Cant make minimums.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2005
Cant make minimums.
2
Mon, 01-30-2006 - 12:20pm
Where do I begin?
We are one month behind and I just cant get caught up.My husbands pay has changed twice in the past six months, we have gone from getting paid twice a month to every week, now back to twice a month and I am finding it hard to keep adjusting. I got a part time job which was great during the holidays (retail) and now my hours have been drastically cut. I am having a really hard time even making the minimums on our credit cards how on earth can we begin snowballing?
I feel like I am drowning.
Thanks for letting me vent.
Tammy
SAHM, part time Barista in Calif.
Avatar for endomagazine
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-09-2004
Mon, 01-30-2006 - 1:57pm

Hello Tammy,

Have you tried calling your creditors and asking that your interest rate be lowered? Most credit card companies will lower your interest rate by 1-3% if you call and simply ask.

I know it's hard to keep up with paying bills when you don't know when the next check will arrive. I would suggest that you budget as if your DH was going to get a paycheck every two weeks. If he happens to get paid early (weekly) you can pay a bill a little earlier than expected. But otherwise, plan to pay your bills on the every-two-weeks payday.

I would also suggest calling your creditors and seeing if they can transfer your billing date to a more convenient time. For instance, ask for half your bills due on the 1st, half of your bills due on the 15th.

Our mortgage payment used to eat up an entire paycheck at the beginning of the month, leaving me with very little money to pay bills until the second paycheck. I asked about paying every two weeks and found out that Wells Fargo offered a "every two weeks" payment plan. So, now *half* of the mortgage payment is taken out each payday and at the end of the month, the payments are combined and sent in to the mortgage company as a monthly payment. It makes it easier to deal with paying bills throughout the month if I can expect half of our paycheck to stick around after the mortgage takes a bite. =)

So, on payday you could log into your creditors website and make half a payment online. Then when the minimum comes due you can pay it whenever your next payday comes.

Sincerely,
Lindsey Schocke

Sincerely,
Lindsey Schocke

Geeks on Tap: Mission Accomplished

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2005
Tue, 01-31-2006 - 12:54am

Tammy, hugs!!!!

Do your best to keep up with those minimums, or else it will just continually get worse with late fees!!

Stick around the board, there is always plenty of advice to be found if you need it! :)
GOOD LUCK!
~Aravis~

 

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