$15,000 credit card debt at 21yrs old

[vistrosv]

@howard1959 Plus debt settlement (which is a form of default) will screw up your chances/rates/credit worthiness of home, car buying and other lines of credit still. Not as bad as flat out bankruptcy, but still not ideal.

 

[christcompels1]

@mishka333 Yeah you have to completely restart and your credit gets hit hard. You’re credit public record will show that you have filed a bankruptcy and it will be there for 10 years just like if you let a credit card default that you didn’t pay but a whole lot worse looking for youre credit.

 

[resjudicata]

@pam4him Allow me to introduce you to r/daveramsey

 

[charle]

@resjudicata Yep, Dave is exactly the one needed here.

 

[dorajan31]

@pam4him Try to apply for a personal loan at a local credit union. Pay off the card and you’ll be on a set schedule to pay the debt off with lower interest. If you can’t get the full $15K, do something lower, pay off the loan, repeat. Lock the card away.

 

[mom2mandl]

@pam4him The options are.

1. See if you qualify for a personal loan at lower interest rate. That said all you’re doing is moving debt around, you’re not paying on it. The lower interest might help but the debt is still there and fees still apply. Not a completely great idea but it’s an option.
2. Cut spending as much as possible. Evaluate your monthly income vs expenses. Put all you can towards the debt.
3. Call the bank. Advise them of your situation. Let them know that with your income you are overextended and can’t afford to live. They might see if you qualify for a plan, in which case those plans typical call for the card being closed.
4. File bko. This is normally a last resort since it hurts you the most of all.

Debt companies are a waste of time. They charge you a fee for their service all while the banks will still call and place fees onto the acct till it’s brought up to date. If it’s already up to date. Most of those companies tell you to stop paying. This hurts your credit because you’re purposely neglecting the payments. Which will show banks that you’re a high credit risk and you’ll have to repair your credit before most banks would even consider approving you in the future.

 

[derricka4]

@pam4him i’m pretty sure majority of ppl are worth negative until 26, it’s okay, you will be okay

 

[resjudicata]

@pam4him Bro, youve made mistakes and that's all good, but now you need to go hard to fix this now before it becomes a true problem.

Two jobs (preferably one being cash based like bar tending), no frivolous spending, food budget at 300/month, and you work your ass off for 6-12 months and you'll be free

 

[somodad]

@pam4him Car payment is your largest problem here

 

[pam4him]

@somodad i need my car tho

 

[somodad]

@pam4him You could buy a $3000 beater that would get you by

 

[fighterpilot20]

@pam4him I know it sucks but it’s probably really good that you’re so scared this early. 15k is nothing. It’s a lot but but as far as American college debt goes you’re doing pretty ok. You’re not in the hole tens of thousands or even worse hundreds of thousands. Some people don’t wake up until it gets way harder to fix. For you this is an easy fix. Your life is just gonna suck for a couple months. Not a lot of going out or spending on things that aren’t necessary. But you should be able to tackle this in under a year

 

[orthodoxtradition]

@pam4him This is a small enough debt, and you’re young enough, to get rid of this relatively quickly.

Are you able to sell your car? That combined with a regular job will knock this out in less than a year if your committed.

 

[klcwd]

@pam4him The worst thing you can do is procrastinate and destroy your credit score. I would recommend transferring the balance to some new cards with 0% APR for a period of time, then working out a payment plan for the remaining balance. You’d be surprised how little 15k is over the span of a few years, once you have a job

 

[hdickson]

@pam4him There is always a way to earn extra money. I did my doctorate program in 14 months while teaching full time. Organize your schedule and get out and make money.

 

[susiey]

@pam4him Look for a 0% interest offer on another credit card. Once you have that card lock it in a drawer and never use it. Make a plan to pay it all off in that time or sooner.