Posted on 02/04/2005 1:38:43 PM PST by non-religious-conservative
Apply for food stamps. You'll be paying for them the rest of your life anyway. Eat simply.
Look like just barely. That leaves no way to handle any unforseen/emergency expenses. Also, by only making minimum CC payments, the debt cycle extends pretty much permanently.
I don't see where he has much of a choice. He dug the hole himself and now he has to climb out of it. The point that I'm making in my posts is that he seems to be lamenting not having any extra "fun" money each month. My response to that is: TOUGH! Welcome to the adult world...
Do you think maybe we are being a little too hard on him, guys?( speaking from someone who has "been there and done that ".)
Sorry if this sounds harsh. I really am. But it seems to me like you have some very basic issues that need to be dealt with that arent about money, they are about you...JFK
Under the assumption that both his spending and income are indeed fixed (for all intents and purposes), what strategies can he persue to get out from under all of that debt? I think that's the real question here, not how can he have any fun...
Bankruptcy would screw up his credit rating for at least a decade, which is his case seems like using a shotgun to swat a fly: effective, but just a tad extreme. He has much better options to dig out of debt (albeit slowly) before he should consider bankruptcy.
Looks to me he's breaking even-without considering gas, food, books, insurance, whatever else. He's just floating from month to month.
That's essentially what my daughter did last year and it helped greatly. Focussing on seriously reducing the debt load and then getting back on the academic track would seem to be a prudent approach. Just my $.02...
Very true.
You have got a point. I NEVER had anywhere near $1000 a month minimum payments... maybe 250 a month, and THAT was bad enough.
I am glad that is over, and I have very low minimum payments,and only ONE credit card, that I use.
One thing he probably did, as did I ,when I was younger:: people would need gas, food, cigaretts, and tell me, "just charge it for me, jack, i'll pay you later". i used to fall for that, but NO MORE!!
I have been there. The problem was, once I realized I was being stupid, the debt already existed.
I was resourceful enough to find a much better paying job and pay things off-while not falling back into my old ways.
My other issue was that my income was variable, and it was damn near impossible to make a budget because I didn't know what I made from one week to the next.
I am still in a commission job, but basically keep 6 months worth of expenses in savings-makes things easier.
One Semester of making an extra six or seven hundred a month can work wonders...getting in debt builds up badly but the opposite is true, the more you pay down the faster it goes...like a roller coaster going downhill. Even if at the end of that semester he still has debt, if he has been doing things how he should, his minimum pmts should be less meaning he could now easily make it work (and keep paying down debt) going back to school and living on a bit less income-as long as he doesn't slip back into his old ways.
You might try working with Consumer credit counseling service. They've been around since 1951 helping people to get out of debt by working with your creditors and you.
I used to work for the Exxon Credit Card division and this is who we'd recommend to people who were having a problem paying their bills. If you work with them, follow their advice and make payments ontime every month it won't damage your credit very much. Your credit worthiness won't be as high as if you'd never become overextended but it will show to creditors you were responsible when you did get into trouble and have intent to repay.
http://www.nfcc.org
So, I paid cash, and used layaways. If I didnt have the money, I didnt get whatever it was I wanted.
At age 33, I decided to go to college. I work 3 nights/week, take home about $900-1600/month (am a semi-pro poker player as well as a restaraunt server), have bills of about $800/month (conservatively). I get a student loan check (are you getting SLs, conservative? Max them and apply all of it to your CC debt) for about $2100 that goes straight into the bank for any sort of emergencies and I live rather comfortably, albeit with a really screwed up schedule. If I want something, I buy it. I do not go to bars or clubs, and if I want a beer, I buy a six pack at the store for 6 bucks (Fat Tire Amber, yum) rather than paying $3.50 for a pounder at the local pub.
I simply make sure that my basic needs are covered and live a pretty mellow lifestyle. The riskiest thing that I do for fun actually pays me (poker) and it also manages to provide me with some decent luxuries (steak dinners). I have no articles of clothing that say 'The Gap', 'Old Navy' or 'Billabong' or any other such BS. I refuse to pay $50+ for a $10 sweatshirt. That is one of the biggest problems of youth nowadays. Paying loads of cash for stupid vanity items. It isnt hard, but then again, younger people dont possess the kind of common sense that I do now. Hell, I didnt either...JFK
I hope things eventually work out for you NRC. Use this as a very important learning experience for future adulthood.
Although it may seem hard to optimistic right now, your attitude on getting out of this rut you're in will determine how quickly you're able to resolve it too.
Chin up! :)
Uhh, it's the law and it would seem that he qualifies under the law to file. If you have some moral objection to bankruptcy take it up with your congressman. Also stop flying United Airlines, US Airways and Delta.
I never gave into the CC companies during those "starving college years". If I didn't have the cash, I couldn't buy it.
Mac-n-cheese and Miller High Life could go far though, you'd be surprised. LOL!
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