Need Advice To Avoid Personal Bankruptcy

If your credit is not yet hosed, apply for another credit card or two which have low interest rates on balance transfers. Then when you receive the cards, transfer the balances from your credit cards with the highest interest rates to the new cards. This can save you a ton of money. Needless to say, then cancel and cut up the old cards you've paid off. It's the easiest way to do a quick "refinance".

Read the fine print before you apply, though, some cards offer low interest rates because they minimize their risk by charging larger-than-average minimum payments for a given balance, which needless to say won't help your current situation, even if it does save you money on the long run due to lower interest rates. And take into account the annual fees, if any.

Money Magazine keeps a list of current "best" credit card rates on this page of their website.

Also read the fine print to make sure that the low interest rate isn't being offered as "bait" on a "gotcha" credit card. For example, I recently got a preapproved credit application for a Providian credit card, offering 0.0% interest on balance transfers for the first year, and no annual fee. Sounded like a no brainer, until I read the fine print and discovered that if the customer ever *once* goes over the credit limit, or is a single day late making a payment, the card instantly reverts to ** 29.99% ** interest (or 25.99% + the prime rate, whichever is *higher*)

But there really are good deals out there, and there's no excuse to keep your balances on high-interest credit cards.

We attended and graduated from Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University three years ago. In a year we were totally debt free. We had started out with over $27K in debt on a $45K annual income. We had to have a totally bought in attitude to getting to be debt free. A year after becoming debt free we had $15K saved towards buying a new car. You should see the faces of car salesmen when you offer them cash. One never did get it and kept wanting to finance us. When we did find what we wanted it was a used Suburban that was reduced $4,000 by us writing a check. We were there less than 45 minutes and left with a nice Suburban in the free and clear. Now we are contibuting make up for our retirement account and plan on having it fully funded when I retire. You can do it, it just takes the will power and the right attitude.

well, trying to sell the one the ex dumped on her...but...when he got it, his credit was bad enough that he got a horrible interest rate, thus the balance owed is a fair amount more than the retail price, and considerably more than the wholesale or loan value. Same on the used car she recently bought. However, on the car she bought after the divorce, she has a much lower payment because it is several years older than the 2003 Dodge Ram that he dumped on her. So...she is trying to sell the Dodge, but will still be left with a fair balance due.

My whole point was that the creditor will not work with her at all. Pay it all, or we are suing and repossessing the Dodge. And if she can't sell it for the entire balance due, plus their attorney fees in the exhusband's bankruptcy, they won't release the lien and title. So, the odds of selling it are remote.

Congratulations! The book that changed my attitude toward personal finance was "Your Money or Your Life".

They should teach this stuff in high school!

I was fortunate to be able to retire before 50, pay off all debts, become financially independent and just purchased a new home with cash.

We are all taken advantage of by government and business. Suckered with advertisements into buying more than we need and paying hidden taxes we struggle until our late 60's for a brief and modest retirement to only perish in our early 70's.

It has been a long road since our ancestor's struggles in the jungles but we have a ways to go on the road to prosperity for all...

Some quotes:

"Live like no one else so you can live like no one else".

"Watch what poor people do and don't do it".

One thing I forgot to mention in #82 is our credit rating. It is lower than whale doo-doo, but you know what? It doesn't matter as we do not use credit! The last time I pulled up a free copy of it it had all our debts listed but with great big zeros on the balance side. What hurt the rating were all of the over 90's and over 120's that are now paid off. But, again - who cares? The only plastic I carry is a check card that is hooked directly to my checking account, no money - no use it!

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