Sorry I didnt declare bankruptcy...
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| Sat, 10-24-2009 - 12:27am |
I posted originally at the beginning of the summer and got some great advice and support which was really helpful. I owe about $12,000 in credit card debt...on 4 different cards...all our other bills, including mortgage were all behind by several months too. My husband has been underemployed for the last year or more...not contributing much to the household. I am an Rn and make a decent income but appparently not enough.
I had a very rough and traumatic summer...taking control of the finances and dealing with dh who was used to handling the bills and doing a horrible job. I was able to negotiate with 3 of the companies and get them to lower interest rates significantly (from 27% to 4 in one case). I made payment agreements with them and have kept them for 5 months now.

I can totally understand where you are coming from. Around three years ago everyone was telling us to go bankrupt but I was like you I would not. I had a lot to loss if I had and I am to old I am 62 husband is 64 to start over. At the time we were around 30,000 in debt with two house payments and bring in 3089.00 a month SS Check and retirement and no way to make more money.
Our interest was low but Lord those payments were high. 475.00 a month plus the two house payments of a little over a 1000.00 a month.
Well slowly we got out of it. A few dollars at a time. The thing with Credit cards they do go down a couple dollars
Hello there,
Glad to hear from you. Vent away. That's what this place is for!
You are doing really good. You got everything caught up and it is not getting worse or out of control anymore. You should tell yourself that for piece of mind. Not to mention, you are doing doing it yourself. I hope DH finds work soon. Keep on him about it.
Your credit will get better in time. And the money left over at the end of the month will increase as you pay the cards down.
You will see a big change in a year if you are persistent with this. Keep going, it is sooooo worth it!
Thanks for the words of wisdom. I know I am fairly new in this process. I also know my debt doesnt compare to some. I guess I should say that the debt i quote is just credit cards though...I also have a car loan and the mortgage of course. The hardest part of this is the worry that if something happens, I have no back up. I also know this is minor, but the holidays are coming and I have no money to buy gifts. Yes, of course, my family will say they understand, but it still hurts me. We dont buy gifts throughout the year and have always saved for nice Xmas'...not extravagant, but nice. Its not the worst thing...its just another worry.
I do need to try and still make cuts in my budget, but I cant imagine where I will cut out. I do still have direct tv (the cheapest package) and the internet (which I get at a great discount through work. Since we dont do anything else for fun, I wont give these up. I have cut down in all other areas, but plain and simple, I need more money. I am still looking for a part time job, even a few hours on the weekend.
Bankruptcy is not the best way out, you got into this and can get out of it!
I started with
There is nothing to be sorry about.
Norma
"Patience is the best remedy for every trouble"- Plautus