I know it's popular, but don't put unsecured debt on your home.

• Paying down debt - Overwhelmed.
  • are your taxes and insurance in with - Linda
  • It is possible to increase your income - mtstudent
  • Pay off highest interest rate debt first, then the next, and onto the next. The house can wait. Do - Suze says
  • wow you pay 350 a month for a HOUSE? - where do you live, i'm moving
    • A very small town in West Texas - Overwhelmed.
      • good luck, i hope it works out for you - ((((hugs)))))
  • daveramsey.com is a good one for you . . . nm - gazelle
  • Well, my better judgement said - Overwhelmed.
    • Agree with poster above. DO NOT take $ out of 401K...sm - ex animo
  • debt - rebecca goede
  • what some of the experts say to do - sm - mazzel
    • ACTUALLY, it is pay off the smaller ones first . . .sm - DEBT
      • LOL -Yep, what is what I MEANT to say - sm - mazzel
  • Some advice -- been there myself, - mtroadie
  • Paying Down Debt - Overwhelmed2
  • Have you considered a home equity loan to - mtmtmt
    • Yes, but I am not too sure how that works. - Overwhelmed.
      • I know it's popular, but don't put unsecured debt on your home. - mtstudent
      • have you ever thought about sm - i feel for you

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It is getting harder to make ends meet because of all the straws in our bank account.  I have 17k in CC dept alone.  It is with 4 different CC companies.   One CC has $200, #2  has about 4K, #3 has about 2K, #4 has 10k.  The 10K one has a 15 % APR, the others I believe range from 24% to 29% APR.  My biggest monthly payment is my house and I owe only  $4700 on it and it has 6.3% APR.  I sold some things and am getting $5K and that will be enough to pay off my house.   I would love to finally, officialy own this house and get rid of that $350 monthly pmt,  but I wonder if I should not pay down on the CC because of the high interest rates.  Any opinions.  TIA. 

yes, that means living on a budget, telling the kids (and yourself and your spouse) no to impulse buying and splurges. You really can live below your wage if you WANT to and it is better to do it before you HAVE to due to job loss, etc. We are debt free but our home, no car payments, all credit cards paid off, only have the utilities and food each month. It feels great not to write checks to anyone. My DH just finished his obligation of 700 a month child support (Yay!!) which means more towards the mortgage to pay it off sooner. We are content with what we have...too many Americans want it all and want it now, no matter what the price, just charge it or take out a loan for it...crazy!

laws also - you just may have yourself a $1000 piece of paper in your hand. 

Have you requested validation of this debt?  If not, I would do that right away.  Send it certified mail, return receipt requested.  Depending on the age of the debt, I would be very careful about sending the canned "do not contact me letter."  If the debt is not that old, that can sometimes trigger them to sue.  I bet if you send the "please provide me with full validation (not verification that you have my name, address and soc. sec#) of this alleged debt.  Short and sweet. 

I own and live in a house in a midwest city in a bad neighborhood (wasn't that bad 11 years ago).  I spent the day waiting for the plumber to come and jackhammer the foundation (slab house, no basement) to find a leaky pipe that is flooding my DD's bedroom. Last week, it was the electrician with quotes for costly repairs.

In the meantime, I've really been thinking about selling out and moving into a mobile home.  Has anyone done this before?  Is a mobile home in a decent park less of a hassle than a regular house?  I'm so tired of cutting the grass and spending $$ to fix things and tired of old flooring and cabinets, etc., that are just too costly to replace.  I'm single with no man to do these things for me and I can't afford a mortgage on a newer house in a good neighborhood.  Some of the pictures I've seen of the mobile homes look really nice and modern on the inside. 

Any advice and comments appreciated.  Thanks!

http://www.cccsatl.org/index.asp?_method=view&sc=43&cn=486&md=debtmanagement

Here's what you want to use...  It is called Consumer Credit Counseling Services.  They are legit.  Now back when hubs and I did it about 15 years ago, there were no computers, per se, so we went on site to an office.  I don't know what state you're in or if there is an office local to you, but it looks like you can do this online. 

We did it, completed it, and it was great.  However, they cut your credit cards up in front of you and put them in a huge jar (at least they did back then).  Once you join, there are no more credit cards.  What CCCS does is works with your creditors to reduce interest rates, payment size, etc. because they are networked.  You then make one lump payment to CCCS and they disburse the money.  They also take into consideration your income.  I think that's what makes it all work.  Also, this is what tells them how long it will take to pay off the debt.  Just beware though that if you are "behind" on payments, sometimes certain creditors do not accept CCCS, so they may hassle you still and some just plain won't accept CCCS's offer. 

Believe me, even though we are not late on payments, we had in the past 3 years so much personal stuff go on (sickness, death, etc.) that we have racked up some debt ourselves and may try CCCS again, as one card we have raised the rate to 33% interest because we have a high balance.  We make regular payments.

All in all, it's a great plan and it does work, but you no longer have credit cards (they close the accounts), and you will have a "bad mark" but yet a good mark on your credit report for using CCCS.  Check with them about that though, as I do not know the specifics.  It is way better than bankruptcy...

Hope you find some relief soon!  My thoughts are with you...  I'm not judgemental because I've been there and done that. 

My husband and I have an account which we feel we don't owe.  We cancelled it within the amount of time we thought we had to cancel, but were later told the contract for services was not cancellable (a vacation timeshare).  The original amount was only $1,000.

Since that time, the timeshare company has sold our "debt" to a third party collection agency, Apelles.  They call at all hours and even on weekends.  Since I have caller ID, most of the time I don't even answer.  This morning, however, they called at 8:45 and woke up my kids.  I was a little annoyed, to say the least, and I'm just wondering:  Does anyone have any personal experience with this company.  I'm thinking about sending a Cease and Desist letter, but I'm worried that that will trigger them to take me to court.  Has anyone ever been sued by Apelles?  I would think our amount is too small to be worth their time and that they would just try to sell it to another agency.  Any thoughts?

If there is anyone out there who has been sued and had a judgment placed for credit card debt....

What happens when you go to court??  I don't own a house and live week to week (part-time IC, not very supportive husband) so they can't get blood from a stone so to speak.  But I was wondering if anyone has gone to court and what actually happens. 

where the beer and the cantaloupe play . . . where seldom is heard . . . .

I thought that the purpose of this board was to be able to post without being judged unfairly or have somebody tell you how wonderful their personal life is, and therefore you are causing their life to be less wonderful with your irresponsibility. Well, the saying "walk a mile in my shoes" is a good one in this case.  Since you have no personal information about the person you are lambasting because they are looking for information on their debt, you can feel superior.  Had you had personal information about them, you might act in a more human manner. Consider fighting cancer for 4 years, working and being debilitated while you do, suffering the effects of chemo, going into debt to maintain your home for your children and looking for a way out of debt SHOULD YOU EVEN LIVE THROUGH THIS!!  Thank you for the kind comments.  To the judgmental people I say please take a step back before you judge.  You do not know who you are talking to and if you knew the personal information maybe your comments would be kinder.

They took it back with no problems and he even let me open the new one at the courtesy desk before I took it home.  Looking back now, and don't ask me why I remember or even noticed, but you know how when they pass stuff over that little round magnet thing at the checkout to disable the security sensor inside, it kind of makes a little noise, kinda like a little "boing" sound?  Well, when I did the exchange today, he passed the new ink over that circle and it made that noise and for some reason I remember the other one didn't make that noise when I bought it.  Now, I know why. 

Like I said, don't ask why I would remember something like that.  My head is so full of useless stuff like that it's a wonder I can do my job!