So Stressed.....horrible day

[CleanGSR]

Short background. Wife is a full time student and full time mother. I work full time and go to school 1/2 - 3/4 time. Our son is 15 months old. Ever since he was born we've been digging a hole with CC debt. When my wife starts teaching we'll easily get out of it with the double income...

 

So, I finally got so stressed that I didn't think we'd make it til next august. Selling my car has made it so we can get by each month, but due to the credit card payment....we still can't. If the CC payment was gone, we'd be fine each month without re-charging stuff, but due to the CC payment, we can't make it without charging a tank of gas here or there.

 

 

Well, I've talked to the bank about refinancing the house to pay off the card. We have plenty of equity to do so. It appraised at more than what we needed, but not to where we were borrowing only 80%. So we would have to have a PMI (Primary Mortgage Insurance). Loan was approved and everything seemed fine.

 

Got a call this morning from my loan officer (also VP of the bank) and the PMI denied my application. Reason....the Roof....of which the inspector said was good for 10+ years 3 years ago when we bought the house. Keep in mind that this is THE SAME PMI company that we currently have PMI on with our current loan on THE SAME FREAKIN' PROPERTY. So, the company who gives us mortgage insurance on the house, refuses to give us mortgage insurance....which we already have through them, but can't have it......WHAT THE CRAP!!!!!

 

 

So it look like we are stuck....I though all of our financial problems were solved, and now not only are they NOT solved, we have to shell out $275 for the appraisal out of our own pocket. Today was the worst day and biggest let down I've had in a long time.....

 

HAPPY FREAKIN' HALLOWEEN.

 

EDIT: Oh and it can be solved if I can find someone to put the difference of the 80% (about 13 grand) into a CD at the bank until we get it paid down to 80% (Roughly 1-2 years). They'd draw interest on it but it would have to stay in the bank until then. Well, my folks used to have 20-30k in CD's, but they don't now because they put a 130,000 down payment on the house they bought a couple years ago.

[Tubbith]

Hang in there bud. Life gets hard sometimes, you'll make it through this and come out a better person for it.

[OTiS]

sorry to hear that man. hope things work out for ya really soon. i agree with tubbith. sometimes stuff does get hard, but you just gotta hold your head up high and think positive.

[CleanGSR]

Hang in there bud. Life gets hard sometimes, you'll make it through this and come out a better person for it.

 

I know, it just makes me sick having to charge groceries or gas sometimes to make it to the next paycheck. Because of the CC payment, we not only can't pay it down, we can't keep from charging it higher because so much is going to it's minimum payment. I honestly don't know how we are going to make it to next August. If the market wasn't so crap, the house would have appraised for probably 10k higher and this wouldn't have been a problem (I could have borrowed 3 grand from my parents.....not 13 grand though).

 

 

The other option is a new roof......usually costs about 10 grand, but my father-in-law is an ex-contractor and we could put one on for 2-3 grand. Problem is, we clearly don't have 2-3 grand to do so.

 

Edit: And I know stuff gets hard, but it's been hard for the past 2+ years...like really hard and it's just getting worse. I was at near my breaking point 6 months ago and it's tons worse now than then.

[Tubbith]

I hear ya bud. CC debt is no joke. My mother has run up a rather large ammount making sure my sister and I werent living a horrible life. Sometimes, you just gotta charge the stuff. One thing i can suggest is a guy named Dave Ramsey. I know quite a few people who are using his system/ideas to get out of debt. My mom being one of them.

[Rick B.]

you can always consolidate the credit card debt, and most companies out there wont report it negatively on your credit report. talk with the banks you have the credit cards from and tell them that youre going through some hard times. be sure to stress that you still want to make payments, but that at this point in time you cant make the full payments.

 

this is a good thing especially since the banks are losing tons of money with the subprime market, they are more than willing to re-negotiate debts that they can still collect on. my ex did that with her debts and she is in a better situation now.

 

oh, make sure you talk with the banks personally. dont go through one of those debt consolidation companies, they scam you.

[Xeryon]

Rick said exactly what I was thinking.

 

Call your CC company. Don't talk to a normal customer service rep, ask for a manager and negotiate with them.

 

They want your money, if you are having problems paying they still want your money and it is a lot easier to get your money before you have to declare bankruptcy. In most cases you can get your interest rate lowered at worst case, or even a payment freeze for a period of time - although interest still accrues those months if you do that. If you can scratch up the cash you can even try and negotiate a payoff settlement. Most cases you can pay 30-50% of what you owe in a lump sum or as a 6-12 month payment option.

