Well my life is screwed...

I'm not quite sure what you're saying. I'm in the UK and I have 4 letters on my desk right now saying thank you for making contact and we accept your offer of £1. These aren't small debts either.

I did make a point of sending them recorded mail too with pictures of the letters etc just so they couldn't shaft me saying I'd not sent them anything at a later date.

 

I really do appreciate the helpful advice.

This forum is honestly the only place I've been a regular frequenter for a long time. I come and go on other forums - but for some reason something about here sticks.

 

That's not really that much. I'd go to the bank, and see if you can get a personal loan for the total amount $4650 or whatever, and pay them off in one fell swoop. Then, you'll only have to pay one payment at like 1.5% interest, vs. four credit card payments at 29% interest. Your payment should be around $150 - $200, and you should have it all paid off within 3 years.

As for a job - well Washington is where Microsoft and Nintendo are at, right? Go be a game programmer.

 

Having it in one single debt isn't important, the key is reducing the interest on your debt. If you can get multiple 0% credit cards then there are benefits to that. But if you're paying 19% on your credit card then shifting it to a 0% deal is a good idea, you still have to pay it off but your money is paying off the capital sum and not paying the interest. They do tend to charge you a percentage as a fee, so they aren't generally 0% & you should consider the fee as the interest for the year. If you can borrow the money at a lower interest rate, by extending your mortgage or taking out a cheaper loan then that can work too.

Avoid anyone that discusses consolidating loans as this usually works by reducing your monthly payment but increasing the interest and the term, so you will pay more back in the long run.

This might be unique to the UK, we seem to have a lot more financial products available. I wouldn't get a bank loan in the UK, I'd get a 0% on new purchases credit card as the bank will charge a fortune in interest.

 

My point is that they have no choice but to accept. If in court you show that you can't pay it back any quicker then they'll side with you anyway, your lender will just have wasted their time in court and any court fees. Even if they refuse to accept your offer then you should pay them what you can afford as that shows you are acting in good faith.

If they could force you to pay it back quicker then they would try, no matter what effect it had on you or your ability to pay any other debts. By making an offer you have reduced the options they have. They might have said thank you, but what they are really thinking only shares one of those words.

 

Yes, let me go into more debt by starting over in college with more student loans.

 

maybe all you really need is a hug?

 

and candy, always candy.

 

Why not both?

 

That's the American Dream.

 

I said "and" candy not "or" candy

 

As has been said, you need to see what the card companies will do to help.

When I got into trouble, I wrote to them with the help of the Citizens Advice Bureau making a token payment offer of £1 each, as has been said. I also pointed out that my situation wasn't going to change, so I made them offers for settlement at a smaller amount (usually around 30-50%). Eventually, they all accepted. However, that will probably mess up your credit score, so do try to pay it off if possible. Once the cards have gone, don't get any more. If you can't afford it now, you can't afford it so you don't get it.

Certainly selling stuff is a good idea. And keep off eBay! Just remember - you don't NEED these items, but you need a roof over your head. Having a nice game collection or whatever isn't going to do you any good when you have nowhere to put it. And make any other sacrifices you need to make - no cable TV, no holidays, no sports games, no pub, no fancy organic foods... whatever it is you need to cut out to get back on track, do it.

If you're going to consolidate debts to a card, beware of the pitfalls. DO NOT use the card for anything else, as that will be at a higher rate and (if they can still get away with it) you'll find the company locks that debt at the bottom, so you're paying off the interest free part first. Also, don't forget that 0% balance transfers is the interest - you still have to pay the minimum monthly repayments!

$15,000 left on payments for a second hand car?! What the hell was it? It would certainly be worth considering selling the car and getting something cheaper (which would probably be more economical, unless that was a hybrid Lexus).

Good luck with it all!

 

the car was a 2009 Chevy Malibu with only 800 miles on it. Hardly used at all - damn thing was pretty much brand new. We paid 18K for it after taxes and everything, which is actually damn good. http://www.kbb.com/chevrolet/malibu...2268421|true&pricetype=cpo&anchor=true#survey

 

Eh, but it's a Malibu. It's that bog standard American shaped car.

Over here, buying something like that would be crazy (especially 3.6 litre - bit thirsty, that)! You can get a 2009 Ford Mondeo 2 litre with under 20,000 miles on the clock for around £6,500. And even that would be considered excessive, especially with our new road tax bands (anything over I think 1.3 litres is effectively double the tax).

If you've got money issues, do you really NEED a three litre car? Or are you screwed by the market of the fatass American wanting moooore poooower?

 

Let's ignore the fact that before I left I was helping my dad restore a 74 Bronco - and my brother once I get settled wants me to help him convert a 85 F250 into a classic Monster Truck.

But no, It was a horrible chain of events that lead to me buying a car. We had a clunker Honda Civic. It had a LOT of issues, we were constantly pouring money into the damn thing. New radiator, new starter, etc etc. One day, it was seriously having a hard time starting. I called my bank and got a car loan - 20K. We went to the dealership since our car was basically on it's last leg. We wanted to spend 10-15K.

In Texas, you know what you can get for 10-15K at a used car dealership?

A truck. And this was at multiple dealerships. "You want a sedan? Well...we got *one or two cars* if you want a truck we got plenty to choose from!"

Eventually we settled on a dealership that was a certified Chevy and Mazda dealer. They had 3 cars that were under 20K

A mitsubishi galant - 2009 with quite a bit of mileage on it. No warranty.

A Chevy Malibu - 2009 with only 800 miles on it and came fully loaded with features (seat warmers, leather...etc). Nearly full bumper to bumper warranty - and since it's a chevy from a certified preowned chevy dealer, an additional warranty.

A new Mazda 6 - new (2012) with the most basic features.

It was seriously a choice of three cars. We went with the malibu simply because of it's low mileage, seemed like the best deal.

 

Lol, damn! Texas sucks!

 

'mericka...

Masda 6s are nice cars but yeah I probably would have done the same, although i've never driven an automatic before nor a 3.6 litre v6, biggest i've been in was a 3.0 v6 ford Grenada:

 

What is wrong with a truck? Was the extra 50 to 100% more for a car worth it?

 

You mean besides the fact that it costs more to drive since it takes up more gas? I needed a CAR. Trucks have their purpose - being a daily driver typically isn't that purpose.

And the trucks in the 15-20K would have been used also, and probably not nearly have as low of mileage considering new trucks cost significantly more than a car.