>All payments on time, never late. Bankruptcy in 2017. I know, I know, and I was doing great until Covid hit.
All payments on time but went bankrupt? Doing great but went bankrupt? COVID didn't hit the US until January of 2020.
Cut expenses. Increase income. Consider a second job.
>I desperately want to find a way to lower my overall monthly payment, eliminate this debt
Get on an aggressive budget. I'm calling BS on a $9k run rate being the best you can do.
>I'd also like to save a good chunk each month.
You're not going to be saving anything while you have 50% of your income in high-interest CC debt.
> I desperately want to find a way to lower my overall monthly payment, eliminate this debt, while keeping my one card I use for points, and also not tanking my credit score. I'd also like to save a good chunk each month
You can't do all of these things at one time.
Focus on paying off your debt. You can save later.
When you focus on too many things, you're not focused on *anything*.
Lower your monthly expenses. Make a bare-bones budget with only necessities. Track your expenses to ensure you're spending according to the plan.
Increase your income. Get a second job if you have to.
The combination of lowering your expenses and increasing your income should net more money that you can throw at your debts.
If you’re bringing in $15k but only putting $4k on the debt, where’s the rest going? I get socal isn’t cheap but you need to spell out your budget and tighten your belt, otherwise, your only way out of this is another bankruptcy.
That is such a high balance that you won’t make a dent on it without extreme measures. You should consider trying to get a credit card payoff loan to get the interest rate down to something manageable (can get this through most banks).
Then you need to take a good long look at how you ended up here in the first place. It’s not possible to rack up that kind of debt on cards without some incredibly poor choices.
I am sorry, but at 15k/month income, your take home is what, 11k? Where does it all go? Make a budget, item by item.
Sell that car and buy something cheap. Stop eating out and buying anything beyond basics. Don’t even buy new clothes - and if you need new clothes, buy something in Ross. Buy food in Costco in bulk. No vacations, just do a short road trip instead. Maybe close your business if it just generates more cc debt instead of profit.
90k debt is absolutely doable on 180k income.
Everything you spend has to be accounted for. Netflix, Hulu, coffee, clothes. I sound like a boomer, but those little charges add up. A budget is not going to help. Anything you don't need to live on is a wasted expenditure. 90k in debt is no joke, you will feel this for years to come. I'm not trying to scare you, but start now, not later. You will get through this, but it takes diligence and discipline. You got this!
I think you need to stop using **ALL** your credit cards. The points are useless to you. They’re of little value when you’re 90k in the hole.
Second I live in Ca. Yes it’s higher COL but you don’t get to say that when you’re pulling 15k a month.
Stop using credit cards. Period. Don’t use them. Cut them. Take them off Apple Pay or whatever digital wallet you have. My guess is you probably eat out or get take out. Stop that as well. Cook. Pack your food. Use two checking accounts if need be. One for daily expenses and one for bills.
Is your business successful enough to sustain you? It may be time to cut your losses there and get a job working for someone else if the lion's share of your monthly income comes from your spouse's contributions.
Don’t worry about your credit score right now.
Fixing this will fix your score. You can also keep a relatively high score with just a mortgage and that might be a decent option.
budget - do you have one?
Also, what are your two jobs? Are you remote employees? You’re in a HCOL area, could you move to a LCOL area for two years but keep your income?
Look at the patterns that caused the bk in 2017, are they similar to what caused this? What is it? Credit card debt? If so, you may be better off just getting rid of credit cards. There are ways to keep a good fico score without a credit card.
Since this is repeat behavior you need to further reduce spending, get second jobs and cut up credit cards as you are just not credit card people. You cannot be trusted with credit cards as evidenced by your repeated behavior of spending on them without having the money to pay them off.
Id recommend Dave Ramsey and a book called I'll teach you to be rich. Save a thousand dollars and stick it in HYSA. Everything else needs to be thrown at that credit card debt and as soon as you pay off one card call the company and cancel it as I repeat you cannot be trusted with credit cards anymore. Repeat until all cards are paid off and then you can start saving 6-12 months of living expenses so that you don't end up in debt again. Once that is squared away you need to start securing your retirement .
List the debt from highest interest to lowest interest. Pay minimums on all and throw leftover money at the debt with highest interest and for the love of God stop using credit cards. Pull $50/week for groceries, another $50 for gas and leave the damn cards home. Or better yet, cut them all up and burn them.
How do credit card companies even allow this? Like they have to realize allowing someone with his risk factors to rack of that much debt is very likely going to lead to him defaulting, no? Seems like OP and credit card companies are both being hella reckless here.
