I'm in major debt! What should I do?

Everything else
1

Besides the obvious… Stop Spending!!

I’m in pretty bad debt. I’m the typical college student. I must have 3 credit cards, 3 personal loans, car loan, rent, electric and living expenses. Bills out of the ass. I work mid-night security full time and attend Rowan University during the day. I’m in the teacher of the handicapped program and will be graduating next year, but until then I need to take care of my bills.

So what’s the best way to do this? Consolidation? I was going to persue this route, but I don’t know if I’ll qualify. I can’t get anyone to co-sign, because one of my loans is co-signed by my brother.

I don’t know what to do. I make $8.20 an hour, the interest rate on some of my personal loans is as high as 35%!! Sigh… It gets pretty depressing.

Any suggestions?

thxs.

2

Rather than consolidation, I’d try one of those non-profit credit counseling services. They can often succeed in getting your credit card interest rate cut way down so that you can actually get some of those paid off without killing yourself. It’s also better than taking on more debt through a consolidation loan.

3

I think Jason has the right idea. The interest on the credit card debt is probably killing you if your balances are fairly high. Coming out of college, credit card debt was the bane of my life. It took a while to get under control but it can be done. Good luck.

-DavidCPA

4

…and this is why I will never, ever apply for a credit card.

Previous experience has shown that I can’t be trusted with credit.

5

Definitely look up the nearest CCCS office. That’s Consumer Credit Counseling Service. They’re non-profit and they’ll help you decide what to do and may even intervene on your behalf. They can set up payment programs as they deal directly with your cardholders to do so.

The worst case is that you’ll have to declare bankruptcy. Hopefully, you’re not in that deep yet.

–Dave

6

If I lived in Sweden or was loaded down with cash or did not have a wife, house, car and kid, I would not have a credit card either. When something vital breaks (central air/heat, water heater, radiator, roof all of which have within 3 years of buying my house) it has to be fixed regardless of your bank balance. Therefore, we have credit cards.

Of course, in the U.S. if you always pay with cash, you do not build up a credit history of any sort, and often cannot receive a loan for a car, house, or similair big ticket item.

I have a friend from Ireland who had lived here for 7 or 8 years and brought home approx. $200,000.00 a year. He had trouble buying a house as he always paid in cash and there was no paper trail as to how well he paid or didn’t pay his bills and whether he was a timely payer. Crazy, but true.

AIM, I wish I had more of a suggestion, but you have to do something and the above is the only way I see out. Banruptcy screws you up for a long time as I am sure DavidCPA can attest. Definite last pre-suicide resort.

Good Luck.

7

Start up a website and ask people to give you money.

8

For some reason a number of my relatives eneded up as police officers (my younger brother and my sister-in-law). As I understand it, the FBI is no longer handling bank robberies, as the agency has a new mandate post 9/11.

Of course, you might live longer if you went the bankruptcy or panhandling routes.

9

And the sister site: http://www.dontsavekaryn.com/

10

Don’t go to the credit counseling centers except as a last resort and by that I mean your ONLY other option is bankruptcy. If you’re keeping up with your bills (making your payments on time even if it’s the minimum), then keep at it. The fact that you’ve gone to a credit counselor will show up on your credit report and it does not endure you to creditors, it is as much as a black mark on your credit as late payments (probably more so), liens or bankruptcies.

You might want to consider taking some personal finance classes though.

11

Holy crap, I am flabbergasted that people actually gave that woman $13,000. I guess P.T. Barnum was right-- there really is a new sucker born every minute.

At the very least, she should have the courtesy to show us her boobs.

12

I have a friend from Ireland who had lived here for 7 or 8 years and brought home approx. $200,000.00 a year. He had trouble buying a house as he always paid in cash and there was no paper trail as to how well he paid or didn’t pay his bills and whether he was a timely payer. Crazy, but true.

Pimp, or drug dealer? Aplogies in advance if he was your pimp.

13

I am amazed at all these freeloading losers! I literally had no idea sites like this existed, and worse, that people actually gave them money. You see goatse.cx, you think you’ve seen it all… but then this!

