Need to get payments down.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-17-2007
Need to get payments down.
25
Sun, 06-29-2008 - 2:31am

There wasn't anything on TV today so I got my trusted pen and paper out and started doing some figuring two hours later I still had no better plan of action. I am stuck.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-23-2007
Sun, 06-29-2008 - 4:33pm

Maryann:


Have you tried the online Quicken tool where you enter your balance and APR and it figures out the quickest payoff method, even if you pay the same amount you are already paying? I was also throwing money at everything and with the recommendations from Quicken, it would have taken months off my payoff. Your expenses are already low and you're not working. It seems the only option is another method for tackling the debt.


Dee


iVillage Member
Registered: 11-17-2007
Sun, 06-29-2008 - 7:32pm

Yes

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-09-2005
Mon, 06-30-2008 - 4:20am
Ok, one last try. I know you don't particularly like him, but you could try the Dave Ramsey way -- pay the barest minimum to all but your one chosen bill, and then throw everything possible at it; all snowflakes go to it. If you could eliminate one bill, then you could (if needed) use that money for the new bill you are looking at. At any rate, you would feel good about killing off one of the payments. So, don't snowflake to all of them, just to one.
Good luck,
Megan
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-17-2007
Mon, 06-30-2008 - 4:21pm

I have considered doing that. Maybe the biggest one.


Mary Ann

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-11-2006
Mon, 07-07-2008 - 1:56pm

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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-17-2007
Mon, 07-07-2008 - 2:49pm
thank you
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iVillage Member
Registered: 07-24-1997
Mon, 07-07-2008 - 2:59pm

You are conscientious, disciplined, and not a big spender. I agree with Dani, there are times when you just keep paying it off and plugging away. If you put yourself on a deadline that says, "At this point I will be debt free," it gives you an end point like a car loan or a mortgage has. The best thing about going on a debt management plan for me was knowing that at a certain point, I would have *no more* unsecured debt. Once I had the end point in mind, I stopped thinking about the overall balance - I just remembered that in June 2009, if I did nothing but keep making the same payment every month, the debt WOULD go away. I was lucky enough to be able to pay it off 15 months early, but even if I hadn't, it still would have eventually disappeared.

Kelly

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-12-2004
Wed, 07-09-2008 - 10:37pm
Hi, Mary Ann. Ah yes, it' s like a diet plateau (me: 10 lbs lost. Sigh. None around the middle LOL). It is fabulous that your interest rates are at 2.9%. Gosh, I would be up at 0400 dancing and celebrating with rates that low :) LOL.
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-26-1999
Wed, 07-09-2008 - 11:08pm

Mary Ann, what would your floors look like if you just took the carpets out and threw them away? I hate carpet, it does nothing (in my mind) but harbour dirt, pet dander and mould....

When I was 15 I took the carpet out of my bedroom and painted the floors (the floor was sheets of particle board) a really warm yellow colour, and it was fantastic. The basement in my mum's current house has concrete floors and we painted that a soft, easy to live with colour. I'm guessing paint (or just bare floor) is a lot cheaper than new carpet and if you are living with old carpet you might be suffering health problems from the grunge in the old carpet. My ex was really sick until we took the carpet out of the place we were living in, and he got much better very quickly.

Just a thought, and HUGS to you. Hang in there. I don't know what more you can do with the debt, take a break. Are there any lovely flowers around your place? Birds? What can you stop and enjoy and smile at for free? For me it is flowers and birds.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-12-2004
Wed, 07-09-2008 - 11:12pm

Hi, Mary Ann. Ah, I hope you can somehow give yourself some pats on the back. I think one person pointed out that