Seriously, what are the best ways to get out of debt??
 

Okay, we all have it......but how do you really get rid of it??? DEBT!!!:eek:

I could really use about $15,000 (not much, but too much) to get out of debt.

What is the best way to get the funds to do this?

Have you been in debt and got out? If so....HOW DID YOU DO IT??

I know, I know...the first thing to do....CUT UP THE CARDS and NOT spend money......

WHAT ELSE?

Anyone get a loan to pay it off and does that work well?

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE....send any and all options!!!:D
I would love to hear your success stories!!!

Hmmm...well, I think it depends too on what KIND of debt you have. For example, mortgage debt vs. credit card debt. Mortgage debt is "good debt", you know what I mean? If it's credit card debt - yep - cut up all cards but one, stop spending, and pay if OFF asap. Can you consolidate some debt into a home equity line?

Hmmm....I don't know??!! I was always good with my credit cards, paying them off each month, unless I just couldn't, but catching back up the next bill, etc. And yes, I always pay double, triple, etc more than the min. amount. I have three cards....2 are 0% interest and 1 is 11% interest. BUT since I have been home this past 4 years, they have increased dramatically...to the point that I am very embarrassed. YIKES!!!

If you can get all of the balances on 0% cards, that'd be ideal - bc then you can pay off straight principal. A home equity (HELOC) would be around 6-9+ % right now. Although you may be able to find one that has a "starting rate" of 1% for awhile...

Okay, so transfer all to 0% interest...I can get that done. That would be better than a loan, right?

I am sooo bad with money...I never could budget anything in my life! Horrible, isn't it?!

I thought about having my husband use his 401K (part of it), but I think they get penalized for that, I am not sure?

Okay...is there life after plastic??? I bet it is hard to get use to.......

What would be the best way (for me) to supplement the $$ to get them paid of quicker? I am at home.....any good ideas?

You can also put yourself into one of those debt consolidation programs. You have to be in the program for x ammout of years, but they do all the dirty work and call the cc companies and get them to lower their rates and some lessen the ammout you owe, and this way you only pay one monthly payment.

OR... you could rob a bank or play the lotto. I'm in a similar situation, but with school loans... needless to say... short from selling my eggs, I don't see any other way out of the debt :rolleyes:

Ha! Well, I am not a gambling person....I have gone twice and lost (luckily not much)...and well, robbing a bank does sound tempting (just kidding), I would never get by with it. I am not good at lying, people always know!

I don't know about the debt consolidation...I have good credit...does that mess it up?? AND I have low interest cards, so I don't know if I need that or not.

That is one reason I want to get my ridicolous debt paid for and out of the way, because in not so many years (yes, it is getting closer and closer) I will be having those college loans!!! YIKES!!

Umm...selling eggs! Selling plasma.....yikes! All sounds....harsh! :eek:

I love Suze Orman for money management. Here is a link to some debt stuff - but she has a TON of info, this is just a snippet - so click around in there: http://www.suzeorman.com/igsbase/igs...fExpertiseID=5

THANKS!!! :thumbs_up
I had forgotten about her....I had watched bits and pieces of some of her show on PBS awhile back. I think we were leaving town or something and I missed it.....she seems to be really good!

I am planning a yard sale in a few weeks.....last one I did (long time ago) did $800 (not bad for two days) and I will put all the money from it towards the 11% card...which is also the highest balance card too. :cool: :(

NEVER do debt consolidation! Check out this site by Dave Ramsey about debt consolidation.

http://www.daveramsey.com/the_truth_..._3035.html.cfm

Also check out the rest of his site about how to get out of debt. Pick up his book Total Money Makeover (just don't use your credit card to buy it because he doesn't accept them). It uses 7 "baby steps" to get you out of debt and is VERY easy to understand. He has made it his mission in life to help people get out of debt and hundreds of thousands have done it. I'm a huge Dave Ramsey fan in case you can't tell ;)

You usually can call the companies you do have high interest rates with and renegotiate the interest rate. Tell them you might have to go with a credit consiolidation company, and they will usually jump through hoops to lower your rate, so they don't lose all the interest. Burn the cards so you can't glew them back together, and their is life after credit cards. It's not easy, but it's do able. You just have to question every purchase you want to make, and make sure you absolutely need the item. If not you don't buy it. This is weird, but if I have an absolute need to shop for things I don't need I'll shop, put them in the basket then walk away. It gives you enough of a fix. Atleast it does for me.