One thing I found very interesting: on the two panhandling sites I’ve been to (so far), both were run by women, and neither site had any photographs where the woman’s face was visible. Oh, there were photos, but none with the face visible. It was very odd. I wonder if they think by posting their image they are somehow whoring themselves… or if by holding back their image, they are hiding from the consequences of begging… it’s kinda weird, psychologically. Give me money, but don’t look at me! Uh, ok.

I know I made that boob joke (and it was just that-- a joke), but it seems disingenuous to beg for money while hiding behind a bunch of text and oblique pictures of your back and side. Either you’re open and honest about what you’re doing, or you aren’t. Those guys that stand on street corners with handwritten cardboard signs reading “PLEASE HELP” certainly aren’t wearing masks. Maybe they should hire Razorfish?

14

Yeah, having no credit is almost as bad as bad credit. Usually not a big deal if you’re renting because a consistent paycheck can stand in lieu of credit. Buying a house is an entirely different ballgame.

15

AIM, if you can get away with taking mass transit, sell your car. It’s what I’m doing; you’d be surprised how much money it adds up to when compounded at 35%. Split an apartment if you’re not already doing so, and only eat out once a week.

16

Also, look around your apartment for stuff to hawk on eBay. Really–people will buy almost anything, so it’s a good way to clear out junk that you never use anyway.

Make it a policy to pay for everything with cash (or your cash card, at least).

If you don’t already, use a program like Quicken. And really USE it–keep track of what you spend every day. It’s amazing how effective this is at encouraging restraint. And it’s handy to know how much money you really have at any given time.

17

Start up a Fight Club (but don’t talk about it!), then organize your fighters into an underground guerilla army. Learn to make explosives out of human fat. Then plant them in the basements of the credit card company buildings, and let’ em rip!

18

You forgot about the part where the army strategically kills large amounts of people… oh, wait, sorry, you’ve only seen the movie, not read the book. My mistake. :)

19

But I thought it was the Shoot Club that killed lots of people.

20

I vote go the other route. Between the economy and war, a world economic crash is just around the corner. Live it big and hope for a giant crash. There is no more satisfying feeling than having the company you owe $1500 to go bankrupt and out of business.

On you way down this road, you will need to learn a few skills. The biggest being, you are not you. When you answer the phone or the door, you are not you. You are a friend staying over, the real you will be home tomorrow.

Learn to look at cash in your hand not as a chance to save or pay of bills, but a chance to parlay that meager amount into a large cash holding which you could then either squander or do something stupid like pay off your debt. Have $10 in your pocket? How much of a dent could that possibly make? But if you win on 2 of 10 instant lottery tickets? You are on your way.

Learn to gamble. Horse track, Off Track Betting or even online sportsbooks. Gambling is 10x as exciting when you are betting this months rent Vs just some extra cash you have.

To make up for some of the changes a lack of money will bring.

Drop your night security job and get a job in food services. If you go hungry you are an idiot. Get the job at your college, if you work hard, most food service managers will love you so much they will give you food to bring home. If not that - dumpster diving is not half as gross as it sounds, unless you don’t know what you are doing. Wrapped, untouched food only. The fucker at Dominos who puts trash in all the boxes to stop dumpster diving needs to always be taught a lesson. Don’t let him get by with his mocking of your lifestyle. He needs to be taught a lesson.

If you don’t wear cologne now, start. In the long run it is just easier.

Home or car. A car can be both. But you can’t have both. So choose, home or car. Hotel parking lots are a great place to live if they have a pool. You are just a walk across the parking lot from a shower and free breakfast buffet. Girls will often take you in if they find out you are homeless, just learn to not be picky, in the long run this will build character and you will look like you care about more than just looks.

Learn all of the bar’s happy hour food specials. Eating for free will leave you with money for drinking. If you don’t smoke, pick it up. It is one of the things complete strangers will always give you for free and it can hold off hunger pains.

As your money dwindles. Drop the phone. After a certain point you will stop answering anyways. You can only tell a collector you are not you for so long.

And every night before you lay down in the backseat of your car, pray for world economic collapse to free you from your chains of debt. After all if god could be bothered with deciding the outcome of football games, the least he could do you is the occasional favor of a good debt clearing world depression.

Chet