie wrote on Electronic Punk's profile.
Impressed you have kept this alive this long EP! So many sites have come and gone. :(

Just did some crude math and I apparently joined almost 18yrs ago, how is that possible???
hello peeps... is been some time since i last came here.
Electronic Punk wrote on Sazar's profile.
Rest in peace my friend, been trying to find you and finally did in the worst way imaginable.

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