 

For example, one of my CC cards I have been working hard to pay off the payment was a day late. They jacked my rate up to 25% from 8%. I called and bitched and said I was making arrangements to transfer the balance in-full and wanted to close the account. They offered me 5% fixed for the next 12 months and then a permanent 8% if I kept the account open. They even waived the late fee. This brought my minimum payment down almost $100 which allowed me to make better payments on other cards with bad rates.

[lceah]

hugssss...it has been so stressfull for you...huugggsss

 

I'd say get a student loan for your wife (because she is full-time school so it's easier to get it usually) and these types of loans are much lower in interest rate. Pay off the CC. Usually, 6 months after she graduates, you have to start paying it back, but it will be even smaller payments.

 

example: citibank student loans...or whichever you want to...

[Kastigir]

It's the financial crisis. I had a credit score approaching 700, just applied for a small, personal loan, and it's dropped 45 points. All I did was *increase* the amount I was paying on my CCs per month.

[xxscaxx]

hang in there nate. you'll pull through.

 

hit the gym, take that stress out.

[CleanGSR]

Rick said exactly what I was thinking.

 

Call your CC company. Don't talk to a normal customer service rep, ask for a manager and negotiate with them.

 

They want your money, if you are having problems paying they still want your money and it is a lot easier to get your money before you have to declare bankruptcy. In most cases you can get your interest rate lowered at worst case, or even a payment freeze for a period of time - although interest still accrues those months if you do that. If you can scratch up the cash you can even try and negotiate a payoff settlement. Most cases you can pay 30-50% of what you owe in a lump sum or as a 6-12 month payment option.

 

For example, one of my CC cards I have been working hard to pay off the payment was a day late. They jacked my rate up to 25% from 8%. I called and bitched and said I was making arrangements to transfer the balance in-full and wanted to close the account. They offered me 5% fixed for the next 12 months and then a permanent 8% if I kept the account open. They even waived the late fee. This brought my minimum payment down almost $100 which allowed me to make better payments on other cards with bad rates.

 

Yeah, this sounds like about my only option.

 

 

hugssss...it has been so stressfull for you...huugggsss

 

I'd say get a student loan for your wife (because she is full-time school so it's easier to get it usually) and these types of loans are much lower in interest rate. Pay off the CC. Usually, 6 months after she graduates, you have to start paying it back, but it will be even smaller payments.

 

example: citibank student loans...or whichever you want to...

 

We already take student loans Lina. We get some in Pell Grant but not enough to cover it all. We do have some extra that we were planning to send to cc, but I'm thinking about holding that to make our monthly payments so we don't charge anymore.

 

hang in there nate. you'll pull through.

 

hit the gym, take that stress out.

 

Thanks. Suprisingly, the gym is about the only thing that helps with the stress headaches I get all the time.

 

 

 

 

On a slightly brighter note, with my new assessment, we currently owe less than 80% so I should be able to at least get the PMI dropped from our current mortgage saving us about 45/month.

[lceah]

I see...

 

good to hear that your PMI is dropping

 

I hope things work out sooooon for you and you don't get stressed as much and don't get headaches...

 

huuuggsss

[mpearce1974]

I dont like to talk financing on forum, but if you has Aim or want to I can PM to you what we did! It would get you through til August I am thinking!

[CleanGSR]

Add me to AIM pearce. My S/N is sidersjazz. I can't add you right now due to our firewall at work so I'll be on later tonight probably.

 

Well, I think we have a solution to get us by a few months.....as said before, we only need to make it to August'ish when my wife starts teaching.

 

Plan:

 

Well, we have enough money left from the school money to pay for our December 1 payment. Then I should get enough through expense checks over the next 2 months to cover the January payment. Then February payment we will just save back a little between now and then. By March Payment we should have our Income tax refund back and that will let us throw a lump sum to the cc to pay it down some and allow us to bank enough to get us through our monthly payments until august. Plus I might have my wife teach summer school this coming summer which would be another 1000-1500 if she can get a summer school class.

 

We are fine with our monthly income now except for the CC payment so if we find ways to cover those payments each month then we should be fine enough to not use the CC anymore.........that's all assuming that gas doesn't jump back up to $4/gallon. THe current drops in gas has saved us a good 100/month alone with all my driving.

 

 

 

Edit: I"m also trying to find out who my PMI is and if I can talk to them directly. If so, I'm going to see if it's possible to merely transfer my PMI services to a new loan/account. However, I get the feeling that PMI's don't deal directly with people and only deal with the lenders.

[Hondahunter]

I hear ya bud. CC debt is no joke. My mother has run up a rather large ammount making sure my sister and I werent living a horrible life. Sometimes, you just gotta charge the stuff. One thing i can suggest is a guy named Dave Ramsey. I know quite a few people who are using his system/ideas to get out of debt. My mom being one of them.

