Need Christmas, Credit Card Help

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-01-2003
Need Christmas, Credit Card Help
6
Fri, 12-17-2004 - 4:48pm

I feel like such an idiot. I have maxed out my CC (a $2000 limit) and hardly know how. My regular bank account is down to about $15 and I have no savings anymore. I am a college student and have done a terrible job of tracking my spending and budgeting. I don't have a job but am looking. I don't know how I'm going to pay for this.

Anyway, I have a relatively stupid question: If I open a new credit card account, can I use it to pay for my current credit card (to buy time on paying for it, essentially)? How long does it take to get a new card? I get those "pre-approved" offers in the mail all the time, but throw them away.

I don't know what I'm going to do about Christmas. Could I open a card by then?

Please help :(. I know this is a "quick fix" oriented post, and I'll have to address the bigger issues before it gets worse.

Starfish

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-21-2003
Fri, 12-17-2004 - 5:04pm

Ok, you probably are not going to like what I have to say. But trust me, I've been there and am still there. I got my first CC in college and quickly maxed it out. I just paid it off 3 months ago, 14 years later.

I know you want to give gifts for Christmas, but can you come up with some very cheap alternative or maybe give no gifts at all. It'll be difficult this year but will be well worth it in years to come. But try as hard as you can not to get into any more debt. You are a college student and most people will understand the lack of gifts, especially since you don't have kids.

It may be possible to get a cc with 0% interest rate and transfer your balance to that. But I wouldn't charge any more, just work on paying it off.

My mom and stepdad got into a world of hurt doing what you're suggesting. They couldn't make their minimum payments so my stepdad would open a new cc so they could make a payment on another one. It's a viscious cycle, completely destroyed their credit and resulted in bankruptcy.

Good luck,
Laura

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-16-1999
Fri, 12-17-2004 - 10:00pm
I know I have suggested this on this board at other times but... a cheap christmas gift is a frame with a quote that is either meaningful or describes the person to whom you are giving the gift. I have used them in the past and they really aren't bad gifts. You can use sharpies to draw on the matboard (or piece of paper cut to look like mat board) and slap it in a frame from the dollar store. It will show you thought about the person and isn't that what people really want in a gift anyway...
Avatar for sohappilyme
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 12-17-2004 - 10:13pm

To be blunt...FIND ANOTHER WAY!

Sarah
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-15-2004
Mon, 12-20-2004 - 5:31pm
Maybe you could write a little note and put in a card an IOU one free evening of babysitting. Another could be IOU one evening of walking the dog. You can get real creative when you have to. People will understand you don't have the finances and if they complain than they don't deserve a gift.
Merry Christmas
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-16-1999
Mon, 12-20-2004 - 6:29pm
I agree (hear me cheer)! The last section of your post brought something to mind. Every Christmas people buy all kinds of crap for eachother that nobody really wants. There are so many items out there that exist simply because we all feel that we need to buy something for everyone. So we buy mugs and cutsie stuff or the latest gadget so people have something to open. That's great if the person likes mugs or whatever. I think most people can't even figure out what to do with much of the stuff once the holiday is over. Later in the year everyone has yard sales to try to get rid of the excess stuff. We all seem to buy it from one another (cheering because of the good deal we got on it)and then give it to somebody else . I think it is variation on the old fruitcake theme. In our family we have begun to get away from the rotating stuff thing. We all have houses that need one or another project completed and have found that trying to do them alone is pretty boring. So we've fallen into the habit of giving labor and maybe a few supplies as gifts for birthdays and Christmas. The person gets something they really want and people have fun doing it. In most cases the all adults in the family are involved and we may throw in a few bucks toward some supplies but it is usually minimal. Your gift is you time. Your reward is that you've improved quality of life for someone you love. There is also the implied promise that the group will show up when you need them too.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Tue, 12-21-2004 - 12:41am
I love this concept. This is how our family has always been, and dh's too, and how things usually end up in the groups of friends I run with. We help each other move, we help each other with home improvement. Why spend money buying stuff that nobody wants?