Ooooooo......Thanks!!! I believe I have read some of his articles (maybe in some magazine like First or Woman's World or something like that).
THANKS SO MUCH!

If you can, stay away from credit counseling and helping companies. That can affect your credit rating which means you'd have to pay more to borrow on a home or any loan in the future. They don't always tell you that because they probably wouldn't be the informer to the credit rating agency.

I would look at your regular monthly bills. What do you spend for mortgage, taxes, insurance, medical, dental, food, childcare, yorkie care, personal grooming, you get the idea and the amount of income that you have? Are you living within your means? If not, is there an extenuating circumstance to not live within your means. For instance, if someone has returned to university and is incurring some student loans to help with living expenses. If you are living within your means can you cut back some place so that you can pay more on your debt? I had a single client once who was living at home to pay off debt so that she could buy a house. She was struggling to accomplish that so we analyzed her spending habits and we realized that between her morning coffee and bagel, lunches and snacks we could save her about $20 everyday.

For some people it helps to go to a cash system for a while so that they are more aware of what they spend. I, for some reason, am not comfortable with carrying large amounts of cash. When I say large amounts, for me these days that would only have to be over $60. :rolleyes: I just don't usually carry cash. I like to charge purchases because then I can really see what I spend. I put my checkbook into Quicken and when it's up-to-date, I can run reports and tell what I'm spending and where. I also have an REI credit card and there's no fee and I get a rebate every year to buy some cool gear at REI.

Make a list of all of your debt and note on the list what interest rate you are paying. Definitely make sure that you are paying as much as you can on the higher interest rate loans and also move those loans to no interest or lower interest if possible.

As far as the 401k, if you husband is under age 59 1/2 and not disabled you would be penalized using that money to pay off credit card debt. There are some additional exceptions but they are pretty limited. The penalty is 10% on the total distribution and then you still have to pay regular tax on it.

A good way to pay down debt and save yourself money would be to borrow from your 401k if you are not too close to retirement. It's a good way to get the funds, pay it back at a lower interest rate and the biggest plus is that the interest goes to you and not a credit card company. I used from mine to do put in my new kitchen and install hardwood floors throught out my house. There are no penalties for taking a loan from your 401k.

I love the fact that I am in debt to myself only and every single penny of interest goes into my account.

I wouldn't do the debt consolidation because I dont' like paying a fee to anyone. My mom did it once with this very well known company that does that sort of stuff and they were messing up her credit on their own by making the payments late. You can also call your current credit cards and as long as your not late or delinquent and a good payer you can ask about getting a lower rate on your cards. That is what I just did on the ones that I had that were empty.

Life after credit cards takes getting used to. You can also do a big chunk payment by budgeting things out of your income tax returns.

Good luck...I know how it is to feel caught up in the cycle of credit card debts.

I never thought of calling to lower the 11% card....I will definitely do that! THANKS for that tip!

I read somewhere that you should carry your card statements with you, so when you feel the urge to purchase something, pull those out and see that total...that will make you think twice! Course, that would be horrible if your purse got stolen with your statements in it!!!:eek:

I think I am going to keep one card (one of the 0% interest cards), BUT have it in our lock box.....I think that is smart, isn't it?? Course, knowing me, I will be fighting the urge to pull it out...maybe my husband will have to take the key and hide it some place!! That would work.

I have control....but very little anymore!! :cool: :(

Also, my husband does NOT know the exact amount that I owe...I just hate to tell him because he works so hard for all we have and this is my mistake that I am not proud of. He knows of about $8000 of it...is that wrong?