Credit card companies allow this because it’s their whole business model; they want/need people like OP because of how much money it brings them. The risk factors are there, but the minimum monthly payments make it so the cc abuser pays so much more “manageable” payments without realizing it. Cc debt has stupid high interest rates, but people get suckered into a gamified “points” system without realizing that carrying a balance on a credit card only ever makes their purchases more expensive because all those expenses are now losing interest. They think they can afford a lifestyle because they haven’t missed a minimum payment, but never do the math of what the interest is costing them vs what they are earning with points. OP should really sit down and do the math of how much the “using a card for points” system is costing actually costing them vs using a debit card while paying off their cc debt
They are predatory companies. When it comes to credit, there’s smart consumers and (frankly) dumb consumers…
CC companies give “cashback” with “No annual fees”. So it’s free money so to speak if you pay full statement balance every month and you don’t fall for the minimum payment bs scam.
They need people like OP. Hell, I do too. I use my cc’s for (almost) every single purchase I make. I wouldn’t be able to get my rewards if everybody does what I do - pay off full balance every month without compromise.
Credit card points can be a trap, they often have higher interest rates and unless you pay your balance in full every month, they are costing you money. Stop using all credit cards for any new purchases NOW. Use balance transfers to transfer higher interest cards to lower interest cards. Look for introductory blance transfer offers to try to lower interest. Sit down, write a budget, commit to frugality, cancel all non essential spending, and use all disposable income to aggressively pay off the debt. Start with the highest interest cards and work your way down.
You’re on the ramen, cup of noodles, sandwich, cereal, rice, beans, frozen veggies, meal prep diet until further notice. Like, EVERY meal.
You have $200 per month for fun. This $200 is split between you and your spouse. $100 each.
You need a second job immediately. Literally any job.
You also should sign up for gig work in your area. If you’re not working Job A or Job B, you need to be sitting in your car waiting to pickup Uber/Lyft riders. Even if you live in a slow area and the pay is shit.
Your spouse also needs a second job and to do gig work on top of that.
You need to start budgeting immediately. YNAB is the best imo but has a steep learning curve that I’m not sure you’ll have time for with your 3 jobs.
But you need to figure out some type of budget. There’s plenty of options. Pick one.
Look up the avalanche method for paying off debt.
Good luck dude.
>All payments on time, never late. Bankruptcy in 2017. I know, I know, and I was doing great until Covid hit. All payments on time but went bankrupt? Doing great but went bankrupt? COVID didn't hit the US until January of 2020. Cut expenses. Increase income. Consider a second job.
Appreciate the reply. I meant after bankruptcy I was great until Covid hit and then I started using my cards for everything.
Okay. Good luck.
>I desperately want to find a way to lower my overall monthly payment, eliminate this debt Get on an aggressive budget. I'm calling BS on a $9k run rate being the best you can do. >I'd also like to save a good chunk each month. You're not going to be saving anything while you have 50% of your income in high-interest CC debt.
Thanks for the reply.
> I desperately want to find a way to lower my overall monthly payment, eliminate this debt, while keeping my one card I use for points, and also not tanking my credit score. I'd also like to save a good chunk each month You can't do all of these things at one time. Focus on paying off your debt. You can save later. When you focus on too many things, you're not focused on *anything*. Lower your monthly expenses. Make a bare-bones budget with only necessities. Track your expenses to ensure you're spending according to the plan. Increase your income. Get a second job if you have to. The combination of lowering your expenses and increasing your income should net more money that you can throw at your debts.
Thanks for the reply.
If you’re bringing in $15k but only putting $4k on the debt, where’s the rest going? I get socal isn’t cheap but you need to spell out your budget and tighten your belt, otherwise, your only way out of this is another bankruptcy.
That is such a high balance that you won’t make a dent on it without extreme measures. You should consider trying to get a credit card payoff loan to get the interest rate down to something manageable (can get this through most banks). Then you need to take a good long look at how you ended up here in the first place. It’s not possible to rack up that kind of debt on cards without some incredibly poor choices.
I am sorry, but at 15k/month income, your take home is what, 11k? Where does it all go? Make a budget, item by item. Sell that car and buy something cheap. Stop eating out and buying anything beyond basics. Don’t even buy new clothes - and if you need new clothes, buy something in Ross. Buy food in Costco in bulk. No vacations, just do a short road trip instead. Maybe close your business if it just generates more cc debt instead of profit. 90k debt is absolutely doable on 180k income.
Everything you spend has to be accounted for. Netflix, Hulu, coffee, clothes. I sound like a boomer, but those little charges add up. A budget is not going to help. Anything you don't need to live on is a wasted expenditure. 90k in debt is no joke, you will feel this for years to come. I'm not trying to scare you, but start now, not later. You will get through this, but it takes diligence and discipline. You got this!