 

 

sounds like you've had it rough man. take a deep breath. Tubbith's information is correct. Dave Ramsey is an amazing guy, he will really help. If you call him, I'm sure he can offer you some good advice. He does a talk radio show on an AM channel where I live, also on satellite radio.

 

My mom is writing a book on frugality, so I'll try to just give you a few tips. Save where you can. Buy the off-brand of things to save money, eat cheap. If you eat out a lot, cut back. Eat at home, it's a lot cheaper, and buy cheaper foods. Cut back on renting movies, buying a soda before work everyday, etc.

 

I don't know you or your situation fully, so please don't think I'm accusing you of anything. I'm just throwing some ideas out. There are lots of ways to save money so you can have a little more to put towards your bills and finally get debt-free.

 

But call Dave

[Xeryon]

But call Dave

 

 

I love DR. I can't get his talk show where I live at but I love all of his books I have read on debt management and personal finances.

 

I can say 100% that I would have filed bankruptcy and possibly lost the house if Dad hadn't sent me that first book when he did: Total Money Makeover.

[SIR_VTEC]

I hear ya bud. CC debt is no joke. My mother has run up a rather large ammount making sure my sister and I werent living a horrible life. Sometimes, you just gotta charge the stuff. One thing i can suggest is a guy named Dave Ramsey. I know quite a few people who are using his system/ideas to get out of debt. My mom being one of them.

 

Um No, dont call him or any company that works with your credit companys to reduce your debt or so called Eliminate your debt forever type programs.

 

Rick said exactly what I was thinking.

 

Call your CC company. Don't talk to a normal customer service rep, ask for a manager and negotiate with them.

 

They want your money, if you are having problems paying they still want your money and it is a lot easier to get your money before you have to declare bankruptcy. In most cases you can get your interest rate lowered at worst case, or even a payment freeze for a period of time - although interest still accrues those months if you do that. If you can scratch up the cash you can even try and negotiate a payoff settlement. Most cases you can pay 30-50% of what you owe in a lump sum or as a 6-12 month payment option.

 

For example, one of my CC cards I have been working hard to pay off the payment was a day late. They jacked my rate up to 25% from 8%. I called and bitched and said I was making arrangements to transfer the balance in-full and wanted to close the account. They offered me 5% fixed for the next 12 months and then a permanent 8% if I kept the account open. They even waived the late fee. This brought my minimum payment down almost $100 which allowed me to make better payments on other cards with bad rates.

 

If you decide to call your credit card company to negociate the balance and or payments then your back to square one where tubb said consolidate your debt with one of those programs, this is not what you want to do.

 

 

Basically these are your options Nate:

 

You can find a broker, and I mean a up to par and straight foward one, not a shady one that will just get the deal done, you need to look into without giving them consent to pull credit, find out the crediability of the companies and pick and choose. or

 

Go to a local bank that will be able to help your out, most banks locally have different opinions on financing a home, because the fact is they are using their own money. Unlike a lender being more picky. If all else fails i recommend American General Finance, but that is if your options are completely out.

 

You do not want to use a debt elimination program, in a jist this is pretty much what happens: say you had a few credit cards with high balances...one of two things can happen but also theres a 2nd hitch to the consolidation programs that arent ever mentioned.

 

1. The consolidation company will call your credit card companies, and bargin with them letting them know your in debt, and you need to re negotiate the balances or payments, id say about 95% of the CC companies will agree with the consolidation company and will re-evaluate your balance and payments and give the consolidation company a new payment and balance.

 

2. Now since all the balances have been negotiated , the consolidation company will take all the new re-negotiated debt & payments and give you the new payment, now here's where you would i guess say royally screwed because the consolidation companies will not disclose this for the main reason of this indirectly effecting their company, while your making payments to the consolidation company the other accounts are either closed or basically considered charge offs because they werent fully satisfied, what I mean by that is that since you had the consolidation company re-negotiate the balance the portion of which they decided to take as a loss directly effects your credit, therefore dramatically affecting your score directly and hurts your financing options in the future, let alone fees for the consolidation companies will rip you a new one.

[CleanGSR]

Thanks for the info Javy. I've never been to keen on those debt consolidators as they always seem fishy. I've thought about trying with another bank, but will probably run into the same issue since it was the PMI not the bank that prevented my re-finance.

 

sounds like you've had it rough man. take a deep breath. Tubbith's information is correct. Dave Ramsey is an amazing guy, he will really help. If you call him, I'm sure he can offer you some good advice. He does a talk radio show on an AM channel where I live, also on satellite radio.

 

My mom is writing a book on frugality, so I'll try to just give you a few tips. Save where you can. Buy the off-brand of things to save money, eat cheap. If you eat out a lot, cut back. Eat at home, it's a lot cheaper, and buy cheaper foods. Cut back on renting movies, buying a soda before work everyday, etc.