So.....you are not penalized for borrowing from your 401k? For some reason, I thought you were.....I haven't looked into it. What is the criteria for paying it back...how long do you have, interest, etc. I would love to hear about it.

Yep I do the cheap feel good shop too. It really is amazing how we can easily slip into debt.

I was in debt $5,000 and now i am down to $2,900. I am going to pay the whole balance in a few weeks cause i got lucky with some money and i am so thankful for that. But my CC company put me on a program thing, where i basically told them freeze my CC, so i haven't used it and every month i put in money, $100 or more, whatever i can and they don't charge me interest or anything. The $100 just goes and lowers my debt. I have seen the suzy orman show and its great. I hope you get rid of your debt. I can't wait to be completely debt free!

So.....you are not penalized for borrowing from your 401k? For some reason, I thought you were.....I haven't looked into it. What is the criteria for paying it back...how long do you have, interest, etc. I would love to hear about it.

It really depends on the 401(k). The plan document has to allow for loans. The plan administrator should be able to answer this question. Many don't allow for loans or only allow for major hardships, terminal illness,etc. If it is not a loan but a distribution, then the rules apply that I posted before.

They can freeze your card? They didn't throw a fit over that? I always thought that card companies WANTED you to go into debt and spend and spend with their card because that is giving them money.....I never thought to have them lower the rates, let a lone FREEZE the card. I may have to give that a try. AND with that, all the money you pay goes towards your principal? No interest?? Wow! That sounds great!

And....congrats on getting yours paid down!! WAY TO GO!

Credit card companies know that people are being told that they can call and ask for lower interest rates. As soon as you ask the question, the customer svc rep goes to a scripted answer and says that they can't lower the rate. Don't even bother with them, ask to speak to a supervisor instead. And don't give up if they say no, persistance is the key.

Freeze your credit card
 

in a gallon of water. That way you can get to it if you need it but not really easily. You have to wait for the ice to melt to get the card and that gives you time to talk yourself out of the purchase. Another easy way to stop using your cards is to not carry them in your purse. Again you have to go home to get your card and back to the store which gives you time to decide it's not worth it.

I too am in the process of paying off my credit cards. There are two recommended methods, you can start by paying off either the lowest balance card or the highest interest card. You pay the most you can on one card and only the minimums on the others. Then when you pay the first one off you role that payment into the next card and so on. It works great but seems to take a long time.

Go to a financial advisor and they will help you.

i cut my cards up and am now paying on my cards no more credit cards for me .and i find myself staying home more to keep me from being tempted to spend money it does work .i just paid off capitol one and now working on wal-mart.

I guess, i mean this was and is my first credit card. I wasn't paying and they were the ones that called me and i basically told them im a college student, im working right now and and going to school full time so i haven't been able to pay much and they told me we can make put you on a program where you pay a set amount every month but we basically freeze your CC and you can't use it while you're on this program. So they told me to choose an amount i can pay def. every month and i told them $100 and they said whenever i can try to pay more than that so i can eliminate my debt faster. So it's been a couple of months and they don't charge me anything , i think it expires in February and then that's when they have to start charging me interest again but by then i will have it all paid off!! :thumbup: :D So i have not used my CC in almost a yr and the debt has just been coming off!

go to http://www.clarkhoward.com

he gives good financial advice

I would have to agree!!! :thumbup:

I agree with Wylie's Mom. Suze orman has some great tips for getting out of debt.

Paying off debt is hard but it is so awesome when you are done (or almost done!) :D

Listen to Dave Ramsey and read "The Millionaire Next Door" (from the LIBRARY, not Borders!) ;)

I like Suze Orman too.

A lil under 4 years ago, my husband and I had $36,000 in debt. Yes, you read that right. $36,000. We were so close to declaring bankruptcy.

Instead, we went to Family Means, which is a program funded by United Way in our area. All of our credit cards were shut down, rates adjusted and we began paying them off. Come Februaryish, we'll be completely paid off. (Save our house, cars etc)

So debt management is not always a bad thing. It depends on who is doing it and how committed you are to getting your debt paid off.