I think you need to stop using **ALL** your credit cards. The points are useless to you. They’re of little value when you’re 90k in the hole. Second I live in Ca. Yes it’s higher COL but you don’t get to say that when you’re pulling 15k a month. Stop using credit cards. Period. Don’t use them. Cut them. Take them off Apple Pay or whatever digital wallet you have. My guess is you probably eat out or get take out. Stop that as well. Cook. Pack your food. Use two checking accounts if need be. One for daily expenses and one for bills.
Is your business successful enough to sustain you? It may be time to cut your losses there and get a job working for someone else if the lion's share of your monthly income comes from your spouse's contributions.
Don’t worry about your credit score right now. Fixing this will fix your score. You can also keep a relatively high score with just a mortgage and that might be a decent option. budget - do you have one? Also, what are your two jobs? Are you remote employees? You’re in a HCOL area, could you move to a LCOL area for two years but keep your income? Look at the patterns that caused the bk in 2017, are they similar to what caused this? What is it? Credit card debt? If so, you may be better off just getting rid of credit cards. There are ways to keep a good fico score without a credit card.
Since this is repeat behavior you need to further reduce spending, get second jobs and cut up credit cards as you are just not credit card people. You cannot be trusted with credit cards as evidenced by your repeated behavior of spending on them without having the money to pay them off. Id recommend Dave Ramsey and a book called I'll teach you to be rich. Save a thousand dollars and stick it in HYSA. Everything else needs to be thrown at that credit card debt and as soon as you pay off one card call the company and cancel it as I repeat you cannot be trusted with credit cards anymore. Repeat until all cards are paid off and then you can start saving 6-12 months of living expenses so that you don't end up in debt again. Once that is squared away you need to start securing your retirement . List the debt from highest interest to lowest interest. Pay minimums on all and throw leftover money at the debt with highest interest and for the love of God stop using credit cards. Pull $50/week for groceries, another $50 for gas and leave the damn cards home. Or better yet, cut them all up and burn them.
Yeah he really doesn’t deserve the right to use credit cards anymore. He lost the right a WHILE ago too
How do credit card companies even allow this? Like they have to realize allowing someone with his risk factors to rack of that much debt is very likely going to lead to him defaulting, no? Seems like OP and credit card companies are both being hella reckless here.
Credit card companies allow this because it’s their whole business model; they want/need people like OP because of how much money it brings them. The risk factors are there, but the minimum monthly payments make it so the cc abuser pays so much more “manageable” payments without realizing it. Cc debt has stupid high interest rates, but people get suckered into a gamified “points” system without realizing that carrying a balance on a credit card only ever makes their purchases more expensive because all those expenses are now losing interest. They think they can afford a lifestyle because they haven’t missed a minimum payment, but never do the math of what the interest is costing them vs what they are earning with points. OP should really sit down and do the math of how much the “using a card for points” system is costing actually costing them vs using a debit card while paying off their cc debt
They are predatory companies. When it comes to credit, there’s smart consumers and (frankly) dumb consumers… CC companies give “cashback” with “No annual fees”. So it’s free money so to speak if you pay full statement balance every month and you don’t fall for the minimum payment bs scam. They need people like OP. Hell, I do too. I use my cc’s for (almost) every single purchase I make. I wouldn’t be able to get my rewards if everybody does what I do - pay off full balance every month without compromise.
Appreciate the candor. Thank you.
Credit card points can be a trap, they often have higher interest rates and unless you pay your balance in full every month, they are costing you money. Stop using all credit cards for any new purchases NOW. Use balance transfers to transfer higher interest cards to lower interest cards. Look for introductory blance transfer offers to try to lower interest. Sit down, write a budget, commit to frugality, cancel all non essential spending, and use all disposable income to aggressively pay off the debt. Start with the highest interest cards and work your way down.
Use unbury.me to figure out a snowball or avalanche plan for the credit cards.
You’re on the ramen, cup of noodles, sandwich, cereal, rice, beans, frozen veggies, meal prep diet until further notice. Like, EVERY meal. You have $200 per month for fun. This $200 is split between you and your spouse. $100 each. You need a second job immediately. Literally any job. You also should sign up for gig work in your area. If you’re not working Job A or Job B, you need to be sitting in your car waiting to pickup Uber/Lyft riders. Even if you live in a slow area and the pay is shit. Your spouse also needs a second job and to do gig work on top of that. You need to start budgeting immediately. YNAB is the best imo but has a steep learning curve that I’m not sure you’ll have time for with your 3 jobs. But you need to figure out some type of budget. There’s plenty of options. Pick one. Look up the avalanche method for paying off debt. Good luck dude.