 

I don't know you or your situation fully, so please don't think I'm accusing you of anything. I'm just throwing some ideas out. There are lots of ways to save money so you can have a little more to put towards your bills and finally get debt-free.

 

But call Dave

 

Actually we have done all of that and it has helped a lot. Like I was saying, we've got our finances to a position that's not too bad if it wasn't for our Cc payment itself. That says a lot since kids are expensive, yet we have finally gotten to a position to where we can "afford" our kid. I think we will be okay unless something major comes up. We are going to cut back this christmas and not get each other gifts......It sucks, but I guess we can look at our son as our gifts this year. Anyway, if we can make it to about March (which I think we can) then we should get between 3000-4000 back which will help us get by until August. Fingers crossed that nothing in the house go's for broke and that the cars stay running well for the next few months.

[Xeryon]

Javy, you apparently have no idea who Dave Ramsey is. He is just a guy that talks common sense about managing your finances. He is not a company, doesn't charge fees and doesn't do anything for you other then tell you the truth about how to handle money effectively to get out of dept as quickly as possible without ever needing to refinance your house, file bankruptcy, used a debt elimination company or any other hokey tricks. He just tells people what they already know but for some reason didn't have the common sense to do.

 

This is why I said call your cc first as there are things you can do that have no impact on your credit history. Negotiating a lower rate will have no effect on your credit and often just the $100 a month the lower interest gives you can be enough to turn the tide. It was for me.

[CRG7]

Save where you can. Buy the off-brand of things to save money, eat cheap. If you eat out a lot, cut back. Eat at home, it's a lot cheaper, and buy cheaper foods. Cut back on renting movies, buying a soda before work everyday, etc.

 

Off-brand/store brand isn't always cheaper. Best way to shop... on sale + coupons (I almost always shop like this, I pay full price for almost nothing. Everyone I know laughs at me for it, but when I manage to save them a good chunk of change then they stop laughing, lol), and stock up on what you will use whenever you can get it for a good deal. As said, eat at home, bring your own lunch to work, just figure out what is not a "necessity" and get rid of it for the moment, even if it's only a few bucks here and there it can really add up and it's that much more you can put towards your bills. You might also want to start cleaning out the house, throw stuff on eBay and Craiglist. Again, even if it's only a few bucks, it's that much more than you have now, plus you'll free up some space/remove some clutter.

 

As has been said, don't deal with anyone who claims to relieve you of your debt or help you manage it. Be very careful of what documents you actually sign your name to when it comes to anything credit-related, as that signature can easily move to a completely different document. Have you tried finding a card with a lower rate that you could transfer your balance to (if you're in a situation where you can - although I agree that you should call the company to inquire about what options you can take on your current card at this time)? You may want to look over creditboards.com. I've been working to rebuild my credit for a little over a year now (f'ed it up when I was 19), and that forum has been a real help. I'm still not in a "good" place, but I've had a vast improvement and wouldn't have been able to do much had it not been for that site.

[CleanGSR]

Just wanted to bump this and say that everything ended up working out.

 

THis past Thursday we refinanced the house and yesterday I took the check to the cc company's bank and paid off the cc. Due to not having a PMI on the new mortgage our monthly payments are only 30 more a month (compare that to the 300/month credit card payment).

 

Not only that, but we took out a term loan for my car with payment due in full April 1st (going to use tax refund to pay it off). So, we have no car payments and liability insurance on my car and full coverage on my wife's is 59/month. Even when it goes up from the accident it shouldn't be as much as the other cars were. (90ish a month).

 

 

So, in short, credit card is payed off with only 30/month increase on the mortgage. With car payments, my wife's car being paid off, credit card payment gone, etc..... our monthly expenses are about 650 less than before. Oh and we now have 200 in savings and with our first mortgage payment due in February, we will be able to put another 400-500 in savings next week.

 

 

Just thought I'd share so people can believe that good things can happen to good people too.

 

Edit: And Merry Christmas. I honestly can't remember the last time I felt this little of an amount of stress in my life.

[Stevotron5000]

Just thought I'd share so people can believe that good things can happen to good people too.

 

Edit: And Merry Christmas. I honestly can't remember the last time I felt this little of an amount of stress in my life.

 

 

Just in time for you to enjoy your Christmas too. Hope it continues, merry Christmas.

[lceah]

yaaaaay I'm so glad Nate huuuuggsss and merry christmas to you and your family have a great time!

[CleanGSR]

Thanks guys. Best christmas present I could have asked for. My stress level is so low now that I seriously, almost don't know how to function. Amazing to have 90% of your worries fly out the window in about 1 day.