Need Advice Managing Credit Card Debt

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Post subject: Credit Help

Jude
Date: 1/13/2001 8:01 am CDT

We had several charge cards,(I have chronic pain & sometimes it felt good to go buy something), well I spent too much & now I'm in a mess. I went to a credit counselor and was getting back on track, however, after several months, I thought I could handle paying myself, without their help.
One of the creditors gave me an extremely hard time & jacked up the interest rate & late fees again & I was back almost to square 1. I'm in the process of going back to the same credit counseling firm. They have a$40 fee.
Can I go to another counseling firm to get back on track, or will I be violating some kind of code?
Jude

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Shereen
Date: 1/14/2001 11:57 am CDT

In my opinion...If you are finacially able to pay the minimum payment on all your accounts, AND you forsee your financial situation getting better down the road, then you should stay paying the minimum...ON TIME ALL THE TIME.

IF a creditor sees that you are paying ontime...they may be willing to lower your interest rates, after atleast a year of paying ontime, all the time.

IF you are NOT able to pay the minimums on ALL accounts, then you should enroll with a not for profit CCCS and MAKE A COMMITMENT TO STICK WITH THEM. Until you are finish with the program. if you cannot stick with them, your just making your situation worse.

Keep in mind, when you join CCCS all your creditors will report that you are with CCCS on your credit report.
hope i helped!

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Mr. Clams
Date: 1/16/2001 1:10 pm CDT

Avoid those credit counselors. If you are in serious financial trouble you should file bankruptcy.

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Shereen
Date: 1/16/2001 4:45 pm CDT

JUST THINK:.....

Would you rather have something appear on your credit report for 7 years....

or

Would you rather have something appear on your credit report for 10 years....

TO INFORM YOU...

If you joined a credit counceling service, the account stays on your credit report for 7 years.

If you file for bankruptcy, the account stays on your credit for 10 years... YOUR DICISION

One the other hand.... in the long run would you rather...

A creditor see that you made an attempt to pay off your debts by joining a credit counceling service

or

A creditor see that you took the LAZY way out and filed for bankruptcy...YOUR DICISION. --A creditor would rather recieve SOMETHING than NOTHING!

Keep in mind, Credit is convience and security in the time of need. You want to do what ever it takes to make sure that you can get the credit you need when you need it without any declines.

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Mr. Clams
Date: 1/17/2001 4:17 pm CDT

Have you have heard of anyone trying to buy a home loan who is a couple years into a credit counseling service? If they haven't completed it there is no way they will get the loan. That CCS effectively has blacklisted them from getting credit. On the other hand people buy homes a couple years after a bankruptcy all the time.

In spite of you scare talk about it will be on for 10 years and implying that a creditor will think your "LAZY". Bankruptcy is almost always better for your credit than joining a CCS and you ought to stop giving bad advice and trying to make people feel guilty because they have fallen upon hard times.

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against bankruptcy
Date: 1/17/2001 8:34 pm CDT

Why do some people don't save anything toward a rainey day fund?Because they live beyond their means like their isn't going to be a tommorrow.They don't even consider what would they do if they would have some hard times,instead they live high as they can,and think they got the world by the *****.Then what do they do if they are unable to repay a debt?They go the so called easy out like BK!I am against BK,it is not right to take any money from a lender unless you got the means to pay it back with interest.When i get done paying off my debt,i will have a total of 17 yrs of on-time payments!To anyone that thinks BK is cool,how can you live with yourself screwing your creditors out of all that money?Could you answer that in the right mind,or are you too guilty with shame that you can't?So MR.Clams your ideal that Bk is okay think again.End of commet

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Shereen
Date: 1/17/2001 11:01 pm CDT

I Agree with Against Bankruptcy, You cant blam anyone for your credit troubles and debt BUT YOURSELF. In addition, In todays society there are soooooo many alternative that are made available so that bankruptcy DOES NOT have to be a choice in your list of alternatives.

If I come up with hard times, and wasnt not smart enough to realize that I should have an Emergency Credit Card, Emergency Stack Of Cash, or something of the sort...and I realize that all of my credit cards are maxed out THAT IT IS MY FAULT, then why would I even be upset if down the road a creditor denies me credit becuase i wasnt responsible enough to pay off MY old debts.

Thanks again!

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Ira Stoller
Date: 1/18/2001 11:18 am CDT

I totally agree.

I dug myself a $40,000 credit card hole and never considered bailing out to bankruptcy. I simply found clever ways to climb out. There are so very many methods available to those who really REALLY want to get straight. To me, bankruptcy is akin to cutting off your leg to cure an itchy toe. Yes, it will work, but are you willing to live with the consequences? In a bankruptcy, your life is totally disrupted for THE NEXT TEN YEARS!! You won't be able to get ANY credit at all. You won't be able to get a car loan, you won't be able to get a mortgage, you may not even be able to rent an apartment or house, and some employers won't want to hire you with that on your personal credit history. I don't mean to generalize, because there are always exceptions, but please, please, people....think long and hard, and then think long and hard again---and again, before you decide to go the bankruptcy route. Talk to creditors. They'll usually much prefer to structure a repayment plan to your means, than get pennies on the dollar if you bail out and declare. I could go on & on, but I'm sure you get the point.

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Mr. Clams
Date: 1/18/2001 3:51 pm CDT

Ira said:
"In a bankruptcy, your life is totally disrupted for THE NEXT TEN YEARS!! You won't be able to get ANY credit at all. You won't be able to get a car loan, you won't be able to get a mortgage, you may not even be able to rent an apartment or house, and some employers won't want to hire you with that on your personal credit history. I don't mean to generalize, because there are always exceptions..."

This is just not true. People who file bankruptcy certainly don't have their lives "totally disrupted for the next ten years". If you believe bankrupcy is wrong under any circumstance then we can just disagree on that point. I personally feel it is wrong to post blatant inaccuracies about the effects of bankruptcy on a message board where people are looking for answers. All I am trying to say is that for people with serious financial problems bankruptcy is almost always the better alternative (financially and creditwise) to a joining a CCS. If you wish to read an intelligent discussion about the pros and cons of Bankruptcy vs. CCS I refer you to this link:
http://www.bayhouse.com/discus/messages/4/874.html

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